“No. Again. Please try it again.” A reproachful sounding request is made of the tiny voice in the gardens outside a simple shack which has been Grim Rune’s prison these last several days.

Puff the Dragon, pulls at weeds in his garden and seems disinterested with the antics that are going on over his shoulder. He tugs at the mighty roots of a dandy-lion and with a snip of claws, separates it into compost and usable(s) which he will dry to make tea. He tries to make sure nothing goes to waste as everything has a use, even bumbling unicorns.

“I still don’t understand why you are making me do this foolishness!” groans and exasperated Rune as he balances on his rear hooves while on a flat board and rolling barrel underneath.

Rune shifts his weight one way and the board tips up the other which forces his to counter balance and the bucket above his head, captured in magic, swivels dangerously with a sloshing liquid. Yesterday it was creamed corn.

Back and forth he rocks and all the while he uses his feebly glowing horn to hover the bucket above his head. The more he wiggles, the more he seems to almost tip but he has been doing this close to a week by now. Rune, clown to the most famous dragon in history for an entire week. Watch him as he balances on boards. Reel as he strives to perfect his understanding of various cultures and get quizzed about Griffons, Minotaur, and other species that don’t use direct magic. What a waste of…

“Wh-wh-whoa… hold on! What are you do-“the sentence is never finished as his thighs and lower back go out and all comes tumbling down. It looked accidental but he could swear Puff intentionally bumped the board with his tail as he stood with his baskets of herbs and weed parts.

First Rune lands on his flanks and then, plop, a bucket lands right side over onto his broken horn and spills the contents to soak his mane. He grimaces in anticipation as to what horror it is this time but is shocked to find it is only water! Well, At least it was only water for once, his luck must be changing.

The tiny dragon hides his smile behind a puff of pink smoke and says. “I think you have mastered the exercise but fail to understand its teachings.” He pauses and looks over the wet white stallion and then continues, “But, the good news is, I think you are about ready to head on your way. Your time here is at an end.” He pauses and walks with baskets towards the front of his home, “come. Tonight you shall have a final meal and then on your way you must go.”

This causes Rune to stumble as he gets up off the ground and the bucket falls to cover his eyes. He is blinded but asks almost desperately, “you are kicking me out?! What have I done to offend?! Have I not done all the tasks you asked? I toiled and answered your questions about the world. I practice combat with a stick clenched in my hooves or teeth. I played your balancing act game. Why cast me out?!”
Lifting his bucket from his eyes, Rune sees a flash of sadness pass over the tiny dragons face, as if he knows something and is hiding it.

Quickly, his smile is returned and he says to the stallion, “you have the basics of what you need to know to heal. Tonight I will ask you what you learned and why I taught you that which you currently feel is useless. For now... THINK on it. Dry off, and once you are done packing, we will sit down for tonight’s dinner. I have two last test for you.”

The white stallion stares for a moment while his hoof removes the bucket from his head and a line of hair crosses one of his eyes. He is about ready to protest but quickly he swallows his emotions and nods in a dignified way. He stands and tosses the bucket in the direction of the well wall, not too far away, and goes to take a run to dry off as commanded.

As the white stallion heads off, Puff can’t help but shake his head sadly and say to himself. “That one, Out of all those I have touched as a friend, is like a jar of pickles. It’s hard to open up and sour inside.”

Sometime later, just before the fear of the setting sun drives Rune to Puff’s home, he is greeted by wondrous smells which waft from the chimney in the dragon’s roof and are carried on the winds. His stomach growls in frustration at not being filled with whatever smells so delicious.

He gets closer and flicks his ears to and fro while he listens to humming and singing coming out to him from the entrance. In the time he has been here, he has been used to seriousness and focus but tonight it seems celebratory and joyous.
Rune frowns as he pauses and tilts his head in thought, (I guess he is happy to finally be rid of me. A freeloader he had to rescue. A useless, and powerless being that would be dead now if it wasn’t for this little dragon’s mercy.)

He shakes out of his selfishness with a sigh and then he hears some lyrics.

… ” lived by the sea and frolicked in the autumn mist in the land of…”

The clang of a pot top hitting the cauldron inside drowns out the song by the lyrics pick right up.

“… would travel on a boat with billowed sail
Rune kept a lookout perched on the mascots tail.
Noble Princesses and Princes would bow whene'er they came
Pirate ships would raise their flags when Grim Rune roared out his name”

The song sounds a little off like some of it is being forced but the white stallion is a little taken aback and shocked at the content he has overheard. His savior has made up a song about him while he was feeling sorry for himself like a foolish colt and is singing it to himself merrily as he cooks and it is all about Grim Rune, as if he was like some mighty folk hero from a story of adventure. The princesses bowing to him? Would a broken form like his ever be able to really achieve that??

Anger flares in him and quickly Rune stomps into the room with a bellow, “Puff! I know this is our last night and you are kicking me out but to mock… me… twice….” The anger in the white stallion fades as quickly as it comes as his eyes go wide and he looks around and he is left in stunned silence.

The room is made bright by roaring fire and candles with dancing flame for the first time since he has been here and every inch of shadow in the room seems to have disappeared. Paper streamers with runes display well wishes of a safe journey and congratulations. The table is set with all sorts of fruits and vegetables which he has never seen before. He had only been gone such a short while and yet this little elderly figure whipped up a feast, no, a farewell party in his honor!

“Well Rune, come in. come in. Your timing is just about perfect. Tonight we will see what you have learned and in the morning, you continue on your life’s journey.” Speaks the tiny dragon as he makes squares with sticky rice and places some odd pink thing on top of it in perfectly cut portions.

Nodding and keeping his tongue, the stallion finds his usual spot at the table and sniffs at several things he doesn’t look sure about but leaves them alone for now. His stomach growls again in want but he is well refined in the arts of being a guest and awaits the host to join the table before taking a nibble at a red delicious looking apple.

Puff finally waddles over and looks to be balancing two bowls, one in each claw, and a plat of those funny looking white rice squares topped with several unidentified items. The odor from the plate is pungent and hits Rune’s nostrils right away but, tact, is needed after all this work so holds his tongue a little while longer.

“Puff, this is all.” The pause is longer then he intended but Rune presses on, “amazing. I have never seen half of this food in my life and to do all the decoration in such a short time!”

Puff chuckles to himself and sets down a watery looking broth soup with fresh leeks and bean curds floating in a bowl before his house guest and then one at his seating place also. Between him and Grim, Puff then sits down the dish of strong smelling items and takes his seat as is normal.

Instantly the white stallion is both curious and repulsed and stares for a long moment at the alien food.

“Sushi.” Chimes in the dragon.

“Sue, she who?” asks the curious stallion with a head tilt to his host.

“No Grim.” Says the dragon suppressing a chuckle and using his friends first name, “The dish is called Sushi and the soup is called Miso.”

“Me so. Miso. Miso! Sushi and miso.” Repeats the pony in eagerness to please.

The tiny dragon’s claws clap as he nods his approval.

Rune lets a small smile slip onto his face but then locks it away to return to that curious stare, this time at his host. He doesn’t ask the question though and just waits.

“So, I can see the questions in your eyes and you are waiting for me to give way for you to ask or to inform you as to what all this is about. I said I had tests for you and yet you come back to a table of foreign foods.”

Grim Rune nods at the dragon.

“Well Rune, This is the test. Think about what I have taught you in our short time and answer me this. What have you learned?”
Puff asks the question and looks up into the air to idly blow smoke rings for his amusement.

The stallion begins, “Well. You tried to tell me that I am limited by my own understanding of magic and that many cultures in the world can do various magic without a horn. Some of this I already know; like an earth pony having a larger amount of strength or Pegasus being able to move clouds. But knowing where the magic comes from is more important so that it can be tapped and used to its fullest extent. Chaos, Harmony, and Tartarus magic are fundamentally all just different aspects of the same thing and how one gains access to them can vary on things like culture or creature.”

Inhaling sharply since it seems his explanation is not only long winded, but also, not really answering the question, Grim muddles on while thinking about the right way to answer this. Maybe if he gets it right, he WONT be asked to leave.
“Magic just needs typically one of two ways to be worked. A natural way like Pegasus, or a focal way like unicorns horns or enchanted items like a staff. So magic is neutral and unless you have a way to use it, it is nothing but ambient background.”
Rune waits and Puff seems more intent on blowing circles within circles above his head then to say yes or no to the explanation. So, the stallion rushes out more information.

“T-t-the balancing was, I assume. to teach me more focus since my broken horn makes it harder to do spells and, ummm.” Nervousness now creeps into his voice as Puff remains disinterested but still Rune presses on, “Ummm and, enchanted items require more time but can be made if you know how. Like that paper above is a blessing spell, subtle and in runes but is supposed to make me feel safer and less nervous about departing tomorrow.”

The dragon stops and looks down at the white stallion with the broken horn. A few moments pass and finally Puff says, “I’m hungry. Let’s eat.” He grins a broad smile and says “you first. Pick anything you like and you may ask one question about it but if you do, you must eat it. Deal?”

Nodding, Grim Rune turns back to the table. His ears go flat as he guesses the answer he gave was either too amateurish or not the right one. He isn’t sure! It’s like unraveling a mystery when one doesn’t know the right place to start and has no clues. He will need to meditate on that some later.

“I wonder what the other part of the test is. Am I supposed to figure out how all this weird food works into what you have taught me?”

Puff pauses and claps his claws in glee, “Rune!” yells the dragon in happiness, “you are exactly right. This food IS related to your lessons.”
The stallion says in reply, “Then I agree to your terms. I will ask only one question about anything I chose but I will tell you this. I see some things I know and many I don’t. I think one lesson is,” there is a pause as he picks up the miso soup in his magic and carefully raises it to his lips, “To not shy away from the unknown.” He sniffs at it and forgoes his question as he daringly takes a sip of it. The broth is, simple, soothing and charming. The lump of curd is elegant and yet, not filling. The soup seems like more of a secondary ordeal in place of the main course.

Puff follows suit and sips at his soup as well. When he sees, or better yet, hears no questions coming. He finishes off his bowl and places it back down to await his guest’s next pick.
Staring at the sushi, Rune thinks on the possibilities of it a few moments. Rice he knows of, obviously, but what are the pink lumps that smell so strong and salty.

Shaking his head he turns to the bowls of various goodies and picks out something that looks like an apple but clearly is not. The body is round and the peel is rather firm and red like an apple but also like a tomato, so he asks his first question, “Is this a fruit or a vegetable?”
The reply is simple enough, “It is a fruit called a pomegranate. Much like an orange I do not suggest eating the peel but the insides, seeds and all, are delicious.”

Nodding his head once more, Rune places the fruit on his plate and uses a knife to slice it open to reveal a huge amount of packed seeds. It is one of the weirdest fruits he has ever seen! To eat this he will have to spoon it out almost like a stew. But the TASTE! Oh the taste is so worth it! Tangy and sweet and so many textures. Hard seeds, soft fruit, and all of it good.

The dragon follows suit and also eats one with his companion. All the while Puff notices his guest staring in thought at the plate of sushi. He knows it will come around to that but for now he will play along.

“Avocado. Banana. Jalapeno. Hay fries.”

This question and answer game goes on for a while as the stallion samples most of the foods he is curious about but finally he picks up a piece of sushi and places it on the plate. He stares at it for a long moment and even pokes the curious pink bit on top. He opens his mouth but the dragon cuts him off.

“Rune.” Says the dragon in a soft and almost fatherly tone as he gives his warning again, “Remember our deal. If you ask a question about the food, you must eat it.”

Grim Rune stares at the single piece and then looks back to the plate which has several more. He has made up his mind to risk it and takes a SECOND piece. “This should mean I get two questions then.”

The dragon replies, “Fair enough.” As he hides his grin behind a stone like poker stare.

The seconds tick by as the white stallion examines the food from all angles and Puff watches in stoic silence. Rune thinks it is sticky rice, salt, some type of spinach holding that pink stuff on top but he just can’t place what it is!

“OK Puff. What is this pink wiggly stuff on top of the white rice and where does this weird food come from so I can possibly avoid it at all cost?” He was going to ask if it was poison because of the smell but, his friend wouldn’t do that to him, Rune hopes.

And yet….

“Sushi is from the same place as the miso soup. Both come from the culture of the Griffons. Griffons tend to live on high cliffs near oceans, so, that pink stuff is the most ready food source for them. Not having the magic the same way Pegasus can make themselves lighter, Griffons need protein to build muscle. Never wondered why other beings like dragons and griffons need large bodies to fly and yet Pegasus don’t?”

Grim Rune shakes his head no, but nods silently as he looks a little green around the gills now and he turns his stare back to the plate of food.
Most likely Grim Rune has figured it out what sushi could be with that small explanation from Puff the Dragon but the dragon continues on.

“Sushi, is a lightly steamed or broth cooked fish placed on a bed of rice and wrapped with seaweed. My boy, you are about to go from herbivore to omnivore.”

Puff removes two pieces for himself and waits for Grim. Puff doesn’t pressure him or make fun of his hesitation but merely waits like a good host playing the diner game with his guest.

The white stallion turns a shade of green and then ghostly white as it is explained to him what it is and where it is from and that his staring at the sushi will not make it vanish suddenly. He mutters to himself about “never going to a griffon village…” before floating up the first piece of sushi and opening his mouth.

The scent of the fish almost makes him gag but, he is Grim Rune and will not back down from his promise. He was an aristocrat and will not back out on his word when given. No! To make his mother and father proud, he shoves the first piece in his mouth and chews as quickly as he can. The flat teeth mash and squish the odd textures and he tries not to look ready to pass out. The second chew, and the flavor that is making his stomach turn is starting to fade as his head feel light, but by the third chew though, and this surprises him completely, Grim doesn’t seem to mind the taste. He, Grim Rune the White stallion pony, in fact, starts to examine the flavor for what it is. A new experience.
He places another piece in his mouth and begins the ritual all over. At first he braces for the same reaction and sudden assault of the unknown on his pallet but no, now he seems to be used to the idea a little and it is intriguing that a living being could be so, well… tasty. A mingling of, sensation and give. Like a soft fruit and yet fibrous like a leaf. He can’t place it but he thinks it, really isn’t so bad. The rice melts the fish’s bitterness and brine with a sweetness. Sushi is truly a balanced work of art and GRIFFONS, hard beaked, rude, tough and tumble bird brains, thought of it.
“So this is fish.” he muses aloud and reaches up to stroke his chin in thought. Fish is like nothing he has ever had before. He couldn’t see himself requesting to eat it but if he had a need, he thinks he could eat it again without revulsion.

Puff pipes up and says, “I think for now, this concludes our game. Maybe when you are on your way you will figure out the entire meaning behind this but I am hungry. Let’s dig in!”

Rune and Puff attack the various foods and changes the subject to what is next for Rune. Puff is a little vague and speaks about traveling and following the stallion’s nose; whatever that means.

A story of something called a boy is told by Puff and the original song lyrics sung for Grim Rune as the night pressed on around them and Rune’s savior celebrates this final night with his ward.

Rune never couldn’t figure out what eating food from all over the world has to do with anything else he learned or how it tied into facing your fears and never back down from a challenge; as the night was a blur of activity, songs, and festival. When the stallion’s mouth parts with finally his biggest of yawns yet and is scuttled to bed by an insistent dragon, the questions fade from his mind all together to be sorted out later.

Puff the dragon has chosen not only to set up the party but to also take care of clean up while Grim Rune snuggles down under the covers. In the background Puff could be heard humming his song once more as the clatter of cleaning plays along like a band. The song is soothing and soon Rune is fast asleep as the world fades around him.

The birds chirping and the glare of sunlight hitting his eyelids begin to wake Rune up slowly from his deep slumber. He must have kicks off the covers in the night as they are no longer warming him from the mornings chill and he shivers almost uncontrollably.
“Puff?” He calls with grogginess as he flicks open his eyes and winces at the light while rubbing at them while clenching his eyelids closed again. In that short time with his eyes open, he could have sworn he just saw through a pink haze of smoke like a fog and there was no walls around him.

Slowly he opens his eyes and shields his vision from Celestia’s sun. He looks around and finds himself laying in the softest bed of grass he has ever felt under a tree that tried to keep the sun from him but the bed where he fell asleep, the house, and all that he has known for the last days since the Wolf Spiders, is gone. He looks around and gets up to his hooves in alarm while calling out.

“Puff??”

No answer so Rune bellows out. “PUFF?!”

Still nothing and even the birds have gone silent under his frantic call to his friend.
Running around he finds the spot where the home he has been sitting is empty, the little garden area bare of plants, and the water well nonexistent. He knows the spots around here and that they are burned into his memory for over the last week and yet it is almost like the home was never there and it was all a hallucination.

After a while, Rune goes back to the spot under the tree where he woke and finds his belongings packed and waiting for him. He is suppressing the feeling of betrayal and rage as he just sits in the spot he woke up and listens to the empty wind rustle the leaves above. With eyes gleaming wet, he turns to his bags and is astonished to find a note pinned there in the delicate runes he saw on the banner last night.

Opening the note, Grim reads:

Grim Rune,

"You are ready to move on and I have done all I can to help you on your journey. There are those young ones out there that dearly need a friend, a mentor, a guiding claw, and a song. You, for over the last week or two have gained enough of your life back to seek out the rest of it and to complete the goals you set. Know if it was my choice, I would stay by your side forever but colts don’t last forever and my roar soon fades like the mists. Alas, in this world, my time is limited in any one spot and I go where I am most needed so with a heavy heart I must leave you. I hope, you learned the lessons well. If not, I will be the only one to blame."

-PTMD

Rune looks at the glowing sheet of parchment and reads the words a second time. He was abandoned by the dragon that saved him, that treated him like a friend. He was left under a tree as the dragon sneaks off into the night for someone else?!
Rune is about to rumple the parchment in anger but then, it too begins to fade into pink mist and the smell of Puffs smoke lingers for a few moments with just his signature.

PTMD

Then it too is gone.

Author's Note

Puff the Magic Dragon, lyrics, and all things associated with it are used as a parody.
Please enjoy this short chapter.