The Time I was Reincarnated as a Dragon

I was sitting in the vast and large throne room, watching as Glenda’s beak opened and closed as she tried to wrap her head around me being able to talk. However, no words were coming out as she flapped her beak like a fish out of water. I won’t lie, her expression is hilarious, and had she been anyone else, I would have been concerned for her wellbeing. But this is Glenda, so I know she’ll be fine.

“How in Tartarus can you talk now!?” she finally squawked out, now looking even more surprised.

Like I had done before with those who have asked me this same question today, I gave her short cliff notes of the events leading up to this very moment. But the only difference between now and the last few times I told my story, I had decided to tell Glenda everything, including who I was and how I came to be in this world.

Once she had finally gotten over the initial shock of me talking, she gave me a rather skeptical look, like she thought I was making fun of her for saying I came from another world and died to get here. But when she saw that my serious look was genuine, her face paled. She acted like she had killed the family pet and was in tears. She told me how sorry she was that any of that had happened to me. She even began to cry when she also realized that I had pretty much lost everything; friends, family, and my home. I held her close, wrapping a wing around her as she cried as I comforted her. It was kinda weird. Even though I was the one who died and lost everything, I never felt this bad. When I woke up in this world, I never went through this stage of grief. But now, here Glenda was doing it for me. I felt bad that I made her cry, but I had no idea she’d get this emotional.

After I helped calm her down and told her I had no regrets on what I did, she began to relax and compose herself. Once she was no longer grieving, she suddenly switched to full blown curiosity. Before I knew it, I was being bombarded with questions left and right. Anything and everything on her mind was asked, from what my kind looked like, to what we ate, and so much more. I could have easily tried to calm her down so she wouldn’t ask so many questions, but I felt like I had put her through a lot already and she deserved to ask whatever she wanted.

She had finally taken the time to really calm down after I had done a poor reenactment of the fight with Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi on the lava planet. I wasn’t much of an actor, so sue me. “Wow. Your world sounds so cool Noi-er, I mean, Johann. Actually, I was gonna ask, but what do you prefer to be called now?” Glenda asked, curious on how to address me now.

I glanced down at my paw, trying to remember back when it was a human hand. I wiggled my claws like digits, picturing my fingers were still there. But in the blink of an eye, they were back to being the claws I had now. “You know, despite it originally being a nickname, I think going by the name Noir is the best course for my new life. I will always have the memories of when I was human, but that former life will have to remain in the past. That way, I can live this new life to its fullest.”

As I stared at my paw, I watched as a taloned hand moved in to gently rest on it. Looking up, I could see Glenda smiling warmly at me. “I think both your names are nice, but if you want me to call you Noir, I have no problem with that.” I felt one of her digits gently rubbing the pad of my paws as a means to comfort me.

For a moment, we stared at each other with honest smiles, but the moment we realized what we were doing, both our faces began to flush red and we quickly separated our hands and turned away. “Uhh, I uhh…” I blurted out, still frazzled a bit.

“Heh, yeah, totally,” Glenda responded clearly; she wasn’t able to think of anything to say either.

I knew this would come up eventually, but it didn’t make it any easier to handle. Still, I can’t just pretend like nothing didn’t happen. “So, Gallus told me what happened after I left.” I saw her body stiffen and her eyes slowly looking over to me, a deep blush spreading across her face. “I know you felt some sort of regret for what you did and have been worried that I would be mad or even stop being your friend.” I made sure that I gave her the most genuine smile I could as I moved one of my wings to rest on her shoulders. “I promise that isn’t the case. I’m still your friend, and I wouldn’t dream of ditching you like that.”

A brief silence filled the room as my words had taken their time to finally settle within her mind. And when they did, I watched as Glenda’s eyes began to water and she started to sob. Before I knew it, she lunged forward, wrapping her arms around my chest and began to cry tears of joy. I moved my paws to wrap around her back as I felt her crying into my chest, nuzzling me as she did. I stayed there, letting her get it all out of her system, caressing her back as she cried and cried.

After she had gotten a good majority of her crying out of the way, I figured I might as well be somewhat blunt. “So be honest with me. What do you feel towards me?”

She looked up, almost scared, but when she saw that I had a calm look on my face, she calmed herself down. She didn’t look me in the eyes as she rested her head on my chest. “I-I think I love you, Noir.” Despite knowing that could have been an answer she would give, it didn’t stop my heart from skipping a beat. “I’m not sure when it happened exactly, but I think it was back when we had that dinner in the diamond dog kingdom.” The memory of that night began to flood my mind. The light, the food, and the atmosphere did give off a romantic vibe that, at the time, I had failed to notice. “When we were finally able to really relax without worrying about being attacked or chased, I thought about the relationship we had.” I could feel the grip around my waist tightening as she sobbed a bit. “And then you helped me fulfill my father’s dying wish. If it hadn’t been for you showing up on that fateful day at the arena, I’m sure I would have died there.”

She sobbed harder, and I could feel her body quivering as she buried her face in my chest. Looking back to everything that led to this moment, I could understand where she was coming from. I moved my paws and wings to hold her gently as I lowered my head to nuzzle her own. For the longest time, we stayed there, just embracing one another. The guilt in my heart only grew. I had left her to deal with all these fears and emotions on her own. ‘No more. I won’t let her feel this way again.’ Those words echoed in my mind as I held her close.

When she had finally stopped crying, I made sure to wipe away her tears and stroked her back. “N-noir, can I ask you something?” I craned my neck back so she could look at me more directly. “I-I love you…I wanted to say that for a long time now.” Though her face was covered with feathers, I could easily see a blush forming on her cheeks. “Even if you can’t reciprocate my feelings, I just wanted to have the chance to tell you at least once.”

I could feel my heart now beating harder in my chest, so loud that I could hear it in my ears. Here was Glenda, pouring her heart out to me. My mind raced with thoughts and ideas, some that made my heart flutter while others made it feel cold and shriveled. “E-Even if you can’t love me back, will you still be my friend, Noir?” she asked with hope gleaming in her eyes, along with more tears.

If I could kick myself, I would do so in a heartbeat. It’s because of me she is this scared and afraid to speak out her feelings, feelings she held back that were hurting her. I gently moved my paw to stroke her head. “Glenda, I’ll be honest with you.” I could feel her tensing up as she listened. “It’s not that I can’t love you back. It’s just going to take me some time to open up, that's all.”

There was a new look now on her face, one that looked both hopeful and confused. “W-What do you mean? D-Do you need more time to think about it?”

I shook my head and we separated for a moment. “No, that's not what I mean. Truth be told, I like you a lot. Back when we were both stuck in the arena, anytime you teased me, I couldn’t help but think how sexy and cute you were.” Her cheeks turned to a darker shade of red as she no doubt recalled those moments. “So here’s the thing. You remember how I mentioned being from another world, right?” She nodded her head and I continued. “Well, back in my old world, the idea of seeking a relationship with a creature that wasn’t of my own species was considered a sin.”

Her blush faded suddenly, and she looked heartbroken. “S-So you’re saying, because I’m a griffin and you’re a dragon, we can’t be together?” There was a noticeable crack in her voice as tears began to well up again.

Waving my paws quickly, I was able to calm her down. “N-No, I didn’t mean it like that! Here, let me explain.”

From there, I told her a little more about my world and how things were vastly different compared to here in Equestria. I told her about how there were many different kinds of religions, and that one thing most had in common was the unity between a human and an animal in a lover’s way was considered one of many great sins. At first, she didn’t understand the problem all too well, until I told her that humans were the only species on Earth to have the ability to talk and have cognitive thoughts. This had finally been the key to make the idea click in her mind.

Here in Equestria, there are also animals who are the same way. One example that we both knew of was about how in Equestria, there are two kinds of deer. Those who can speak and do things, such as run businesses, form communities and shops, while the other kind are nowhere near as intelligent or as complex to do the same.

When this analogy was made, Glenda started to cheer back up and the glimmer of hope came back in full force within her eyes. “So what you’re saying is, you just need to get used to loving some creature who isn’t another hoo-man, right?”

“It’s human, Glenda, not hoo-man, but yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.” I moved a wing to pull her in as I hugged her and could feel her humming as she nuzzled into me. “I’ll be frank, this whole world is still so new to me. There are things that I’m still learning about. Not to mention I’m still getting used to being a dragon.” My paws would caress her back, getting me some soft purrs out of her. “But little by little, the old ways of thinking from my world are fading. So all I’m asking is for just a little patience, and soon, I’ll be more than ready to pressure a relationship with you.” Leaning down, I gave her a soft kiss to the forehead and smiled as I looked down at her.

I almost started to laugh as I saw her feathers start to puff up, her cheeks burned a deep shade of crimson. “Y-You mean it? You just need time?”

Though neither of us wanted to, we let go of one another as we continued our talk. “I do. Actually, it’s thanks to you that I’m getting used to the idea.” Glenda had a puzzled look on her face. “Remember how back at the arena, you liked to tease me?” Faster than you can say “Bob’s your uncle,” the realization dawned on her. “When you first tried it, I wasn’t all that affected. Though as time progressed, I saw you as more than just a friend. Your charm started to work on me.”

Steam was now billowing out of her ears as she no doubt was thinking back on all the times she got flirty. Oh, and there were a lot of times, so it took her a bit of time to go through them all in her head. She looked down as her cheeks were burning with absolute embarrassment. It was so cute seeing her incredibly flustered. “So, where do we go from here? I-I mean, you’re staying for the summit, but what happens afterwards?”

I scratched my chin a bit as I hadn’t considered this. Hell, up to this point, I was afraid something bad was gonna happen, but now that everything’s out in the open, we don’t need to tread like we’re on thin ice. “Well, I’m expected back in Ponyville anytime soon. I don’t think spending a little time here would hurt.” I smiled as I looked back at Glenda. “That is, if you’ll have me?”

“I do!.....Wait, no, that’s not what I meant!” Before she could say anything, I was on my back laughing my scales off. I caught a glimpse of her puffing up like a fluffy marshmallow, which only made me laugh harder as she pouted. “On second thought, I don’t want you at the summit. You can go back home now.” She turned away and sat on her back paws while crossing her arms over her chest.

I found her attempts to be mad adorable, getting back up onto my feet to walk over to her. “Aw, come on, Glenda, don’t be like that. You know I’m just having fun is all.” Craning my head down, I nuzzled my cheek against hers and let out a soft purr.

Try as she might, she was unable to resist the powers of nuzzles. “Alright, you big softy. I forgive you.” She leaned her head into mine, and we stayed like that for a good moment. I’m not sure if it was love or not, but the feeling of us this close to one another brought a warmth to my body that no fire could ever make. “But yeah, you’re more than welcome to stay here in the castle. Your room has been kept clean in case you decide to visit.”

Separating, we both sat up straight to finish our chat. “That sounds great to me. When exactly is the summit going to start?”

“Tomorrow night. We’re still making preparations as we speak, hence the mountain of paperwork I have to work on.” She gestured back to the throne, along with the large pile of scrolls and parchment, some of which had fallen to the floor from her abrupt take off. “So yeah, I’m not gonna have any free time till later tonight. But hey, there are tons of new things around here now. We got new shops, plenty of food stalls, and maybe you could swing by the barracks to say hello to the guards you helped train. I’m sure they’ll be happy and surprised to see you, especially when you start talking.” She grinned and giggled as she could no doubt imagine their reactions, provided that Gallus hadn’t said anything yet.

“You know, that actually sounds like a fun idea. I’m tempted to go learn more about this squad seven.” Glenda rolled her eyes and scoffed. “They’re that bad, huh?”

She shook her head and sighed. “No, it’s not that they’re bad. It’s just they’re a real talon full.” I watched as she pinched the bridge between her beak as she let out an even heavier sigh. “Each one has his or her own issues, but they mean well. One is Tartarus bent on becoming the next captain of the guard, while one is too stubborn to ask for others’ help and doesn’t do too well in group efforts, and the last one is too lovestruck with her teammate to focus on her own training.” I gently patted her back, seeing that these kids were really giving her a run for her bits. “But when all is said and done, they can come together when it matters most.” She started to walk back to her throne to no doubt continue her work, when she stopped to look back. Not at me, but at her own flank. “Did they really say my ass was too big? I have been trying to lose weight, you know.”

I couldn’t help but smirk as I made my way to the doors, letting her get to work in peace. “Nah, they didn’t say anything like that, I promise.” As I stepped through the door, I made sure that my head was the last thing to go through it. “However, and this is just my personal opinion, I think a girl with a bit of junk in the trunk is kinda hot.” I quickly slammed the door behind me before running to the front gates before anything else could happen, almost running into a server on the way out.

(3rd POV: Inside the throne room, after Noir left.)

Glenda was stuck in place as the last words Noir said echoed in her mind. Her heart thumping and her cheeks burning again, an effect that her crush has on her. As she stayed glued to the spot like a statue, the door opened, and a server came walking in, holding a quill and notepad. “Your Highness, it’s almost time for lunch. Will you be having your usual salad and fish?”

Glenda’s head quickly turned to look at the servant, causing him to jump a little. “Fuck the health food. Go down to Gilda’s bakery and tell her I want a baker’s dozen of every scone flavor she has on the menu.”

The server looked bewildered and felt as though the queen was having a moment of weakness. “B-But Your Majesty, what about the diet?” he asked nervously.

“FUCK THE DIET!!! SCONES!!! NOOOOOOW!!!” She screeched at the top of her lungs, scaring the poor servant as he darted out of the throne room, and ran as fast as his legs could take him to Gilda’s bakery with the mother of all orders.