He looked all around him, curious as to his surroundings. As the first being to be there since the Equestrians and Griffons had almost had their war, a Never War they called it, he knew that what would be here would be the same as taking a glimpse into the past. And glimpse the past he did.

Journal #1 (Continued)

Dragon Western Coastline

Waves warily washed against the shore, their salty water lapping gently at sandy beaches. There was a sort of ambient noise as well, filled with the sound of a plethora of voices, all intermingling together. It was unlike anything I could remember having experienced before.

Lifting my head from its rest, I felt my ears flick side to side as they struggled to concentrate on any one sound, before finally settling on a familiar one.

“...Yeah, just the two of us. We’ll only be the night.” Another voice responded to him, asking him for something called bits. He paused for a moment, before a jingling sound rang out, and a bag filled with something, presumably the bits, was exchanged.

A few seconds later, a door creaked open, slightly scraping against a piece of wood. I spoke up then, asking, “Are we staying here?”

“Yeah,” Drake replied, before continuing, “It’s better than staying outside again, so I figured we may as well.”

Silence fell over the both of us again, momentarily stealing away our voices. “So, uh, are you going to come in? I don’t think you’d want to stay in the cart the rest of the evening.”

I blinked. “Oh, uh, sure.” I was stuck. I didn’t have the slightest idea on how to get down, or even how high up I was. “Do you think you can, you know… help me down?”

“Oh! Uh, yeah, yeah, my bad. Sorry, I forgot the whole, uh, yeah.” He chuckled as he trailed off, and I heard him close the small gap between us, before I felt two claws wrap around my sides, lifting me into the air.

My breath caught in my throat as I rose up, and out of the cart. I had expected to be picked up, but I hadn’t expected the claws. I had expected… something. It was something else that I expected, but I couldn’t quite remember what it was. Still, the pointed, scaled claws pinching at my flesh wasn’t something that had passed through my mind as a possible scenario.

“What’s wrong? Is something the matter?” Compassion filled Drake’s voice as he lowered me to the worn down dirt path, placing me on all fours. A claw glid across me, lingering on my back.

I released my breath then, forcing my breathing to return to normal. “Sorry, I was just… I didn’t expect you to have claws, is all.”

Confusion apparent in his words, Drake responded, “You didn’t expect me to have claws? What, did you think I would have a hoof like you?”

“No, I was just… just surprised is all.” When he said the word hoof, I immediately imagined something hard, and stubby, like… like when I accidentally hit myself in the head. Was that a hoof? If so, I thought I had… at least two… maybe four…

His claw pulling away from my back, he continued, “Alright, if you say so. But yeah, let’s head in. We should be able to get some food, too, while we’re here.”

I heard him start walking then, presumably headed towards the door. I lifted up a forehoof slightly, unsure of what to do. Ultimately, I placed it uncertainly forwards a few inches. As it moved, I felt a sort of muscle clench in one of my hooves in the back, not quite forcing it forward, but making it feel uncomfortable enough that I ended up moving it.

This left me in a weird half step, one that almost felt natural, but was just out of place enough that I couldn’t really hold the stance effectively. Starting to fall to the side of the front hoof that hadn’t moved, I quickly took a step with that one as well, consequently moving the back leg for it as well.

So began my slow journey towards the door, and Drake. It wasn’t very long, really more of just a few seconds, but to me, a small eternity was taking place as I grinded for those few steps. It wasn’t really difficult, but at the same time, the stiffness in my muscles and joints coupled with the unnatural feeling provided by my walking hardly made it easy.

As I approached the door being held open by my… dragon friend, I felt an increasing warmth emanating from the building, the hairs on my body all standing on end from the new source of heat. It was considerably warmer in there than it was outside, and I subconsciously increased my pace as I escaped the freezing evening air.

The door closing behind me, I asked, “Are we going to the room first, or are we going to go eat?”

A new, light voice replied, “Well, I’d think you have some time to eat something. I don’t see either of you with any bags, or anything other than that cart you brought, really, so you might as well.”

Drake, apparently knowing the voice, answered, “Yeah, I was thinking we would probably try and eat before heading up to our room, Azure. Do you have a restaurant, or anything like that here?”

“We do, just down the hall! However, we don’t carry any meat related products here, but just about everything else we have.”

“Great! We’ll be sure to head there, first. Thank you, Azure.”

Hearing Drake begin walking again, I started following him, glad that he was going at a slow enough pace that I could keep up with him.

“Sorry if I’m going a bit fast for you. I think it would be hard, what with, you know.”

I grinned in response to his apology. “It’s fine, I don’t think you’re going fast at all! Just as long as you stay near me is good enough for me.” The idea of tripping over something crossed my mind, but I pushed the thought away.

“Alright, if you’re sure.”

Curious about our encounter with the ‘Azure’, I decided to prod at Drake for information. “So, Drake, how do you know Azure?”

Fluidly, he responded, “Oh, her? She’s the manager of this inntel. I rented the room from her earlier, just before you came in.”

Understanding washed over my face, clearing away the misunderstanding. I chose to ignore his use of the word ‘inntel’. “So that’s who you were talking to earlier? I guess I missed her voice when I heard you getting the room.”

He chuckled at that. “Probably, haha. So, what’s it like being around ponies again?”

Confused, I cocked my head slightly. “I don’t know. It feels the same, I guess. Was that Azure a pony?”

“Yeah, she was a pony. Er, sorry, forgot again that, uh, yeah.”

Curious about her appearance, I asked, “Well, what does she look like?”

Drake took a moment to think before responding. “I mean, I guess she looked like… like a regular pony. She was kind of blue, with some streaks and stuff through her mane, and… oh, uh, I mean, I guess imagine you, but, uh, taller, and older, and a girl, too. You know?” He trailed off a bit at the end, sounding more unsure of himself as he progressed.

Chuckling at his response, I replied, “Yeah, I know what you mean.” The truth was, what he’d said had made me think of something. Something… blue. I don’t know what in particular, it seemed more of just something big, something really, really big, huge compared to me, but it was… blue.

Lost in thought, I almost didn’t notice when Drake made a turn, keyword being almost. I quickly spun to face his direction, quickening my pace to try and keep up with him, my steps coming faster so that I wouldn’t- Pain. Shoulder.

I backed up quickly, cringing at the sudden sting in my shoulder. Drake, realizing what had happened, turned around, an apology leaving his mouth before he even knew what had happened.

“Oh, damn, I’m sorry, Sage, I forgot to tell you, and I, I just-”

I cut him off, waving a hoof in the air. “I’m fine, I’m fine, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have been trying to go so fast.”

“I should have told you that we were turning, and that the doorway was there. I know it was my fault. Look, I’m sorry, okay? I swear I won’t let it happen again.”

“Swearing now, are we? Well, isn’t that a mite strong thing to do.” A new voice spoke this time, joining into our conversation. They had a deep voice, one that resounded well throughout the hallway, or room, if we were in one.

I cracked a smile at that, and said, “Yeah, it does seem kind of strong. Are you sure you should be swearing right now, Drake?”

Sputtering, Drake eventually sighed, chuckling a bit, too. “Alright, alright. No swearing here. You won’t hear a peep out of me.”

My smile living on, I turned towards the direction of the mystery newcomer, and asked, “So, who are you?”

Amicability prevalent in his words, he cheerily replied, “The name’s Golden Spyre! Glad to meet the both of ya.”

A moment of silence passed between us, before Drake suddenly said, “Oh! Sorry about that, Mr. Golden Spyre. Sage, he’s, uh, holding out his hoof.”

I felt the pressure of the both of them looking at me, and, having no idea what he was talking about, slowly replied, “Okay? What does that mean?”

Nervous laughter escaping from him, Drake continued, “I’m sorry about that, Mr. Golden Spyre. He, well, he can’t exactly see.”

Faltering a bit in his jolliness, Golden Spyre responded, “Oh, I understand. It always is rough when folks are hurt, especially foals. Please, come, have a seat. Anything you want, on me. And, call me Gold. No use in constantly saying my full name, now is there?”

He seemed to rise a bit from the darker tones he had taken on, and Drake and I were ushered over to a table, wherein I was allowed to experience firsthand what it was like eating. It was a bit weird sitting down on the bench they had, but I managed to sit on my haunches just fine once I’d figured out what exactly what it was that I was supposed to sit on.

“So, Sage, what do you feel like having? They have quite a few things on the menu here, and honestly, we don’t normally have that many come around that often, so I’m sure that the chef can make just about anything you can think of.” Gold seemed rather filled with pride when he said that, almost as if he was the one responsible for the food.

I was a bit put off by his question. What did I feel like having? I hadn’t really eaten anything recently, as far as I knew, but at the same time, I never really felt hungry. I decided to go with a safe bet, and answered, “I mean, I guess I’ll have the same thing Drake is having.”

Drake, deciding to speak up, responded, “Are you sure? I mean, I think I’m going to order a gem salad. I don’t think ponies are able to eat gems, let alone foals.”

“Well, why don’t you try something simple? They do have some wonderful pastas here, and some top notch sandwiches. Personally, I’m rather partial to the rosebud pasta, but everything is just as good.” Gold again, unwittingly coming to my rescue with the name of a food.

“I think I’ll have a rosebud pasta. I mean, if you say it’s good, then that means it must be!” I smiled at the end. Thankfully, I wouldn’t have to struggle to come up with a food name.

“Alright, well I’ll be sure to let the chef know what you’d like!” With that, I heard Gold turn to leave, his hoofsteps thudding on the thick wooden floor.

As soon as Gold had turned a corner, Drake immediately turned to me, saying, “So, Sage, why didn’t you want to shake his hoof? Like, I get that you’re, you know, but still, I told you that he had it out and everything, so why’d you act like it wasn’t there?”

I frowned. “What are you talking about? I knew his hoof was there. I mean, you told me and everything, right?”

“Well, yeah, but that’s what I’m talking about! If you knew it was there, why wouldn’t you shake it?”

I shrugged in response. “I didn’t know I was supposed to do that.”

Sighing, Drake said, “Alright, well, at least he felt sorry for you. It would have really, really sucked if you’d upset the owner of the inntel.”

“He’s the owner? So, like, he owns this place?”

“Yup. That stallion owns the innlet, and a few of the shops meant for travelers. Like I said before, ponies built this port city, so they own pretty much everything out here.”

A door opened then, swinging gently on its hinges as Gold returned. “Alright, I’ve gotten the both of your orders placed with the chef, so you should see your food arrive in a few minutes. So, Sage, was it? Tell me, what brings a colt your age out here?”

Biting my lip, I replied, “Well, I don’t really know. I can’t really remember much.”

Drake, deciding to fill in for me, said, “Some griffons found him, and when none of the ponies in Equestria claimed him, they decided that they’d trade him out here.”

A darker tone appearing in his voice, Gold replied, “I see. Well, that sounds a bit odd. You know, you never really told me your name.”

His question directed at Drake, the dragon simply replied, “Oh, my name is Drake. I’m from further up north a bit.”

His tone immediately lightening up a bit, but still holding a few of the earlier, darker strands, Gold said, “Ahh, from up north? I’ve been there a few times myself, it’s quite nice.”

Practically oozing with pride, Drake responded, “Yeah, a lot of ponies around here tend to think that. Personally, I’ve always liked it much more than the southern parts, but that’s probably because I live there.”

Directing his attention to me, Gold said, “So, Sage, you’ve lost your memory? Any idea how that could have happened?”

“Well, I don’t really know. The earliest thing I remember was being in a cave, and a lot of rocks falling. Before that, nothing else, really.”

“And, before you ask, no, the griffons didn’t do this to him. I already asked him that, and he said they didn’t do it.” Dale, coming in to finish what I was saying.

“Okay, well, at least it wasn’t them. Still, I wouldn’t put it past those birdbrains.”

My head turning to the side a bit, I asked, “What are you talking about? They didn’t do anything wrong.”

Incredulity seemed to top off in Gold. “What do you mean? They’ve done just about everything! Plus, we’re almost at war with them now, all because of everything they’ve done to hurt Equestria! Not to mention what you should be feeling because of what they did to you when they basically sold you!”

Trying to defend them, I replied, “But they didn’t do anything to me! They couldn’t find anyone who was looking for me, so they just sent me here, where someone actually wanted me.”

Sighing, Gold said, “Look, I know you might not really understand what’s going on. Heck if I know, really. I don’t even know the whole story. But you have to understand, those griffons, they didn’t care about you. They haven’t cared about anyone except for themselves, and they’re the entire reason we’re all in this mess to begin with.”

“If they didn’t care about anyone but them, then why did they try to find people looking for me in Equestria? Why’d they give me water, and a place to stay?” I tried to think more of what the griffons did for me, but honestly, I was only coming up with a blank. Still I couldn’t just let him talk down about them. They may not have been the best of people, but they were people nonetheless.

Another sigh from Gold. “Alright, alright. I won’t try to make you see it my way. Still, I think you’d do best to trot carefully around those griffons. You never know what sort of things they could get up to.”

Deciding to accept his olive branch, I jokingly replied, “I’ll keep my eyes open.” It earned me a chuckle from my two companions.

And so went dinner. I hadn’t really noticed it, but I actually was hungry. It wasn’t really anything that turned me into a ravenous beast hellbent on feasting for eternity, which I would assume it to be considering I hadn’t eaten in a few days at the least, but it was enough to convince me to eat.

Actually eating, of course, was another matter altogether. I had no idea how to go about actually eating the pasta, so I really just ended up eating directly off the plate. Gold seemed as if he was going to comment about it at one point, but instead chose to ask if I knew how to use any magic yet.

“Magic?” I asked, after swallowing a mouthful of rosebuds and noodles. “I don’t think so.”

“Well, when do you plan on learning? You look old enough to be able to cast a few simple spells, so it shouldn’t be too hard for you to start.”

I cocked my head to the side, giving him an odd look. “You mean I can actually learn magic? I didn’t know it was real.”

Seeming surprised, he responded, “Well, I’d imagine so! I mean, you are a unicorn, albeit with a bit of a stunt in your horn, although I’m sure it’ll grow in soon enough.”

I gave him a weird look. “What are you talking about? I don’t have a horn.” To prove my point, I raised a hoof to check above my eyes, and found… a horn. I tapped at it a few times, feeling it’s weird boniness. “Oh. I guess I do have a horn. Sorry, my memory is still really bad,” I ended with a chuckle. “I guess I just forgot I had one.”

“Oh, no need to apologize! Why, I’m sure in your position, I would forget I was a unicorn, too! You know, if you ever wanted to practice some basic spells, I’m sure I could teach you some basic levitation, or even prestidigitation, if you felt it necessary. I always was a bit of an expert at charms, so I’m sure I could teach you a thing or two if you wanted.”

“Well, that sounds good and all, but… how would I know if I was actually levitating an object? And plus, I don’t even know what prestidigitation is…”

Laughing gently at that, Gold replied, “Well, levitation is something you might have a bit of trouble doing at first, but once you get the hang of it, I’m sure it’ll be a cinch! And, if you become advanced enough, I’ll be more than happy to show you exactly what prestidigitation is! Although, it isn’t really any one thing, but more of a plethora of things, all bottled together into one general spell.”

I smiled at him. “Sure, you might as well teach me! If you say it isn’t too hard, then it mustn’t be.”

“Well, perhaps tonight I’ll show you what I can! I must warn you, however, you shouldn’t expect to see any results right away. Few unicorns do, save for the most gifted, of course.”

We finished up dinner together, all three of us having eaten our fill. Gold had apparently ordered himself something while he was in the kitchen, I think he called it a three cheese penne pasta. I don’t really remember, it wasn’t something that he commented too much on. He even offered us dessert, but we both declined, Drake because he was full, and me because of my shyness in not knowing any sort of foods that were sweet.

Afterwards, we headed off to our room, which turned out to actually be a sort of double room. Drake helped me find my room, as well as the bed, lounge area, and his room. I did my best to remember where everything was, although to be quite honest, I probably wouldn’t remember very much of it.

We then basically just hung around in the lounge area together, Drake flickering through the large radio that was there. It wasn’t very loud, maybe about the volume of a talking pony, and it might not have had the most clear of sounds, but the few stations it could pick up proved to be entertaining. Some aired sports games, others news, and others then talk shows. Occasionally we’d find a channel playing music, but Drake would usually change it due to the static that would weaken the song’s feeling. I asked him if he could show me how to use it, and he invited me over, explaining what each knob, button, and lever did. I wasn't really able to move the knobs very well, but Drake didn't comment about it.

We talked a bit, mostly about the radio. Drake said that it really only played things from Equestria, and occasionally the Griffon Empire, mostly because not many dragons cared to listen to the radio, and so only the long distance channels were available. I asked why the dragons didn’t like hearing it, and he explained something about how the bigger a dragon became, the harder it was for them to hear mechanical and digital sounds. I didn’t really understand it, though, so I just smiled, and said okay.

After a few hours of fiddling around with the radio together, a knock came at our door. Rising from his spot on one of the two cushions he’d placed on the floor next to the radio, he went to answer the door.

“Oh, hi, Gold!”

“Hello, Drake! Glad to see the two of you up and about. I was wondering, was Sage still interested in coming along for some practice with his magic?”

I jumped up from my cushion, eager to learn anything Gold might be able to teach me. “Yup, I sure am!” I quickly trotted over to the door, a grin plastered merrily on my face.

“Wonderful! Well, don’t you worry now, Drake! I’ll be sure to have him back in an hour or two at most, Celestia knows his magic reserves won’t be able to handle too much.”

“Thank you for offering to help him, Gold. I’m glad he’ll be able to learn some form of magic, even if it is basic.”

Cheerily laughing, Gold replied, “Well, no matter how rudimentary, levitation is indeed an important skill to master, one that many unicorns use on a daily basis! Now, come along, Sage, I’ve got a small training area in the back that will be perfect for us.”

And so we went, off for me to learn the basics of magic, my eventual best and worst friend.

Author's Note

Glad to see that you're still here! I hope that you enjoy the story so far, and if you do, be sure to leave a rating, and explain why in the comments. And, if you don't, please, still leave a rating, and explain why not. I would love anything that can help me to improve my writing!

Oh, and for those of you who wish to continue