[Insert Bad Pun Relating to Change]by 78_Percent_EggsChaptersChapter 1: An interesting addictionChapter 2: A surprising visitChapter 3: A shocking turn of eventsChapter 4: An Unclassified (and Armed) Insect on the LooseChapter 5: A Jaded New FriendChapter 1: An interesting addictionAuthor's Note Hello! My name is Rick Harrison and this is my pawn shop. ... Jk For those of you who like my crossover, now you know why it's taking so long!! Also, this idea totally just boom, popped in my head. I honestly don't know how far I'll take this story It's more like a cross between the story 'Growing a Shell' and 'Cool Story Bro, needs more ponies'. (If you haven't read those stories, check them out!! They're awesome) Also, WHATS THE DEAL WITH HARAMBE?!?!?! Chapter 1: An interesting addiction Drake Maddox Traffer sat in the back of classroom 206, his head on his desk and a small stream of drool pooling out of his mouth. This did not amuse his Social Studies teacher, Mr. Dune. “MR. TRAFFER!!” “*Snort* hmmmm? Is breakfast ready?” It took Drake a couple of seconds to register his surroundings and realize what he just uttered, but by that point, the entire class had already erupted in laughter. Even the teacher was working hard to not crack a smile. Drake pulled his hoodie over his head and yanked the shoestrings until his face was completely concealed from the outside world. Under the instruction of the teacher, he reluctantly removed it. “Now I don’t know if you know this or not, but this is Social Studies, not naptime. If you don’t find The French Revolution interesting or have the audacity to take notes, I suggest you go back to the preschool across the street.” The class giggled and Drake faintly heard someone whisper to their neighbor, “Rekt by the teacher.” The muttering eventually died down and Mr. Dune continued with his lecture on Louis Alexandre Berthier, unaware of the thoughts that now traveled through Drake’s at the moment. He had to get home. ASAP. Drake was an average kid, as average as they go. Brown hair, brown eyes, casual clothes, the whole package. He did his homework. He got in trouble occasionally. He took interest in a couple of girls. He had a decent amount of friends. Sometimes, he felt like a face in the crowd, a clone perhaps. He even had all the same hobbies as his friends, skateboarding, Star Wars, and video games. That was, until 2 weeks ago. “Drake, I haven’t got all day! Are you going to sit and watch with me or what? Not getting any younger over here!” His little sister Lena screamed from the couch. “Jesus, can I make a sandwich in peace?!? I’m coming, just give me a minute!” “I ain’t got a minute! I’m starting without you.” “Fine! Watch your stupid horsey show, I don’t give a crap.” “I’m gonna tell mom you said a bad word.” “‘Crap’ is not a bad word.” “Is too.” “Is not.” “Is too.” “Is not.” “Is too.” “FINE! FINE! FINE! I’ll watch your dumb show, just shut up, you brat.” Drake trudged out of the kitchen and into the family room, a messy PB&J in his hand. He grunted and flopped on the couch, a good 3 feet away from Lena as she clicked the remote from her hand. Drake’s deadpan expression never faltered as the show began to play. A narrator started yapping. “Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled the land together and created harmony for all the land… “ Ugh what a stupid show. He moped internally. I’m going to hate every second of this. I can’t wait until… Hey, the nightmare horse actually looks kinda badass. Drake’s deadpan expression slowly transform into one of interest as the show went along, finding himself actually hooked on the plotline. Twilight Sparkle had been sent to a town called “Ponyville” to make friends and find the “Elements of Harmony” before an evil pony named “Nightmare Moon”. When the Summer Sun Celebration began and the spotted unicorn silhouette disappeared from the moon, Drake felt his heart-beat quicken. He tried (and failed) to remind himself that he hated this. The lights on the TV washed over the siblings in their dark family room as Nightmare Moon appeared in the place of her sister on the balcony of town hall. Drake absentmindedly started biting his thumbnail in anxiety. “The night, will last FOREVER!! Hahahahaha!” Nightmare yelled as lightning clouds and starry blue mist whipped around her. Twilight bit her lip while the other ponies cowered and… “To be continued” flashed in curly white letters across a purple background screen. “WHAT? That can’t be it! Is their more?” He jumped up and pointed to the screen. When realizing he had said that out loud, he turned to his sister, who was giving him a smug look. “See?” she said haughtily, “I told you you would like it. Do you want to watch the second episode? I have it right here.” She exited out of the show and found ‘Friendship is Magic: Part 2’ and hovered over it, giving Drake a coy grin. “I-I...uh…” Damn it! Was he really wanting to watch the second episode? What was happening to him?!? He flopped back on the sofa. “Whatever you want.” he grumbled. Lena smirked and clicked play. An upbeat My Little Pony theme song played as the credits flashed by. The end of Friendship is Magic Part 2 left Drake feeling like he was going to throw up. He was enjoying the show. A lot. He wanted to watch more. His inner man felt dead right now. He shot a sideways glance at the little worm he was forced to call ‘sister’. She was passed out on the couch, cheek pressed against the pillow, giving her a somewhat stupid appearance. He pinched the bridge of his nose and glanced at the clock in the kitchen. 10:00 PM He groaned and half-heartedly began shaking Lena awake. He still had two hours before his dad returned home from...wherever the hell he was. “Lena, your show is over. Let’s get you to bed, alright?” He had to be as gentle with her as possible, cause oh boy, was she a little devil when tired. Last time he tried to wake her up, she ended up flinging a spoonful of mayo at him. Thankfully, by shaking her awake, she only gave him a stink eye and trudged upstairs into her room. He heard the sounds of dresser drawers being opened and closed, and the sound water faucets running. After 5 minutes, the light upstairs had shut off and his 9-year old sister was asleep once again. Drake sat alone in the family room, Netflix still open and running. He shut off the TV as quick as he could and collapsed into the sofa, hands over his face. Crap crap crap! Why do I like this? This is for little girls! This is for 3 year olds, not male high school freshmen!! Ugh… A thought came to him. Nobody has to know.... Yeah! I can just...um...watch it when I’m all alone? Okay… I feel like the world’s biggest idiot… Standing up, he walked over to the kitchen table and began to rummage through his backpack, which was sprawled messily over the table cloth. He pulled out his shiny silver iPad, and clicked the home button, the screen flaring to life and his background picture of Darth Maul from Star Wars greeting him. Slowly glancing around the room, he climbed the steps to the second floor of his home shakily and quietly, as if he might have been robbing a bank. He slowly opened the door to his room and it quietly creaked, almost as if it was telling him not to carry on with his plans. I am really doing this? He thought as he made his way towards the sliding door closet in his room. Pushing it open, he walked in and nestled himself under his hanging shirts. With one hand, he slid the door shut once more. It was pitch black. Yes I am. With trembling fingers, he reached into his pocket and grabbed a pair of black earbuds, then put them in. As he inserted the plug into the iPad, he opened the Netflix app and clicked on the icon with the smiley face labeled, ‘kids’. He found what he wanted. My Little Pony. The show for whiny little princess wanna-be girls. He was watching it. In his closet. He chose too. Nobody made him. He sucked in as much breath as he could muster, then bravely brought his finger down onto the screen, it making contact with the episode ‘The Ticket Master’. Sweet Jesus, he wanted go dig a hole in his backyard, crawl inside and die from shame right now. Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor rode away in a carriage while Spike made a comment about the bachelor party he was going to host. The ponies laughed as the camera slowly faded out. Drake yawned and stretched from his hiding spot. That was a good episode. I would love to see more of… did I ever get her name? Nah, it doesn’t matter, the Queen of the Changelings? Yeah. Well I think I’ve had enough. He shut off his iPad, but not before getting a quick glance at the time. If he had been drinking something, it would have been spewed from his mouth in surprise. He turned the device back on. The large numbers read 4:34 AM. It was 4 in the @$#%ing morning?!?!? Quickly, he slid open the closet and bumbled out like an idiot, throwing open his bedroom door and standing in the hallway. He could hear his dad snoring like a leaf blower in his bedroom. He always did that. Slowly, Drake plodded back to his bedroom and wrapped himself under the covers, wanting to vomit. What the @$#% was wrong with him? 2 days later, if anyone took the time to look through Drake’s search history, they would find that he had recently googled, ‘help i am addicted to my little pony’. “Mr. Traffer are you listening?!?” The teacher startled Drake out of his spacy state and back to Earth. He looked away and mumbled. “Sorry Mr. Dune.” His teacher gave him a look that shot knives then returned to his (very boring) lecture. RRRRRIIIIIIINNNNGGG!!!!! Before Mr. Dune had the chance to even say anything, Drake was already out the door. He dashed down the hallways,avoiding other kids in his way and occasionally bumping into someone. Today was the day. Well, it was supposed to be the day. Hopefully it was the day? He didn’t know. He didn’t care, either. He had to get home. Running as fast as his awkward teenage legs could carry him, he navigated his way down the hall. He thought he might have heard the vice principal yell at him to slow down, but he pretended not to hear. Flinging open the doors, he was greeted with the warm air and sunshine from the outside world. It felt good, especially since he had been going from one large stuffy classroom to another all day. He sprinted down the walk and kept at this steady pace until he reached his house, about 2 blocks away from the school. He flung open the door and shut it quickly. After a breath, he leaned against it, sweat dripping down his face. “Hello?” No response. A slow grin crept up the side of his face. He was alone. Alone at last! He bolted up the stairs, which proved difficult from all his running as he was tripping over his feet every couple of steps. He powered on his computer, a Mac, typed in his password, (D@rth178), and opened Google Chrome. In the search bar, he typed in three letters, but Google auto-filled the rest for him. “Fimfiction” Clicking on the link, his cursor zipped across the screen, where the number 1 sat inside of a red box, showing he had one new email. Click It was from Fimfiction’s lead moderator, Meeester. He read the title, and that was enough for him. Darth Vader comes to Equestria has been approved He let out a shriek of delight. His story had been officially posted! He knew he wasn’t an excellent writer, but he didn’t care. Now all he had to do was wait for the likes and comments to roll in. (But first, a quick deleting of his search history.) He was in the middle of reading an amusing story titled “Stereotypical HIE story” when the sound of the front door opening reverberated throughout the house. Lena and Dad were home. “Drake! Drake! Are you home.” He closed all of his tabs and slammed his MacBook shut. “Yeah! I’m here!” “Good. You better be doing your homework.” “I am! I’m almost done with my math.” “Okay, I’m going to come check what you have so far.” He heard the sound of his father’s footsteps echo through the house. “WAITWAITWAIT!” The footsteps ceased. Think think think! “Uhhhh… I would prefer if you come check after I’m done...y’know...Why check it now?...Uh, I mean….Doesn’t Lena have that big science project?” Pause. “Yeah. You’re right. I’m sure she needs the help more than you. Math’s your best subject, isn’t it? You have an ‘A’...right?” “Yeah, yeah, totally math is like, the easiest. Ever.” Lie. He actually had a ‘B-’ “Okay then. I trust you.” He heard the footsteps recede back downstairs. He sighed and put his hands in his head. That was close. Ever since he had started liking My Little Pony, after a little (a lot) of research, he discovered ‘bronies’, the annual Bronycon, tons of fan-made songs, animations and a bigger fandom than he could even possibly imagine. He didn’t feel so alone and idiotic anymore. And he didn’t want to vomit every time he watched an episode, so that was a plus as well. But there was no way he was going to tell his dad, or his snotty sister, or anyone for that matter about this. He would become a laughing stock for the rest of his life! He’d never live it down. It was all going to be a complete secret. His brain hurt from thinking about what could happen if someone found out. He’d be a pile of dead meat. Thinking of meat, Drake got out of his chair and made his way into the kitchen downstairs. He seemed to recall seeing an uneaten sausage in the fridge last time he was there... Chapter 2: A surprising visit“Hey!” Drake’s best friend, Carson Mendelsohn, ran to catch up with him in the hall. He was tall and blond and almost always wore something green. They shared a love of comic books and Star Wars, which was probably the reason they were so close in the first place. Drake turned to him and smiled. “What’s up?” “Nothing, but you were in such a hurry yesterday, where did you go? I didn’t even get a chance to talk to you, you just bolted. Was something happening?” Drake stiffened. “Ummm… My new...Star Wars...action figures were coming?” “Oh, yeah that makes sense. Who’d you get?” Carson began slightly bouncing up and down. “General Grievous and Rey?” He stopped mid-bounce. “Why are you phrasing everything as a question?” Drake shrugged, trying to find something to say so he could change the subject. Ever since he began loving MLP, he kept it secret from everyone, but keeping it from Carson was difficult. They knew everything about each other. Told all their secrets to one another. Carson had even told him about what happened to large cake that was supposed to be served at his Bar Mitzvah which to this day, nobody knows where it had gone. (Carson has the amazing ability to put down a vast amount of sugar and not get sick). The bell rang. “Okay, so I’m gonna be late for math? So..Bye?” He turned on his heel and began running moderately fast down the hall, leave a confused Carson on his own. Drake remembered something. Quickly, he turned around and yelled to his friend, still running. “Tell Jason and Alex that I can come this afternoon!!” ********** “You’re late.” “Uh...sorry? I was, y’know, busy.” Alex shrugged and motioned for him to come in, brushing his blue-dyed hair out of his face. As he walked through the hall of the one-story house, he heard voices from the living room and the sounds of high-tempo arcade music. “I got a blue shell! Dude, you are so dead.” “I’m miles ahead of you, dimwit.” “We all know Yoshi’s the fastest.” “Not true.” “I have pr- WHAT?? How…?” “Haha! Looks like someone got distracted! 1st place, baby! I win!” “Stop blowing hot air up your ass, I won the last two games!” “I know, but I won this one. Are you jealous that I’m better than you at Rainbow Road?” “Shut up.” “YOU shut up. Your such a whiner, Jason.” “Your face is a whi--Oh hey Drake! We were waiting for you. Wanna play Mario Kart 8? I can set up 4-player.” asked Jason. He was a red-headed geek who held the school record for biggest Pokémon card collection. Drake smiled. “Sure. I need a break from all this homework. We’ve been bombarded in it recently.” he took a seat on the couch, Carson on his left and Jason on his right. Alex took a seat on a broken massage chair next to the sofa, his black clothes blending in with it. Drake grabbed the Wii U remote sitting on the coffee table. Carson looked at the clock. “Is that what you were doing? We agreed to meet here at 4 and you show up around 5. You said you’d be here at school than you ran off again. It’s like you don’t want to be around me. Seriously dude, is there something you’re not telling me?” Drake’s heart beat quickened. “What? Pshh! Everything’s great and fine! And great! Couldn’t be better!” Jason leaned forward, poofy hair blocking his left eye’s line of sight as he turned to look at Drake. “That’s not what he asked.” Drake didn’t respond to this, only selected his character, Luigi, waiting for the others to do the same. The game was played in silence, not one word spoken. Even Carson was quiet, which never happened, as he always yelled in protest when he ran over a banana or was slowed down in any way. Once Princess Peach, played by Alex, crossed the finish line in first place, Carson put down the controller and turned his body so he was facing Drake. “Dude, you’ve been out of it for the last week. You hardly talk to me and become nervous around any of us. You can’t keep doing this. Seriously, tell us what’s wrong.” For some weird reason, Drake briefly imagined Carson as a psychiatrist but the vision passed as soon as it came, and he began to sweat as 3 pairs of eyes were on him. What do I say? Do I tell the truth? That I like… My Little Pony? What would they think? Would they push me out of the loop? Would they tell everyone at school? What If I get teased so much I have to leave the school? What if Dad finds out? Will he disown me? Will I end up in an orphanage? No, I shouldn’t tell. Maybe I can tell them that something urgent is happening instead? Maybe like- “Drake?” “My dad is sick!!!” The words left his mouth before he even processed them. Jason and Carson looked at one another in shock. Alex raised an eyebrow in surprise. (That’s about the most emotion anyone has ever seen him portray.) “...What?” “My...um, dad is sick. So I run home to, um, check on him and stuff. And I’m nervous cause I didn’t want you to worry cause...yeah?” Silence. Jason spoke up. “Dude! You should have said something! What does he have? Common Cold? Cancer? Rabies? Ebola? Zika? Herpes?” “Whoa whoa whoa, slow down. He’s fine, he just needs… a couple….months of rest?” “This isn’t like, fatal or anything, right?” Carson asked warily. “No no no! He just...went to the doctor! Yeah. And the doctor said he just needed rest? So yeah. That’s why I was late today. I was tending...to my dad.” Drake's stomach twisted into a knot. He was lying to his friends! They trusted him! What was he doing?!? “Well in that case, I understand. But I don't understand why you were hiding it from us. You know we’ll always be there for you, we're like the...uh...” Carson paused and tried to think of the right words. “Justice league? Suicide Squad? Avengers? Nah, whatever. But we always got your back, Kay?” Drake swallowed the lump in his throat and words came out in a shaky breath. “Kay” Drake kicked a rock as he walked home from Alex’s house. Every time he thought about what he did, he felt a pang of nausea send unpleasant chills through his body. He just needed to unwind. With some YouTube. And FIMfiction. And Equestria Daily. Yeah. He opened the door to his house and heard talking. He figured it must be his dad and Lena, doing homework or something. But as he listened to the conversation progress, he was able to identify the voices. One of them was definitely his dad, but the other… Oh no. Oh God no. Not HER!! Drake flung his backpack off his shoulder and it landed with on the living room couch, the books and papers rattling around inside. He ran towards the kitchen and screeched to a halt in the archway. There on the sofa in front of the TV, was his dad. And next to him was the 60 pounds of lipstick, fake blonde hair and valley girl attitude that Drake despised. Debbie. Debbie turned to look at him, showing all of her probably bleached teeth. “Why hello there, Drake! So nice of you to stop by!” “...I live here, so…” “Yes, yes whatever. Now tell me Drake, did you really wear those…” She paused trying to find the right word. “...ratty old jeans to school?” Drake rounded on his dad. “What’s she doing here??” “Well, she is my girlfriend Drake. You shouldn’t be surprised if you see her here often. After all, there be a chance she might move in…” His father said with an eyebrow waggle towards his lover. Debbie turned to him and made some weird noise from the back of her throat, which Drake could only guess was something of affection, but it sounded more like a dying cat to him. Peering over his dad’s shoulder, he saw Lena sitting at the kitchen table making moronic faces at Drake, batting her eyelashes and puffing out her lips; a pretty accurate impression of Debbie. Drake sniggered. The caveman-like grunts from the couple stopped. “I’m sorry Drake,” Debbie said haughtily, “Is there something funny?” Her nose was in the air, making her look like in Drake’s opinion, Spoiled Rich. He could almost see the two of them together hitting it off and being snotty brats together. “No.” “Then why are you still here? I have things to attend to with your father.” Like moaning like idiots and making goo-goo eyes at each other. Lena produced an audible thunk! as her head smacked against the wooden table. A thought popped in Drake’s head. “Uh, dad?” His dad turned around with a sigh and faced him, clearly impatient. “What?” “If Debbie’s here then does that mean...uh…” Debbie cut in. “Arbor’s upstairs if you wish to see her. Just try not to touch the new sweater she’s wearing. I had to import it all the way from UK for her.” she said matter-of-factly. Drake nodded then bolted out of the room and towards the stairs, leaving the family room behind. Oh God she’s in my room she’s in my rooooooom. Drake flung open his bedroom door to reveal a 16 year old girl. Sitting in his office chair. On his computer. On FIMFICTION ON HIS ACOUNT. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!???!!!” He screeched. As fast as he could possibly muster, he snatched the computer and shut it off, stuffing it hastily in his closet and turning towards the intruder with fire in his eyes. No matter how angry he was, he still couldn’t fail to notice her blonde wavy hair and how it draped over her shoulders perfectly and no matter what she did, it was never tangled and always light, like strands of stray sunshine tied to her--- “Well, that was rude.” The girl, Arbor, shook Drake out of his trance. “What are you...why… wha??...” She crossed her arms. “I was in the middle of reading the story you wrote, about Darth Vader. It was cool.” Drake felt his face heat up, but quickly tried to think of cover story. Of all people, I can’t let her know!! Thinkthinkthinkthink… “Uh, well, y’know, that’s not mine...that’s umm….a, uh, uh, uh a friends! Yeah, one of my friends is like, a serious brony n’ stuff and he likes to, uh, check his account on my computer, y’know. Though My Little Pony is a stupid show. For babies n’ stuff. I told him it was stupid. He’s really….Cukoo!!” He made a twirling motion with his finger next to his ear and slowly felt a bead of sweat fall down his cheek. Arbor looked at him with one eyebrow raised. “Okay…” she said, obviously not buying his crappy excuse. “You know, My Little Pony is not a show watched only by girls. True, that was it’s original intended audience, but it has grown tremendously in quality since the third generation. I personally love it. I was going to check my account on FIMfiction when I saw that someone else was already logged in. This I take it was...your friend?” She stressed the last two words in a sarcastic tone. “Yeahyeahyeahyeah…” “Give it up.” “OKAY OKAY OKAY I may or may not like the show just stop judging me!!!!” She smiled a coy smile. “Knew it. Now, why are you so nervous about it? Lots of people like it…” Drake ran up and got nose to nose with her. “Never. Tell. Anyone. Do you hear me? NEVER!” He hissed through gritted teeth. She didn’t so much as flinch. Exhaling loudly, she put one hand one Drake’s face and shoved him away, causing him to stumble a couple steps backwards. “Fine,” she said. “I won’t tell anyone. But don’t think I won’t remember how much of a coward you are.” One of Drake’s eyes twitched. She got up out of his office chair and made for the door, when Drake stopped her. “Arbor?” She stood in the doorway with one hand on the frame. “What?” “Please.” She sighed and turned around. “Listen Drake, you’re a good guy. I like you. After all, there’s a chance we might be brother and sister one day. But I don’t like seeing you holed up in the corner of your closet, watching MLP and constantly stressed out. And before you say anything, don’t think I don’t know that that’s what you do. Last time I was here, I found your iPad and a small Applejack figurine hidden behind your shoe rack.” “...Why were you even in my closet...?” She waved a hand impatiently. “That doesn’t matter. You’re gonna have to come out eventually.” “You make it sound like confessing would be like saying that I’m gay…” “I guess it’s kinda like that. Yeah.” A lump formed in Drakes throat. It had now dawned on him that the life he was leading was going to be a lot more difficult than he thought. Arbor threw her hands up in the air impatiently. “Alright, I’ve had enough.” Her honey-blonde hair whipped from over her shoulder to straight down her back as she turned to leave. “Wait!” She paused again. “What??” she snapped. He grabbed a lump of fabric from his messy bed and handed it to her. “I...um, think this is yours?” She looked it over then took it from him. “Thanks.” “Isn’t that the super expensive sweater that your mother prizes a lot and she didn’t want anyone to…” “I don’t care what my mother thinks. She can’t tell her ass from a hole in the ground.” “Mmm…” Awkward silence. “One more thing.” Drake said, rubbing his forearms together, ashamed that he was even about to ask this. “Hmm?” He looked at the ground and closed his eyes, waiting for his crush’s reaction to the question he was about to ask. “Who’s your favorite pony?” She smiled and gave a slight chuckle. “Fluttershy. What about you?” He rubbed the back of his head. “Same.” Chapter 3: A shocking turn of eventsSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Chapter 4: An Unclassified (and Armed) Insect on the LooseThe door handle slowly began to move, as Mrs. Clare turned it from the other side. Drake had nowhere to go. Scrambling back into the bathroom stall, he sat on the toilet seat, wishing he had his arms back so he could close and lock the door. The heavy bathroom door swung open slowly. “It’s okay Mrs. Clare! I’m fine! Everything’s fine!” he called from the stall, though the second he said those words he regretted them. Along with all the physical attributes of his body, his voice had also gone through a transformation, and instead of his typical cracking male voice, he got a voice 3 octaves higher than usual with a slight echo. He silently clapped a hoof over his muzzle. The science teacher paused. “Drake! Your voice sounds terrible! Did you strain it or something? I’m coming right now,” she said. Drake heard the click of her high heeled shoes touch the tiled bathroom floor. “Wait! This is a...um...boy’s bathroom! You not allowed in!” he said, trying to think of anything to make her leave. Click Click Click. She was walking down the aisle. “It’s an emergency, sweetie, so it’s okay. Where are you?” Click Click Click. Drake was trapped. She was now three stalls away. Two stalls away. Drake felt nauseous excitement rush through his whole body. He could see the soles of her light baby-pink high heels under the stall across from him. His mind began spinning and his tiny little heart began to beat faster. What will she do when she sees me. Will she scream? Will she run in terror will she call animal control, spray me with bug spray and then faint? In ten seconds he would know. Mrs. Clare was two steps from where he was. “Honey, please come out.” Click “I’m worried. I can’t just leave you here alone.” Click “If you’re okay, then I’ll---” She stopped. She stared. Because in the stall directly to her left, was Drake. She stood stock still as if she were doing the mannequin challenge. Her mouth opened and closed, eyes going wide and fear make itself clear on her face. She looked at Drake’s discarded clothes on the floor, then back to him. Taking slow but trembling steps backwards, she reached the long, joined marble slab that stood a meter above the ground, rows of sinks embedded in them. Putting a hand on the smooth brown stone, she gripped it with snow white knuckles. There was something about her that made Drake’s eyes go wide though, and it wasn’t just her shocked expression. Surrounding her, was a purple-ish blue-ish red-ish mist, rushing around her like a tornado. Purple electricity would jump from one part of her body to another. It’s the same thing I had seen earlier today in the hallway!! All of a sudden, Drake remembered something. He remembered something he had forgotten before. That only now, looking at his biology teacher, did it come back to him. Mrs. Clare was terrified of bugs. And right in front of her was the most terrifying bug the world will ever see. She reached out a shaking hand, her long, red painted nails pointing at the changeling. Her mouth slowly opened and her chest expanded, filling with air. Drake’s new ears folded instinctively as he knew what she was going to do. Screaming with a frequency so high Drake could swear he saw the lights flicker, Mrs. Clare turned her head and looked at the bathroom door, hoping someone would hear her call of distress. She herself, was too scared to flee; knees knocked together and hands gripping the counter as if she would fall if she let go. Her colors began to spin faster. “HELP!” she screamed. “HELP HELP HELP!” Drake scooted himself backwards on the seat. He was just as scared as the woman in front of him, feeling like he wanted to cry for help as well. But he knew that wouldn’t get him anywhere. “MONSTER! MONSTER IN THE BOY’S RESTROOM! IT ATE MY STUDENT! SOMEONE SAVE ME!” Drake was frozen in place while Mrs. Clare continued to scream. She thought I ate...well...me. Shit! What do I do! I’m an absolute monster! I got to get out... Class will be over any minute now… As if on cue, the bell rang. From outside he could hear opening door as a crescendo of laughter and talking began flooding the hallway beyond. Ms. Clare opened her mouth again. She would definitely call attention this time around. With his whole self in a state of crazed panic and fear, he made up his mind on how he was going to solve this problem in less than half a second. He bolted just before she had the chance to let another scream loose. The door had opened miraculously by someone else on the other side, allowing him to zip underneath their legs. He began to run. He had read many fanfictions and stories online about a person that turns into some sort of creature in Equestria and then has a hard time walking on four legs. Although it might take some getting used to, running and didn’t feel any harder that it was before, just different. Students shrieked and jumped out of the way, tripping over themselves, huddling together, and parting like the Red Sea to let him go through. His eyes were closed as he ran, the terrified looks on people’s faces making him sick. When he had first come out of the bathroom, his vision was filled with yellows and oranges, which almost immediately flashed into purple whirlwinds. He still didn’t quite know what those were yet. He heard the students scream. “Someone call 911!” “What is that!?!” “OH MY GOD IT BRUSHED PAST MY LEG.” “Catch it!” “It’s an alien!” "HIT THE FIRE ALARM!" “Warn the others!!” He could feel his eyes begin to sting and his vision grow blurry. The sound of screams began to fade into nothing but background noise, and the only thing he could hear was the beating of his tiny little heart. He saw and open door to his right and using what part of his brain that was not overcome with panic, changed the direction in which he was running and dashed inside. On the way in, he subconsciously thought about the door closing, and how badly he wanted to close the door, before suddenly feeling a unnatural, tingly feeling coming from his forehead. The door slammed shut as he ran in, and locked itself. Drake was now alone in an empty supply closet. He breathed heavily in and out, back pressed against some moldy drywall. How did the door…? His thoughts were derailed by the shrieks of students outside the closet, banging on the door. He could here muffled voices outside panicking, although he couldn’t make out any words. From outside, he could hear what sounded like a sob. Because of that, he felt on the verge of tears himself. Great, He thought. The world is scared shitless of me, thinks I, the crazy 3 foot tall alien bug-horse, ate Drake Traffer, and everyone probably wants me squished. Oh God, help me! If you do exist I could REALLY USE THE ASSISTANCE. But expectedly, no help came. Drake’s new eyeballs darted from one place to another, trying to find something, anything that could save him from the situation he was in. Alas, a few rolls of paper towels and a couple of cardboard boxes weren’t going to do him any good at the moment. He nervously danced in place, stomach twisting in anxiety. What would his friends say? What would his dad and sister say? What would Arbor say? Several poundings on the door caused Drake to press tighter against the wall. He didn’t know how the door locked itself, but in this instance, he didn’t care, and he was just glad it kept the crazed student body from reaching him. His hopes were dashed however, when he heard a distorted voice from outside the thick wooden door. “Everyone back away! Back away! Remain calm!” Oh God. Those were the authorities, weren’t they? I guess having a school right next to the local police station would explain how they got here so fast. “Where are the keys?” A gruff and burly voice said from outside the door. Drake held his breath, two sharp teeth biting the bottom of his lip. He could here Mrs. Clare shout “Here!” and a jingling of keys. Silence became present outside the door. Drake wished he could press himself farther back from his impending doom. His breath came quicker as he began thinking of what he would do when the door opened. Time slowed down. The keyhole in the door handle slowly shifted as someone from the other side of the door began turning the keys. The door slowly opened and Drake, frozen with fear, lowered his head with an instinct that hadn’t been there before. The door swung out of the way and light flooded the dark room. Drake’s head pounded, his forehead felt ethereal and filled with electric charge, and… WHAM! Both of Drake’s eyes were squeezed shut as what felt like gunfire blew from his forehead. The force knocked him one step backwards as green light filled his vision, even though his eyes were closed. He heard the sound of someone yelp, and then everyone grew silent. Drake, fearful of what this silence could mean, cracked open an eye. Teachers and students stood in a large semi-circle around the door, allowing the police to do there business but also watch in fascination. In the center, one police officer was on his knees, holding another officer in his arms, who seemed to hang limp. The officer tried dabbing furiously at something on the others body with a guaze, but the body remained still. Drake’s heart shattered into a million pieces when he saw a dark red liquid on the ground. No. This could not be happening. The students and teachers began to grow restless again, some beginning to cry and some beginning to run as fast as they could away from the scene. The officer on his knees looked up to Drake with fire in his eyes. Drake could see tear tracks on his face, that disappeared into his small black beard. His colors were blue and purple, with blazing red mist radiating off of him and a small pink wisp circled the blue. The pink ones... Slowly The officer laid his critically injured partner gently onto the floor and stood up slowly. Quick as a flash, he whipped out the shotgun that was strung on his utility belt and pointed it directly at Drake. His thumb flipped the small notch on the side and a small click was heard. Drake’s knees were jelly. There was an actual loaded gun. Pointed at him. He had just probably killed someone, and wanted to cry. He didn’t want to do anything more than feel his mom’s arm around him and sob right now. Why is this happening? What did he do to deserve this? Will he just wake up from this bad dream and find everything okay in the morning, dad making breakfast and Lena on the couch watching Sofia the First? Everything just happened so fast. This morning he was just going to school like any other boring day, and now he was an alien guilty of murder being held at gunpoint. Geez, he would even feel an anxious pit in his stomach when a Nerf gun was held up to him, so right now, he couldn’t even begin to describe how terrified he was. The bearded officer stepped forward. “That’s it, you little martian. Say goodnight,” he hissed through his teeth. POW A bullet whizzed past Drake's head and missed him by a centimeter, still feeling the ghost of a bullet hit his new, elongated ears. Drake began to run before he even consciously made the decision to. The students and faculty of the school shrieked once again as they hopped out of the away. He ran down the empty hall, deserted as everyone wanted to get a look at the chaos going down by the broom closet. He could hear the one police officer who tried to shoot him yell to the kids and teachers. “Stand down! Stay there, don't move! We’ll personally escort you out! Remain calm! Backup Backup, I need backup! This thing is armed and dangerous! Officer Dunn is down! Send an ambulance! Over!” The last part he screamed into his walkie-talkie, alerting the waiting policemen parked outside and entire station of his presence. He could hear the officer right behind him running to try and keep up with Drake. Drake’s lungs ached and his muscles burned, but he ran as fast he could possibly muster down the hallways. He was small, though, and unused to this style of running, whereas the officer’s long strides were quickly drawing closer. Drake turned a corner sharply into another hallway, the officer following close behind. Because he wasn’t as naturally agile as the changeling in front of him, he slammed into the lockers ahead of him before pulling himself off the wall and continuing his pursuit. Drake ran until he didn’t think he could run anymore, and even then, he kept running. His life depended on it. He didn’t, however, notice the little wings on his back, fluttering and helping propel him forward. The more tired he grew, the faster they buzzed until eventually...he was in the air. He hadn’t even noticed it at first, legs still thrashing about until he looked down, wondering why he couldn’t feel the floor beneath his hooves anymore. He was moving forward at a very brisk pace now, leaving the policeman in the dust. He didn’t know how he did it. It was a subconscious action, liking walking or running. His wings kind of beat on their own, and he didn’t give them much thought. He was only about a foot off the ground, but it still felt incredibly weird to him. The buzzing noise coming from his shoulderblades kept a constant reminder that he was cruising above the ground and actually flying. He was shocked at first, feeling his breakfast leap into his throat when it hit him what exactly what was going on, but then gave a microscopic grin, and pushed onwards. He could hear the officer behind him, cussing in shock and rage. Both of Drake’s forelimbs were extended in front of him as he zipped out of the crazed policeman's range. Drake turned into another hallway and in front of him sat the huge double doors that lead the students in and out of the school, swung wide open, sweet fresh air and freedom within a couple yards… except for the fact that an entire barricade of policemen sat outside in a line with see-through shields up and at the ready, forming a wall, obviously waiting for him. When he came into view, he could see several eyes go wide and whispers passed before they became ready to deal with him once again. Fear was still present in their eyes, though; they hadn’t heard anything about the creature being able to fly. As they kneeled on the concrete steps of the school, guns raised and at the ready, Drake pushed himself to go faster and zipped over their heads before they had a chance to react. Ahhhh… Sweet Freedom! He pushed himself to go higher and higher upwards, making a point not to look down. As the the clouds became closer his head spun. Flying felt like perpetually falling, without the falling part. His legs flailed around, unused to not coming in contact with something solid as he unevenly flew straight ahead. The officers behind him were yelling and radioing in backup and news trucks and whatever. This would not be an issue kept quiet, he assumed. A large overgrown park lay before the school, or the ‘forest’ as they called it. It was about 2 acres of land, sitting squat in the middle of both Silvercliff and Rose View Point, the town in which Drake lived. It had once been planned by the two mayors of the town to become a dog park, with fountains, play structures and more, connecting the two places, but the idea was never executed, and the land remained untouched. It was a large woodsy area by their community heavily populated with trees and other growth, making it like a forest, hence the name. He and Carson, whom he had known since kindergarten, had spent many weekends wandering around in there, pretending to be brave explorers and monster hunters, but eventually getting lost and screaming for their moms. It had been a blast. Now, fleeing from probable death, Drake figured he could use the place as a hideout, and spend a night there, and maybe creep out to find his friends when the time was right. That seemed like a reasonable plan. As he was just about over the small forest, he heard a gunshot from behind him a sharp pain unlike anything he ever felt bloomed from his side. He let out a shriek that wouldn’t have been possible to make with human vocal cords. His vision blurred and the flapping of his tiny wings all of a sudden became a burden. He could feel his blood thumping where his hind leg met his stomach, and all of his muscles went weak. He was losing blood. And it hurt so bad. He began to slowly plummet towards the earth as the world around him slowly turned to black. Author's Note Reader: OMG is this a new chapter? What?!?! I thought 78%Pone was dead!!! Hello, friends. I can most certainly assure you that I am not dead. And that is good! And this is not cancelled! And none of my stories are cancelled! And...oh god I've been offline for ages, haven't I? I know it's been forever, and I'll try to update more frequently, but if you are looking for an apology, read my blogs. I'm too lazy to type a long 'I'm sorry' right now. I want to let you guys know, I still love FIMFiction, I'll still write stories and reply to comments, but...it's not necessarily the center of my universe anymore Don't get me wrong, I love MLP, but y'know, life's a bitch and I've got other "more important" stuff to do. ~~(Like play world of Warcraft for 5 hours at a time until I'm not sure if anythings real.)~~ Point is, I'm sorry, and will try to check back more frequently. We all good? Great! ~~(I am alive. Immortalized. You're the creator, you traitor.)~~ Chapter 5: A Jaded New FriendDeep in a little woodland cove, separating two small towns, trees rustled quietly in the cool wind. The day was bright and peaceful, small rodents and insects scurrying about. Sparrows and finches sang little harmonies, keeping light peppy music afloat throughout the entire expanse. Suddenly the tranquility of it all was cut off inexplicably by an unnatural, loud: BAM! All the critters scattered in fear and the sunny patch of greenery went deathly quiet. All the birds and rabbits were gone, and the place was now empty of life. Except for one creature, whose ears perked up in surprise. Now in this part of Minnesota, there is not an abundance of reptilians, besides the occasional lizard or garden snake, but this beast was far greater than anything lizard any of the inhabitants might see, so she was wise to keep herself hidden away in the shelter of the trees, for her appearance would most likely start a riot. Others had occasionally spotted her from time to time, she knew, but she had been quick on her feet and made her getaway before anyone could really confirm what they just thought they might have seen. Her deep blue sapphire eyes were locked intently on the direction in which the noise had come from. Following the shot, she could hear an ethereal scream that sounded as if it were straight from a horror film. She bent her brows in concentration as her strong tail swished back and forth, pearl white scales glittering with each movement. A faint thoomp was heard as whatever was shot out of the air crashed into the soft but crumbly dirt. After a few moments of silence, animals started to reemerge for their hideaways, birds singing soft, wary notes as if they were checking to see if it was safe again. They all stayed a good 5 feet away from the creature; she scared them with her size and her array of claws and teeth. Voices were then heard, all muffled, but obviously male. They were yelling to each other; it sounded desperate. The blue-eyed reptile knew what she had to do. Taking off like a rollercoaster that goes from 0 mph to 90 mph in 2 seconds, she darted very suddenly through the mass of trees as fast as her legs could take her. Weaving in and out between branches and large oak trunks, her wings were pressed firmly to her sides, in fear they may snag onto something. As she neared a clearing where only small pieces of the Rose View Point High School’s white painted drywall could be barely seen through the cracks of the tree branches, something caught her eye and caused her to screeched to halt, backing up a few steps. The men were still searching through the woodlands, but she could hear their panicked voices screaming to the left of her. It was only a matter of time before they’d come looking this way. Laying on a small patch of dirt, was a creature she could not immediately identify; it was faced away from her and slumped in a position which clearly showed that it was unconscious. It had made a small crater right next to a tree and, trailing behind it, was a streak of missing dirt, signifying that when this thing crashed, it slid across the ground until it hit the tree it currently had itself pressed against. The creature, she also noticed with a shiver down her spine, was sitting in a pool of a thick green liquid which kept permeating the ground, soaking into the dirt below. The yelling of the men grew louder. Slowly, the reptilian reached out a claw slowly and turned the creature over. Its head lolled around lifelessly, like a rag doll when she turned it over. Upon seeing the creature’s face, she jumped back in fright and recognition, her stomach turning. She had to put a claw over her mouth to keep from screaming in horror and awe. She knew what that creature was. She had seen those creatures before, many, many times. Not in person, mind you, but the features could not possibly belong to anything else. Her whole body seized up, unsure of what to do with this injured threat. It was probably the thing that screamed and was shot from the sky, she figured. Should she take it in? Leave it for the men to find? She herself could definitely not be caught, for that would spell certain doom. What if it tries to attack her? These creatures cannot be trusted, I know that. But what if it’s friendly? As she stood rooted towards the ground, mulling over her options, a voice pierced her thoughts. “Over there! I think something’s moving!” The voice shocked her, for she did not expect the men to be in proximity this close yet. Through the twisted and gnarled branches, she could see the figure of a man in a blue uniform, traipsing through the trees and taking care not to trip over any roots. He was approaching swiftly. Thinking fast, the over-sized reptile swung the bleeding foe over her shoulder and onto her back, where she prayed that her sharp spines would not injure it further. Before the police could find the two terrifying creatures though, she dashed back the way she came with the thing on her back, leaving confused policemen to poke at the dirt crater, and wonder where the hell that martian went. Drake slowly awoke to the sounds of chirping birds and the rustling of leaves. He cracked open one of his eyes and got a mix of brown, earthy tones and faintly glowing lights. He yawned. In the distance, he could hear what sounded like footsteps, and a bright pale light was shining in the distance faintly warming his skin. The place was unfamiliar to him, but as he was extraordinarily tired, he didn’t really worry about it much. Making a few clicking sounds with his mouth his eyes fluttered shut again and he could feel himself floating back into the realm of sleep. Breathing in heavy and peacefully, he made to roll over and shift his sleeping position, but when he tried, a sudden sharp and terrible pain made itself present on his leg. His eyes snapped open as he let out a brief yell in surprise. The jolt of pain made memories come back to him, and he began to remember the horrid events that had transpired not long ago. The bathroom, a changeling, the cop he shot, the cop that shot him… He sat up quickly and pressed his back against a dirty stone wall behind him, accidentally crushing his translucent wings, forgetting that they were there, and taking a good look at himself. Yup. Still a mutant horse bug. He began to hyperventilate again as he looked down at himself, reliving the panic he felt in the bathroom. The tail, the wings, the chitin. He was still a changeling. And his leg still hurt like it had just been dipped in the firey pits of Hell. But he noticed, with some confusion, that it had been unprofessionally bandaged. Some kind of thin but wide leaf had been wrapped around his left flank and a small part of the hind leg. Some sort of a green ooze was leaking out of the cracks of the homemade bandages, and with dread, he quickly realized that that was his blood. Great. Green blood. Nothing says ‘you’re not human’ like green blood. He looked up from his peculiar body to look at his surroundings and felt a strange sense of awe. He was laying on a small elevated piece of rock in some sort of a small cave, which was about 10 feet in length and width, and a ceiling low enough to where he might be able to barely touch it with his hoof. The walls were dirty brown and had some sort of leafy green plant growing out of small naturally formed cracks in them. But that wasn’t what surprised him at all; the cave itself had been beautifully decorated and meticulously organized. All the items in the room, Drake noticed, were either made from tree bark, leaves, stones, and other natural items, save for a few obviously man-made items. A small crooked table sat alongside the left part of the wall, covered in papers and writing utensils as well as different stones and twigs plus, strangely enough, an unlit Menorah. Red, yellow and blue Christmas lights were strung from the ceiling, making the room appear as if it were straight out of a fairytale. Drake’s head had rested against a clumped pile of leaves and a dirty white blanket had been kicked onto the ground next to him. A small collection of logs sat piled against each other in the center of the room surrounded by stones: A bonfire. Several sticks formed a spit over the firewood that was carefully balanced. A couple of cardboard boxes sat in another corner, full of objects that Drake couldn’t see. At the end of the small cove, there was a tunnel that led the way out, warmed by sunlight. The fairy-like design of the place left Drake wondering: Who did all of this? Then, as if his thoughts had been read by an unknown deity, he could hear footsteps approaching from outside. The entryway into this little cove was a small almost even circular tunnel, which turned towards the left and led outside, Drake figured. From outside the cave, he could hear the sounds of sliding and crunching dirt. A shadow began to show on the wall as someone approached and Drake, acting on instinct, folded his ears against his head and pulled his legs closer to himself, and around the corner came… A fucking dragon. It couldn’t be anything else. It abruptly stopped in the entryway when it saw Drake staring wide-eyed at it, and in return, it made the same expression. The two stared at each other for a while, looking over each other’s physical features in wonder and terror. The dragon had glistening white scales that seemed to shine, even though there wasn’t much sunlight in the cave. It was trimmed with lavender, which colored its sharp spines, two pointed horns protruding from above its temples, and wing membranes, as well as the tip of its tail. Its eyes were slitted, like a cat, with deep blue irises. Draped across its back, was a worn yellow towel, which was slowly dripping clean water onto the ground. The weird colors that Drake had seen swirling around everyone in the hallways at his high school were present on the dragon as well, a light purple and red aura radiating from its body, with small yellow circles surrounding it, appearing and disappearing in different places around it. What they signified, Drake could still not figure out. They continued to stare, the dragon taking a small step back baring its teeth. On any other occasion, Drake would be scared out of his wits, but today, well, he’d seen it all. The fact that a goddamn dragon just waltzed through the door was too much for him to take. He was hardly even surprised. The number of emotions he felt was overwhelming. Finding nothing about his current situation funny, he began to chuckle anyways. That chuckle turned into a laugh and then Drake began to laugh so hard small watery tears began to leak from his eyes as he fell back onto the makeshift pillow. His hooves were clutched to his stomach, and the pain in his leg made him laugh even harder. The dragon’s threatening stance was gone, and now it only looked on with confusion and worry, the red vanishing from the variety of colors circling her. “Uh…” She lifted a claw up and cleared her throat. “Hello?” Drake continued to laugh like an absolute madman. Eventually, he began to calm down a bit and he lifted his head to look at the dragon and wipe a tear out of the crook of his eye, a stupid grin still drawn on his face. He waved a hole filled hoof at her “S-sorry, I just...I just… with me turning into a character from a little girls cartoon, the entire police force after me, the fact that I probably killed someone and then was immediately shot in the leg was a lot to handle. And then, I-I wake up in what looks like Tinkerbell’s house and...and...and..out trots a mother frickin dragon!” He began to wheeze with laughter. “I mean, what, with how this day is going, I wouldn’t be surprised if my great aunt came barreling through that wall, offering me cocaine!” He doubled over with laughter, and dragon simply stared at him, now looking... sad. Soon, Drake’s laughter began to die, and the giggles were replaced by gentle sobs. “I-I-I… I don’t even know what’s happening…” He quickly wiped away his tears then sniffed and looked up at the dragon. She still remained in the exact same spot, her concern for him showing on her face. She watched him for a few seconds as he sniffed and straightened up, before sighing and walking towards the small homemade table. She remained silent as she fiddled with some of the things on the desk before walking over to Drake and taking the towel off her back. She ringed the ratty thing out before forcefully pushing Drake down onto the slab of stone, telling him without words to lay down. He complied without protest as the dragon draped the cloth across his forehead, right above his curved horn. She then promptly left without saying a word and returned to her desk, continuing whatever it was she was doing. Drake, who had now fully recovered from his state of emotional trauma, shifted his position slightly so that he was more comfortable. “So...uh…” “You were hurt pretty badly and are coming down with what I think is a fever as well,” said the dragon, not looking up. “Don't squirm so much. You're just going to make your wound open even more. I already got the bullet out, so you should be on a steady course to heal properly.” “Ah…” said Drake intelligently, putting his hooves on his stomach and staring at the ceiling. Silence, except for the scratching of a pen and the rustling of objects on the desk, was heard. After the quiet period between the two stretched beyond five minutes, Drake spoke up. “Er… quick question…” “What?” hummed the dragon, still absorbed in her work. Drake inhaled with the fury of a thousand suns. “Who are you, what are you, how do you exist, where are we, why are we here, what the hell is happening, are we still on Earth, why are you taking care of me, did I kill a man, does the world hate me, do you hate me, are you a dragon, what are you doing over there, are we underground, how far, why do you have a menorah, are you going to eat me, cuz it looks like you have a bonfire set up over there, since when did you exist, did you save me, did you make this place, do you have a name, can you fly, can you breath fire, are you the thing we heard about on the radio, is this all some sick dream, can you make all the color tornadoes go away, can you get my my fingers back, is this karma’s doing, do you know what I am or how to fix me and most importantly, I'm hungry is there something I can eat?” Now, the dragon looked at him stupidly, work abandoned. Slowly, her expression morphed into a more gentle one and she turned from her desk to root around in one of the cardboard boxes. Eventually, she found what she was looking for, then, the items in her claw walked over to Drake and dropped several tiny spheres on the ground next to him. They were blueberries. Drake’s mouth watered. He had hardly had breakfast this morning, and… wow. And to think that this morning had been a perfectly normal start to the day. Huh. He stretched his right hoof out to grab the tasty fruits beside him, but only after managing to roll a couple away from him instead of actually grab them, he remembered. Oh yeah. No fingers. “Hrrrrrnnnggg,” he growled, throwing a hoof over his eyes. He was going to have to get used to not having opposable thumbs anymore, wasn’t he? The dragon snorted in amusement, looking at him placidly. “Get used it, chump. You can eat them with your face if you want.” Drake shot her a look that could turn water into acid, before stupidly rolling over on his stomach (careful not to injure his leg any further) and hanging his face off the edge. He then began angrily eating the blueberries on the ground. He supposed that he looked like an absolute moron right then. Once done, he rolled back onto his back, forgot he had wings, crushed them, shrieked, rolled back onto his stomach, then slowly, wings held out straight at his sides, laid down slowly, content. The dragon kept scribbling. Drake cleared his throat obnoxiously. “So, uh, you didn’t answer majority of my questions.” The dragon paused and put the pen down slowly for what seemed like the fifth time before walking over to him calmly and sitting at the foot of his bed. Drake had not known the dragon for very long, but he could obviously tell she was the type who was fixed in a constant “raised eyebrow” state. Both lazy amusement and the skeptical stare of judgment flickered in her eyes. “Actually, I have some questions for you as well.” She said. “How about this, I’ll answer your little inquiries if you answer mine. Deal?” Drake nodded, looking at the reptile with immense curiosity. The Dragon cleared her throat. “Let’s start off with the basics. Do you have a name?” “Yeah, it’s Traffer. Drake Traffer and aw shit that sounded like a James Bond movie…” he moaned, throwing a hoof over his head in embarrassment. To his surprise, the dragon giggled, like she actually got the reference. “Anyways, uh my name is Byte, and I-“ “Woah Woah Woah, Bite?” “Uhh, yeah that’s my name…” “Like your actual name is Bite?” “Well…” “So were your dragon parents like really uncreative when they name you or something…” “No! It’s a nickname, genius! Geez, why is that always so hard to understand.” She huffed in annoyance. “Oh, okay.” Said Drake, thinking. “So, if that’s your nickname, may I ask why you have it? Are you, like, good at biting things, or…” The dragon’s raised brow line seemed to go higher. “Will you let me talk for more than five seconds without interrupting me to predict what I’m about to say next, or can we move on?” Drake was silent, and the dragon took it as a yes. “My name’s not B-I-T-E, it’s B-Y-T-E, like a megabyte or a gigabyte. I’m good with computers, and someone called me that one day and the name just stuck. Anyways, your turn. Why are you here?” “I don’t know,” Drake said rolling his eyes, although Byte had trouble making it out. His eyes were all the same color, after all, the only indication of whether he was looking at her or not was the gradient circle of faint white which she assumed was his pupil. “I mean, you dragged me here against my own volition. You above all should be able to tell me why I’m here.” “Well, would you have rather me left you to exsanguinate until the cops found your body?” “Ex-san-gwin-nate…?” “It means to bleed to death.” Byte said placidly. “Wow, way to put it lightly,” mumbled Drake under his breath. Luckily, she didn’t hear him. “What I mean is, what’s a changeling like you doing in a heavily in the forest? Why were you shot in the leg?” “Well, I mean it’s a long story, one that even I don’t fully understand but… wait. What did you call me?” “I asked what you were doing in the forest and-“ “No no no no no, That’s not what I mean. Before that, did you call me ‘changeling’?” Drake’s mind was doing somersaults. How? “H...How do you know what that is…?” Byte’s eyes went wide, and she blushed furiously, looking mad at herself. “No! It’s just...it’s…Arrrrggghh! I give up!” Then before Drake knew what was happening, both of her fore-claws were on top of Drake’s shoulders, and he felt like both of them might break under the pressure. She was muzzle to muzzle with him, and there was fire in her eyes. “Who are you really?!” She growled. “Are you the one who did this to me? Do you work for Queen Chrysalis as one of her drones? Are you from the Badlands? Speak, Goddammit!” The two creatures stared wide-eyed at each other in silence. Drake was at a loss for words. He could only squawk in surprise. The last thing he expected was for his captor to have extensive knowledge on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. His heart pounded faster. The colors that swarmed her body were red and with a little blue mixed in. He still didn’t know what those were, and they still scared him. They only- Wait. He thought back to every occasion on which he had seen them. Around the students, around the people, around Byte. What was he again? A changeling. And what did changelings do? “I KNOW WHAT IT IS!” he suddenly shrieked, causing Byte to gasp in shock and stumble backward. Her colors turned purple and white, before momentarily switching to red. “They are emotions!! I’ve been seeing these weird things everywhere, swirling around people, and I think I just realized what they are!” Byte looked at him blankly, which switched her colors to a blue and yellow. That confused conformation made Drake’s grin widen. “Oh, what a relief!” he cried, throwing his hoof over his eyes. Byte was absolutely speechless. “So… what does that mean?” Drake gave her a fanged smile. “It means I can see emotions! How FLIPPING COOL IS THAT??” She inhaled deeply before turning away from him and staring at the ceiling. “Oh lord, what the actual fuck is going on…” Drake was about to answer but she whipped her head around and glared at him. “Don’t move. I’m going to find more food because I wasted all my blueberries on you.” Drake looked at her curiously, a smile still on his face from his recent discovery. “Where do you even…” “Garbage.” She stated simply, slinging a brown satchel over her shoulders, but as she was on four legs, it was difficult to keep balanced, and it kept slipping down her arms. She growled at it, but the bag didn’t seem to understand. “I’ll be back in an hour,” she said, finally nesting it comfortably in between two of her spines. “Don’t do anything stupid.” “An hour??” He cried incredulously. “What am I supposed to entertain myself with.” She grit her teeth together. “Find a way to manage, princess. And don’t touch my stuff either.” Drake’s face seemed to fall slightly at the last comment, proving that’s what he was planning on doing. “You’re getting the smelliest garbage I can find,” she muttered, turning away and stomping irately out of the cave. “Bye,” she called, sounding extremely jaded. Drake heard the scratching of claws against the dirt, and then he was alone. After a few moments, he rolled onto his back and put his hooves on his stomach and staring at the ceiling in apprehension. “Smelly garbage, why do I get the smelly garbage…” He trailed off, grumbling to himself while his stomach rumbled. He thought about how long it was since he’s eaten and began to picture all of his favorite foods. Lasagna, pizza, those gummy bear rings they sold at the Walgreens checkout aisle. But for some reason, those didn’t seem as appetizing as they used to. Author's Note Suprise
Chapter 1: An interesting addictionAuthor's Note Hello! My name is Rick Harrison and this is my pawn shop. ... Jk For those of you who like my crossover, now you know why it's taking so long!! Also, this idea totally just boom, popped in my head. I honestly don't know how far I'll take this story It's more like a cross between the story 'Growing a Shell' and 'Cool Story Bro, needs more ponies'. (If you haven't read those stories, check them out!! They're awesome) Also, WHATS THE DEAL WITH HARAMBE?!?!?! Chapter 1: An interesting addiction Drake Maddox Traffer sat in the back of classroom 206, his head on his desk and a small stream of drool pooling out of his mouth. This did not amuse his Social Studies teacher, Mr. Dune. “MR. TRAFFER!!” “*Snort* hmmmm? Is breakfast ready?” It took Drake a couple of seconds to register his surroundings and realize what he just uttered, but by that point, the entire class had already erupted in laughter. Even the teacher was working hard to not crack a smile. Drake pulled his hoodie over his head and yanked the shoestrings until his face was completely concealed from the outside world. Under the instruction of the teacher, he reluctantly removed it. “Now I don’t know if you know this or not, but this is Social Studies, not naptime. If you don’t find The French Revolution interesting or have the audacity to take notes, I suggest you go back to the preschool across the street.” The class giggled and Drake faintly heard someone whisper to their neighbor, “Rekt by the teacher.” The muttering eventually died down and Mr. Dune continued with his lecture on Louis Alexandre Berthier, unaware of the thoughts that now traveled through Drake’s at the moment. He had to get home. ASAP. Drake was an average kid, as average as they go. Brown hair, brown eyes, casual clothes, the whole package. He did his homework. He got in trouble occasionally. He took interest in a couple of girls. He had a decent amount of friends. Sometimes, he felt like a face in the crowd, a clone perhaps. He even had all the same hobbies as his friends, skateboarding, Star Wars, and video games. That was, until 2 weeks ago. “Drake, I haven’t got all day! Are you going to sit and watch with me or what? Not getting any younger over here!” His little sister Lena screamed from the couch. “Jesus, can I make a sandwich in peace?!? I’m coming, just give me a minute!” “I ain’t got a minute! I’m starting without you.” “Fine! Watch your stupid horsey show, I don’t give a crap.” “I’m gonna tell mom you said a bad word.” “‘Crap’ is not a bad word.” “Is too.” “Is not.” “Is too.” “Is not.” “Is too.” “FINE! FINE! FINE! I’ll watch your dumb show, just shut up, you brat.” Drake trudged out of the kitchen and into the family room, a messy PB&J in his hand. He grunted and flopped on the couch, a good 3 feet away from Lena as she clicked the remote from her hand. Drake’s deadpan expression never faltered as the show began to play. A narrator started yapping. “Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled the land together and created harmony for all the land… “ Ugh what a stupid show. He moped internally. I’m going to hate every second of this. I can’t wait until… Hey, the nightmare horse actually looks kinda badass. Drake’s deadpan expression slowly transform into one of interest as the show went along, finding himself actually hooked on the plotline. Twilight Sparkle had been sent to a town called “Ponyville” to make friends and find the “Elements of Harmony” before an evil pony named “Nightmare Moon”. When the Summer Sun Celebration began and the spotted unicorn silhouette disappeared from the moon, Drake felt his heart-beat quicken. He tried (and failed) to remind himself that he hated this. The lights on the TV washed over the siblings in their dark family room as Nightmare Moon appeared in the place of her sister on the balcony of town hall. Drake absentmindedly started biting his thumbnail in anxiety. “The night, will last FOREVER!! Hahahahaha!” Nightmare yelled as lightning clouds and starry blue mist whipped around her. Twilight bit her lip while the other ponies cowered and… “To be continued” flashed in curly white letters across a purple background screen. “WHAT? That can’t be it! Is their more?” He jumped up and pointed to the screen. When realizing he had said that out loud, he turned to his sister, who was giving him a smug look. “See?” she said haughtily, “I told you you would like it. Do you want to watch the second episode? I have it right here.” She exited out of the show and found ‘Friendship is Magic: Part 2’ and hovered over it, giving Drake a coy grin. “I-I...uh…” Damn it! Was he really wanting to watch the second episode? What was happening to him?!? He flopped back on the sofa. “Whatever you want.” he grumbled. Lena smirked and clicked play. An upbeat My Little Pony theme song played as the credits flashed by. The end of Friendship is Magic Part 2 left Drake feeling like he was going to throw up. He was enjoying the show. A lot. He wanted to watch more. His inner man felt dead right now. He shot a sideways glance at the little worm he was forced to call ‘sister’. She was passed out on the couch, cheek pressed against the pillow, giving her a somewhat stupid appearance. He pinched the bridge of his nose and glanced at the clock in the kitchen. 10:00 PM He groaned and half-heartedly began shaking Lena awake. He still had two hours before his dad returned home from...wherever the hell he was. “Lena, your show is over. Let’s get you to bed, alright?” He had to be as gentle with her as possible, cause oh boy, was she a little devil when tired. Last time he tried to wake her up, she ended up flinging a spoonful of mayo at him. Thankfully, by shaking her awake, she only gave him a stink eye and trudged upstairs into her room. He heard the sounds of dresser drawers being opened and closed, and the sound water faucets running. After 5 minutes, the light upstairs had shut off and his 9-year old sister was asleep once again. Drake sat alone in the family room, Netflix still open and running. He shut off the TV as quick as he could and collapsed into the sofa, hands over his face. Crap crap crap! Why do I like this? This is for little girls! This is for 3 year olds, not male high school freshmen!! Ugh… A thought came to him. Nobody has to know.... Yeah! I can just...um...watch it when I’m all alone? Okay… I feel like the world’s biggest idiot… Standing up, he walked over to the kitchen table and began to rummage through his backpack, which was sprawled messily over the table cloth. He pulled out his shiny silver iPad, and clicked the home button, the screen flaring to life and his background picture of Darth Maul from Star Wars greeting him. Slowly glancing around the room, he climbed the steps to the second floor of his home shakily and quietly, as if he might have been robbing a bank. He slowly opened the door to his room and it quietly creaked, almost as if it was telling him not to carry on with his plans. I am really doing this? He thought as he made his way towards the sliding door closet in his room. Pushing it open, he walked in and nestled himself under his hanging shirts. With one hand, he slid the door shut once more. It was pitch black. Yes I am. With trembling fingers, he reached into his pocket and grabbed a pair of black earbuds, then put them in. As he inserted the plug into the iPad, he opened the Netflix app and clicked on the icon with the smiley face labeled, ‘kids’. He found what he wanted. My Little Pony. The show for whiny little princess wanna-be girls. He was watching it. In his closet. He chose too. Nobody made him. He sucked in as much breath as he could muster, then bravely brought his finger down onto the screen, it making contact with the episode ‘The Ticket Master’. Sweet Jesus, he wanted go dig a hole in his backyard, crawl inside and die from shame right now. Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor rode away in a carriage while Spike made a comment about the bachelor party he was going to host. The ponies laughed as the camera slowly faded out. Drake yawned and stretched from his hiding spot. That was a good episode. I would love to see more of… did I ever get her name? Nah, it doesn’t matter, the Queen of the Changelings? Yeah. Well I think I’ve had enough. He shut off his iPad, but not before getting a quick glance at the time. If he had been drinking something, it would have been spewed from his mouth in surprise. He turned the device back on. The large numbers read 4:34 AM. It was 4 in the @$#%ing morning?!?!? Quickly, he slid open the closet and bumbled out like an idiot, throwing open his bedroom door and standing in the hallway. He could hear his dad snoring like a leaf blower in his bedroom. He always did that. Slowly, Drake plodded back to his bedroom and wrapped himself under the covers, wanting to vomit. What the @$#% was wrong with him? 2 days later, if anyone took the time to look through Drake’s search history, they would find that he had recently googled, ‘help i am addicted to my little pony’. “Mr. Traffer are you listening?!?” The teacher startled Drake out of his spacy state and back to Earth. He looked away and mumbled. “Sorry Mr. Dune.” His teacher gave him a look that shot knives then returned to his (very boring) lecture. RRRRRIIIIIIINNNNGGG!!!!! Before Mr. Dune had the chance to even say anything, Drake was already out the door. He dashed down the hallways,avoiding other kids in his way and occasionally bumping into someone. Today was the day. Well, it was supposed to be the day. Hopefully it was the day? He didn’t know. He didn’t care, either. He had to get home. Running as fast as his awkward teenage legs could carry him, he navigated his way down the hall. He thought he might have heard the vice principal yell at him to slow down, but he pretended not to hear. Flinging open the doors, he was greeted with the warm air and sunshine from the outside world. It felt good, especially since he had been going from one large stuffy classroom to another all day. He sprinted down the walk and kept at this steady pace until he reached his house, about 2 blocks away from the school. He flung open the door and shut it quickly. After a breath, he leaned against it, sweat dripping down his face. “Hello?” No response. A slow grin crept up the side of his face. He was alone. Alone at last! He bolted up the stairs, which proved difficult from all his running as he was tripping over his feet every couple of steps. He powered on his computer, a Mac, typed in his password, (D@rth178), and opened Google Chrome. In the search bar, he typed in three letters, but Google auto-filled the rest for him. “Fimfiction” Clicking on the link, his cursor zipped across the screen, where the number 1 sat inside of a red box, showing he had one new email. Click It was from Fimfiction’s lead moderator, Meeester. He read the title, and that was enough for him. Darth Vader comes to Equestria has been approved He let out a shriek of delight. His story had been officially posted! He knew he wasn’t an excellent writer, but he didn’t care. Now all he had to do was wait for the likes and comments to roll in. (But first, a quick deleting of his search history.) He was in the middle of reading an amusing story titled “Stereotypical HIE story” when the sound of the front door opening reverberated throughout the house. Lena and Dad were home. “Drake! Drake! Are you home.” He closed all of his tabs and slammed his MacBook shut. “Yeah! I’m here!” “Good. You better be doing your homework.” “I am! I’m almost done with my math.” “Okay, I’m going to come check what you have so far.” He heard the sound of his father’s footsteps echo through the house. “WAITWAITWAIT!” The footsteps ceased. Think think think! “Uhhhh… I would prefer if you come check after I’m done...y’know...Why check it now?...Uh, I mean….Doesn’t Lena have that big science project?” Pause. “Yeah. You’re right. I’m sure she needs the help more than you. Math’s your best subject, isn’t it? You have an ‘A’...right?” “Yeah, yeah, totally math is like, the easiest. Ever.” Lie. He actually had a ‘B-’ “Okay then. I trust you.” He heard the footsteps recede back downstairs. He sighed and put his hands in his head. That was close. Ever since he had started liking My Little Pony, after a little (a lot) of research, he discovered ‘bronies’, the annual Bronycon, tons of fan-made songs, animations and a bigger fandom than he could even possibly imagine. He didn’t feel so alone and idiotic anymore. And he didn’t want to vomit every time he watched an episode, so that was a plus as well. But there was no way he was going to tell his dad, or his snotty sister, or anyone for that matter about this. He would become a laughing stock for the rest of his life! He’d never live it down. It was all going to be a complete secret. His brain hurt from thinking about what could happen if someone found out. He’d be a pile of dead meat. Thinking of meat, Drake got out of his chair and made his way into the kitchen downstairs. He seemed to recall seeing an uneaten sausage in the fridge last time he was there...
Chapter 2: A surprising visit“Hey!” Drake’s best friend, Carson Mendelsohn, ran to catch up with him in the hall. He was tall and blond and almost always wore something green. They shared a love of comic books and Star Wars, which was probably the reason they were so close in the first place. Drake turned to him and smiled. “What’s up?” “Nothing, but you were in such a hurry yesterday, where did you go? I didn’t even get a chance to talk to you, you just bolted. Was something happening?” Drake stiffened. “Ummm… My new...Star Wars...action figures were coming?” “Oh, yeah that makes sense. Who’d you get?” Carson began slightly bouncing up and down. “General Grievous and Rey?” He stopped mid-bounce. “Why are you phrasing everything as a question?” Drake shrugged, trying to find something to say so he could change the subject. Ever since he began loving MLP, he kept it secret from everyone, but keeping it from Carson was difficult. They knew everything about each other. Told all their secrets to one another. Carson had even told him about what happened to large cake that was supposed to be served at his Bar Mitzvah which to this day, nobody knows where it had gone. (Carson has the amazing ability to put down a vast amount of sugar and not get sick). The bell rang. “Okay, so I’m gonna be late for math? So..Bye?” He turned on his heel and began running moderately fast down the hall, leave a confused Carson on his own. Drake remembered something. Quickly, he turned around and yelled to his friend, still running. “Tell Jason and Alex that I can come this afternoon!!” ********** “You’re late.” “Uh...sorry? I was, y’know, busy.” Alex shrugged and motioned for him to come in, brushing his blue-dyed hair out of his face. As he walked through the hall of the one-story house, he heard voices from the living room and the sounds of high-tempo arcade music. “I got a blue shell! Dude, you are so dead.” “I’m miles ahead of you, dimwit.” “We all know Yoshi’s the fastest.” “Not true.” “I have pr- WHAT?? How…?” “Haha! Looks like someone got distracted! 1st place, baby! I win!” “Stop blowing hot air up your ass, I won the last two games!” “I know, but I won this one. Are you jealous that I’m better than you at Rainbow Road?” “Shut up.” “YOU shut up. Your such a whiner, Jason.” “Your face is a whi--Oh hey Drake! We were waiting for you. Wanna play Mario Kart 8? I can set up 4-player.” asked Jason. He was a red-headed geek who held the school record for biggest Pokémon card collection. Drake smiled. “Sure. I need a break from all this homework. We’ve been bombarded in it recently.” he took a seat on the couch, Carson on his left and Jason on his right. Alex took a seat on a broken massage chair next to the sofa, his black clothes blending in with it. Drake grabbed the Wii U remote sitting on the coffee table. Carson looked at the clock. “Is that what you were doing? We agreed to meet here at 4 and you show up around 5. You said you’d be here at school than you ran off again. It’s like you don’t want to be around me. Seriously dude, is there something you’re not telling me?” Drake’s heart beat quickened. “What? Pshh! Everything’s great and fine! And great! Couldn’t be better!” Jason leaned forward, poofy hair blocking his left eye’s line of sight as he turned to look at Drake. “That’s not what he asked.” Drake didn’t respond to this, only selected his character, Luigi, waiting for the others to do the same. The game was played in silence, not one word spoken. Even Carson was quiet, which never happened, as he always yelled in protest when he ran over a banana or was slowed down in any way. Once Princess Peach, played by Alex, crossed the finish line in first place, Carson put down the controller and turned his body so he was facing Drake. “Dude, you’ve been out of it for the last week. You hardly talk to me and become nervous around any of us. You can’t keep doing this. Seriously, tell us what’s wrong.” For some weird reason, Drake briefly imagined Carson as a psychiatrist but the vision passed as soon as it came, and he began to sweat as 3 pairs of eyes were on him. What do I say? Do I tell the truth? That I like… My Little Pony? What would they think? Would they push me out of the loop? Would they tell everyone at school? What If I get teased so much I have to leave the school? What if Dad finds out? Will he disown me? Will I end up in an orphanage? No, I shouldn’t tell. Maybe I can tell them that something urgent is happening instead? Maybe like- “Drake?” “My dad is sick!!!” The words left his mouth before he even processed them. Jason and Carson looked at one another in shock. Alex raised an eyebrow in surprise. (That’s about the most emotion anyone has ever seen him portray.) “...What?” “My...um, dad is sick. So I run home to, um, check on him and stuff. And I’m nervous cause I didn’t want you to worry cause...yeah?” Silence. Jason spoke up. “Dude! You should have said something! What does he have? Common Cold? Cancer? Rabies? Ebola? Zika? Herpes?” “Whoa whoa whoa, slow down. He’s fine, he just needs… a couple….months of rest?” “This isn’t like, fatal or anything, right?” Carson asked warily. “No no no! He just...went to the doctor! Yeah. And the doctor said he just needed rest? So yeah. That’s why I was late today. I was tending...to my dad.” Drake's stomach twisted into a knot. He was lying to his friends! They trusted him! What was he doing?!? “Well in that case, I understand. But I don't understand why you were hiding it from us. You know we’ll always be there for you, we're like the...uh...” Carson paused and tried to think of the right words. “Justice league? Suicide Squad? Avengers? Nah, whatever. But we always got your back, Kay?” Drake swallowed the lump in his throat and words came out in a shaky breath. “Kay” Drake kicked a rock as he walked home from Alex’s house. Every time he thought about what he did, he felt a pang of nausea send unpleasant chills through his body. He just needed to unwind. With some YouTube. And FIMfiction. And Equestria Daily. Yeah. He opened the door to his house and heard talking. He figured it must be his dad and Lena, doing homework or something. But as he listened to the conversation progress, he was able to identify the voices. One of them was definitely his dad, but the other… Oh no. Oh God no. Not HER!! Drake flung his backpack off his shoulder and it landed with on the living room couch, the books and papers rattling around inside. He ran towards the kitchen and screeched to a halt in the archway. There on the sofa in front of the TV, was his dad. And next to him was the 60 pounds of lipstick, fake blonde hair and valley girl attitude that Drake despised. Debbie. Debbie turned to look at him, showing all of her probably bleached teeth. “Why hello there, Drake! So nice of you to stop by!” “...I live here, so…” “Yes, yes whatever. Now tell me Drake, did you really wear those…” She paused trying to find the right word. “...ratty old jeans to school?” Drake rounded on his dad. “What’s she doing here??” “Well, she is my girlfriend Drake. You shouldn’t be surprised if you see her here often. After all, there be a chance she might move in…” His father said with an eyebrow waggle towards his lover. Debbie turned to him and made some weird noise from the back of her throat, which Drake could only guess was something of affection, but it sounded more like a dying cat to him. Peering over his dad’s shoulder, he saw Lena sitting at the kitchen table making moronic faces at Drake, batting her eyelashes and puffing out her lips; a pretty accurate impression of Debbie. Drake sniggered. The caveman-like grunts from the couple stopped. “I’m sorry Drake,” Debbie said haughtily, “Is there something funny?” Her nose was in the air, making her look like in Drake’s opinion, Spoiled Rich. He could almost see the two of them together hitting it off and being snotty brats together. “No.” “Then why are you still here? I have things to attend to with your father.” Like moaning like idiots and making goo-goo eyes at each other. Lena produced an audible thunk! as her head smacked against the wooden table. A thought popped in Drake’s head. “Uh, dad?” His dad turned around with a sigh and faced him, clearly impatient. “What?” “If Debbie’s here then does that mean...uh…” Debbie cut in. “Arbor’s upstairs if you wish to see her. Just try not to touch the new sweater she’s wearing. I had to import it all the way from UK for her.” she said matter-of-factly. Drake nodded then bolted out of the room and towards the stairs, leaving the family room behind. Oh God she’s in my room she’s in my rooooooom. Drake flung open his bedroom door to reveal a 16 year old girl. Sitting in his office chair. On his computer. On FIMFICTION ON HIS ACOUNT. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!???!!!” He screeched. As fast as he could possibly muster, he snatched the computer and shut it off, stuffing it hastily in his closet and turning towards the intruder with fire in his eyes. No matter how angry he was, he still couldn’t fail to notice her blonde wavy hair and how it draped over her shoulders perfectly and no matter what she did, it was never tangled and always light, like strands of stray sunshine tied to her--- “Well, that was rude.” The girl, Arbor, shook Drake out of his trance. “What are you...why… wha??...” She crossed her arms. “I was in the middle of reading the story you wrote, about Darth Vader. It was cool.” Drake felt his face heat up, but quickly tried to think of cover story. Of all people, I can’t let her know!! Thinkthinkthinkthink… “Uh, well, y’know, that’s not mine...that’s umm….a, uh, uh, uh a friends! Yeah, one of my friends is like, a serious brony n’ stuff and he likes to, uh, check his account on my computer, y’know. Though My Little Pony is a stupid show. For babies n’ stuff. I told him it was stupid. He’s really….Cukoo!!” He made a twirling motion with his finger next to his ear and slowly felt a bead of sweat fall down his cheek. Arbor looked at him with one eyebrow raised. “Okay…” she said, obviously not buying his crappy excuse. “You know, My Little Pony is not a show watched only by girls. True, that was it’s original intended audience, but it has grown tremendously in quality since the third generation. I personally love it. I was going to check my account on FIMfiction when I saw that someone else was already logged in. This I take it was...your friend?” She stressed the last two words in a sarcastic tone. “Yeahyeahyeahyeah…” “Give it up.” “OKAY OKAY OKAY I may or may not like the show just stop judging me!!!!” She smiled a coy smile. “Knew it. Now, why are you so nervous about it? Lots of people like it…” Drake ran up and got nose to nose with her. “Never. Tell. Anyone. Do you hear me? NEVER!” He hissed through gritted teeth. She didn’t so much as flinch. Exhaling loudly, she put one hand one Drake’s face and shoved him away, causing him to stumble a couple steps backwards. “Fine,” she said. “I won’t tell anyone. But don’t think I won’t remember how much of a coward you are.” One of Drake’s eyes twitched. She got up out of his office chair and made for the door, when Drake stopped her. “Arbor?” She stood in the doorway with one hand on the frame. “What?” “Please.” She sighed and turned around. “Listen Drake, you’re a good guy. I like you. After all, there’s a chance we might be brother and sister one day. But I don’t like seeing you holed up in the corner of your closet, watching MLP and constantly stressed out. And before you say anything, don’t think I don’t know that that’s what you do. Last time I was here, I found your iPad and a small Applejack figurine hidden behind your shoe rack.” “...Why were you even in my closet...?” She waved a hand impatiently. “That doesn’t matter. You’re gonna have to come out eventually.” “You make it sound like confessing would be like saying that I’m gay…” “I guess it’s kinda like that. Yeah.” A lump formed in Drakes throat. It had now dawned on him that the life he was leading was going to be a lot more difficult than he thought. Arbor threw her hands up in the air impatiently. “Alright, I’ve had enough.” Her honey-blonde hair whipped from over her shoulder to straight down her back as she turned to leave. “Wait!” She paused again. “What??” she snapped. He grabbed a lump of fabric from his messy bed and handed it to her. “I...um, think this is yours?” She looked it over then took it from him. “Thanks.” “Isn’t that the super expensive sweater that your mother prizes a lot and she didn’t want anyone to…” “I don’t care what my mother thinks. She can’t tell her ass from a hole in the ground.” “Mmm…” Awkward silence. “One more thing.” Drake said, rubbing his forearms together, ashamed that he was even about to ask this. “Hmm?” He looked at the ground and closed his eyes, waiting for his crush’s reaction to the question he was about to ask. “Who’s your favorite pony?” She smiled and gave a slight chuckle. “Fluttershy. What about you?” He rubbed the back of his head. “Same.”
Chapter 3: A shocking turn of eventsSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Chapter 4: An Unclassified (and Armed) Insect on the LooseThe door handle slowly began to move, as Mrs. Clare turned it from the other side. Drake had nowhere to go. Scrambling back into the bathroom stall, he sat on the toilet seat, wishing he had his arms back so he could close and lock the door. The heavy bathroom door swung open slowly. “It’s okay Mrs. Clare! I’m fine! Everything’s fine!” he called from the stall, though the second he said those words he regretted them. Along with all the physical attributes of his body, his voice had also gone through a transformation, and instead of his typical cracking male voice, he got a voice 3 octaves higher than usual with a slight echo. He silently clapped a hoof over his muzzle. The science teacher paused. “Drake! Your voice sounds terrible! Did you strain it or something? I’m coming right now,” she said. Drake heard the click of her high heeled shoes touch the tiled bathroom floor. “Wait! This is a...um...boy’s bathroom! You not allowed in!” he said, trying to think of anything to make her leave. Click Click Click. She was walking down the aisle. “It’s an emergency, sweetie, so it’s okay. Where are you?” Click Click Click. Drake was trapped. She was now three stalls away. Two stalls away. Drake felt nauseous excitement rush through his whole body. He could see the soles of her light baby-pink high heels under the stall across from him. His mind began spinning and his tiny little heart began to beat faster. What will she do when she sees me. Will she scream? Will she run in terror will she call animal control, spray me with bug spray and then faint? In ten seconds he would know. Mrs. Clare was two steps from where he was. “Honey, please come out.” Click “I’m worried. I can’t just leave you here alone.” Click “If you’re okay, then I’ll---” She stopped. She stared. Because in the stall directly to her left, was Drake. She stood stock still as if she were doing the mannequin challenge. Her mouth opened and closed, eyes going wide and fear make itself clear on her face. She looked at Drake’s discarded clothes on the floor, then back to him. Taking slow but trembling steps backwards, she reached the long, joined marble slab that stood a meter above the ground, rows of sinks embedded in them. Putting a hand on the smooth brown stone, she gripped it with snow white knuckles. There was something about her that made Drake’s eyes go wide though, and it wasn’t just her shocked expression. Surrounding her, was a purple-ish blue-ish red-ish mist, rushing around her like a tornado. Purple electricity would jump from one part of her body to another. It’s the same thing I had seen earlier today in the hallway!! All of a sudden, Drake remembered something. He remembered something he had forgotten before. That only now, looking at his biology teacher, did it come back to him. Mrs. Clare was terrified of bugs. And right in front of her was the most terrifying bug the world will ever see. She reached out a shaking hand, her long, red painted nails pointing at the changeling. Her mouth slowly opened and her chest expanded, filling with air. Drake’s new ears folded instinctively as he knew what she was going to do. Screaming with a frequency so high Drake could swear he saw the lights flicker, Mrs. Clare turned her head and looked at the bathroom door, hoping someone would hear her call of distress. She herself, was too scared to flee; knees knocked together and hands gripping the counter as if she would fall if she let go. Her colors began to spin faster. “HELP!” she screamed. “HELP HELP HELP!” Drake scooted himself backwards on the seat. He was just as scared as the woman in front of him, feeling like he wanted to cry for help as well. But he knew that wouldn’t get him anywhere. “MONSTER! MONSTER IN THE BOY’S RESTROOM! IT ATE MY STUDENT! SOMEONE SAVE ME!” Drake was frozen in place while Mrs. Clare continued to scream. She thought I ate...well...me. Shit! What do I do! I’m an absolute monster! I got to get out... Class will be over any minute now… As if on cue, the bell rang. From outside he could hear opening door as a crescendo of laughter and talking began flooding the hallway beyond. Ms. Clare opened her mouth again. She would definitely call attention this time around. With his whole self in a state of crazed panic and fear, he made up his mind on how he was going to solve this problem in less than half a second. He bolted just before she had the chance to let another scream loose. The door had opened miraculously by someone else on the other side, allowing him to zip underneath their legs. He began to run. He had read many fanfictions and stories online about a person that turns into some sort of creature in Equestria and then has a hard time walking on four legs. Although it might take some getting used to, running and didn’t feel any harder that it was before, just different. Students shrieked and jumped out of the way, tripping over themselves, huddling together, and parting like the Red Sea to let him go through. His eyes were closed as he ran, the terrified looks on people’s faces making him sick. When he had first come out of the bathroom, his vision was filled with yellows and oranges, which almost immediately flashed into purple whirlwinds. He still didn’t quite know what those were yet. He heard the students scream. “Someone call 911!” “What is that!?!” “OH MY GOD IT BRUSHED PAST MY LEG.” “Catch it!” “It’s an alien!” "HIT THE FIRE ALARM!" “Warn the others!!” He could feel his eyes begin to sting and his vision grow blurry. The sound of screams began to fade into nothing but background noise, and the only thing he could hear was the beating of his tiny little heart. He saw and open door to his right and using what part of his brain that was not overcome with panic, changed the direction in which he was running and dashed inside. On the way in, he subconsciously thought about the door closing, and how badly he wanted to close the door, before suddenly feeling a unnatural, tingly feeling coming from his forehead. The door slammed shut as he ran in, and locked itself. Drake was now alone in an empty supply closet. He breathed heavily in and out, back pressed against some moldy drywall. How did the door…? His thoughts were derailed by the shrieks of students outside the closet, banging on the door. He could here muffled voices outside panicking, although he couldn’t make out any words. From outside, he could hear what sounded like a sob. Because of that, he felt on the verge of tears himself. Great, He thought. The world is scared shitless of me, thinks I, the crazy 3 foot tall alien bug-horse, ate Drake Traffer, and everyone probably wants me squished. Oh God, help me! If you do exist I could REALLY USE THE ASSISTANCE. But expectedly, no help came. Drake’s new eyeballs darted from one place to another, trying to find something, anything that could save him from the situation he was in. Alas, a few rolls of paper towels and a couple of cardboard boxes weren’t going to do him any good at the moment. He nervously danced in place, stomach twisting in anxiety. What would his friends say? What would his dad and sister say? What would Arbor say? Several poundings on the door caused Drake to press tighter against the wall. He didn’t know how the door locked itself, but in this instance, he didn’t care, and he was just glad it kept the crazed student body from reaching him. His hopes were dashed however, when he heard a distorted voice from outside the thick wooden door. “Everyone back away! Back away! Remain calm!” Oh God. Those were the authorities, weren’t they? I guess having a school right next to the local police station would explain how they got here so fast. “Where are the keys?” A gruff and burly voice said from outside the door. Drake held his breath, two sharp teeth biting the bottom of his lip. He could here Mrs. Clare shout “Here!” and a jingling of keys. Silence became present outside the door. Drake wished he could press himself farther back from his impending doom. His breath came quicker as he began thinking of what he would do when the door opened. Time slowed down. The keyhole in the door handle slowly shifted as someone from the other side of the door began turning the keys. The door slowly opened and Drake, frozen with fear, lowered his head with an instinct that hadn’t been there before. The door swung out of the way and light flooded the dark room. Drake’s head pounded, his forehead felt ethereal and filled with electric charge, and… WHAM! Both of Drake’s eyes were squeezed shut as what felt like gunfire blew from his forehead. The force knocked him one step backwards as green light filled his vision, even though his eyes were closed. He heard the sound of someone yelp, and then everyone grew silent. Drake, fearful of what this silence could mean, cracked open an eye. Teachers and students stood in a large semi-circle around the door, allowing the police to do there business but also watch in fascination. In the center, one police officer was on his knees, holding another officer in his arms, who seemed to hang limp. The officer tried dabbing furiously at something on the others body with a guaze, but the body remained still. Drake’s heart shattered into a million pieces when he saw a dark red liquid on the ground. No. This could not be happening. The students and teachers began to grow restless again, some beginning to cry and some beginning to run as fast as they could away from the scene. The officer on his knees looked up to Drake with fire in his eyes. Drake could see tear tracks on his face, that disappeared into his small black beard. His colors were blue and purple, with blazing red mist radiating off of him and a small pink wisp circled the blue. The pink ones... Slowly The officer laid his critically injured partner gently onto the floor and stood up slowly. Quick as a flash, he whipped out the shotgun that was strung on his utility belt and pointed it directly at Drake. His thumb flipped the small notch on the side and a small click was heard. Drake’s knees were jelly. There was an actual loaded gun. Pointed at him. He had just probably killed someone, and wanted to cry. He didn’t want to do anything more than feel his mom’s arm around him and sob right now. Why is this happening? What did he do to deserve this? Will he just wake up from this bad dream and find everything okay in the morning, dad making breakfast and Lena on the couch watching Sofia the First? Everything just happened so fast. This morning he was just going to school like any other boring day, and now he was an alien guilty of murder being held at gunpoint. Geez, he would even feel an anxious pit in his stomach when a Nerf gun was held up to him, so right now, he couldn’t even begin to describe how terrified he was. The bearded officer stepped forward. “That’s it, you little martian. Say goodnight,” he hissed through his teeth. POW A bullet whizzed past Drake's head and missed him by a centimeter, still feeling the ghost of a bullet hit his new, elongated ears. Drake began to run before he even consciously made the decision to. The students and faculty of the school shrieked once again as they hopped out of the away. He ran down the empty hall, deserted as everyone wanted to get a look at the chaos going down by the broom closet. He could hear the one police officer who tried to shoot him yell to the kids and teachers. “Stand down! Stay there, don't move! We’ll personally escort you out! Remain calm! Backup Backup, I need backup! This thing is armed and dangerous! Officer Dunn is down! Send an ambulance! Over!” The last part he screamed into his walkie-talkie, alerting the waiting policemen parked outside and entire station of his presence. He could hear the officer right behind him running to try and keep up with Drake. Drake’s lungs ached and his muscles burned, but he ran as fast he could possibly muster down the hallways. He was small, though, and unused to this style of running, whereas the officer’s long strides were quickly drawing closer. Drake turned a corner sharply into another hallway, the officer following close behind. Because he wasn’t as naturally agile as the changeling in front of him, he slammed into the lockers ahead of him before pulling himself off the wall and continuing his pursuit. Drake ran until he didn’t think he could run anymore, and even then, he kept running. His life depended on it. He didn’t, however, notice the little wings on his back, fluttering and helping propel him forward. The more tired he grew, the faster they buzzed until eventually...he was in the air. He hadn’t even noticed it at first, legs still thrashing about until he looked down, wondering why he couldn’t feel the floor beneath his hooves anymore. He was moving forward at a very brisk pace now, leaving the policeman in the dust. He didn’t know how he did it. It was a subconscious action, liking walking or running. His wings kind of beat on their own, and he didn’t give them much thought. He was only about a foot off the ground, but it still felt incredibly weird to him. The buzzing noise coming from his shoulderblades kept a constant reminder that he was cruising above the ground and actually flying. He was shocked at first, feeling his breakfast leap into his throat when it hit him what exactly what was going on, but then gave a microscopic grin, and pushed onwards. He could hear the officer behind him, cussing in shock and rage. Both of Drake’s forelimbs were extended in front of him as he zipped out of the crazed policeman's range. Drake turned into another hallway and in front of him sat the huge double doors that lead the students in and out of the school, swung wide open, sweet fresh air and freedom within a couple yards… except for the fact that an entire barricade of policemen sat outside in a line with see-through shields up and at the ready, forming a wall, obviously waiting for him. When he came into view, he could see several eyes go wide and whispers passed before they became ready to deal with him once again. Fear was still present in their eyes, though; they hadn’t heard anything about the creature being able to fly. As they kneeled on the concrete steps of the school, guns raised and at the ready, Drake pushed himself to go faster and zipped over their heads before they had a chance to react. Ahhhh… Sweet Freedom! He pushed himself to go higher and higher upwards, making a point not to look down. As the the clouds became closer his head spun. Flying felt like perpetually falling, without the falling part. His legs flailed around, unused to not coming in contact with something solid as he unevenly flew straight ahead. The officers behind him were yelling and radioing in backup and news trucks and whatever. This would not be an issue kept quiet, he assumed. A large overgrown park lay before the school, or the ‘forest’ as they called it. It was about 2 acres of land, sitting squat in the middle of both Silvercliff and Rose View Point, the town in which Drake lived. It had once been planned by the two mayors of the town to become a dog park, with fountains, play structures and more, connecting the two places, but the idea was never executed, and the land remained untouched. It was a large woodsy area by their community heavily populated with trees and other growth, making it like a forest, hence the name. He and Carson, whom he had known since kindergarten, had spent many weekends wandering around in there, pretending to be brave explorers and monster hunters, but eventually getting lost and screaming for their moms. It had been a blast. Now, fleeing from probable death, Drake figured he could use the place as a hideout, and spend a night there, and maybe creep out to find his friends when the time was right. That seemed like a reasonable plan. As he was just about over the small forest, he heard a gunshot from behind him a sharp pain unlike anything he ever felt bloomed from his side. He let out a shriek that wouldn’t have been possible to make with human vocal cords. His vision blurred and the flapping of his tiny wings all of a sudden became a burden. He could feel his blood thumping where his hind leg met his stomach, and all of his muscles went weak. He was losing blood. And it hurt so bad. He began to slowly plummet towards the earth as the world around him slowly turned to black. Author's Note Reader: OMG is this a new chapter? What?!?! I thought 78%Pone was dead!!! Hello, friends. I can most certainly assure you that I am not dead. And that is good! And this is not cancelled! And none of my stories are cancelled! And...oh god I've been offline for ages, haven't I? I know it's been forever, and I'll try to update more frequently, but if you are looking for an apology, read my blogs. I'm too lazy to type a long 'I'm sorry' right now. I want to let you guys know, I still love FIMFiction, I'll still write stories and reply to comments, but...it's not necessarily the center of my universe anymore Don't get me wrong, I love MLP, but y'know, life's a bitch and I've got other "more important" stuff to do. ~~(Like play world of Warcraft for 5 hours at a time until I'm not sure if anythings real.)~~ Point is, I'm sorry, and will try to check back more frequently. We all good? Great! ~~(I am alive. Immortalized. You're the creator, you traitor.)~~
Chapter 5: A Jaded New FriendDeep in a little woodland cove, separating two small towns, trees rustled quietly in the cool wind. The day was bright and peaceful, small rodents and insects scurrying about. Sparrows and finches sang little harmonies, keeping light peppy music afloat throughout the entire expanse. Suddenly the tranquility of it all was cut off inexplicably by an unnatural, loud: BAM! All the critters scattered in fear and the sunny patch of greenery went deathly quiet. All the birds and rabbits were gone, and the place was now empty of life. Except for one creature, whose ears perked up in surprise. Now in this part of Minnesota, there is not an abundance of reptilians, besides the occasional lizard or garden snake, but this beast was far greater than anything lizard any of the inhabitants might see, so she was wise to keep herself hidden away in the shelter of the trees, for her appearance would most likely start a riot. Others had occasionally spotted her from time to time, she knew, but she had been quick on her feet and made her getaway before anyone could really confirm what they just thought they might have seen. Her deep blue sapphire eyes were locked intently on the direction in which the noise had come from. Following the shot, she could hear an ethereal scream that sounded as if it were straight from a horror film. She bent her brows in concentration as her strong tail swished back and forth, pearl white scales glittering with each movement. A faint thoomp was heard as whatever was shot out of the air crashed into the soft but crumbly dirt. After a few moments of silence, animals started to reemerge for their hideaways, birds singing soft, wary notes as if they were checking to see if it was safe again. They all stayed a good 5 feet away from the creature; she scared them with her size and her array of claws and teeth. Voices were then heard, all muffled, but obviously male. They were yelling to each other; it sounded desperate. The blue-eyed reptile knew what she had to do. Taking off like a rollercoaster that goes from 0 mph to 90 mph in 2 seconds, she darted very suddenly through the mass of trees as fast as her legs could take her. Weaving in and out between branches and large oak trunks, her wings were pressed firmly to her sides, in fear they may snag onto something. As she neared a clearing where only small pieces of the Rose View Point High School’s white painted drywall could be barely seen through the cracks of the tree branches, something caught her eye and caused her to screeched to halt, backing up a few steps. The men were still searching through the woodlands, but she could hear their panicked voices screaming to the left of her. It was only a matter of time before they’d come looking this way. Laying on a small patch of dirt, was a creature she could not immediately identify; it was faced away from her and slumped in a position which clearly showed that it was unconscious. It had made a small crater right next to a tree and, trailing behind it, was a streak of missing dirt, signifying that when this thing crashed, it slid across the ground until it hit the tree it currently had itself pressed against. The creature, she also noticed with a shiver down her spine, was sitting in a pool of a thick green liquid which kept permeating the ground, soaking into the dirt below. The yelling of the men grew louder. Slowly, the reptilian reached out a claw slowly and turned the creature over. Its head lolled around lifelessly, like a rag doll when she turned it over. Upon seeing the creature’s face, she jumped back in fright and recognition, her stomach turning. She had to put a claw over her mouth to keep from screaming in horror and awe. She knew what that creature was. She had seen those creatures before, many, many times. Not in person, mind you, but the features could not possibly belong to anything else. Her whole body seized up, unsure of what to do with this injured threat. It was probably the thing that screamed and was shot from the sky, she figured. Should she take it in? Leave it for the men to find? She herself could definitely not be caught, for that would spell certain doom. What if it tries to attack her? These creatures cannot be trusted, I know that. But what if it’s friendly? As she stood rooted towards the ground, mulling over her options, a voice pierced her thoughts. “Over there! I think something’s moving!” The voice shocked her, for she did not expect the men to be in proximity this close yet. Through the twisted and gnarled branches, she could see the figure of a man in a blue uniform, traipsing through the trees and taking care not to trip over any roots. He was approaching swiftly. Thinking fast, the over-sized reptile swung the bleeding foe over her shoulder and onto her back, where she prayed that her sharp spines would not injure it further. Before the police could find the two terrifying creatures though, she dashed back the way she came with the thing on her back, leaving confused policemen to poke at the dirt crater, and wonder where the hell that martian went. Drake slowly awoke to the sounds of chirping birds and the rustling of leaves. He cracked open one of his eyes and got a mix of brown, earthy tones and faintly glowing lights. He yawned. In the distance, he could hear what sounded like footsteps, and a bright pale light was shining in the distance faintly warming his skin. The place was unfamiliar to him, but as he was extraordinarily tired, he didn’t really worry about it much. Making a few clicking sounds with his mouth his eyes fluttered shut again and he could feel himself floating back into the realm of sleep. Breathing in heavy and peacefully, he made to roll over and shift his sleeping position, but when he tried, a sudden sharp and terrible pain made itself present on his leg. His eyes snapped open as he let out a brief yell in surprise. The jolt of pain made memories come back to him, and he began to remember the horrid events that had transpired not long ago. The bathroom, a changeling, the cop he shot, the cop that shot him… He sat up quickly and pressed his back against a dirty stone wall behind him, accidentally crushing his translucent wings, forgetting that they were there, and taking a good look at himself. Yup. Still a mutant horse bug. He began to hyperventilate again as he looked down at himself, reliving the panic he felt in the bathroom. The tail, the wings, the chitin. He was still a changeling. And his leg still hurt like it had just been dipped in the firey pits of Hell. But he noticed, with some confusion, that it had been unprofessionally bandaged. Some kind of thin but wide leaf had been wrapped around his left flank and a small part of the hind leg. Some sort of a green ooze was leaking out of the cracks of the homemade bandages, and with dread, he quickly realized that that was his blood. Great. Green blood. Nothing says ‘you’re not human’ like green blood. He looked up from his peculiar body to look at his surroundings and felt a strange sense of awe. He was laying on a small elevated piece of rock in some sort of a small cave, which was about 10 feet in length and width, and a ceiling low enough to where he might be able to barely touch it with his hoof. The walls were dirty brown and had some sort of leafy green plant growing out of small naturally formed cracks in them. But that wasn’t what surprised him at all; the cave itself had been beautifully decorated and meticulously organized. All the items in the room, Drake noticed, were either made from tree bark, leaves, stones, and other natural items, save for a few obviously man-made items. A small crooked table sat alongside the left part of the wall, covered in papers and writing utensils as well as different stones and twigs plus, strangely enough, an unlit Menorah. Red, yellow and blue Christmas lights were strung from the ceiling, making the room appear as if it were straight out of a fairytale. Drake’s head had rested against a clumped pile of leaves and a dirty white blanket had been kicked onto the ground next to him. A small collection of logs sat piled against each other in the center of the room surrounded by stones: A bonfire. Several sticks formed a spit over the firewood that was carefully balanced. A couple of cardboard boxes sat in another corner, full of objects that Drake couldn’t see. At the end of the small cove, there was a tunnel that led the way out, warmed by sunlight. The fairy-like design of the place left Drake wondering: Who did all of this? Then, as if his thoughts had been read by an unknown deity, he could hear footsteps approaching from outside. The entryway into this little cove was a small almost even circular tunnel, which turned towards the left and led outside, Drake figured. From outside the cave, he could hear the sounds of sliding and crunching dirt. A shadow began to show on the wall as someone approached and Drake, acting on instinct, folded his ears against his head and pulled his legs closer to himself, and around the corner came… A fucking dragon. It couldn’t be anything else. It abruptly stopped in the entryway when it saw Drake staring wide-eyed at it, and in return, it made the same expression. The two stared at each other for a while, looking over each other’s physical features in wonder and terror. The dragon had glistening white scales that seemed to shine, even though there wasn’t much sunlight in the cave. It was trimmed with lavender, which colored its sharp spines, two pointed horns protruding from above its temples, and wing membranes, as well as the tip of its tail. Its eyes were slitted, like a cat, with deep blue irises. Draped across its back, was a worn yellow towel, which was slowly dripping clean water onto the ground. The weird colors that Drake had seen swirling around everyone in the hallways at his high school were present on the dragon as well, a light purple and red aura radiating from its body, with small yellow circles surrounding it, appearing and disappearing in different places around it. What they signified, Drake could still not figure out. They continued to stare, the dragon taking a small step back baring its teeth. On any other occasion, Drake would be scared out of his wits, but today, well, he’d seen it all. The fact that a goddamn dragon just waltzed through the door was too much for him to take. He was hardly even surprised. The number of emotions he felt was overwhelming. Finding nothing about his current situation funny, he began to chuckle anyways. That chuckle turned into a laugh and then Drake began to laugh so hard small watery tears began to leak from his eyes as he fell back onto the makeshift pillow. His hooves were clutched to his stomach, and the pain in his leg made him laugh even harder. The dragon’s threatening stance was gone, and now it only looked on with confusion and worry, the red vanishing from the variety of colors circling her. “Uh…” She lifted a claw up and cleared her throat. “Hello?” Drake continued to laugh like an absolute madman. Eventually, he began to calm down a bit and he lifted his head to look at the dragon and wipe a tear out of the crook of his eye, a stupid grin still drawn on his face. He waved a hole filled hoof at her “S-sorry, I just...I just… with me turning into a character from a little girls cartoon, the entire police force after me, the fact that I probably killed someone and then was immediately shot in the leg was a lot to handle. And then, I-I wake up in what looks like Tinkerbell’s house and...and...and..out trots a mother frickin dragon!” He began to wheeze with laughter. “I mean, what, with how this day is going, I wouldn’t be surprised if my great aunt came barreling through that wall, offering me cocaine!” He doubled over with laughter, and dragon simply stared at him, now looking... sad. Soon, Drake’s laughter began to die, and the giggles were replaced by gentle sobs. “I-I-I… I don’t even know what’s happening…” He quickly wiped away his tears then sniffed and looked up at the dragon. She still remained in the exact same spot, her concern for him showing on her face. She watched him for a few seconds as he sniffed and straightened up, before sighing and walking towards the small homemade table. She remained silent as she fiddled with some of the things on the desk before walking over to Drake and taking the towel off her back. She ringed the ratty thing out before forcefully pushing Drake down onto the slab of stone, telling him without words to lay down. He complied without protest as the dragon draped the cloth across his forehead, right above his curved horn. She then promptly left without saying a word and returned to her desk, continuing whatever it was she was doing. Drake, who had now fully recovered from his state of emotional trauma, shifted his position slightly so that he was more comfortable. “So...uh…” “You were hurt pretty badly and are coming down with what I think is a fever as well,” said the dragon, not looking up. “Don't squirm so much. You're just going to make your wound open even more. I already got the bullet out, so you should be on a steady course to heal properly.” “Ah…” said Drake intelligently, putting his hooves on his stomach and staring at the ceiling. Silence, except for the scratching of a pen and the rustling of objects on the desk, was heard. After the quiet period between the two stretched beyond five minutes, Drake spoke up. “Er… quick question…” “What?” hummed the dragon, still absorbed in her work. Drake inhaled with the fury of a thousand suns. “Who are you, what are you, how do you exist, where are we, why are we here, what the hell is happening, are we still on Earth, why are you taking care of me, did I kill a man, does the world hate me, do you hate me, are you a dragon, what are you doing over there, are we underground, how far, why do you have a menorah, are you going to eat me, cuz it looks like you have a bonfire set up over there, since when did you exist, did you save me, did you make this place, do you have a name, can you fly, can you breath fire, are you the thing we heard about on the radio, is this all some sick dream, can you make all the color tornadoes go away, can you get my my fingers back, is this karma’s doing, do you know what I am or how to fix me and most importantly, I'm hungry is there something I can eat?” Now, the dragon looked at him stupidly, work abandoned. Slowly, her expression morphed into a more gentle one and she turned from her desk to root around in one of the cardboard boxes. Eventually, she found what she was looking for, then, the items in her claw walked over to Drake and dropped several tiny spheres on the ground next to him. They were blueberries. Drake’s mouth watered. He had hardly had breakfast this morning, and… wow. And to think that this morning had been a perfectly normal start to the day. Huh. He stretched his right hoof out to grab the tasty fruits beside him, but only after managing to roll a couple away from him instead of actually grab them, he remembered. Oh yeah. No fingers. “Hrrrrrnnnggg,” he growled, throwing a hoof over his eyes. He was going to have to get used to not having opposable thumbs anymore, wasn’t he? The dragon snorted in amusement, looking at him placidly. “Get used it, chump. You can eat them with your face if you want.” Drake shot her a look that could turn water into acid, before stupidly rolling over on his stomach (careful not to injure his leg any further) and hanging his face off the edge. He then began angrily eating the blueberries on the ground. He supposed that he looked like an absolute moron right then. Once done, he rolled back onto his back, forgot he had wings, crushed them, shrieked, rolled back onto his stomach, then slowly, wings held out straight at his sides, laid down slowly, content. The dragon kept scribbling. Drake cleared his throat obnoxiously. “So, uh, you didn’t answer majority of my questions.” The dragon paused and put the pen down slowly for what seemed like the fifth time before walking over to him calmly and sitting at the foot of his bed. Drake had not known the dragon for very long, but he could obviously tell she was the type who was fixed in a constant “raised eyebrow” state. Both lazy amusement and the skeptical stare of judgment flickered in her eyes. “Actually, I have some questions for you as well.” She said. “How about this, I’ll answer your little inquiries if you answer mine. Deal?” Drake nodded, looking at the reptile with immense curiosity. The Dragon cleared her throat. “Let’s start off with the basics. Do you have a name?” “Yeah, it’s Traffer. Drake Traffer and aw shit that sounded like a James Bond movie…” he moaned, throwing a hoof over his head in embarrassment. To his surprise, the dragon giggled, like she actually got the reference. “Anyways, uh my name is Byte, and I-“ “Woah Woah Woah, Bite?” “Uhh, yeah that’s my name…” “Like your actual name is Bite?” “Well…” “So were your dragon parents like really uncreative when they name you or something…” “No! It’s a nickname, genius! Geez, why is that always so hard to understand.” She huffed in annoyance. “Oh, okay.” Said Drake, thinking. “So, if that’s your nickname, may I ask why you have it? Are you, like, good at biting things, or…” The dragon’s raised brow line seemed to go higher. “Will you let me talk for more than five seconds without interrupting me to predict what I’m about to say next, or can we move on?” Drake was silent, and the dragon took it as a yes. “My name’s not B-I-T-E, it’s B-Y-T-E, like a megabyte or a gigabyte. I’m good with computers, and someone called me that one day and the name just stuck. Anyways, your turn. Why are you here?” “I don’t know,” Drake said rolling his eyes, although Byte had trouble making it out. His eyes were all the same color, after all, the only indication of whether he was looking at her or not was the gradient circle of faint white which she assumed was his pupil. “I mean, you dragged me here against my own volition. You above all should be able to tell me why I’m here.” “Well, would you have rather me left you to exsanguinate until the cops found your body?” “Ex-san-gwin-nate…?” “It means to bleed to death.” Byte said placidly. “Wow, way to put it lightly,” mumbled Drake under his breath. Luckily, she didn’t hear him. “What I mean is, what’s a changeling like you doing in a heavily in the forest? Why were you shot in the leg?” “Well, I mean it’s a long story, one that even I don’t fully understand but… wait. What did you call me?” “I asked what you were doing in the forest and-“ “No no no no no, That’s not what I mean. Before that, did you call me ‘changeling’?” Drake’s mind was doing somersaults. How? “H...How do you know what that is…?” Byte’s eyes went wide, and she blushed furiously, looking mad at herself. “No! It’s just...it’s…Arrrrggghh! I give up!” Then before Drake knew what was happening, both of her fore-claws were on top of Drake’s shoulders, and he felt like both of them might break under the pressure. She was muzzle to muzzle with him, and there was fire in her eyes. “Who are you really?!” She growled. “Are you the one who did this to me? Do you work for Queen Chrysalis as one of her drones? Are you from the Badlands? Speak, Goddammit!” The two creatures stared wide-eyed at each other in silence. Drake was at a loss for words. He could only squawk in surprise. The last thing he expected was for his captor to have extensive knowledge on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. His heart pounded faster. The colors that swarmed her body were red and with a little blue mixed in. He still didn’t know what those were, and they still scared him. They only- Wait. He thought back to every occasion on which he had seen them. Around the students, around the people, around Byte. What was he again? A changeling. And what did changelings do? “I KNOW WHAT IT IS!” he suddenly shrieked, causing Byte to gasp in shock and stumble backward. Her colors turned purple and white, before momentarily switching to red. “They are emotions!! I’ve been seeing these weird things everywhere, swirling around people, and I think I just realized what they are!” Byte looked at him blankly, which switched her colors to a blue and yellow. That confused conformation made Drake’s grin widen. “Oh, what a relief!” he cried, throwing his hoof over his eyes. Byte was absolutely speechless. “So… what does that mean?” Drake gave her a fanged smile. “It means I can see emotions! How FLIPPING COOL IS THAT??” She inhaled deeply before turning away from him and staring at the ceiling. “Oh lord, what the actual fuck is going on…” Drake was about to answer but she whipped her head around and glared at him. “Don’t move. I’m going to find more food because I wasted all my blueberries on you.” Drake looked at her curiously, a smile still on his face from his recent discovery. “Where do you even…” “Garbage.” She stated simply, slinging a brown satchel over her shoulders, but as she was on four legs, it was difficult to keep balanced, and it kept slipping down her arms. She growled at it, but the bag didn’t seem to understand. “I’ll be back in an hour,” she said, finally nesting it comfortably in between two of her spines. “Don’t do anything stupid.” “An hour??” He cried incredulously. “What am I supposed to entertain myself with.” She grit her teeth together. “Find a way to manage, princess. And don’t touch my stuff either.” Drake’s face seemed to fall slightly at the last comment, proving that’s what he was planning on doing. “You’re getting the smelliest garbage I can find,” she muttered, turning away and stomping irately out of the cave. “Bye,” she called, sounding extremely jaded. Drake heard the scratching of claws against the dirt, and then he was alone. After a few moments, he rolled onto his back and put his hooves on his stomach and staring at the ceiling in apprehension. “Smelly garbage, why do I get the smelly garbage…” He trailed off, grumbling to himself while his stomach rumbled. He thought about how long it was since he’s eaten and began to picture all of his favorite foods. Lasagna, pizza, those gummy bear rings they sold at the Walgreens checkout aisle. But for some reason, those didn’t seem as appetizing as they used to. Author's Note Suprise
