Mystogan snorted lightly as he was buried in a nice fluffy cloud that had become his bed.over the last night. It acted both as a nice soft mattress and a warming comforter blanket since he burrowed into it. But his slumber would soon end as the sun was starting to rise. He slowly sits up and peels the top layer over just as if it was a blanket. He lets out a long yawn and stretches out his arms, a few cracking sounds of his bones could be heard in the process. He leaps from the cloud and slowly drifts down into the ground meets his paws with a gentle landing. He didn’t even need his wings to soften the landing this time because of his new abilities. This controlling and conjuring wind stuff was definitely a neat bonus to living in this world. He looks around sleepily and begins to wander the streets. He wasn’t really doing much nor did he really have anything on his mind until he heard the sound of his stomach rumbling. It was time to find some breakfast. He looked around and found a nice little pancake place. While he didn’t have any money, he was hoping he could strike a deal with the owner. He sees the sign switch over to ‘Now Open’ and makes his way inside. The owner was a gruffy looking stallion with a cream coat and dark brown mane and tail. He turns to his customer with a light smile before greeting Mystogan.

“Welcome to the Fat Stack. What can I get y-?”

When he saw what Mystogan was, however, he stepped back slowly and hid behind the bar grabbing a nearby broom to defend himself should Mystogan try and attack him. Mystogan blinks and shakes his head lightly. He was getting tired of being mistaken for some brutish monster. But he explained himself anyways.

“Look, I just want some breakfast. And I do like pancakes. So a stack of four, if you would, sir.”

The stallion blinked a few times at the order. He was expecting something entirely different other than getting an order from a customer. He lowers the broom and sets it down, but close to him just in case. Mystogan waits at a table patiently for his meal. Once it comes out he looks down at the stack of pancakes. They looked and smell delicious. He takes the bottle of maple syrup and pours quite a bit all over the yummy looking hotcakes. Once he takes a fork full into his muzzle, he nearly spits out the horrible tasting breakfast and narrows his eyes at the restaurant owner. Mystogan stands up and clicks his mouth as he stares disapprovingly at the chef.

“These will not do at all. You are not putting enough sugar in these things and they are too mushy on the inside. You need to makes these better, sir. Otherwise, your customer base will fall apart.”

The owner scoffs at Mystogan and glares at him, clearly offended by what he had said, but at the same time, Mystogan was right. He hadn’t been able to make his pancakes like he used to. Possibly because of his old age getting to him. After all, he had been running this place since he was a young stallion, as he had taken over the business from his father who retired and passed it on to him.

“I bet you can do no better with you clumsy claws there! If you don’t like my food, then get out! I am planning on shutting this place down anyways...there is no point in keeping this place going hen so little few customers come in these days…”

Mystogan could see the sadden in the stallion’s eyes when he said that. He looked around and saw pictures on the wall of favored customers and wall carvings of names and event that had gone through time. This place must have gone through many generations of owners as far as he could tell from the years on the pictures. He looked back to the old stallion who was going along with the broom just sweeping up. Mystogan gave a small sigh. He couldn’t let some place like this die. Not when it had such a long history. He walks up to the owner and grins.

“You got an extra apron? I have no issues with it comes to making pancakes. Who knows, you might like them and so will others. Give me a chance to help you save this place. I am a good cook in general.”

“Why would you even care? It’s not your business nor your future to worry about. I don’t need help anyways. But…”

He reaches behind the counter and pulls out a white apron and holds it out to Mystogan.

“Who knows, my father let some stranger work for him and it brought in tons of business. And surprisingly enough it was a griffon. So, I guess I can give you a chance. But they better be good.”

Mystogan smiled widely and took the apron and tied it around his body, he reached into his coat and pulled out a hair tie and tied it back so it would get in any of the food. He didn’t waste any time in getting into the kitchen and getting to work on the first batch of food. The smell went through the open windows and through the chimney stack on the roof. As ponies started walking by in their morning routine, they caught the scent of Mystogan’s cooking and became entranced by it. Never had they smelled pancakes so deliciously sweet. Ponies started walking in who used to frequent the place every morning and looked around. The owner blinked a few times as he saw his old patrons and some new ones coming in. They looked around and started wondering who it was that was cooking the food.

“You got a new chef, Mixer? Whoever you got back there, they are making it smell amazing. I’ll take a three stack with a side of hashbrowns please!”

The old stallion couldn’t believe this. His restaurant was filling up again! I turned out he just needed to hire someone who could cook without struggling to remember or read ingredients. As the day went on and lunch neared, it was time to start closing up shop for the day. After Mixer finished cleaning up the front, he called Mystogan to the front. He gave him a stern stare as he looked up at him.

“Never in a million years did i think anypony could surpass my family’s recipe for pancakes. I am upset that i couldn’t bring customers back in myself. But…”

He then smiles up to the dragonwolf. Mystogan could see that he was happy after such a long time. The old stallion’s eyes looked lighter than they did this morning, that was for sure. He placed a hand on Mystogan’s shoulder.

“You certainly didn’t let me down. It has been months since I have seen so many ponies in my place, and even more so to see satisfied faces and full bellies. So I am offering you a position. Would you care to be the chef here?”

Mystogan’s plan worked more than he thought it did. He was coming i9n here expecting to work for a good meal, but he gets a job offer instead. How could he refuse? He gave a firm nod in response.

“I’d be more than happy to help you get this place up to speed, sir. When do you want me to start?”

“Well, I am going out of town to visit my son and his family. So I will be opening back up next Monday. Can I get you to start then?”

“Yeah, sounds good. Now I just gotta find me a place to live and I will be solid. And thank you for the job opportunity. I won’t let you down, sir.”

“Somehow I get the feeling you won’t despite being a dragon...or rather part dragon, you do not seem like the tales say.”

That is what I hear around here lately. Apparently, dragons...well other than Spike seem to be quite the assholes.”

The stallion lets out a hearty laugh as Mystogan says that. He slaps his hand on Mystogan’s back a few times in a playful manner.

“You're Not wrong there, kiddo. Anyways, I will see you next Monday. Be good in the meantime huh?”

Mystogan nodded and waved to the old stallion as he walked off to do his business. How lucky is he to have won a job? And with cooking no less. One of his best talents. Mystogan made his way to the Ponyville park and laid on one of the benches as thoughts ran through his head. He had employment, but he didn’t have money to rent a home let alone buy one. Maybe he could crash with the pegasus he had met last night? Naah, that wouldn’t work. He closes his eyes and sighs softly as he thought about going to ask Twilight. But that wouldn’t work out either. He suddenly gets the smell of cotton candy and cake in his nostrils. He sniffs the air and opens his eyes to see a pair of bright blue eyes looking down at him. A pink mare was leaning over him looking at his form with curious eyes. He quickly sits up and their foreheads meet with a ‘thunk!’ She falls back off the bench and lets out a pain filled ‘ooowwwiiie…’ as she rubbed her head with both hands. Realizing what he had done, he quickly stands up and kneels in front of her, trying to see if the damage was too bad.

“I am so so sorry! I was just surprised! I didn’t mean to hurt you!”

Mystogan tried to pull her hands away to see if there was any bleeding. Luckily there wasn’t just a red bump in the middle of her forehead. Her eyes rolled a few moments before they stopped, she lets out a light laugh and gives a weak smile to him.

“No no, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have gotten so close like that when you didn’t notice me. But I just couldn’t help myself. You are new here and I make it a point to know every new pony here you know? Ow…”

“Do you need me to take you to the hospital…?”

“Oh, no..I have hit my head much time before..it will go away within a few days. I promise. You don’t need to worry about me!”

She said as she tried to mask the pain with another smile. Mystogan wasn’t having it though. He helped her to her hooves and could see that she was having trouble focusing. He must have really headbutted her hard. He lifts her up onto his back and looks back to her.

“Point me to where you live. I can at least get you home. With an injury like that, I imagine it’s hard to focus and stand.”

“Hehe...thanks, big guy..still, I am sorry for startling you..”

“It’s alright. I am just glad that my headbutt didn’t cause any permanent trauma. You gotta be careful around dragonwolves. When they are in deep thought, silly mare.”

She giggles lightly and wraps her arms around his shoulders as she rests her head on his back. She closes her eyes to somewhat soothe the pain that was throbbing in her head. She points him in the direction of where she lived which turned out to be a bakery in the shape of a gingerbread house covered in sweets. Mystogan blinked at the well made architectural design. It looked real and good enough to eat! However, he knew better. Once he had brought her inside, he looked around to see if anyone else was there and looked back at Pinkie.

“You live alone, Fluffy?”

Pinkie giggled at the playful nickname he gave her and shook her head.

“The Cakes must be out on business at the moment, just carry me upstairs to my room. I will just lay down for a bit.”

Mystogan nodded and went into the kitchen first. He found an ice bag and filled it up for her. Once he got that, he carried her upstairs and laid her on her bed before gently placing the ice bag on her forehead. It stung for a few moments until the cold feeling started soothing the pain away. Pinkie smiled up at Mystogan grateful and grabbed his tail before he could leave.

“You don’t have to go you know. You can stay and keep me company.”

Mystogan smiles and gently pulls away from her grip. He shakes his head lightly as he declines the offer.

“I would love to stay here and keep you company sweetheart. But I need to go and figure out my living situation before monday rolls around. I got a job, but no home. Anyways, I’ll see you around huh?”

He waved goodbye to her before heading downstairs. She tried to call out to him before but he was quick on the exit. A few hours went by as the day progressed. Mystogan was napping on the same bench and had been for a while until he smelled something burning. He quickly sat up and looked around to see if smoke was coming from anywhere. He heard a commotion down the street and saw the smoke rising in the distance. The feeling in his gut dropped low when it was in the direction of Pinkie’s home. Mystogan assumed the worst and quickly took the flight to get there quicker than he would on foot. What he arrives to only makes that feeling more heavier. There was Pinkie, barely conscious being held by her arm by a large red and blue dragon. He was taller than Celestia and bulkier too. Pony guards surrounded the dragon, ordering him to release Pinkie. It wasn’t often that dragons came here. But when they did, they got mean. Not only did he have one of them at his mercy, but she was already hurt by the accident earlier. Mystogan wasn’t very happy with the situation. He knows that Pinkie isn’t well known to him. But for some reason, the dragon acting superior to everyone else around just piseed him off.

“If any of you come near me, I will snap this little pony’s neck and tear out her gu-!”

Suddenly Mystogan comes in with a flying dropkick right to the back of the dragon’s head. The attack seemed to happen in slow motion of the onlookers, then sped up to normal. The impact was so hard that it sent the dragon flying forward and flipping six times before finally landing face first into the ground. He catches the pink mare before she hits the ground and looks her over making sure she was still alive. Though her vision was blurred, she could tell who had saved her just by his colors of his body and his eyes. She smiled weakly at him.

“H-hey there big guy. Good to see you again. I guess you saw the smoke and you came running? How sweet.”

Mystogan looked over at the guards who were completely stunned at what they saw happen. Twilight and her friends had showed jump just in time to see it as well. The guards looked at Mystogan and the dragon who was still having issues getting his head out of the ground by his horns.

“Sir, what do you do?! He appears to be a dragon as well but...not entirely. Should we take him down?!”

The leader of the squad looks to Mystogan and the mare that laid in his arms, Twilight and her friends approach Mystogan and Pinkie. He spots Rainbow and Twilight in the mix and quickly motions them over.

“Get over her and get her out of here, I will deal with the dragon!”

“Are you kidding?! You can’t deal with that jerk on your own! Let me stay and help you kick his scaley ass!”

Shouted Rainbow as she landed beside him. She took a fighting stance with a determined glare on her face. The guard watched this and looked to his squadmates. He shook his head to them to maintain their defense.

“We will deal with the hybrid later! But for now, he seems to be here to aid us. Should he ask for our support we will give him our best!”

“Sir!”

They all shouted. Mystogan watched as Pinkie was carried away off to safety. He turns to face the dragon who had finally got his head out of the ground. He was definitely one who was going to outmatch Mystogan in strength. He was about half the size of Mystogan taller, and he was definitely more muscular. He knew this was going to be a difficult fight. But one he didn’t regret getting into.

“You little runt! You are supposed to be on my side. Traitor!”

“Well you know what, I heard that dragons in this world are complete douches and assholes! Why would I want to be on that side of the field?!”

Mystogan said as he pointed at the dragon. Who didn’t take the name calling very well. He wasted no time in charging forward at Mystogan. His speed was unexpected as Mystogan barely had time to put up a blocking stance before the hit connected. It made his paws dig into the ground as he slid back as he was being pushed. Even though he blocked it, the impact still hurt a bit. Rainbow was quick to attack the dragon from behind however and landed a solid kick to the dragon’s neck. However, the dragon barely felt it and grabbed her leg.

“Get back!”

Mystogan shouted, but it was too late, the dragon had the pegasus and threw her into the side of a building with great force. The impact on the wall was heard along with the sound of breaking bones. Blood flew from the mare’s mouth as she fell to the ground in absolute pain. Mystogan attempted his best to take advantage of the distracted dragon and began to use his wind abilities to quickly maneuver about. He began jabbing and quickly attacking the vital weak points as fast as he could. Eventually, the dragon swung his tail around and nailed Mystogan in the ribs. He felt a few of them crack as he hit the ground. And as if that wasn’t enough, the dragon stomped his large fit onto Mystogan’s chest before he could get back up. Mystogan lets out a pain filled cry as he coughs up blood from the heavy stomp to his body. He laid there as pain pulsated through his entire form. He struggled to move at all. All he could do was watch as the dragon turned his attention to the guard and wasted no time in laying them out as well. He walks over to Dash and picks her up by the head.

“Now then, since you got a hit in on me and chose to jump in the fight, I feel I should return the favor…”

Mystogan struggles against the pain as he sits up glaring at the dragon. He gets to his knees and tried to stand up fully.

“No, you leave her out of this! This is between you and me!”

Mystogan shouted in anger. The dragon only grinned evilly and processed to knee Dash in the midsection over and over again. Each time she cries out in pain and coughs up more blood. Mystogan struggles more to get up and screams out again.

“I SAID STOP IT! THAT’S ENOUGH!!!”

The dragon drops the unconscious mare and places his foot over her head. He begins pressing it to her skull and chuckles wickedly.

“One splattered pony coming up.”

Mystogan’s eyes widened in despair as he saw what was happening before him. Something suddenly broke his mind. And it wasn’t going to be pretty. The wind started to rise in speed and force as Mystogan slowly rose to his paws. His lower body the only thing holding him up until his upper body rises as well. A look of pure hatred on his face as the wind around him swirled, nearly creating a tornado Mystogan’s eyes went from their regular blue into a wind white. The pain had caused him to pass out, but the power that had come with the unhinging of his mind had taken control of both mind and body. Mystogan slowly began to walk toward the dragon who was now distracted by the hurricane force winds that surrounded the hybrid. The way he walked with his arms hanging in front of him with wide eyes. Then suddenly he rushed forward as the wind carried him at neck-breaking speed.The dragon was knocked back spinning a total of fifteen times before he hit the ground. Mystogan approached the dragon who now laid on the ground with a broken arm he tried to block with. Mystogan was not done yet, however. He swings his hands side to side as blades of pure wind started cutting across the dragon’s body, cutting in deep gashes and even severing both arms. The dragon roars out in pain as his arms fly off his body and into the distance. He was about to say something before Mystogan shoved his hands into the cavities on the dismembered arms.

“Do you know what happens when the flow of blood is altered with air bubbles? No…?

He lets out a chilling psychotic laugh and smiles a large toothy grin.

“Allow me to show you…”

The wind begins to flow into the dragon’s body through Mystogan’s hands. The dragon cries out in agony until he is abruptly silenced by his head popping off his shoulders by the build-up and force of the wind. Mystogan slowly stands with blood splattered all over his face and the front of his body with that same wicked grin on his face. However, he regains full consciousness and is completely aware of where he is now. The power fades away and his mind returns to it’s more sane state. He looks around as he places his hand against his ribs and chest. Het looks over at Rainbow and slowly makes his way to ehr, the pain returning once more. He falls to his knees when he gets to her and takes hold of her hand. He feels it squeeze weakly around his indicating that she was still alive.

“H-hey...hang in...t-there...I am sure help is...on the way. Stay with me..”

He falls back against the building and lowers his head, doing his best to stay conscious. Luckily he hears other ponies coming and looks in the direction they are coming from. They appear to be both medical personal and guard personal, but in golden armor. And one taller figure who had a white coat and a flowing mane and tail that seemed to be a spectrum of colors. He lowers his head back down and sighs in relief. Things were going to be alright. At least he hoped.

Author's Note

Whew, never wrote a chapter thing long before. But I did it! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I had fun writing it.

May the darkness grant you peace.