Author's Note

Hey guys hope you well. So I decided to do another chapter for you guys since i felt like my last chapter wasn't really enough. So hopefully this will keep you guys entertained till the next chapter.

Special thanks to my friend and editor Codex92, please be sure to follow him on here and check out his stories.

Also fair warning for those beyond this point there will be spoilers so if you don't want ti see it then don't tap it.

A lot of you have been commenting about why Johann hasn't said anything about Glenda and the griffon kimgdom or forgotten them. Well I promise you that is not the case. I'm just building up the moment to it. Which will happen after the next chapter. And he will explain why he hasn't brought it up yet. So please all that I ask is that you be patient with me and the story. Thank you.

Putting your claw down.

(Johann POV)

I was awakened from my peaceful slumber when I felt a warm ray of sunlight on my face. I slowly blinked my eyes open as I moved my head away from it. I stretch out my front paws and let out a long yawn as I raise my back up to stretch it. The action itself was similar to how a cat would, something I often do nowadays, almost like on instinct. I found it funny since I always pegged Toothless from the movies to be similar to a cat in some ways. And much like a cat, I unintentionally would lick the back of my paw before rubbing it against my eyes to clean off any eye crust. I’ve learned to deal with it, amongst the few other things my dragon nature compels me to do. Once I had cleaned my eyes of any crust, I blinked my eyes again to clear my vision.

I was laying on the floor in the living room of Fluttershy’s cottage. Before, she had offered me her own bed, saying she could sleep on the couch while we waited for my new home to be built, but I couldn’t let her do such a thing and insisted that I’d take the living room instead. She of course protested, but ultimately, I won the argument (If you could call her talking softly and with please and thank you an argument.) and took the living room until my home was built, and has been so since I arrived here in Ponyville two weeks ago.

In that time, I had managed to get acquainted with practically everypony here, mostly thanks to one of Fluttershy’s friends, Pinkie pie’s parties. Which was funny because back on Earth I wasn’t one for attending parties and whenever I did, I had a tendency to stick to the background. But Pinkie’s party was rather enjoyable and fun, and helped me get to know everyone in town, well expect for Diamond Tiara and her family. I still laugh when the girls came to me the three days after show and tell, when they told me that when they saw Diamond Tiara in class it was with a bag over her head. Yeah, I probably should have told her that Night Fury saliva doesn’t wash out, or at least not without a good amount of soap and really hot water.

Another fun thing that happened at Pinkie’s party was when she introduced me to her pet baby alligator Gummy. “Ahh yes I remember it like it was yesterday.”

(Pinkie’s party three night’s after show and tell.)

I had just finished dancing a pony version of the electric slide and was making way over to the refreshments table. I saw a mare with mulberry fur drinking a good amount of fruit punch. But before I could get to the table, I got pulled to the side by the party mare. “Hey there, Johann! Are you enjoying the party!?” She asked while pressing her face against my own, almost to the point where our eyeballs were about to touch.

In any other circumstance, I would have found this amount of contact and proximity unnerving or unwanted, yet with this mare, it didn't seem to have either of those effects. In fact, it was kinda nice, for some odd reason. “Actually, I am, Pinkie Pie. This is probably one of the best parties I’ve ever been to in my whole life.”

That of course made her squeal with glee as she fell backwards, only to bounce back up and down like a rubber ball, something I found completely odd, but everypony said I’ll get used to her wacky shenanigans…eventually. “Oh, I’m so happy to hear that, Johnny!” She calls me Johnny for some reason. I'm not sure why, but it wasn’t enough to bother me, so I never took the time to correct her. “Oh, I almost forgot!” She quickly shoved her hoof into her puffy mane and started to pull out a series of random objects, such as an anvil, some balloons that were already inflated (Don’t ask me how.), some party streamers, a cupcake, which she ate on the spot, making me shiver as she did so. Until finally. “AH HA!” She pulled her hoof out, holding, to my surprise, a baby alligator. “Here you are! Johnny, meet Gummy, Gummy, meet Johnny!”

The little alligator, whose eyes were looking in different directions, stood there in the (palm?) of Pinkie’s hoof, unmoving while blinking his eyes separately. I was standing there as the little gator stared at me with one eye, and since I didn’t want to be rude, I gave a polite smile and waved. “Uh…hi there…um, Gummy.” He just stood there staring at me. It was kinda weird since he did nothing, but then again, what did I expect from a baby alligator aside from him putting on a top hat and start singing “Hello! My Baby”. I tried to keep the conversation going, hoping to lighten the mood. “So Pinkie, why’d you call him Gummy? Does he like gum or something?”

Pinkie giggled for a bit before telling me why he was called that. “Hehe, no, silly. I call him Gummy because he doesn’t have any teeth. See?” Gently using her hoof, she opened the little gator’s mouth, and true to her words, he didn’t have any teeth whatsoever. “He’s just like you.”

I was going to ask what she meant by that when I remembered that I had my teeth retracted. I made sure that I kept my teeth retracted anytime I was near a pony. I had started doing this during my first week when I hung out with Fluttershy and the CMC. This was mostly to not scare the girls when we played back at the cove, but also so I wouldn’t bite my tongue on accident, something that happened more often since becoming a Night Fury. ‘Huh…I wonder if the real Toothless had this kind of issue before?’ I didn’t bother to think about that any further since I wasn’t going to get an answer anytime soon. “Umm, Pinkie, I’m not actually toothless. I can retract my teeth. See?”

I opened my mouth and flexed my jaws till my teeth sprang out of my gums, surprising Pinkie. “Whoa!” She jumped a bit in surprise. Then, little Gummy jumped down from her hoof and crawled over to me. His little tail wagged before he gave me a smile, and to my own surprise, he sprung out his own teeth out of his gums just like me. This got a major shock out of Pinkie Pie, who fell backwards and passed out.

(present day)

“Boy, that sure was a fun night.” I chuckled as I stood up and took the time to stretch out each limb individually, including my wings. Once I had fully woken up, I made my way toward the kitchen to grab a glass of water. Much to my surprise, I see that Fluttershy was already awake and going about her morning routine. “Good morning, Fluttershy.”

She turned around to look at me with a warm, cheerful smile. “Good morning, Johann. Did you sleep well?” She asked while pouring what I guessed was pancake mix onto a skillet.

“Yep. Thanks to Princess Luna, my sleeping has become much more refreshing.” After the night I came back from the school’s show and tell, I had yet another dreamless sleep. This hadn’t gone unnoticed as the following morning, Princess Luna paid us a visit. She told me that she had wanted to talk some more with me and thought she could pay me a visit through my dreams to do so. But much to her surprise, despite knowing where I was and that should have made finding my dreams all that much easier, she still couldn’t find me. I told her that ever since I woke up in this world, I haven’t had a single dream or nightmare. I would fall asleep, only to wake up to it being morning again. This had baffled her for a time before she realized the problem. Much like with my voice and my connection to my own magic, I wasn’t given the ability to dream. I found that hard to believe, but I also took into consideration that the life I live now would have also been considered unbelievable too.

She offered to fix this with a spell. And I of course couldn’t help but tease her by asking if this would require another kiss. Her dark blue cheeks burned a dark purple as she became flabbergasted, and I asked her that a date should at least happen before. As I guessed, Luna wasn’t as pure as she had pretended to be when I had teased Celestia about changing my size. I realized I was getting ahead of myself and told her I was only joking. She calmed down and told me the spell wouldn’t require any lip contact whatsoever.

And with a glow of her horn, she placed it on my forehead, and gave me the ability to dream once more. I knew it worked when night came along and I had gone to bed. I remember I had dreamt I was in my favorite movie, “Jurassic Park”. I would have this dream on rare occasions and even wake up in fright whenever one of the dinosaurs got me, but this time was somehow different. Instead, I was in my dragon form, fought back against the dinosaurs, and won. That’s when Princess Luna showed up and told me that this time, I was more in control of my dreams, which made fighting back so much easier. After that, we spent some time together chatting, and I would talk about the movie my dream was based on. She offered to make this a regular thing if I was up for it, and I of course said yes.

“Johann.” I was snapped back to reality when Fluttershy gently tapped my shoulder with her hoof. “Are you okay? You were staring off into space.”

I nodded my head, making her sigh in relief. “Yeah, sorry. I was just taking a trip down memory lane. So, what are you gonna do today, Fluttershy?” I asked while taking a seat close to the table in the kitchen.

She hummed to herself as she served me and herself a stack of pancakes. I’ve come to learn that Fluttershy is one busy mare. Before I was kidnapped and taken to the Arena, Fluttershy would tell me about her day-to-day activities and what she does for a living. At first, she made it sound so easy, but when I spent my first day here in her cottage (That didn’t involve me spilling my guts out in her bathroom toilet.), I saw that her work was far from simple. When she told me she “cared” for animals, I thought it was something along the lines of feeding them, giving them water, keeping them clean, and making sure they were healthy. You know, normal animal caretaker stuff. But boy, was I wrong.

When she takes care of animals, it takes on a whole different kind of meaning. For starters, she can understand what the animals are actually saying to her. I thought that this was natural because, technically, she was an animal too, being a pony and all, but that turned out not to be the case at all. The reason she can understand her animal friends stems for the meaning behind her cutie mark and her talent. Because of this talent of hers, she became an animal caretaker, and would help any animal in need of her aid.

And boy did they need aid around here. The animals of this world are nearly as sentient as me and the ponies. Like this one time, Fluttershy got a visit from a mongoose and a snake, who were apparently having an argument about which tree was best for napping under. I had nearly done a double-take when Fluttershy told me that, because I thought the main issue would have been the fact that a snake and mongoose were natural enemies. But no, the problem was the location for the best naps. Oh, and the weirdness doesn’t stop there, ladies and gentlemen. This one time, we held an intervention…for a squirrel and a mole. Yeah, you heard me right; an intervention for a squirrel and a mole.

Apparently, the two thought they were a pair of secret agents who fought crime and villainy wherever they may roam. Turns out these two found an old comic book that had similar animals with the same roles. It took us hours to convince them that it was just a comic book, but this only made them feel slightly depressed until Fluttershy came up with an idea. She told them they could keep playing the role by helping her make sure that none of the animals fought with each other, acting as mediators and telling her if there was any trouble. The two were happy again, solving that weird problem.

Then there was this one time after I had gotten back from town. I came to find a bear in Fluttershy’s house. I had thought it was a wild animal trying to find a quick snack and might hurt Fluttershy, so I took action and wrestled with it. We were practically at each other’s throats until Fluttershy came home and broke us up just as were about to do some serious damage to each other. She went on to explain that the bear’s name was Harry, and that she had known him ever since she found him alone in the Whitetail Woods as a cub. I felt so embarrassed by my rash behavior that I apologized to the bear, telling him I thought he was there to hurt Fluttershy. With a quick translation from Fluttershy, she told me that Harry was also sorry because he thought the same thing about me. Apologies were made and me and Harry actually became good friends.

So yeah, her life and work are tougher than I thought, which is why I made sure to offer as much help as I can when she needs it. She tapped her chin as she tried to think about her schedule for today. While I was eating some of the pancakes she made, Fluttershy let out a loud gasp as she dashes for one of the cabinets and searched around inside. “Oh no, oh my.” She made her way to another cabinet and did the same before looking distraught. “We’re out of cherries.”

“Umm…oh no?” Fluttershy seemed worried, but I wasn’t really sure why a couple of cherries would be the reason why. She tends to worry about the simplest things, like possible outcomes that seem unlikely to ever happen, so I was kinda used to it by now. “Is that a bad thing?”

“Oh yes it is. Without a cherry, I can’t make Angel Bunny’s lunch later.” And there it is. If there is one source of stress in her life that is always a constant, it’s that little ball of fluff and terror.

I got to meet the little devil after the party Pinkie Pie threw for me. Now, I’m not saying the little guy doesn’t have his moments where he is useful, like helping Fluttershy out along with me. But he’s no saint either. He’s basically a spoiled brat who likes to make everyone miserable if he’s not happy. Then I remembered something. This whole conversation reminds me of a certain story she told me. “Wait, I thought something like this already happened, and you learned to take care of this kind of problem.”

She blushed a little and gave me a sheepish smile while rubbing the back of her head. “Well, you’re right. I’m actually surprised you remember me telling you that story from way back when.” I gave her a courteous nod for her to continue. “Something like this did happen, but I did learn to put my hoof down.” Why do I feel like she just made a reference to something? “But that doesn’t mean I would stop making his favorite food. He knows that if I don’t have everything he demands, then he has to learn to deal with it. Though, if I can, I usually try not to disappoint.”

One of the nice things about Fluttershy is her compassion to think of others, even at her own expense; a friend I’m lucky enough to have. “Well, if that’s the case, why don’t we hurry and finish breakfast and head down to the market to go buy some for the little guy?”

She gave me a bright, cheerier smile before taking her seat to eat her own breakfast. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

After breakfast, we grabbed our packs and bits and made our way down to the market. Along the way, I saw familiar faces and waved to them as we walked on. At first, the ponies around here were nervous whenever I walked by, but thanks to Pinkie, they started to get used to me and became a lot less tense when I walked through town. Fluttershy would tell me that Ponyville is a very nice place once you live here long enough, even though it does get its fair share of problems from time to time.

Pretty soon, we manage to make it to the local market. The market was split up into two sections. On one side, you had the regulars who are ponies who live here in Ponyville, and on the other side, you have traveling merchants who usually stop by the town once or twice a week. Normally, Fluttershy would check the market first for her grocery shopping because they tend to sell the freshest food, and if they didn’t have what she needed, she would swing by a place called Barnyard Bargains. I’m sure I heard that name somewhere before, but for the life of me, I couldn’t remember from where. I shrug it off and look around to see if any of the vendors are selling cherries. I glanced around until I spotted a stand that had pictures of cherries on them. Something I noticed about Equestria is they like to use images to depict their price and products. “Hey, Fluttershy, there’s a cherry stand right over there.”

She turned around with a smile. “Really, where?” I pointed to the stand and watched as her eyes followed the direction my paw was pointing to. However, where I expected her to be happy, and even elated, she frowned and looked away. “Oh. Um…maybe I’ll go buy some from Barnyard Bargains. I’m sure Angel won’t care too much.”

I may not have known Fluttershy for long, but I could easily tell something about that stand was troubling her. I then remembered the story she told me way back when. She had tried to get all the ingredients for a special salad for Angel Bunny, but she was missing a cherry and went down to the market to buy one. Then she mentioned this rude stallion…hold up.

I turned to look back at the stand to see who the vendor was. It was a pegasus stallion with light brown fur, blonde mane, and sported a five o’clock shadow. He wore a blue cap, a red bow tie, and a white apron. Something told me that this guy is the same one who called Fluttershy a doormat, but without her to confirm if he is or not, I decided it would be best to keep my cool. Seeing as how Fluttershy doesn’t want to approach the stand, I took it upon myself to get the cherry myself.

I strolled over to the stand where the stallion was currently counting his bits. Once I was in front of the stand, I sat down and looked around his stall for a sign to tell me how much his produce was. As I mentioned, they would use signs here to tell how much their wares cost, but for this particular stall, that wasn’t the case. I cleared my throat to get his attention. “How much for one cherry?” I wanted to see if this was the same stallion from Fluttershy’s story, so I only ordered the one cherry rather than a few.

He glanced at me for a moment, scanning my body with his eyes before resting a hoof on the counter. “How much you got?” He asked with a gruff voice, dodging my question entirely.

“Enough to buy one cherry, I’m sure.” I made sure to answer while also being vague.

“You sure? These are some high-quality cherries I’m sellin here, picked from the best orchard in Equestria, you know.” Yet again, he wasn’t giving me a price.

“I’m sure they are, but I’m only interested in buying the one cherry, so if you can tell me how much for just the one, I’d happily pay it and be on my merry way.” I tried to force a smile and maintain my cool. I was never a fan of people (or ponies in this case) who would try to swindle some of their hard-earned money.

He shrugged his shoulders while looking back at his hoof. “Eight bits. Take it or leave it, bub.”

I was about to argue the absurd price he was charging for a single cherry when Fluttershy came trotting over beside me. “Johann, is everything okay? You’ve been here for a while.”

I was about to suggest we leave and go with her original plan when the smug stallion chuckled. “Well, if it isn’t the doormat. Hey, you want to try and buy my goods again? I’ll give you a discount and only charge you nine bits this time.”

I wasn’t sure if it was visible in my dragon form, but if it was, I’m sure a blood vein would be popping out from my forehead. This lowlife had the audacity to not only charge a higher price in front of me, but to also insult my friend? ‘Oh, there will be blood, my fucked friend.’ Moving a wing out to gently nudge her along, I started to escort Fluttershy away from the stand. “Come along, Fluttershy. Let's drop you off at Barnyard Bargains while I attend to some business.”

“What are you going to do, Johann?” She asked, sounding nervous.

“Oh, don’t worry about me. I’m just going to take care of something really quick.”

After I walked Fluttershy to the store, I decided to conduct a test. I paid two ponies, one mare and one stallion, to purchase some cherries from that very same vendor. I wanted to get an accurate estimation and asked them to buy five cherries each. The results were different, but each one was higher than the total value of a single cherry. The mare had to pay forty bits for five cherries, while the stallion paid forty-five bits. I had to make sure my assumption was on the mark and paid two more ponies to run the same test, and though the numbers were different, the results were the same. The stallion at the counter was overcharging ponies for a single cherry.

With my test concluded, I made my way straight to city hall to get down to business. It was actually here where we held the party that Pinkie threw for me, and where I met a mare that I knew could help me out. Once I was inside, I knocked on the door with the word “Mayor” written on it. I didn’t have to wait long as the door opened, and I was met with the mare I wanted to see. With light tan fur and silver white mane, it was the mayor of this town, Mayor Mare. “Oh, Duke Johann, what a surprise to see you today. To what do I owe the honor?”

I chuckled and waved my paw. “Oh, come on now. I told you back at the party that you don’t need to be so formal with me. Just call me Johann.”

She giggled and stepped aside to let me into her office. “Alright then. In that case, you can just call me Mayor.” I took a seat next to her desk and waited for her to take her own seat behind it. “So I assume you came here for something, yes?”

I nodded before clearing my throat. “Mayor, am I right to assume that anypony who isn’t a resident of Ponyville must first file a form with you before they can start selling their wares in the market?”

She nodded, confirming my assumption. “Yes, you are correct, Johann. Anypony who isn’t from Ponyville must submit a request form. This is mostly due for safety to prevent unruly characters from selling anything illegal or anything could harm the residents of our town. Why do you ask?”

“I have reason to believe that a certain vendor is possibly scamming the fine ponyfolk of this town out of their hard earned bits.” Mayor gasped in surprise as I continued. “But in order to prove this to be fact, I’ll need to check with his supplier. I assume, on the form, it asks for them to list that, right?”

She nodded, but seemed a bit pensive. “It does, but this is sensitive information you wish for me to disclose with you.” I forgot that this is technically confidential information, and that I would probably need to speak to someone with a higher authority to get this taken care of. “But seeing as you are a duke, you have the authority to see it if you so demand.”

“Wait, I can?” She nodded her head, leaving me a bit baffled. I honestly didn’t think that my new title would allow me access to this kind of information. Then again, I never got around to asking what my position’s perks were. I should probably make a mental note to ask Twilight about that. But I didn’t want to make it seem like I was forcing her to give up the information because of my rank. “Mayor, if this is information you’re not comfortable giving to me, I can file for a proper investigation. I don’t want to make it seem like I’m abusing my title as duke. In fact, when I came here to ask for your help, my rank and title had never crossed my mind.”

Yet again, she seemed surprised, but that soon faded away as she gave me a smile, stood up from her desk, and walked over to the door. “Johann, I can safely say that I can trust you. I’ve met with plenty of nobles while working this position, and each one of them always seemed snooty and entitled, like all of Equestria revolved around them. Heck, we have one such pony here in town who isn’t even a noble who acts like that. Two if you count her daughter.” She opened the door and gestured for me to follow her. “But you aren’t like them one bit. So I’d be happy to help with your investigation.”

We soon made our way to the other end of the building, where we entered a room with filing cabinets. She moved to one set and opened one of the drawers. “Now then, which vendor is it you’re looking for?” I told her that it was the cherry vendor and she got to work looking for the folder I needed. “Ah, here it is.”

She pulled it out and passed it over to me. I opened it, and sure enough, I saw a photo of the stallion in question. “Hmm, so his name is Tightwad. How fitting.” I read over the file for more information until I found what I was looking for. I found both the name of his supplier and how much he usually makes while selling here in Ponyville, and something about the numbers don’t add up. “It says here he gets his cherries from somepony named Cherry Jubilee, and that she runs an orchard out in someplace called Dodge Junction. Where is that?” Mayor Mare took me back to her office, where she pulled a map of Equestria out for me. On the map, it looked to be about southwest of Ponyville, and wouldn’t take too long to fly over there. “Alright, that’s all I needed to know. Thanks, Mayor.”

“Anytime, Johann. And if you are correct and you are onto something, I should consider making you the town sheriff.” She teased as she patted my side before I left her office. I hoped it was just her teasing.

“Heh maybe, but only if I get one of those stars that says ‘Sheriff’ on it and a cowboy hat.” With that, I took off to find Fluttershy to let her know I’ll be making a trip.

It only took me a minute to find Fluttershy and tell her where I was going. She tried to convince me that I shouldn’t go through all this trouble over some cherries. I told her it was more than about the cherries; it was about how she was treated and how this guy could be running something shady. But it was mostly because he called her a doormat, and I wasn’t allowed to burn his stand down.

I had been flying for at least half an hour before I reached my destination. And I got to say, I wasn’t that impressed with what I found. Now, I’m not trying to shame or make fun of this place, but I expected it to be bigger. Dodge Junction is a small town, if you can call it that. It looked like something out of an old western movie. There weren’t that many buildings near some train tracks, but other than that, nothing that really stood out much. I could see a few trees and a barn in the distance, believing that would be my best place to start looking.

I glided over to where I saw the barn with a silo near it, and as I got closer, I could see a sign with a pair of cherries, even some on the silo. However, as I was making my descent toward the farm, two things caught my attention. First, I didn’t see anypony around the farm, or the trees filled with cherries. Second, on the outer rim of the farm, I noticed that there were some trees that looked to have been knocked down, and the ground looked like it had been violently dug up. Soon, my feet touched the ground, and I made my way to the barn, seeing if anypony was there. I peeked my head inside and saw nopony around. “Hello? Is anypony here?”

The whole place seemed deserted as I looked around and walked inside. Then, from my right, I heard a rattling sound and turned to see a barrel shaking. I carefully made my way over to the barrel and moved my paw over to lift off the lid. “Uh, hello?”

“Eeeeppp!!” A voiced squeaked out from the barrel before a pair of cream-colored hooves reached up and grabbed the lid back. “Go away! I’m already dealing with one monster today! Ah don’t need another!” A voice with a slight southern accent screamed.

‘Well, that was hurtful.’ While I was slightly offended by being called a monster, I quickly realized she said “another monster”, meaning that she was having troubles already. I gently knocked on the lid before speaking. “Um, excuse me, miss, but I’m not here to cause you any harm. I actually came here to find somepony by the name of Cherry Jubilee.”

The mare slowly poked her head out so that only her lime eyes were visible. “Who’s askin’?”

I took a step back and gave a polite bow. “Hi, my name is Johann, and I came all this way from Ponyville.”

She poked the rest of her head out, allowing me to see her two-tone cherry mane that was tied up in a bun/ponytail. She had a cutie mark (the normal kind, not the magical one) under her left eye. “Ponyville? Ah don’t suppose you know Applejack, do ya?”

I gave a quick nod and smiled without showing my teeth. “I am, as well as her friends. I’m actually staying with one of them. Her name is Fluttershy.”

The mare seemed relieved as she let out a sigh. “Oh, thank Celestia. For a second there, Ah thought Ah was going to have to deal with a dragon on top of my other problem.” She froze for a second before giving me a sheepish smile. “Um, no offense.”

I kept smiling before waving a paw. “None taken, I get that a lot. But that does raise a question. What did you mean earlier by ‘another monster’? Is there something around here that’s causing you trouble?”

She sighed again as she slumped back into the barrel, looking rather sad. “Ah’m afraid so, darlin’. See, around yesterday morning, a horrible creature started attacking the orchard and drove everypony away. Oh, but where are my manners?” She seemed to pep up a bit as she stuck out one of her hooves to me. “Ah’m Cherry Jubilee, and Ah run this here cherry orchard, hence why I stayed.”

I was actually surprised to find out there this was the pony I was looking for. “You’re Cherry Jubilee?” I asked as I gently shook her hoof with my paw.

She nodded happily before letting go of my paw. “That I am, hon. Now, what was it you needed little ol’ me for?”

I was going to talk to her about why I came here, but my morals wouldn’t let me when I know that there is a bigger problem at hand that needs taking care of. “Never mind that, it can wait. More importantly, how can I help you?” She seemed a bit surprised by my question as she tilted her head to the side. “If there’s some creature giving you trouble, then I’d like to help you get rid of it.”

Her eyes widened. “Well, Ah guess chivalry isn’t dead as Ah had thought.” She smiled before tilting the barrel over till she could jump out of it. With her whole body now out of the barrel, I could see her cutie mark was a pair of cherries, just like on the sign and silo outside. “Now, while Ah appreciate your offer to help, Ah’m afraid there isn’t much anypony can do. Ah already sent one of my workers to head for Canterlot this morning, and Celestia only knows if and when help will arrive.” She stepped over to the door and peeked outside. “And if help does arrive today, it may be too late. That darn Tatzlwurm has been ravaging mah orchard. Pretty soon, there ain’t gonna be an orchard to save. Ah’ll go out of business and have to fire my workers.” She hung her head down as some tears trickled down her muzzle.

That was where I drew the line. A jackass stallion is one thing to deal with today, but this was a literal monster causing some pony harm. “Ms. Jubilee.” She turned to me as I made my way to the door and slowly flared my wings, preparing for takeoff. “I’ll deal with your worm problem.” I turned to look at her and smiled. “After all, what kind of duke would I be if I ignored the tears of a pony in need?” I took a bounding step outside before pushing off the ground and flapped my wings, pushing me into the air.

I circled around a patch of the cherry orchard where a good amount of trees had been knocked down. Some of the foliage at the top had been stripped bare, and I could see some massive holes in the ground. “Jesus, those things are huge.” The size of the holes were maybe ten feet in diameter, meaning whatever this Tatzlwurm might be, it’s big. “Now, how to draw it out?” As I circled around in the air trying to think of a way to draw this beast out of hiding, I had an idea. ‘If this thing is like an actual worm, then maybe it can be lured out like one. There’s two ways I think will draw it out, but I lack any electricity to try the first idea, so I guess we’ll go with the second one.’ I flapped my wings harder raising myself higher away from the ground. “Worms often respond to vibrations, so maybe this one might just do the very same thing.” I took a deep breath before firing low powered fireballs onto the ground at a rapid pace. With any luck, the creature may either mistake it for rain or a pony that is passing by. I made sure to concentrate the blast near the hole that looked like it was recently dug, and that my blasts aren’t strong enough to startle it away.

Though I couldn’t feel it, I could see some of the rocks and trees start to shake, and the ground started to break apart till a massive worm-like monster sprung out. Its head was a light shade of pink with red frills along its face. Its body, from what I could see, was covered in purple scales. “So this is a Tatzlwurm? Doesn’t seem all that intimidating.” It turned its head toward me and unleashed an ear-piercing roar. As its jaw opened, it was like a mother trucking graboid with three tentacle-like appendages wiggling out of its mouth. “I stand corrected. Geez, where’s Burt Gummer when you need him?”

I flared out my wings to maintain a gliding position as I began my analysis of the creature. Clearly, since it’s a creature that is subterranean, its body is going to be tough enough to handle incredible pressure. Simple plasma wouldn’t be as effective. The fire itself may damage it, but it can easily put it out by burrowing down into the ground.

While I was trying to analyze the beast, it quickly dove back into the ground and out of sight. I had thought I had lost its interest and was about to fire another set of plasma blasts when the thing’s head shot out of the ground, along with the rest of its body. Like a shark jumping out of the water to catch its prey, the Tatzlwurm launched itself toward me, jaws opened wide. I was nearly caught in its jaws before I quickly banked right, narrowly missing me. But one of its tentacles latched onto my leg and started to pull my body down with it as it fell down to the ground. I had to quickly tuck in my wings as I turned my body so I could face the massive worm. I looked to the tentacle wrapped around my leg and took careful aim before firing a plasma blast at full power, easily cutting through it and causing the monster to screech out in pain. Once I was free from its grasp, I flared out my wings as fast I could to halt my descent, and not a moment too soon as I pulled up just as I was mere inches from hitting the ground. The Tatzlwurm’s body slammed into the ground and I quickly seized my opportunity to start unleashing a barrage of plasma blasts on its body. The worm roared in pain before whipping its body around, slamming its tail into my body and sent me flying. I was stunned for a few moments before I was able to snap back to my senses, quickly stretching out my wings like parachutes. I was forced to land on the ground as I tried to regain my bearings, only to see my opponent was nowhere to be seen. I quickly turned my head around to see if I could spot him before feeling the earth beneath my claws start to shake. “Shit!” I quickly jumped to my side and rolled on the ground just as the Tatzlwurm sprung out from the ground.

I fired another plasma blast aimed at its head as I tried to pick myself up. However, it had tilted its head to the side, dodging my attack before lunging at me like a cobra. I jumped back as far as my legs could send me, nearly avoiding its jaws. It was clear that its hide was incredibly tough and that my attacks don’t have nearly as much of an effect on it like I wanted it to. It reminds me of my battle with the hydra. “Wait a second, that’s it!”

With a plan set in mind, I flapped my wings and put some distance between me and the massive worm creature. Once I had moved out of its strike zone, I started to slam my tail on the ground and let out a thunderous roar. “Come on, you ugly son of bitch! I’m right here!!” I called out in an attempt into goading it into my plan.

The monster let out a hiss before diving its head into the ground and out of sight, just like I was hoping it would do. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on the ground beneath my feet. The beast attacks similar to a shark when hunting its prey. It will circle around its target before launching its body from below. I made sure to stay very still as I could feel the slightest vibrations. Soon, the ground started to shake much more violently, signaling the beast’s attack, but I remained still as the jaws of the beast popped underneath me. Its tentacle-like appendages wrapped around my limbs as it left my body into the air. “Gotcha!!” Without wasting a second, I took a deep breath and unleashed my most powerful plasma blast down its esophagus. The monster roared in pain, but I had no intention of letting up my attack as I fired blast after blast till smoke was billowing out of its mouth.

The Tatzlwurm flailed its head, roaring in pain as it tried to throw me out of its mouth as I kept firing inside it. I kept my claws dug into its jaws and wasn’t going anywhere. After a few more shots, I charged up my last attack and fired a concentrated plasma blast at the roof of its mouth and watched as it punched a hole through its skull, feeling its blood ooze down onto my body and the Tatzelwurm’s body collapsed onto the ground. I jumped out just before it could hit the ground. The once formidable beast now lays dying on the ground before me as its blood stains the ground around its head. I shook off the blood that had spilled onto me, then took off back in the direction of the barn.

As I touched down and started to walk over to the barn to let Ms. Jubilee know that her pest problem was taken care of, I saw that there were a few solar guards already speaking with her. As I got closer, I could hear some of their conversation. “Ma’am, are you sure that he said he was a duke?” One stallion asked.

Ms. Jubilee nodded her head, looking a bit worried. “Yes, he did. He told me his name was Johann, and that he came from Ponyville. I was shocked when he-” Her eyes glanced in my direction and she quickly pointed her hoof to me. “There he is right there!”

The solar guards turned to look at who Cherry Jubilee was pointing to, and when they saw me, their eyes and jaws widened. “Good afternoon, gentlecolts. I assume there isn’t a problem here, is there?”

They quickly responded by bowing their heads down before lifting them up and giving me a salute. “No sir, there is no problem, sir.” They all said in a unison greeting.

“Whoa, at ease, fellas. No need to be so formal with me. Just Johann will do.” It was kind of embarrassing to be addressed like I was some kind of big shot, but it did feel kinda cool, too. “Now then, I take it you guys are here about the Tatzlwurm?”

The guards nodded their heads in unison as one pony guard stepped forward. “Yes, sir. We had just received word from one of Ms. Jubilee’s workers and made our way here as fast as we could. We are about to set out to try and hunt it down.”

I held out my paw and shook my head to stop them. “There won’t be a need for that. I already took care of the problem.”

The pony guards looked to each other a bit confused before the guard that had stepped forward spoke again. “Sir, what do you mean ‘already taken care of’? Do you mean to say that you slayed the beast already?”

I couldn’t help but smirk as I nodded my head, getting looks of utter shock from all the ponies present. “You’ll find its body out past the orchard. I’m not sure if you guys know who could come pick up the remains and relocate them off this orchard, but I’d appreciate it if you did.” The guards all gave me a salute before taking off in the direction I gave them of the creature’s body. I turned back to look at Ms. Jubilee, who quickly bowed her head and even got on her knees, shaking a bit. “Whoa, hey, what’s wrong?” I asked, a bit surprised by her sudden quivering.

“Ah am so sorry. Ah had no idea you were the same dragon who saved Canterlot and was given the title of duke. Please forgive me.” She was practically shaking like a leaf. “And Ah am so sorry for getting you involved with my problems. Ah really had no idea who you were.”

“Ms. Jubilee, it’s alright. I promise I’m not mad at you.” She peaked one of her eyes out to look at me and I gave her a warm smile. “I originally came here because I needed some help with a little investigation I’m running right now. But when you told me how you were in need of help, I acted of my own free will to do so. There is no reason for you to be apologizing to me.”

She seemed to have calmed down as her shaking had ceased and she slowly got back up. “Are you sure?” She asked, still sounding nervous, and I just responded with a nod. She let out a sigh of relief while holding a hoof to her chest. “Thank Celestia. And thank you so much for taking care of that Tatzlwurm worm for me. How can Ah ever I repay you?”

“Well, remember how I mentioned I was running an investigation?” She nodded. “Well, it’s about a certain vendor that is currently selling your cherries in Ponyville. He is selling single cherries for over eight bits.”

“He’s what?!” She shouted, looking both shocked and upset. “Why in Equestria would he be doing such a thing? We don’t charge that much for cherries around here.” I went into detail about how I met the stallion and how he had previous history with Fluttershy. I also told her of the test I ran to see if he was pulling the same stunt with other ponies. Lastly, I told her about the amount of bits he had registered that he made back in Ponyville. Needless to say, she was very pissed and stormed off toward a house that was a few feet away from the barn, which I was surprised I hadn’t noticed before. We went into the house, where she led me to a room that had filing cabinets, much like back at town hall in Ponyville. She searched through the files till she found Tightwad’s folder and opened it up to show the profits he had registered that he made. It was exactly like what I saw back in Ponyville. “Why, that no good...!” Ms. Jubilee looked absolutely furious. She took a moment to take a calming breath before looking back to me. “Hon, do you think you’d be kind enough to give a mare a lift to Ponyville? Ah’d like to have a word with Mr. Tightwad, and maybe we should bring some of those guards with us, too.”

Clearly understanding what she had planned, I nodded my head and went off to grab two of the pony guards before we made our way back to Ponyville.

It took us around an hour to get back to Ponyville, mainly due to the fact I was carrying a passenger and the two pegasus guards that I had asked to tag along weren’t as fast as I would have liked them to be. I was honestly worried that we were going to miss our chance to catch the swindling vendor. But luck was on our side when we had reached the market. He was still where I last saw him. I told the two guards to get into position as Ms. Jubilee and I approached the stand, both of which gave me a nod and hovered in the air to wait.

We both approached from the side with her right behind me. I wanted her to listen in before making herself known. As I moved into the stallion’s view, he gave me a smug look. “Well, look who’s back. What, you decided to change your mind and buy my merch?” He sounded so pleased with himself, I could barely keep myself from cracking a smirk.

“No, I just came here to ask why you would charge so much for just one cherry. I mean, they can’t be that good to be worth that much. Does your supplier even know how much your charging?” I asked, sounding confident and a bit threatening to see how he would respond.

Surprisingly, he didn’t seem fazed at all and even scoffed at my tone. “Psh, like I’ll ever tell you who my supplier is. And even if I did, that dumb broad won’t ever find out.”

“Is that so?” Ms. Jubilee stepped into view, and I could see Tightwad’s fur slowly turn pale. “Good afternoon, Mr. Tightwad. Ah’m glad to see that you’re well.” Despite the pleasantries, Ms. Jubilee was glaring daggers at the stallion behind the counter.

Tightwad was sweating bullets as he nervously adjusted the bow around his neck. “M-Ms. Jubilee, h-how nice to see you again. You’re looking extra b-beautiful today. Did you get a new haircut?” He asked, trying his best to remain calm, and failing at that.

“Cut the chit chat, Tightwad. Ah’m not here to make idle conversation with you.” She pulled out the file she brought from her office out of her satchel, then slammed it onto the table, making the stallion jump a bit. “Would you care to tell me why you are charging ponies so much for a single cherry? And while you’re at it, maybe you can explain why your profits are around the same as every other vendor I do business with?”

The walls were closing in on Tightwad as he nervously looked back and forth between me and Ms. Jubilee. Finally, I had enough with his stalling and decided to cut to the chase. “I’ll tell you why, Ms. Jubilee. You see, Mr. Tightwad here raises the prices for cherries so that he can make the regular expected amount in profit to send back to you. Then, after selling only a few cherries, he goes and sells the rest for the same amount of bits, but keeps it for himself instead.” I leaned my head over the counter, getting right in his face while glaring down at him. He shook in place before finally running for the back of his stand and making a break for it. But sadly for him, he didn’t get far as the two guards I brought were quick to catch him and pin him down before cuffing him. “Excellent work, guys. Do me a favor and take this guy back to Canterlot and let the princesses know of his crime.”

“Yes, Duke Johann, we will do so at once.” They both saluted to me as they spoke in unison. And the look on Tightwad’s face as he realized who he was dealing with was absolutely priceless. I wished I had a camera to film it all.

The guards escorted the stallion away, leaving Ms. Jubilee and me alone. “Ah am really sorry about him, darlin’. Had Ah known he was doing such a thing, Ah would have turned him in myself.” I could tell that she was both upset and ashamed of the way one of her former employees acted. But she took a deep breath and sighed before looking back to me with a smile. “Tell you what, from now on, any cherries you get from either my orchard or vendors are free of charge.”

It was a generous offer, to say the least, but a part of me felt like that may have been too generous of an offer. “Ms. Jubilee, that is really generous of you, but I don’t thi-”

I was quickly cut off as she gently placed her hoof on my lips to stop me. “No, Ah don’t want to hear it. It’s the least Ah can do to show my thanks for not only revealing that no good scammer Tightwad, but for also saving my orchard from that Tatzlwurm. And Ah’m not taking no for an answer, hon.” She said with a confident smile. With my hands tied and no other option available, I relented and accepted her offer.

“Good. Oh, and just one more gift from me to you.” I was about to protest, her giving me anything else as a lifetime of free cherries was more than enough. But I didn’t get to voice my opinion as Cherry Jubilee quickly moved in and pressed her lips against my own, holding that position for over a minute before finally pulling back, leaving me utterly bewildered and blushing like a cherry. She giggled before shooting me a playful wink. “Heh, that was a little bit for me as it was for you, hon.” She slowly walked past me and intentionally made sure her tail stroked my chin as she moved on. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, Ah’m gonna go pay my friends here in Ponyville a visit before heading back home. Ta ta, Johann. Don’t be a stranger now, you hear?”

For what felt like hours, I stood in place without so much as flinching a muscle, my wings now fully extended and my face still burning red. The wind blew against my outstretched wings and slowly knocked me over as I flopped on the ground like a stiff, wooden plank. And as I laid there on the ground, contemplating what had just happened, only four words left my lips. “Da fuck was that?”