Author's Note

Hey everybody, I'm back. Sorry for a long time between chapters. Sometimes life sucks. My branch manager and Teller manager just quit so I'm left running the branch by myself with three tellers. So stress has been high. I am working on the next part right now as well. I have also begun to toy with the idea of another story as well to help me jump between a few projects at a time. Hoping that will help keep things fresh. In any case, thank you for your support.

DragonShy pt 1 - Edited 3/22/20

Dragon Shy Pt 1

Canterlot Castle, Dining room
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Hecate, Celestia, and Luna sat at the dinner table, the day finally has come to a close, and they were each enjoying a favorite dish. Celestia enjoyed a rose and Strawberry salad, Luna enjoyed her lily and eggplant carbonara, and Hecate enjoyed her meal of Meat sauce lasagna. The two Pony goddesses didn’t seem fazed by her choice, though the attending servants were a bit nervous. Hecate spoke first “So, my son has taken it upon himself to look after the young filly. What do you think of his choice Celestia?”

Calmly finishing her bite, Celestia patted her lips to remove any leftover dressing. “I worry that he does not know what he is getting himself into. Raising a child can be a difficult task. Though it has been many centuries since my last child. I recognize that Magos has the capabilities to be an excellent father, though.” Her eyes glided around the room, passing over Hecate and landing on Luna for just a mere moment, the unspoken agreement moving between them.

This was not missed by Hecate. “My my, are you saying that because you want him to be a good father figure for little Scootaloo? Or are you saying it because you think you found a new consort?”

Both Luna and Celestia blushed for a moment before Celestia turned to Hecate. “I have no idea what you mean. I simply wish to point out that as long as he has his friends and mares to assist him, I do not see any trouble with him being a father.”

Luna muttered, “I wish him to assist with something else.”

Celestia whipped her head to her younger sister, but it was too late. Hecate had already heard, “So you do wish to collect my little Magos. I shall have to put together interview questions for you and the other three. I have to say that he must get his magnetism from his father. If I hadn’t made my move first, he would likely have been Persephone’s son, While his father, Klaus was a wonderful magician, he was also a lover of nature. He never knew, but the woman that he purchased his cannabis from was just Persephone in disguise. I am happy to say that I got the pleasure of having his child.” Hecate’s eyes began to mist as she thought of the man. He had been strong but gentle. She truly missed him, the way that he would laugh, the tone that he would talk to Magos in.

Celestia placed a hand on her arm “I guess you caught us. Luna and I have been alone for a very long time. Unlike Olympus, here, we have taken many mortal husbands and wives. We love them to the end of their days, right to the point where they must go to the underworld. It is never easy.” She lost herself in thought for a moment before whispering, “If only they could have found their way to ascension.”

Celestia pulled away and instead chose to lean against her sister. “You should be proud of your children, Lulu. Midnight Breeze lead the Thestrals for many years and had many children. In fact, I would not be surprised if every one of your guards would be able to trace themselves back to her. She certainly shared your love of making a life.” Celestia giggled at her little joke.

Luna leaned her head against her sister, hiding her blushing face “We-I… Thank you, sister. I am happy to know that she lived a full life. Even if my own blunder caused me to miss it.”

Celestia hugged her “Please stop blaming yourself for that, dear Lulu. We can’t change what happened, all we can do now is press forward.”

Hecate had been quiet for this exchange, but once it was over, she asked: “Um… not to derail the topic, but what did you say about ascending?”

They both turned to her before answering, “We were not born as goddesses Hecate. We technically are not sisters.” Celestia clarified, “I was born as an Earth Pony,” and Luna added, “And I was born as a Unicorn.”

Hecate was confused “What do you mean? Did someone give you your godhood then?”

Celestia giggled “You could technically say that our godly parent was Mother Foust. She was the composer of this place. Though she left many eons ago. Neither Lulu or I have met her in person before, but she has sent communications in the past. Though it has been over three thousand years since the last time we got one. As for the ascension part, Luna and I managed to end a millennia-long feud between our two clans, and started the first pact between the three races. It was apparently a large enough goal that triggered us to ascend to godhood.”

Hecate was speechless, so Luna continued, “it would appear that this world is still very new, compared to yours. Our pantheon is quite sparse as of yet. We currently have a goddess of the Day, sun, growth, and battle.” she pointed to Celestia, “A goddess of the night, dreams, moon, and art.” She gestured to her self, “And Celestia has told me that we have a new goddess of Love, marriage, fertility, and kindness in our new niece Cadence. Her ascension was linked to defeating a mare that was using dark methods to enslave our ponies through corrupted love.”

Thinking for a moment, Hecate asked, “That truly is a small pantheon. To think that this world is that new,” an Idea/joke sparked, “you wouldn’t need a goddess of magic, would you?”

Celestia brought her hand up to her mouth to cover her giggle “I am afraid that I have a mare in mind for that position, provided my plans work out well. But that should not happen for a few years yet.”

Hecate thought about this for a few minutes as they finished their meal. This realm was very different than hers, here the gods interacted freely with their mortal charges. This was likely due to this world being so much smaller than her own. It genuinely was a smaller planet, She realized that there was just as much magic here as there was back on earth, only more densely packed into less space. It was unsurprising that Magos was stronger here than back on earth. Still, at her core, she knew that she would never be able to abandon her world for this one, not unless she could find a replacement.

Rather than dwell on things that she was unable to change, she instead decided to question the sisters, “So, Luna. What is it that attracted you to my little boy?” Luna looked annoyed at her question. So Hecate clarified. “I just want to know, what grand feet has he accomplished to attract the attention of a goddess, you and I both know that you could have anyone at all in this world, so why Magos?”

Luna took a deep breath before answering. “I cannot clarify it, as you now know, I was once banished for a millennium because of my jealousy and my greed. Since my return, it has been… difficult to reconnect with the ponies of this time. Many of them fear me. But Magos didn’t even flinch when he met me. He showed a measure of respect for what I am, he has always been kind.” Her ears tinged red as she recalled that night on the hill. “I think that what sealed it for me was that night on the hill.”

Hecate’s eyebrow rose, “Night on the hill?”

Luna smiled as she remembered back to that night. “I notice his mind his left my realm of dreams, I admit that he has a curiosity about him, he always has, from the moment that we… I mean, from the moment that I met him, there had been a bit of attraction. He is very pleasing to the eye. I found him on a hill overlooking Ponyville. He had a strange device on his lap, it sounded like a piano, but it was far too small to be one. When I found him, he was playing a piece that was filled with sorrow. I felt my very heart crack with the raw emotion of pain that he was showing as he played it. As he finished, he had somehow noticed that was there.”

As his mother, Hecate felt her heartbreak, she knew that this must have been before they had made up. The pain that he had felt was caused by her. The shame was almost too much. Then Luna continued, “He apologized for letting such sorrow taint my night.” Celestia and Hecate shared a taken aback look at this “He then decided to play a new song for me. He called it Clair de Lune, it was one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. He said it was a song that was composed for the majesty of the night. That it was only fair that he share it with one, it could have been composed for. Were that not enough, he asked if I ever thought that I would be able to create a night that would compare to the beauty of its creator. I have been around for a long time, I have heard every compliment that any mare could ever dream of hearing. But I do not think I have ever heard a single being speak such a compliment with such sincerity, with such open honesty. I think at that moment, I had decided if he has room enough in his heart for me, I wanted to be a part of his life.”

Tears had begun to form in both Celestia and Hecate’s eyes. Celestia rose and pulled Luna into a hug. Gently stroking her hair, she turned to Hecate, “This is why I wish to be a part of his life. He makes Luna happy with his honesty, he makes me happy with his steadfastness. He has sworn on the River Styx to serve us to the best of his abilities to keep my ponies safe, even the cost of himself. Truly he is one of a kind. I would be remiss to lose out on such a man. And I would be lying if I said that I have not dreamt of children again now that Luna has returned to me. I long to hear them running through the halls, laughing and playing together.”

Hecate smiled “It does my heart good to hear this, Magos is my wonderful son, I only wish that all of my children could come here so that I might be able to give them each this kind of attention. We will have to see if he has room enough in his heart for you both. But something tells me it won’t be an issue. He has always had a heart filled with love, and it has only grown since coming here.”

The three of them returned to their meal. Unaware of the dire message that was about to change their lives.

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Perspective shift - Magos’ house
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Scootaloo walked through the halls still half asleep. She wasn’t sure where the kitchen was from her room. Here it was a week later and she was still having issues finding her way around. She was beginning to get a little worried about not finding it when she heard the familiar raspy voice of Rainbow Dash call out to her.

“Hey, squirt! You seen Mag this morning? He was gone when I woke up.”

Shaking her head, Scootaloo responded, “I haven’t seen him today yet Rainbow Dash, I was… Kinda lost. This place is huge.” She dropped her head with a light bit of shame.

Rainbow walked over to her, quickly looking around to make sure nopony saw her she pulled Scootaloo into a light hug. “It’s okay squirt, I bet Mag is going to get lost here a few times too before he gets used to the layout.”

As she was comforting Scootaloo, the sound of aggressive music started to play. She couldn’t place the instrument that was being played, but it sounded almost creepy at times.

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Perspective shift - Magos
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I bobbed my head along to the music. I loved these guys and the unorthodox way that they played their music. I stepped over to the skillet to flip another chocolate chip pancake. Next to the counter sat a small altar with a lit flame, the smoking remains of my offering sitting within. I smiled as I looked at it, I now knew that my mother cared, it made it all the easier to give her an offering, and this way it was like she was here for breakfast.

I flipped the last pancake onto the large plate with the rest of the ones already prepared. I turned to see Skittles and Scoots standing in the doorway with curious looks on their faces. “Morning, you two, have you seen Pinks, Sparkles, or Spike this morning?”

The answer to my question came in the form of a pair of pink arms wrapping around my neck from behind. And a kiss on my neck. “I’m right here, Maggie.”

Rainbow and Scoots looked just as confused as I felt. I didn’t hear her enter the room, nor did I see or feel her come. She just was. “Morning Pinks, uh… when did you get here?”

She giggled and replied, “Just now. I smell pancakes.” She pulled my head down for a kiss that left me gasping.

After my head cleared a bit. I realized that she had made off with some of the pancakes on a plate of her own. Muttering to myself, “Don’t question it Magos, Just don’t question it. You’ll live longer.” Shaking my head, I looked back over at Skittles and Scoots, “Well, let’s get started. Sparkles and Spike will get up when they get up. I will make some fresh for them.”

They shrugged and made their way to the table. As we sat down to enjoy our meal, we were interrupted by Sparkles shouting, “THE PRINCESSES WANT US TO DO WHAT!!!” We all shared a look as we waited for Sparkles to come down the stairs.

Running down the stairs, her hair in a mess, and her loose sleeping shirt slipping off her left shoulder, she addressed us. “We need to call all the girls here, I have an urgent message from the Princesses.” Turning her head to Pinks, Sparkles asked, “Pinkie! Can you get Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy over here? We need to have an emergency meeting.”

Pinkie responds by scarfing down what remained on her plate in a single mouthful, which was somewhat disturbing, considering that her plate still had quite a bit of food on it. After finishing her meal, she darted into the pantry. Raising an eyebrow, I walked over and looked inside. I found nothing but food. Slowly stepping back, I muttered to myself, “Don’t question it, Mag, Don’t question it.” I was still a little freaked out when Sparkles rushed over to me and pulled me into a hug while she was trembling.

Skittles picked up on her anxiety and came over to hug her from behind, trapping her between us in a hugging sandwich. “It’s okay, Twi. We’re here for you, what are the princesses asking us to do?”

Sparkles shook her head “I would rather wait until everyone is here first. I don’t want to have to repeat myself. It’s going to be hard enough talking about it once.”

After giving her a kiss on the forehead, I spoke, “That’s fine, Sparkles. Do you want anything to eat while we wait for the girls to get here?”

She nodded and sat down at the table. Putting a few pancakes on a plate for her. I walked back and sat them on the table in front of her. “Eat up; I made plenty.” She strained a smile, and I realized that it must be something difficult if Sparkles was faking smiles. “It’ll be okay. I’m sure that the Princesses wouldn’t give us a task that was too difficult for us. I mean, they are goddesses, I’m sure that they know how to judge someone’s abilities.”

That seemed to calm her down a bit as she finished up her meal. After eating and putting the dishes away, we moved to the front sitting room as we waited for the rest of the group to get here. After around half an hour from the time that Pinkie left, they all arrived. Sparkles stood and addressed us as a group. “As I can imagine, you are curious as to why you have been called here. I received word this morning from the princesses that a dragon has taken residence in a cave in the mountains to the north of Ponyville. This is concerning because the dragon has begun its century-long nap, and it’s snoring.” The girls shared a confused look with each other.

Skittles spoke up, “Um… What does that mean for us then?”

Taking a steadying breath, Sparkles continued, “The issue is that it’s causing a huge amount of toxic smoke to pour out of the cave. If left unchecked, it will cover all of Equestria in it. Blocking out the sun and killing our crops. This needs to be dealt with before it goes on too long, and the dragon enters the deepest reaches of its sleep. If left unchecked for too long, it will be impossible to move it later or even wake it up. We have to go as soon as we can to try to convince the dragon to wake up and move.” Her Eyes locked on Butters “Fluttershy, you will be our best help against the dragon. Your ability to talk to animals will be a huge help here.”

I coughed, “Um… Sparkles, Dragons aren’t animals. They are sentient, and I really wouldn’t call a dragon an animal. You know, considering that your son is a dragon.”

Twilight paled slightly and looked at Spike. “Oh, Spike; I didn’t mean it like that, I… I wasn’t thinking. I guess… I guess it just slipped my mind that you are a dragon.”

He was trying to hide it, but I could tell that it was bothering him. “It’s okay, Twi, I get it. I don’t act like a dragon right.” He stood up and left the room. Sparkles moved to go after him when I held up my hand.

“Don’t worry about it, Sparkles; I will go talk to him. Keep briefing the rest of the girls. I will take care of Spike.”

She gave me a nervous smile “I didn’t mean anything by it. I just see him as… well, I just see my little boy.”

I kissed her head and hugged her, “I know Sparkles, I know. I will go smooth things over with him. Just let the girls know what we need to do. You can give me the rundown when they leave to go get their stuff.” She gave me a weak smile and ran to grab her things. I followed Spike to his room. He sat here and looked around at the room and everything that had been placed in it by my mother.

“Hey Sike, how you feeling?”

He scoffed at me, little shit is getting an attitude. Teenagers, what are you gonna do. “How do you think I’m feeling. My mom basically just called me a wild animal. I’m pretty pissed off.”

I sighed, “You know that she didn’t mean it like that bud. I doubt she even thought about the fact that you’re a dragon until after she said it. Just like I am guessing that she forgets that I’m human. All she sees are two people that she cares about. She didn’t mean to be rude. It was an accident. I know that your mother loves you. And you are right, you don’t act like any dragon that I have heard of here. You use your mind to improve yourself. You grow, you change, and you move forward. Most of the dragons that I have heard of here don’t care about anything but their own hoards. You love your family, you love your mom, and you love your friends. I don’t really know how you see it, but to me, you are far more than any dragon that has come before you. You are better.”

Spike silently got up and walked over to me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pressed his muzzle into my chest. “Thanks, dad… please promise me to be safe. I’ve never had a real dad before… I don’t want to lose you.”

I pulled him close, “I can’t promise that I won’t get hurt Spike, I don’t know what is going to happen when we get there. I’m going to try my best to be safe and come home to you and Scoots. But I might lose, I might get hurt. But I need you to know this.” I pulled back and hunched down, now bringing myself to his eye level. “I will try my very best to come back to you bud, I will always give it my all to come home to our family, Pinkie, Rainbow, Twilight, Scoots and you. All of you are the most important things in my life right now, I can’t tell you what the future holds, But I can always promise that I will give it my all to come home.” I pulled him into another hug. “Now, can you come down and send us off with a smile?”

Spike nodded and followed me downstairs. The girls had already gathered a bunch of things together for the journey. The mountain in question was only a few hours away by walking. We would be able to get to the top without issue by the end of the day, but we would have to camp on our way back. Rarity was in an argument with AJ about the number of bags that she was trying to bring. “Now Applejack, I understand that you may not need as much, but a lady simply can’t be expected to go out into the wild without her necessities. I need these things.”

AJ rolled her eyes “Rares, we are only going to be gone for two days, and besides. We are going to be hiking up the side of a mountain, and I already know that you can’t carry those bags up one by yourself. And I bet that no one is going to offer to carry them for you.”

She scoffed, “Oh please, AppleJack, as if our knight in shining armor is going to make a lady carry her luggage.”

I walked up behind her, “I’m not wearing my armor right now, and there is no way in Tartarus that I’m lugging all that crap up a mountain.” I gave her a hard look, not letting her puppy dog eyes work on me. “You can bring a single backpack with two changes of clothes in case one gets wet with trail rations, I have a tent for all of us to use. And you will be carrying everything that you bring. I am not a pack mule, and I refuse to be treated like one.” I wasn’t going to tell her that my tent had an expansion spell on it, nor would I tell her that it had a full bathroom in it until after we had left and were ready to camp for the night. Gods above, I loved magic. I got this idea from Harry Potter.

After spending the next twenty minutes arguing with her about what was necessary for the trip, I managed to get her down to the single backpack. She wasn’t happy about it, as I wouldn’t let her bring any of her makeup. She was going to be borrowing a few of AJ’s flannel shirts and wool socks. I had to argue with her that she would be thankful for the clothing style the further up the mountain that we climbed. Fluttershy was another challenge.

Turning to the butter-yellow pegasus. “Hey, Butters, you ready to go?” She looked like she had completely shut down. I could tell that she was terrified. Walking over to her and placing my hands on her shoulders. “Are you going to be okay with coming, Butters? I have a feeling that you will do great on this. And if the Princesses asked you to go, then I bet that something will happen that only you can help solve.” I pulled her into a hug. She was still shivering, so I placed my hand on the back of her head “Shhhh. It will be okay, Butters. We will keep you safe. It will be okay.”

She shivered, “How can you promise that? This is a full-grown dragon. They’re big mean, fire-breathing, meat-eating, pony killing monsters.”

Sighing, I pulled her head up. “We just discussed this. We can’t judge all of them based on the actions of a few. What would Spike say if he heard you say that? It would crush him.”

She shook her head “Spike is just a baby dragon, and he was raised by ponies to be good. I have a terrible feeling about this Magos, somepony is going to get hurt!”

My left eye twitches as she said ‘somepony,’ I don’t like that saying, “Well then it’s a good thing I’m not a pony. We will get this done for the princesses, and then we can come home.”

Rainbow came up and pulled her into a hug from behind, sandwiching her between us Just like Twilight. “We got this Shy; the princesses wouldn’t send us if they didn’t think we couldn’t handle it. Besides… how can you expect the rest of us to stay brave if you can’t be? You’re the bravest one in our group.”

I couldn’t believe that she just said that, Rainbow Dash, biggest ego on the planet, just admitted that Fluttershy was the bravest mare in their group. Fluttershy was blown away as well “oh no Rainbow, I’m not the bravest pony here. I’m scared of my own shadow. How can I be as brave as you?”

I watched Skittles look up at me before she spoke, “That is exactly the reason you are the bravest Shy. Even though you’re terrified of going out, you still go out and face the world. Being brave has nothing to do with not being scared. Being brave is doing the things that scare you because you know it’s right. You do that every day.”

I locked eyes with Skittles. “She is completely right on that one Butters. We need your help with this. I have a feeling in my gut that says you will be our biggest asset on this trip. What do you say? Will you help us?”

Flutters took a deep breath and looked up at us before nodding. “I will try.”

I smiled and pulled her and Skittles close. “Then let’s get a move on. The sooner we get this taken care of, the sooner we can come home.”

Scoots walked into the room then. “Um… hey. Don’t worry about me; I’m used to being left alone.”

Feeling like someone just slapped me across the face. ‘Shit!!!! Scoots. I need to make arrangements to have her taken care of.’ As I had this minor mental freakout, AJ spoke up, “Not on your life Scootaloo. Y’all be staying at the house with your cousin Applebloom and Spike.”

Scoots gave her an odd look, “Cousin? Applebloom is my best friend, but why is she my cousin now?”

AJ just laughed, “Well, Mag is your dad now, right? An, Ah call him mah brother. So that makes Bloom your cousin now.”

I smirk and respond, “More like her aunt. If I’m your brother, that makes me Applebloom’s brother too. Which makes both of you her aunts.”

Scoots went a little pale at that, though “Does that mean I have to do everything she says?” She loved her best friend, but she didn’t want to have to treat her any differently.

I smiled and motioned for her to join the hug, She rushed up and joined us. “No, it doesn’t mean that you have to do what she says. Unless that something is a good thing, but, I would hope you would want to do it anyway. But I just think it’s a silly fact. If you feel more comfortable calling her a cousin, that’s great. I’m just happy that we have it covered, so you don’t have to be alone anymore.” I put my hand on her head, “never again. I promise.”

She pressed her head into my side and hugged tighter, so far this had been a great way to start a quest. Much better than I had had in the past.

“Aaalllright!! Let’s Do This!!!”