My Little Pony: Skyward Bound

by RobtheMorpherPony

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, Alternate Universe, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Other, Romance, Scootaloo, Adventure, Dragons
Length: 4080

Determination, Loyalty, Happiness...these define one very particular dragon

The day following the one where Twilight and her friends saved all of Ponyville from the threat of the Plundervines, while reading one of her books, the purple alicorn had no idea that things were about to be set off course in a drastic way. Meanwhile, far above her, Rainbow Dash was doing some practicing, hoping to land herself in the Wonderbolts soon, when suddenly something fell on her, causing her and it to fall into Twilight's basement.

But what had fallen on her, was something Twilight was sure would never come to Ponyville, considering their nature.

It was a dragon.

While my attempt to reboot The Changeling of Friendship didn't go over so well, what if instead of a friendship seeking changeling, Twilight and her friends were instead allied with the most determined and loyal dragon ever concieved? One whose loyalty could actually rival that of Rainbow Dash?

That was the thought process behind this budding romance between my favorite pony, and one of my favorite creatures. Safe to say, Ponyville will never be the same.

There be more shipping here then just Rainbow Dash and a dragon OC. Here's the others revealed so far:
Twilight Sparkle x Flash Sentry (Reffered to as FlashLight shipping)
Spike x Sweetie Belle (Referred to as SpikeBelle shipping)
Rumble x Scootaloo (Inconsistant naming scheme with this one. I call it RumbAloo shipping.)

Arc Basics (No summeries here to avoid spoilers):
Opening Act - World Building. Can't start the actual story without some pretext now can we?
A Loyal Friend - Focusing on the budding romacne between Rainbow Dash and Match, while also having the other ships play background noise for the episodes not focusing on Rainbow Dash. (Season 4 focused; up to "Rainbow Falls")

Published 2023-06-23 17:50:00 UTC
Last updated 2023-06-26 12:53:11 UTC

Opening Act: Part 1 - The Encounter

Everything is dark. Nothing but darkness covers what anyone can see. Suddenly, out from the darkness, a bright flame can be seen. Is it a flame of hope? Or one of despair? No one can tell from this distance. Suddenly without warning, the flame goes away.

Twilight was currently in her library, reading books on fauna. Yesterday, she and her friends had stopped the Plundervines, allowing the purple alicorn to take part in the Festival of the Sun. The incident had wanted the studious alicorn to read up on various fauna, in case something like this ever happened again.

"This is strange Spike..." Twilight said to her dragon companion.

"What do you mean? Things are peaceful here." Spike said.

"Exactly. Right about now is when Rainbow Dash would usually swoop in, wanting to help me with my flying." Twilight said.

Meanwhile, up above the library, the pegasus in question was practicing for the Wonderbolts. She had managed to stick high enough to where she wouldn't run into the Golden Oaks Library even if she tried. That's when she spotted something. "What the heck is--" The Cyan pegasus was cut off, when what she spotted suddenly smacked right into her, causing her to start falling and fast.

And it was then and there, that both the pegasus and the thing that hit her to crash into the basement of the Golden Oak's Library. "Rainbow Dash!" Twilight yelled out, she went down into the basement. "Rainbow Dash, are you okay?" Twilight asked. But then, she got a good look at what hit Rainbow Dash: A mysterious Green Dragon.

"Please...help me..." the dragon said before they suddenly fell unconcious.

"How'd this dragon get in Ponyville?!" Twilight exclaimed. But she decided to help the dragon none the less.

A bit later, the dragon was healed up and rested enough. "Geez, what the heck dude? What exactly were you thinking?" Rainbow Dash asked the dragon.

"Trying to fly with something I just whipped up. Thing is, I got a little...to high. Caused my make shift wooden wing contraption to burn up and cause me to come falling down." The dragon said.

"You actually put together a make shift wing rig?!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Yeah. I want to be able to get up in the air. So, I tinker and create wing rigs. Mostly for myself though. Hoping to eventually branch out. All the other dragons call me weird for it though. So, I left." The dragon said.

"So that's why you're in Ponyville? Getting away from the other dragons?" Spike asked.

"Yeah. I'm surprised you're not making fun of me for wanting to fly." The green dragon asked.

"Spike is different from the other dragons by a mile." Rainbow Dash said.

"That's part of growing up around Ponies." Spike said.

"Heh. Hope you don't mind me staying around for a bit then. Maybe I'll even stay forever. This seems like it'd be a nice place to finally call home." The green dragon said.

"But most ponies are afraid of Dragons." Twilight said. "...Although I'll be frank, you look like you'd be about teenage years. Maybe around my age." She added.

"Yeah. This is actually normal for a dragon my age. I only do a bit of hoarding. It's in moderation so I don't go completely greed driven. Would rather avoid that if I can help it. Because I would sooner want to protect others then cause them harm." The green dragon said.

"Wow. I can get behind that. So, got a name bucko?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Oh how rude of me. The name is Match." The Green dragon said.

"Match? As in matches or matchstick?" Twilight said.

"No; Match as in Match." Match said.

"Your a strange fellow, Mr. Match." Spike said.

"Hey, you don't have to call me Mr. Match. You're almost as old as I am." Match said. "Even if you don't look it." He added.

"Huh? Wait what?" Twilgiht was confused.

"Dragons tend to age a little differently than ponies. I'm almost fourteen actually." Match said.

"How long ago was that?" Rainbow Dash asked, curious.

"About a month ago, why do you ask?" Match said.

"...Dang, your like only a year younger then I am." Rainbow Dash said.

"Wait, are you saying he's only a year younger then you? I thought you were about the same age as the rest of me and the others?" Twilight asked.

"Heh...I certainly act that way, huh?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I'm actually almost fifteen. Will be fifteen later this year." She added.

"...Dang. That actually makes you younger than I am by a few months." Twilight admitted.

"Would be kind of wierd if you were all exactly the same age." Match said.

"He's got a point." Rainbow Dash said.

"But wait, how can I be almost Match's age, when I just celebrated my ninth birthday last year?" Spike asked.

"Wait your that young? Wow. If I was you, I'd start looking for a girlfriend. Wish I could find one soon. When a dragon reaches sixteen, they can have...urges that are impossible to contain by yourself." Match said.

"What sort of urges?" Twilight asked.

"Let's just say, if Spike or I don't have a loving girlfriend by that time, we can go on a greed driven sex spree. And trust me, those are the worst kind." Match said.

Every pony in the room let that sink in for a while. ...Maybe I should look into getting with Sweetie Belle instead of Rarity if that's the case. Rarity has not shown any signs of returning my affections towards her. Maybe it's best I start looking elsewhere. Spike thought to himself.

"Okay, I did NOT need that image right now." Rainbow Dash said. "Still, I suppose since your not causing any trouble, and you falling into me was just an accident, then perhaps Twilight can convince the residents of Ponyville to let you stay." She said.

"...Rainbow Dash, when did you ever get so smart?" Twilight asked.

"Says the one with a long-distance relationship with a certain crystal empire guard." Rainbow Dash said.

Suddenly Twilight blushed. "YOU PROMSIED YOU WOULD NEVER TEASE ME ABOUT THAT!" Twilight suddenly shouted.

"Well that's for forgetting that you're a PRINCESS now, Twilight." Rainbow Dash said. "Sure you may not want to flaunt it, but maybe you could at least use that position in a situation like this. I wasn't born yesterday after all." She added.

"...Dammit Rainbow, you can be so insufferable at times, but I wouldn't have you any other way." Twilight said.

“Plus, he can stay at my place. I got room.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Wait what?” Twilight was obviously confused.

Opening Act: Part 2 - Spike's GF

While Twilight could not believe that Rainbow Dash would let some random dragon that accidently crashed into her stay at her place, the Purple alicorn did at least trust the cyan Pegasus speedster, so she quickly had a town meeting to address the fact that a new dragon was staying in Ponyville, one who didn't seem mean at all. Heck, the fact that the entire time Match was just tinkering on a new flight contraption while being friendly and courteous to the ponies that did approach him while he took breaks really sold him to the crowd.

The next day however, Twilight was in the library again, when Rarity came in. "Hey Twilight, I came to see if you had any books on fashion. This fashionista is going to try something a bit more basic." Rarity said.

"Not sure if we have one. But right now, I'm trying to figure out what to do for Spike's upcoming tenth birthday in three months from now without things ending up like last year." Twilight noted.

"That was not the most pleasant thing I've ever been a part of." Rarity said. But then she blinked. "Wait, did you just say Spike is almost ten years old?" Rarity said.

"Why does that matter?" Twilight asked.

"Well it matters because Sweetie Belle was born three years after my second birthday; making Spike only three months older then her." Rarity said. She was panicking internally though.

"Well Spike is a dragon. They tend to live for longer then you'd think." Twilight said.

"Well I still would like to find him. Do you know where he is right now because I haven't heard anything but you in here today." Rarity said.

"Oh, he left this morning to go find Sweetie Belle. He would not tell me why." Twilight said.

"HE DID WHAT?!" Rarity exclaimed before trying to rush for the exit, only to get stopped by Pinkie Pie.

"Oh no you don't. I'm not letting you break a Pinkie Promise." Pinkie Pie said.

"What kind of Pinkie Promise is that?" Twilight asked.

"The one where she pinkie promised she wouldn't start fighting over Spike with another female." Pinkie Pie said.

"What the...how did you know about that?" Rarity asked.

Twilight just looked at Rarity. "Okay, I get that this is Pinkie Pie, but who did you make the Pinkie Promise with?" The purple alicorn asked.

"With her self." Pinkie Pie said.

"...Sometimes Pinkie, the way you keep track of everything defies all logic, but then again, you do that almost every day all the time. At this point, I think I should stop trying to apply logic to you." Twilight said.

"By the way, how did you get here?" Rarity asked.

"I took a shortcut through Discord's demension." Pinkie Pie said.

"...DICORD!" Twilight yelled out.

The Draconequus in question popped in. "Oh dear Twilight, what seems to be the problem this time?" Discord asked.

"Did you use your chaos powers to warp Pinkie Pie here? She said she took a short cut through your deminsion." Twilight said.

"Of course he didn't silly. I did everything on my own~" Pinkie Pie said.

"WAIT WHAT? HOW? I have so many questions." Discord said.

"You could say my secret for taking shortcuts is..." Pinkie Pie said, looking around as she was suddenly up close and personal with Discord. "A secret~" Pinkie Pie simi-whispered in the Draconequus's ear.

"...And suddenly, I found one of you ponies who defies even my logic." Discord said.

"...In Ponyville, there's a commonly applied understanding." Twilight said.

"Oh really? And what's that?" Discord asked.

"Don't question Pinkie Pie." Twilight said.

"...Oh please, you can't be satisfied with just that." Discord said. "You may be a princess now, but your whole thing is applying science to everything." He added.

"Trust me, I already tried that. Didn't really work out." Twilight said. "Learnt that sometimes, there are commonly accepted things here in Ponyville that you should just let be." She added.

"...Well I for one can't have anyone stealing my schtick. I've got my eyes on you now, Pinkie Pie." Discord said. But then he noticed something. "Wait, where did she go?" Discord asked.

"Beats me." Twilight said.

"Don't try and give yourself a headache now dear." Rarity said. "...Though if you'll excuse me Twilight, I must use your couch for a bit." She added.

"Why? What do you need my--" Twilight was saying before Rarity fainted on Twilight's couch. "...Never mind..." Twilight finished.

Meanwhile, Spike was actually spending some time playing around with Sweetie Belle while there was that whole scene in the library. And eventually, the sun was setting.

"This was a very good day. We should really hang out more often." Sweetie Belle said.

"Yeah. Perhaps I'll see if we can do it more tomorrow." Spike said.

"Don't spend all your time away from the Library. Your big sis needs you." Sweetie Belle said.

"Yeah. You got a point. Hope to see you around, Sweetie." Spike said.

"Oh that's a given. If you get time, come by tomorrow." Sweetie Belle said.

"Yeah. I'll see if I can do that." Spike said before heading off.

Sweetie Belle also headed for her home when Pinkie Pie came out of the nearby bush. "Yep, called it. Sweetie Belle is going to become Spike's girlfriend. No question about it." Pinkie Pie said. "And some pony may ask me: How did could I possibly know that." She said, suddenly turning to the fourth wall. "Well, maybe you best take Twilight's advice and not question me." Pinkie Pie said before taking out a cupcake from her mane. "That's enough deep thinking for me today. Cupcake time!" Pinkie Pie said before eating said cupcake.

Opening Act: Part 3 - Girl Meets Boy

The next day after it Spike and Sweetie Belle started their togetherness, Sweetie Belle had come down with a bit of a cold which Spike was more then happy to stay with her and help her recover from.

"Spike really is moving past me." Rarity said. She then sighed. "Guess this is what I get for not acting fast enough." She said to herself.

Meanwhile, across Ponyville, Scootaloo was being a little bumbed out. Not only was Sweetie Belle sick today, but Apple Bloom had to do chores today at the farm as well. "Looks like I'm on my own today. Maybe I can get a jump start on getting in the air today. Can't let down Rainbow Dash after all." Scootaloo said, and started going around on her scooter.

However, the orange pegasus filly didn't see where she was going while going so fast, when she ran straight into a pegasus colt. "Ow!" The colt said.

"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!" Scootaloo said. "Are you okay?" Scootaloo said, recovering from the crash. She thankfully used her little wings to slow her decent in time.

"I'll be fine. I've had worse brusies then this." The colt said.

"...Say, don't I know you from school? Rumble, right?" Scootaloo asked.

"Oh. Your Scootaloo. Heh. I'm surprised you noticed me." Rumble said. "Especially since I've been sitting in the back right corner of the class all semester long." He added.

"That's where I used to sit before I met my two new friends." Scootaloo said.

"Honestly, I'm more worried about your scooter then me." Rumble said.

"It's fine. I'm used to fixing it up. Guess trying to use it to get into the air to fly today is off the table." Scootaloo said.

"You don't know how to fly yet?" Rumble asked.

"Not yet. But I'll get there." Scootaloo said.

"Hmm...maybe I can help a little." Rumble said.

"Help? I don't need--" Scootaloo said but then blinked. "...Alright, I'll let you help, but you better not get any bright ideas Rumble." Scootaloo said. "I'm only letting you help because I crashed into you." She added.

"That's fine." Rumble said. He knew how stubborn Pegasus can be. He was one after all.

"So, any tips?" Scootaloo asked.

"Would you first perhaps show me how you've been trying to get up in the air?" Rumble asked.

"Err...sure I guess." Scootaloo said. She had a feeling he was going somewhere with this, so she did just that.

"Yeah...yeah I figured. You've got underdevoloped wings." Rumble said.

"What? How can--" Scootaloo said before she went wide eyed. "You have them too?!" Scootaloo exclaimed.

"Yep. Took me several attempts, and many bruises before I finally found something that worked." Rumble said. "Try angling your wings a little more away from you." He suggested.

"Alright, I'll give it a shot." Scootaloo said. And when she followed his advice, she was in the air, flying. Actually flying. "Whoa!" Scootaloo did some flying around for a bit. Rumble was now in the air with her. "This is...this is awesome!" Scootaloo said.

"Heh. Think nothing of it. I'm just glad I was able to help." Rumble said.

"You have no idea what this means to me. This...this is more then I was ever hoping for." Scootaloo said.

"It wasn't that big of a de--" Rumble said before he was suddenly hugged while in flight.

"THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!" Scootaloo said.

"Can't...breath..." Rumble said.

"Oh..." Scootaloo let go. Rumble thankfully recovered. "Sorry about that." Scootaloo said.

"Apparently helping you to fly was a big deal..." Rumble said.

"Are you kidding? Being able to fly was one of my biggest wishes ever." Scootaloo said. "We should totally hang out sometime, but I really gotta go show this off." She said and went off.

"...She actually hugged me. I-I think she likes me now." Rumble said. "...How did I end up so lucky?" He added.

Rainbow Dash was with Match who was currently working on another device. "Huh. That thing looks a lot better then just wood." Rainbow Dash noted.

"I'm surprised how easy it was to find better materials here. None of the ponies mind that I take their spare scrap." Match said.

"We don't tend to use metal for much around here. And you best get used to the leftover metal. Ponyville often has some big monster attack at least once a week." Rainbow Dash said. "And if not that, at least something strange happen." She added.

"Really now? But this place is so rural. How can it attract monsters or strange events?" Match asked.

"Says the dragon who litterally fell from the sky because his wooden contraption burnt up." Rainbow Dash said.

"...Touche..." Match said.

"Besides, now that that's happened, I think Ponyville has already met it's wierdness quota for the week." Rainbow Dash said.

"Hey, is it just me, or is that a pegasus filly flying this way?" Match asked.

"Huh?" Rainbow Dash looked. Sure enough, Scootaloo was soon upon them. "Scootaloo...your flying!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Yeah. It's great! Best day ever!" Scootaloo said.

"Knew you could do it Squirt. I'm proud of you." Rainbow Dash said.

"I may have had a little help from a new friend." Scootaloo said.

"Heh. You'll have to introduce me sometime. Then the three of us can take to the skies." Rainbow Dash said.

"Wait, you're still gonna hang out with me?" Scootaloo asked.

"Of course squirt. Just because your flying now doesn't mean I'm not going to stop teaching you. With enough training, I'm sure we can really get you flying in style." Rainbow Dash said.

Scootaloo was practically squeeling now. "Oh that means a lot Rainbow Dash." Scootaloo said.

"Huh. Looks like her wings a underdevoloped. Wonder how she managed such flight on her own?" Match asked.

"Like I said, I may have had some help from a new friend." Scootaloo said.

"Heh. Must be quite the friend." Rainbow Dash said.

"...Yeah. Yeah they are." Scootaloo said.

A Loyal Friend: Part 1 - Castle & Dragon (Castle Mane-ia)

If you decide to be loyal to one, make sure that that loyalty is never questioned...

My Little Pony
Skyward Bound

Arc 1
A Loyal Friend

Rainbow Dash woke up with a stretch. Today, she and Applejack were going to settle who is the most daring pony of all.

Of course she couldn't forget her new houseguest: The dragon named Match.

She had actually convinced him to come along, willing to see just what the dragon thought of their little game.

"I really don't get why you and Applejack are competing against one another. I thought ponies were big on the whole friendship deal." Match said.

"Applejack and I are competitors at heart. Heck, once we tried our best to trip each other up during a race because of our natures. Besides, Applejack is one of the few ponies I can actually compete with around here." Rainbow Dash said. "Gives me good practice for wanting to get in the Wonderbolts." She said.

"Wonderbolts...heard about that group. I've also seen a lot of your Wonderbolts collectables around the place." Match said as he put on his flying gizmo.

"Yeah. One day I'm going to be flying with them as one of them. Because they are the best stunt fliers in Equestria." Rainbow Dash said.

"Athlete buffs I swear..." Match said.

"Heard something like this before with draogns have you? Well, the Wonderbolts are some of the best fliers period. And the only way I'm going to become the best flier ever, is if I raise through their ranks." Rainbow Dash said.

"Your big dream is to become the best flier ever? Then why not do it on your own terms? Maybe even create your own team." Match said.

"Thought about that a few times. But the main reason I want to get in the Wonderbolts is that they helped inspire that dream. So that's what I'm going to do. And I'm going to stay me while doing so." Rainbow Dash said.

"So long as you stay loyal to who you are as a pony, and loyal to those around you, I suppose you could become a good inspiration. But you can do that without joining the Wonderbolts. Heck, I'm sure there's a few ponies out there that want to inspire others. You just need to really buckle down and find them." Match said.

"...I'll keep that in mind in case something ever comes up." Rainbow Dash said. "For a dragon, you sure know a lot about comradery." She added.

"Yeah. That's why I never really fit in with the other dragons." Match said.

To say Rainbow Dash was a bit baffled yet intrigued would be telling the truth.

"And he actually said that?" Applejack asked.

"It was actually kind of nice of him to say, believe it or not. Plus, it's given me a lot to think about just in case something ever made me question joining the Wonderbolts." Rainbow Dash said.

"Think he's right? That there are other ponies out there that would want to inspire others with some fancy flying manovers but could never really make it into the Wonderbolts?" Applejack asked.

"I'd normally barate you for dishing the acrobatics of the Wonderbolts, but I get what your asking. And even if I'm more of the loyalty element then the honest element, I have to be truthful when I say that he's most likely right. Heck, I got a gut feeling he's right." Rainbow Dash said.

"Ah see. So, we going to get this contest underway or what?" Applejack asked.

A bit later, the two ponies and Match had gone into the castle in the Everfree forest. This caused the contest between the two ponies to really get out of hand though, before the whole thing was finally reeled in by Twilight.

This was of course followed by them joining up with the others, including Pinkie Pie who had been playing the organ.

"Seriously, what were the twin sisters of Equestria thinking when they made this castle full of so many traps? No offense Twilight." Match said.

"None taken. Though, from what I was reading, it seems Princess Celestia was often pranking Princess Luna with the very traps in this castle when they were younger." Twilight said.

"You actually read about the trap system in here?" Match asked.

"Yeah. And that helped me stay calm. Because it made me think about what it was like for the two sisters to live here." Twilight said. "It was easy for me to stay unscared." She added. "It also gave me the idea of starting our own journal." The purple alicorn finished.

"A dairy to keep track of our friendship lessons that will hopefully go on to help others learn friendship?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Exactly." Twilight said.

"What the heck? I'm game." Rainbow Dash said.

"Yeah. Ah know what my first entree would be: That I'm glad Granny's tales weren't true after all." Applejack said.

"Plus, it means you and Rainbow Dash are still tied." Pinkie Pie said.

Match chuckled. "Actually, I think we all just found who the most daring pony out of the six of us is." The dragon said.

"Oh really now?" Applejack asked.

"Yeah. That'd be Twilight." Match said.

"...Hate to admit it, but he's right." Rainbow Dash said. "Who would've thought that Twilight would be able to stay in a spooky castle totally engrossed in a book, without ever getting spooked by all the non-sense that happened to the rest of us?" She asked.

Applejack raised her hoof to counter, but then dropped it. "Okay that actually is a fair point. But she was never part of the contest." Applejack said.

"Does it matter in the end if she was or wasn't? Do you honestly think you can top something like that?" Match asked.

"...No. No Ah do not..." Applejack said.