The group could only watch as the young whelp turned and looked at them. A smile was stretched across his face. Sunny reached out her hoof and begged, “Please,” her voice almost failed her as she suppressed a sob.
Here is where we all stand together for the last time. I hear my voice screaming, begging, for my friend to stop. Yet, it’s so quiet anypony would hear a pen drop. Our friend is going to pay for our crime.
Maretime Bay a regular jewel by the sea. Not just the home to earth ponies any more. But, also to a couple of unicorns and pegasai. Hard to believe that months ago all three races hated each other. But, now with the magic restored and bridges rebuilt. Equestria's future seem to be shining brighter than before. Yes, all seemed-.
“SUNNY!” The voice of Hitch yelled out.
Sunny jumped and quickly looked around. When her mind finally settled. She looked at her friend with a smile and a blush before asking, “I did it again?”
He answered, “You did it again.” He couldn't help but chuckle a little as she sat back down at the table.
She sighed as she shook her head before saying, “Sorry,” she paused a moment to get a quick sip of her smoothie. “It's just,” she turned and looked at her home town. “I can't believe how far we've come.” She smiled as she watched some foals playing together. A group of three made up of an earth pony, pegasus, and unicorn. They were walking together and having fun as they sung Pip's song for the fifth time.
Hitch commented, “I swear that's like the only song we know.” That earned him a funny look from Sunny. He rubbed the back of his head with one of his hooves before he corrected himself. “Well aside from that other one by Izzy.” He nervously laughed; while she laughed at him. He then asked, “When did they say they would be here?”
Not to long ago they received a letter from their friends. It said they were coming over for a visit some time this afternoon. Sunny answered, “Well it's a quarter till one. They should be hear at any moment.”
In the forest just outside of the town. A baby dragon walked on the old stone path. He hummed a small tune as he walked through the woods. On his shoulder he carried a small satchel. It had numerous pins and designs on it. Around his neck was a small rusted gear. It had what appeared to be the number eleven written on it. But, a third number was too faded out to be seen. He listened to the birds chirping; felt the suns warm rays on his cream colored scales. He took in a deep breath of air just as he stepped out of the woods.
He gazed at the beautiful country side for a moment. Before he opened his satchel and pulled out his camera. He began to snap a few picks of the land before he commented, “This land is so beautiful.” A pair of shadows passed over him causing him to look up and see two pegasus ponies flying over. He spoke in excitement, “Oh, cool!” He began to snap picks of them as the flew off.
He watched as they kept flying towards what appeared to be a large sea-faring town. He put away his camera and took out his map; he undid the rubber-band wrapped around it so it wouldn't unroll inside his bag. When he finally got it open; he quickly scanned it over. Before he smiled happily and said, “Yep, no doubt about it. That is Maretime Bay,” He smiled proudly before he continued, “I made it.” He laughed a little before shouting , “I finally made it!”
He quickly rolled up his map and secured it with the rubber-band before putting it back into his bag. He then started to run towards the town. As he ran down the path; he did not notice the unicorn that was walking down another path. She didn't notice him as she skipped along. The paths they were on; started to slowly come together. Little by little as they made their ways down them. Then, at the junction where both paths became one. He ran right into the unicorn. The unicorn came to a complete halt. While he was knocked onto his backside.
He groaned, “Ow,” he sat up asking, “What did I?”
He stopped as he noticed a pair of hooves in front of him. He followed them up; only to be greeted with the smiling face of a unicorn. He was silent at first; until he smiled happily and yelled, “A unicorn!” He quickly reached for his camera and snapped a few picks.
Izzy asked, “Are you okay?”
He replied, “Yes, better than okay!” He began to circle her; he had a small bounce in his step as he continued, “I'm talking to an actual unicorn! I can't believe this! This is so exciting!”
Izzy couldn't keep herself from laughing as the cute creature bounced around her. When it came to a stop; it walked closer to her. It then clutched a small amount of her mane. She heard it comment , “Your mane it's soft and it’s very pretty.”
She smiled and thanked him, “Thank you.” She noticed what appeared to be purple quills on the top of it head. She lifted her hoof and gently stroked them with the grain. It caused him to laugh as he said, “Hey, that tickles.” It caused her to giggle a little.
When the two finally calmed down; they just stared at each other for awhile. Before he apologized, “I'm sorry,” He then introduced himself, “I seem to have left my manners behind,” He extended his claw to her, “A pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is Snug.”
She smiled at him and gently grasped his claw with a hoof, “Nice to meet you,” They shook their hoof and claw as she continued, “My name is Izzy. Izzy Moonbow.”
He commented, “That's a pretty name.”
She smiled and replied, “And, your name is cute.” That earned a small chuckle from him. She then asked, “What brings you here to Maretime Bay?”
He answered, “Oh, I'm traveling across Equestria. I want to meet, see,” He then pulled out his camera again, “And, take as many new pictures of creatures, towns, and,” He paused as he got a quick glimpse of the light house, “Oh, cool!” He ran past Izzy and started snapping pictures of the building.
Izzy was on the verge of a cuteness overload. Snug was just too adorable. When he finished snapping pictures she spoke to him, “Hey, Snug?”
He looked at her and replied, “Yes?”
She asked, “Would you like to meet my friends? I'm sure they would love to meet you.”
Snug wondered if this day could get any better as he shouted, “Oh, yeah!”
Izzy couldn’t help but smile again before they walked into the town together. As they entered multiple ponies stared at him. As he waved and smiled back at them. He soon had his camera out again and started snapping pictures. He still couldn't believe he was here in this town.
When Izzy saw her friends she called out to them, “Hey, guys!” They looked at her as she continued, “I made a new friend!”
When Snug turned to look and see who she was talking too. He couldn't believe his eyes. There was a group of four ponies sitting at a table. And, two of them were the pegasai that he saw earlier. He could barely contain his excitement as he ran up to them. Izzy was right behind him
When he reached the table Zipp asked, “Who's your-?”
She was interrupted as he shouted, “I saw you two earlier!” His sudden burst caused her to jump back slightly. He apologized, “Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I'm just so excited!”
Zipp replied with a smile, “It's okay,” She sat back down before she asked, “What are you?”
Before he could answer Sunny yelled, “It's a dragon!”
Snug quickly turned and looked around while saying, “A dragon! Where?!” He then turned back to them with a chuckle as they laughed at his silliness.
When the group settled down; Zipp asked again, “So, Izzy, who is your friend?”
He answered, “I'm sorry. I forgot my manners again,” He introduced himself, “A pleasure to meet all of you. I am Snug.”
They each smiled as they introduced themselves. First was Sunny, “Hello, I'm Sunny, Starscout.” Next was Hitch, “Names Hitch, Trailblazer.” Zipp was after him, “Hello, I'm Zipp Storm. But, you can just call me Zipp.” Her sister then introduced herself, “I'm Pipp Petals. But, you can just call me Pipp.” And, last was Izzy, “You already know me. But, I'll reintroduce myself. My name is Izzy, Moonbow.”
Snug smiled happily before Hitch asked him, “So why are you named Snug?” He smiled sheepishly before he answered, “Don't laugh,” He let out a nervous giggle before answering, “It's short for Snugglebug.”
Pipp spoke, “Okay, that's it,” She got up and walked over to him, “I am hugging you right now.”
He smiled happily as he got up and then got a big hug from her. The others smiled just as she started to live stream her interaction with him. As she live streamed to her Pipsqueaks; he suddenly pressed one of his talons against her nose while saying, “Boop.”. Not only did it cause all of them to laugh. But, the video already had over a million likes. When they settled down again; the waiter had already brought the others their drinks.
The waiter asked Snug, “Would you like anything to drink.”
Snug answered, “No, thank you,” He then reached into his satchel and pulled out a bottle of blue liquid, “I've brought my own.” The waiter nodded before walking off.
Hitch asked, “What is that?”
Snug answered, “Starlight soda. My favorite drink.” He then reached into his bag again and pulled out a small cup before asking, “Wanna try some?”
Hitch nodded before Snug poured some of the soda into the cup and passed it to him. He stared at it at first before lifting it up and taking a quick sip from it. He commented, “Hmm, fruity.” He noticed the others were staring at him. He asked, “Something wrong?”
Pipp then brought up her phone and switched the camera to selfie. She then held it up to Hitch; allowing him to see that his mane was glowing like a night sky.
Surprised by this he shouted, “Whoa! What in the!? Whoa!”
Snug couldn't help but laugh as he took a drink from the soda. The quills on the top of his head began to glow also. He said, “Don't worry. The glowing stops after a little while.”
Pipp already had her phone pulled back so that she was in the frame. She then commented, “You just saw it right here Pipsqueaks.”
Before anymore could be said Hitch almost yelled, “You stop live streaming that right now!”
She replied, “Too late.”
All of them then shared a laugh again.
That day I will never forget. A day of laughter and cheer. A day all of us hold dear. For the amazing friend we had met.
Author's Note
Hi first fanfic. yeah, I am very nervous. I just hope all of you like it
Snug asked, “Hey, do ponies play Gem duel?”
Zipp had just finished taking another sip from her smoothie before asking, “What's Gem duel?”
He smiled as he reached into his bag only to pull out six round gems. Each one had a different color, one was red, another was green, the third was orange, the fourth one blue, there was a pink one, and a purple one. They watched as he set them down; he looked up and smiled before he grabbed the red one. He then said, “Watch this.” He moved the other gems back and placed the red one down. He then said, “Ruby Samurai, defend your honor.”
The gem suddenly broke apart; now stood a small dragon figure that wore a large hat and held a large sword. To say the others were amazed was an understatement. Pipp already had her phone out again and was live streaming the whole thing.
Snug looked at Zipp and asked, “Zipp, can you pick up the green one please.”
She nodded and picked it up. She looked at him as she held it in her hoof. He then motioned for her to place it down. When she did she heard him say, “Now, to make it stand you have to say. Prehnite spartan. Fight with might.” She nodded and said, “Prehnite spartan. Fight with might.”
Like the other gem it broke apart and another dragon figure stood. This one was equipped a rather large shield that covered almost all of its front. While in it's other claw it held a large spear. Both Gems locked onto each other and readied themselves for combat.
Snug spoke, “Now, the battle starts.” Both dragons then ran at each other. Their weapons striking the others armor. Before the pushed themselves back. The spartan one began to glow.
Hitch asked as he pointed a hoof at it, “Why is that one glowing?”
Snug answered, “That means that Zipp goes first.” He explained, “What we just saw was the turn battle. Both warriors fight and the one that does the most damage is the one that moves first.” He looked at Zipp before hand her the pink gem, “Here use this.”
She asked him, “What do I have to say to make this one stand?”
He answered, “You just need to say Kunzite piper heal our wounds.”
Zipp nodded before saying the words, “Kunzite piper heal our wounds.” The gem turned into a small dragoness; in it's claws it held a small pipe. When it blew into the pipe a gentle melody played. A pink glow came from the piper; which was mirrored by the spartan. She asked, “What is it doing?”
Snug replied, “It's healing the damage done by my Samurai.” He grinned as he placed the orange gem behind his samurai. Before saying, “Carnelian Ninja. Be swift as the wind!” The gem turned into a dragon that looked like it wore only rags; that blew in a magical wind. In a bright flash it disappeared. Only to reappear behind the piper. The spartan tried to defend but it was too slow. The piper took heavy damage reverting back into it's gem form.
Zipp asked, “Whoa, what was that?!” The ninja disappeared and reappeared beside the samurai.
Snug answered, “The Ninja's special power.” He explained, “Dark swift attack. It allows me to attack any of your gems and instantly knock them out. But, it does cost me a turn. So you can take another turn.”
Zipp nodded before looking at the spartan. Before taking her turn she asked, “Does this spartan have a special power?”
He nodded, “Yes, it's called the hoplite charge. But-”
She yelled before he could finish, “Hoplite charge!” It then brought up it's shield and readied a spear. Before it charged the samurai.
Snug commanded, “Final dance.”
The samurai rested on it's knees; it's hand gripping it's sword. The spartan continued to charge at it; it's speed increasing. Just as the spartan stood directly in front of it; It sprang up and delivered a hard slash. Both gems stood completely still; only to have the spartan fall forward and revert back to it's gem form. The samurai hilted it's sword and bowed in respect; before it and the ninja turned back into their gems.
Zipp asked in slight shock, “What just happened?”
Snug answered, “I was trying to tell you. Hoplite charge is a good attack but, it's got a very big drawback. You gain an increase in both strength and speed. The drawback you loose a good amount of your defense,” He then pointed to the ruby samurai, “I used my samurais special power final dance. It increases both attack and precision. Very powerful against attacks that drain defense. But, the draw back I can't attack for three turns.” He smiled sheepishly.
Sunny then commented, “This looks like a fun game.” The others agreed with her before she asked, “Mind if I play a round with you?”
Snug smiled happily and nodded; for the next hour the group played the game. Snug showed each of them the basics before they started playing a full fledged match. In the end the winner was Izzy; which surprised them all. After sharing another good laugh Snug collected the gems and placed them back in the bag.
He then said, “Well, that was fun. But, I'm afraid I need to be on my way.”
Sunny asked him, “Where are you going after this?”
He answered, “Like I told Izzy; I'm trying to see all of Equestria,” He then explained, “But, really, I'm on a journey to the old land.”
Pipp asked, “The old land?”
He nodded, “Yes,” He then pulled out a pocket watch and checked the time, “And, I'm afraid I need to mosey along now.” He smiled before saying, “A pleasure to meet you all. Hope we meet again next time.”
He then jumped down from the chair and continued on; but, not before taking one large group photo. He looked at the image taken and shared it with Pipp who shared it with the others and all her followers. He waved goodbye to them before he started making his way to the other side of town.
The group continued to sit in silence at the table; none of them could believe that they had just met a dragon. A baby dragon that was very sweet. A big difference from all the stories that they had been told about them. As they sat in silence Izzy asked.
“Do you think we should see him off?”
None of them had any objections. They payed for their drinks and started walking after him. When they reached to other side of town; in the distance they could see smoke. They looked at each other in worry; before they started to run towards the smoke. As they got close they heard a voice yell.
“This will be easier if you just come back with us kid!”
Hitch asked, “Who was that?”
When the group reached the area; the smoke had just cleared. What they saw was something that filled them with slight anger. Three teenage dragons had Snug cornered against a dirt wall. He had his claws balled into fists and he appeared to be covered in a little soot.
They heard Snug reply, “I'm sorry. But, I have to see this through,” He took a defensive stance, “Nothing is gonna stop me from going! Especially now that I have five reasons.”
One of them a dragoness spoke, “I'm afraid this isn't an option Bug. You're coming with us weather you like it or not.” They began to walk closer to him.
Sunny then yelled, “Hey, leave him alone!”
The group suddenly jumped in between him and the dragons. The three dragons seemed to be surprised by the sudden appearance of the five ponies. Just as Snug asked, “What are y'all doing here?”
Hitch answered, “We wanted to see you off.” He focused his attention on the dragons, “But, it looks like you could use some back up.”
Snug smiled before he nodded and said, “I appreciate it.” He then stood next to them and spoke, “I'm sorry. But, like I said I'm not stopping.”
One of the other dragons a male replied, “Then you leave us no choice Bug.”
The three started to take in a deep breath of air. Snug knew what they were about to do and yelled, “Cover your mouths!”
The ponies did as they were told before he threw something at the dragons. A loud cracking sound was heard; followed by a large cloud of smoke. He quickly got their attention and motioned for them to run for the woods. They could hear the dragons coughing in the smoke as they ran out of the cloud. As they reached the edge of the woods they heard a loud roar. Snug looked back he noticed the others came to a stop.
He said, “Go, Go, I'll catch up!”
They nodded and ran for the cover of the tees; Snug looked back a Maretime bay and pulled out his camera and snapped a quick picture. He took off running after the others; as he ran he could hear the sound of beating wings above him. They were after him and they were closing in. He ran as fast as his little legs could carry him; knowing there was no way he could out run them. All of sudden he was grabbed an pulled to the side. His mouth muzzled by a firm hoof pressed against it.
Izzy shushed him, “Shh!”
He calmed down immediately as he noticed it was all of them. They were hiding in a downed hollow tree. The three dragons landed on top of the tree; each of them sniffing the area. One of them landed just in front of the opening. Causing all of them to hold their breath.
One of the dragons asked, “Smell anything?”
The dragoness answered, “All I'm smelling is that sweet smoke!” She growled before she stomped her foot, “Dang! We had him!”
One of the other dragons replied, “I know.” He sighed heavily, “Come on. We gotta wash the sweet smoke off. That way we can get our sense of smell back.”
They nodded before taking off and flying for the ocean. Just as the sound of their flapping wings faded out; the group breathed a collective sigh of relief. When they came out of hiding Snug asked them, “Are you all okay?” they nodded before asking another question, “I know I asked this before. But, what are you all doing here?”
Sunny answered, “Again, we wanted to see you off.” She then asked, “Who were those dragons?”
Snug hesitated a moment before answering, “They're,” He paused a moment before continuing, “They're just a group of bullies who've been dogging me since the start.” He brushed it off before saying, “I'm glad I got to see all of you again. Safe trip back to town.”
He began to walk away from them only to have them stop him. Before he could ask Zipp said, “There is no way we are letting you go alone.” The others nodded with her statement. This left Snug to ponder on the statement.
After a little bit he said, “Like I said I'm on a very long trip. Normally, this trip is taken alone. But,” He paused a moment.
Pipp asked, “But?”
He continued, “Well, the first dragon to take this journey; she didn't take it alone. She had her friends with her.” He looked at them and then asked, “I know I just met all of you and it's clear those bullies are gonna keep following me. But, will all of you join me on my journey?”
All of them nodded and answered, “Yes!”
He smiled before he said, “Okay, Before we continue I need all of you to take the oath of guards.” The nodded as he reached into his bag and pulled out a scroll; he unrolled it and spoke the words, “Do you, Sunny Starscout. Hitch Trailblazer. Izzy Moonbow. Pipp Petals and Zipp Storm. Swear on you honor to defend the traveler?” He paused as they each nodded, “Do all of you swear to Journey with the traveler; until we reach the end? Overcoming any obstacle and trial that we may face?” They nodded again and he finished, “Then, by the spirits of the ancestors. May our journey be protected, our foes strong, and our strength ever growing and unyielding.” He smiled as he put away the scroll. Only to pull out six matching scarfs.
Pipp asked, “What are those?”
Snug answered, “A way to show to others that we may meet; that we are a band.”
He began to tie a scarf around each of their necks; he finished with his. They all smiled as they looked at one another; each of them excited to take their first step as a band together. With a smile Snug shouted, “Come on!” He took off running ahead of them, “We've got a whole days walk ahead of us; until we reach the first rest zone.”
They looked at one another and took off running after him; All of them laughing as they made their way through the woods.
“We took the vows and our first steps on that day. Little did we know of the price that we must pay.”
Author's Note
Chapter 2 and I already have two people or three who have faved my story. I am so excited Thanks to all three of you.
