The Tale of Scale

Chapters

1: Magic can be Bent
2: The Gravity of the Situation
3: Flying and Failing
4: Learning Curve
5: Always Consequences
6: To the Kitchen!

1: Magic can be Bent

The Tale of Scale

By: Flame Runner

Chapter 1: Magic can be Bent

“Ugh…” I groaned. I did not want to get up. Sleep was so comfortable. Why? Oh why? Did sleep have to end?

I grumpily stretched, but refused to open my eyes just yet. Nothing was going to steal one second of beautiful, wonderful rest from me.

“I believe he’s waking up,” a strange voice whispered.

Except that, that just might wake me up a little faster.

“Do not open your eyes,” commanded another voice.

Drat! I was just about to do that! I froze as my mind began to search through its memory banks and determine what was happening. Perhaps I was being robbed. But the voices didn’t sound threatening. In fact, I was sure I had heard them somewhere before.

“Why is he here?” asked the first voice.

It sounded regal and elegant, almost like Shakespeare.

“I do not know,” the second voice replied calmly.

This voice, too, was regal but it sounded more modern and more majestic.

“H-Hello?” I managed to garble out of my drowsy mouth.

“He dost speak,” the first voice proclaimed.

“Welcome stranger,” the second voice replied soothingly.

“C-Can I open my eyes now?” I asked.

“Nay, lest you wish us to send thou back from whence thou came,” the first one told me.

I gulped. Just what was going on?

“We do not wish to frighten you, but my sister is correct. You may not open your eyes yet,” said the second voice.

“Why can’t I open them?” I inquired.

“Humans are not allowed in Equestria,” the second voice told me. “We have yet to determine what to do with you and if you open your eyes our decision has already been made to send you back immediately.”

“Equestria?!” I shouted.

“Hush,” commanded the first voice.

I did as instructed. The two voices began to whisper back and forth but I couldn’t make out their words. Apparently I was in the place known as Equestria…or I was dreaming. Ok, dreaming of Equestria. I could handle that. But then why did it all feel so real? The voices then became louder.

“Art thou sure sister?” asked the first voice.

“Yes, I believe we should,” the second voice replied. “You may open your eyes now, but do not move.” I was instructed.

Slowly, ever so slowly, I peeked my eyes open. A faint light poured into them and I blinked it away. The first thing I noticed was that I was not in my bed, but on a hard floor. It was a tiled floor and ornately decorated. Then my eyes moved up to where the voices had come from. Standing before me were two regal mares. One was as white as the sunlight and the other a deep blue like the evening sky. They both had wings, like that of a pegasus, and horns, like a unicorn would have. Instantly my mind knew these two, these were Princesses Celestia and Luna, the keepers of the heavens and rulers of Equestria.

“Whoa,” I managed to breathe out. My eyes grew to the size of saucers.

“Greetings,” said Celestia, the white alicorn with a graceful bow of her head. Her ethereal mane swayed with grace and elegance indescribable. I was at a loss for words and I’m sure that I simply sat there with a dumb look on my face.

“I’m sure that you’re curious as to where you are,” the white Princess continued. “Allow me to introduce myself, I am Princess Celestia and this is my sister, Princess Luna.”

“I-I know,” I shakily replied.

“His magic must be powerful,” the blue one, Luna, commented to her sister.

“Magic?” I squeaked. “I don’t have any magic.”

“Your writing magic?” Celestia questioned. “Surely you remember how you came to be here?”

My mind reeled backward through time. I was born a member of the male side of the human species and was always a bit of a class clown in elementary school, but this was going a little too far back. In fact, it was just yesterday when it happened. I had been a recent college graduate and I was living in an apartment. The apartment was small, but it was MY apartment. I was on my computer just checking around the internet when I stumbled across stories of what people would do if ever they made it into Equestria and the thought entered my mind to also write a story. But I wanted to do something different. Instead of writing about what I would do, why not just write myself INTO Equestria? Then and there I wrote four words. Four simple words that would change my life: “I am in Equestria.” Then it began. I felt a sensation beginning to surge through me. It was powerful. It was potent. It was…BATHROOM!

Basically, it didn’t work the way I had hoped. I had gone to bed that night a little disappointed, but at this very moment I wasn’t in my bed anymore. I was in Equestria and either I got in by one of the most cliché ways ever, or I was dreaming.

“You mean that what I wrote sent me here?” I asked the Princesses.

“Yes…and no,” Luna replied.

“Yes and no?” I questioned.

“Humans, as I said before, are not permitted in Equestria,” Celestia stated. “You cannot come in of your own accord.”

“Then how am I here?”

“Look behind yourself,” Luna stated.

I turned my head around and found myself staring at five gleaming necklaces and one shimmering crown. Each held a gemstone of a different color. My eyes went wide as I realized what they were.

“The Elements of Harmony,” Celestia noted.

Each Element was floating in the air and glowing ever so softly.

“Although we do not know why or how, the Elements of Harmony bent the rules of magic to allow your writing to bring you here,” the white Princess continued.

“Bent the rules of magic?” I pressed.

“Magic has its rules,” Luna instructed. “One such is that humans cannot be in Equestria. Sometimes, however, the rules can be bent to allow exceptions.”

“So, I’m a human in Equestria?” I asked excitedly.

“Not exactly,” Luna replied as she began to look over me.

I grew very anxious at the response. What did she mean? I decided to actually look at myself. The first thing was my hands. They had black scales covering their entire surface and sharp claws at the end! The rest of my body was also covered in pitch black scales which clicked softly whenever I moved.

“Magic can only be bent so far,” Celestia went on to explain. “Humans are still not allowed in Equestria…but dragons are.”

“Dragons?!” I roared.

“Hush,” Luna commanded.

“Dragons?” I whispered.

“Yes. The Elements brought you here as a dragon, though we do not know why,” Celestia said regally.

The Elements of Harmony? Dragons? Equestria? The Princesses? My mind was ablaze with so many questions that I thought it might just explode. Without really thinking or even wanting to think, I blurted something out.

“So what am I supposed to do then? Go off adventuring with Twilight and the others?”

“Nay,” stated Luna. “Until my sister and I have fully decided what to do with you, thou shall stay here in our palace. Come, we shall move you to a place where you may rest.”

The Princess of night walked gracefully around me, her regal mane flowed around her body and twinkled as if starlight itself had been captured in it. I pushed against the floor and raised myself to my feet, only to wobble and then come crashing down on my side. I tried to stand once again, but with the same embarrassing results. I felt something grab me and soon I was lifted into the sky. I was flying! But not of my own accord. A pale yellow substance filled my vision and I noticed that Celestia’s horn was now aglow with the same yellow hue. I was being levitated.

Down various empty corridors we traveled through Canterlot Castle. Massive windows showed me the outside world. Equestria was deep into the night and many glorious stars shone brightly into my field of vision. But most noticeable of all was the moon. Its silver hue would make even the hardest of hearts shed a tear for its sheer beauty. Many elaborate tapestries also lined the numerous walls of the palace. They were filled with great ponies, unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies from all different times and places. Scenes of glorious invention, strife, or festivities were also prominent amongst the tapestries. Finally, we entered into a large room filled with crates and boxes, a supply room of sorts.

“I am sorry we do not have much better to offer, but having a dragon roaming around the castle would not be the wisest of things to allow,” Celestia apologized. “You may spend the night here. Tomorrow we will come back and determine what to do with you.”

“And do not go exploring throughout the rest of the castle,” Luna warned. “I do not sleep at night and shall find you out.”

I nodded and Celestia released her magical grasp on me as I gently sank to the floor.

“Goodnight,” Celestia said and then turned away.

Luna also bid me a fair evening and walked out of the room. I was now alone, a dragon in Canterlot.

2: The Gravity of the Situation

Chapter 2: The Gravity of the Situation

Rest was hard to come by that evening. There was too much going through my mind to even attempt at that glorious thing called sleep. The first thing to do once I was alone in the large supply room was to get a better view on myself as a dragon. So, I slowly lifted myself to my feet. After a hard fought battle between me and gravity, gravity won. I slammed face first into the cobblestone floor.

Apparently basic motor skills didn’t come prepackaged with the whole “Journey to Equestria and become a dragon for FREE!*” deal. Grumpy and feeling a bit sore, I lifted myself once again. I was going to stand up and nothing was going to stop me! Except gravity, gravity tended to get in the way on my next few attempts. Obviously there was something that wasn’t making it through my thick skull. Then it slapped me across the face…literally. My tail! Having a tail meant that I had a lot of extra weight on my back. This weight must have made me overcorrect and fall over.

With this thought implanted firmly in my mind I attempted the dangerous journey to my feet once more. This time I kept my weight forward. Too far forward! I crashed again. Tonight was just not my night. With a sigh and a growl I heaved myself onto my knees and noticed how my tail supported me when I planted it on the ground. Ah ha! Gravity you have nothing against tail power!

I slowly urged my sore joints up to a standing position but this time planted my tail on the floor behind me and kept my weight forward. Finally I was standing upright. I mean I only had to grab 18 boxes for support and break a few crates, but I was standing.

From my position I practiced simply keeping my balance. After a few minutes I started to get the hang of it. My tail kept me firmly grounded and I began to slowly lift it off the floor until I could stand without its support. Now we were getting somewhere. A few shaky steps and some more fallen boxes later and I had a basic slow walk down. You know, with all the noise I was making, all the ponies in the castle must have been the heaviest sleepers ever or the room had been enchanted. I’m gonna go with enchanted, can’t have a dangerous dragon who can’t even walk straight roaming the castle now can we?

A dumb smile crossed my face as I shuffled around the room. Now I know why babies laugh so much when they first start to walk. This is actually fun! Suddenly, my body caught on a large pillar and I fell to the earth again. Why do you hate me gravity?! But wait, what’s this? Something on my back had been yanked aside by the pillar. I reached back and took hold of a dark, almost leathery substance. The more I pulled on it the further it expanded. Finally, fully outstretched, I knew what the object was. It was a wing. Yes! Now I’ll never have to walk again! Take that gravity! After placing a good deal of concentration into the effort, I managed to get the muscles in my wings to work so that I could slowly open and close it. Oh! I should have another wing somewhere; unless part of the price of coming to Equestria was getting only one wing and having gravity hate me. Nope! I had another wing. Finally something was going my way. I concentrated on the other wing and it too slowly unfolded.

With both black wings now open I came to my feet and managed to knock over two entire rows of boxes with my new found appendages. Not wanting to knock anything else over I turned to my side and knocked over three more rows of boxes. Sorry boxes! I really don’t have anything against you. I hung my head and breathed an angry snort through my nostrils. Being a dragon was hard work! But what was done was done and I figured that things couldn’t get much messier, and so I attempted to flap my wings. This, of course, earned my face another spot on the cobblestone.

Maybe I should really just lie here and actually sleep. I folded up my wings and thought about trying to rest, but then something else struck me. Fire! What are dragons most known for? Fire breath! Yes! It’s every geek/nerd/college student’s dream come true. Giddy at the thought, but cautious after my recent face plant, I found an open section in the room where I hopefully wouldn’t burn the entire store of supplies or the castle.

I yanked air into my chest like a vacuum cleaner and then held it. Every thought was on making fire. A roaring bonfire was going to come right out of my mouth and make everyone back home jealous. Here it comes! The pressure was building up. I could practically feel it.

“Rawr!” I belched forth. And then began to cough up a measly cloud of smoke.

Ironically, I started choking on my own smoke. I even waved my claws through the air to clear it out. And what a nasty taste! It tasted like burnt rubber was smoldering on my tongue. Why does Equestria hate me!? I can’t fly. I can’t breathe fire. In fact, I can barely walk! With a groan I fell back into the hard floor of my own accord. With nothing else to do that wasn’t going to end up humiliating me even further I decided to actually get some shut eye.

* * * * * * * * *

Creeeaaakk…some really annoying sound buzzed in my ear. With the noise came a light. Agh! Shut it off! Can’t they see I’m sleeping here? My claw patted the floor, searching for some invisible alarm clock; instead it slapped a hard stone surface. So, still here. Still in Equestria. Still a failure of a dragon.

“Good morning,” a cheery voice pried through the morning air.

I pried my tired eyes open and found Princess Celestia standing in front of me. Behind her, Princess Luna was also present but she was looking around the room with wide eyes.

“What happened here?” Luna asked.

“I had a rough night,” I grumped.

“Well, I hath heard of a dragon’s fury but never before have I seen it taken out on defenseless supply crates,” replied the lunar Princess.

I growled and furrowed my brows.

“Calm yourself,” Celestia threatened.

I ceased growling and instead slowly lifted myself up to my feet. With a little help from my tail, I was actually able to stand before the Princesses. To my surprise, I was much taller than them.

“After much debate,” the solar Princess opened, “my sister and I have decided upon a few things.”

The white alicorn lowered her head and began to trot slowly back and forth, as if looking for the proper words. Then, she stopped and looked me in the eye.

“We have decided that since the Elements of Harmony played a part in bringing you here, there must be a reason.”

A smile began to creep across my face.

“But…”

Uh oh. Not the dreaded ‘but’.

“…you cannot stay in Equestria.”

“Excuse me?” I asked in disbelief.

It was Luna’s turn to step in. “Since the Elements brought you here as a dragon, we have concluded that ‘tis best that you go to the Dragonlands. Equestria is not suited for your kind and the Elements must have had a purpose or else they wouldn’t bend magic to bring you here.”

“To the Dragonlands? You mean I can’t explore Equestria? Not even a little bit?”

I felt robbed! I was in Equestria for Pete’s sake! And I couldn’t even see it?

“I am afraid not,” Celestia answered. “When the Elements are involved it is best to not delay.”

“There is more,” Luna continued when her sister stopped.

“More?” I asked incredulously.

“We have decided that you are around 80 years old.”

“80?!” I screamed.

There was no way I could be 80 years old. I was still in my 20s. I didn’t want to be old! Not yet!

“Yes 80,” Luna replied calmly, but I swear there was a bemused smile on her face, “still quite young for a dragon. Thou has yet to fully mature.”

“Still young?!” I cried. “I’m 80! Eight. Zero. How did that happen?”

“My sister is telling you the truth,” Celestia replied gracefully. “For a dragon you are quite young. But as to how you came to be 80 is another item we must address. For you see, when magic is bent there are always…” she paused here and looked hard into my face, “…always consequences. Being 80 years old is perhaps one of those consequences.”

“Would having no motor skills be one of those consequences?” I asked as nonchalantly as possible.

Luna started to chuckle. And I’m certain that I saw a sly smile cross Celestia’s regal face as well. But the white Princess was able to compose herself almost instantly and addressed me directly.

“Yes, I suppose that would be quite an inconvenient consequence.”

Of course, it had to be at that moment when gravity started shifting on me. Before the two noble rulers I fell squarely onto my side with a monstrous thud. Now, not even Celestia could keep her composure. Both sisters stood laughing at me, the grounded dragon. I blushed.

“Now I comprehend with what fury thou hast destroyed the crates!” Luna managed to giggle.

I hit my head against the ground. It was official, Equestria hated me.

“Come. Rise. There is more which must be discussed,” Celestia told me. She had somehow gotten her laughter under control and now simply wore a large grin on her face.

Grudgingly I moved off the floor and back to my clumsy feet.

“So…are you sure I can’t stay in Equestria? I’m certainly not a threat,” I attempted to make light of my recent failure.

“We are afraid not, noble dragon,” Luna chuckled.

“But, seeing your present state,” Celestia added. “We will allow you to stay here in our castle under our protection until you learn how to defend yourself. Then we will send you off to the Dragonlands.”

“So…about how long do you think that will take?” I asked.

Celestia ignored my question and continued speaking.

“You will also need a name.”

“But I have a name. It’s-”

“No,” the white alicorn stopped me short. “As a human you have a human name, but as a dragon you must have a dragon name.”

I frowned and folded my hands across my body.

“But I’m terrible at coming up with names!” I whined.

“Oh! Let me name him. Please?” Luna begged her sister. “You got to name Spike.”

Celestia smiled warmly at her sister. “Very well,” she consented with a nod.

Luna stepped closer to me and looked me over. A hoof came up to her chin as she pondered over names. Then her eyes became wide, I could practically see the light bulb turning on above her head.

“Scale! I christen thee, Scale!”

“Scale? What kind of a name is Scale?” I retorted.

“Scale is a good dragon name.” Celestia glared at me.

I backed down from the powerful ruler’s stare.

“Ok, Scale it is then.”

Luna was certainly happy, but I just didn’t feel cool enough. I was a dragon for crying out loud! Scale? Really?

“And now,” Celestia stated, “we will set up arrangements for you as you live here. I will inform those in the castle that we are hosting a dragon and then you may move about our palace freely. However, you may not leave the palace grounds. Also, seeing as you are still in need of learning the basics of moving, today you will replace each of the boxes and crates that you knocked over. Furthermore, you will repackage all of the broken goods. In this way you will clean up your mess and also learn how to move yourself properly.”

And thus, my punishment was announced.

“And I shall have a room furnished for you by the evening,” Luna added before turning to leave the supply room. “Good ‘morrow sister,” the blue alicorn bid Celestia as she, I assume, went off to sleep.

Celestia stayed but a few moments longer to look around at the decimated room and then back at me.

“Good luck…Scale,” she wished before leaving the room herself.

When the two Princesses had gone I allowed myself to sink back to the floor and I hit my head against the cobblestone again.

“Why, Equestria, do you hate me?” I mumbled into the ground.

* * * * * * * * *

Stumbling, bumbling, and all around fumbling were the actions of the hour as the storeroom slowly but surely starting looking more like a storeroom and less of a disaster zone. You know, I hate to admit it, but Princess Celestia was actually right. The menial chore of cleaning up my mess did, in fact, improve my motor skills. I wasn’t perfect. I was far from perfect, but I was getting there. Maybe it also didn’t help how sore I began to feel right after the Princesses left. All of that falling and crashing from last night had finally caught up with me. I was really just thankful that I could now stand without tipping over and mostly walk. I decided to keep my wings folded up snuggly against my body after I unfurled them and knocked over some crates I had just put back. I guess I didn’t need to learn how to fly yet anyways.

However, about halfway through the cleanup a new sensation struck me, hunger. My stomach wouldn’t stop growling at me! You know how annoying it is when you’re with a group of people and your stomach just up and growls at everyone. Well magnify that by about three and you have what dragon hunger sounds like. It’s ravenous!

Not quite knowing what to do, I paced around the storage room and placed a few more boxes back until I couldn’t take the hunger any longer. I charged at the door and my claws grabbed at the handle, only to have the door wheel open and smack me in the face before I could reach it. I’m pretty sure that every single object in Equestria is bent on destroying my face for some reason.

“Whoops! Sorry ‘bout that,” a stoutly voice appoligized ever so cheerfully.

“No, that’s fine,” I attempted to muffle through the thick wood door which was still slammed on my face. I shook myself free of the solid timber. They really know how to make a sturdy door here!

“I was told to bring some gems to this very storage room right here,” stated the voice.

I moved around the door and saw a pony standing before me. He was an earth stallion from the look of him. His coat was a light brown and he had a short cropped black mane and tail on him. I also noticed that his cutie mark was a cookie, chocolate chip to be exact. My favorite! The stallion looked back up at me.

“Whoa ho! When they told me that you’d have a dragon sized appetite they weren’t joking around,” the stallion declared merrily. “Well, here ya go!”

He slid a large bowl of gemstones into the half-clean storage room. Something inside me suddenly started to drool. I wanted those gems! Greedily I lunged at the precious stones and started to lick them. It was weird, but normal, but really weird, but really tasty. Ack! Confound dragons! They drive me to eat rocks! With not a moment lost I crunched into the glittering jewels. Oh! The taste! The flavor! The pure ecstasy! I truly, truly wish I could describe the taste to you, but doing that would be like describing color to a blind man. Needless to say, they were delicious.

“Yikes,” said the stallion as he looked around the room, completely oblivious to my munching. “Did Stormchaser try some of her new ‘stunts’ in here or something?” He gave a loud whistle.

“Afraid that was all me,” I stated between bites of those most tasty of morsels.

“No kiddin’,” he chuckled. “Well it’s official, my mum really does clean like a dragon.”

“Um, excuse me,” I said as I finished off the last precious stone. “But who exactly are you?”

“Name’s Loco Coco or just ‘Chip’ if you like,” he reached out his hoof as if to shake hands.

I gripped the outstretched hoof as gently as I could between two of my massive claws.

“And just who might you be?” Chip asked.

“Uh…well…I guess I’m Scale,” I replied with a scratch to my head.

“Welcome to Canterlot, Scale,” said Chip. “You know, it’s not everyday we entertain dragons here.”

“I suppose not. Hey, uh, what exactly do you do here Chip?” I asked.

“I’m one of the assistants for Royal Chef Flour.”

“Oh, I guess I never thought of Canterlot having a Royal Chef before,” I stated.

“‘Course we have a Royal Chef! Who else do ya’ think makes all the food around here?”

“I never thought about that either.”

Chip gave me a puzzled look.

“For a dragon you sure don’t think much do ya’?”

I was about to defend myself when Chip’s eyes suddenly widened and he spoke before I had the chance to.

“Whoops! Chef Flour will have a fit if I’m not back in the kitchen on time. She says I’m always late. I’ll let you get back to your work then. I’ll be back at dinner time. See ya’ ‘round Scale!”

Chip spun around with a flourish and click of his hooves and then headed out the door at a fast trot. I tapped the door shut with my strong claws.

“Ponies…” I muttered as I scratched my head. “Well, back to work.”

The rest of the day passed by slowly. Without windows in the storage room it was difficult to keep track of time. But at long last the final crates and boxes were put away and every item accounted for. I sunk down to the floor and sighed with contentment. My joints still ached from yesterday and it felt so good to give them a break. Then the door creaked back open.

“Well howdy-howdy-ho!” greeted Chip as he lugged yet another giant bowl stuffed with gems in behind him.

I sprung up instantly and snatched the food from the stallion. I shielded the bowl from his view with my back and tail even as my claws reached out to munch a handful.

“Whoa there buddy! No need to rush. Canterlot’s not going to run out of gemstones anytime soon.”

“Sorry,” I apologized through mouthfuls of jewels. “I don’t really know what came over me.”

“It’s that there dragon greed of yours bucko.”

To prove his point, Chip reached around my tail and slipped a gem into his front hooves. In a flash, and without realizing what I was doing, my claws shot out and stole the crystal from Chip. Only after it was back in my bowl did I realize what I had just done.

“You’ve got quite the reflexes there,” Chip commented, unfazed.

I sat there with a stupid look on my face and a half eaten gem hanging out of my mouth.

“I didn’t mean to…I mean, I…Sorry,” my voice became softer and softer with each mumbled word.

“No worries! I understand. You’re a dragon. It’ll take some time to overcome your instincts while living with us ponies.”

“Uh…thanks,” I whispered.

This was one chill stallion. Not even a dragon seemed to put him down.

“Good evening!” a new voice greeted my ears.

Both Chip and I turned our heads to find Princesses Celestia and Luna entering into the storage room.

“Admirable work Scale,” Luna complimented me as she glanced over the orderly room. The blue Princess then focused her attention on me. “I have prepared a suitable room for you. Follow me.”

She promptly turned and marched into the large corridors of Canterlot Castle. Celestia gestured for me to follow and I left the comfort of the now familiar storeroom. Celestia came out after me and even Chip decided to tag along.

“I see that you have learned how to move,” the solar Princess mentioned.

“Yes, I suppose I have.”

“That’s a funny thing to say,” Chip blurted out. “Of course he can move around. What kind of creature doesn’t know how to move?”

“Master Loco,” Luna halted her movement but didn’t turn around to face the one she was addressing. “Isn’t chef Flour expecting you in the kitchen?”

“Goodness me! You’re right!” Chip cried. He ran off in the opposite direction but then stopped and turned around. “Hey Scale, if you’re not busy tomorrow, come out to the palace grounds. There’s somepony who I’d think would like to meet you!”

Without even waiting for a reply the stoutly stallion thundered down the hallway, I assume toward the royal kitchen. Luna began to chuckle.

“What?” I asked.

The Princess finally turned around. She had a wide smile across her face.

“He has the best name amongst our entire staff.”

“And always a chipper attitude,” Celestia stepped up beside her sister. “But come, I’m sure you’ve had a long day and are eager for bed.”

The white Princess resumed the walk and Luna walked by her side. The two would whisper to each other from time to time. As we walked along the castle corridors, I began to notice other items which I had missed before. There were still large windows and beautiful tapestries, but also small tables here and there with ornate flowers in vases on them. There was also a small statue or two in the passages. When I looked outside I found that the sun was only beginning to set. Because of the change in time I actually saw other ponies throughout the castle.

Most, I noticed, were unicorns. They were all dressed fashionably and tended to hold their heads high. Well, until they noticed me that is. Then they tended to gasp and point. Granted the gasping and pointing was subtle as these were cultured ponies, but they did it none the less. A few soldiers also stood beside certain doors. They were clad in shining armor and tended to wield sharp spears. They were well trained as even when I passed by them they stood at attention. I caught a few of their expressions change, but they brought themselves under control quickly. Very professional.

We walked along an interior balcony which had a rail on it. Looking up or down showed similar balconies above and below. Looking all the way up one found the massive castle ceiling which had been rounded off into a dome shape. Peering down one could see a majestic black and white tiled floor with an ornate red rug. A few ponies were gathered and speaking on the lower floor.

Down a long stairwell we traveled until we reached the main floor of the palace. The Princesses led me along one final corridor which ended at a massive door. Celestia used her magic to pull the door gently open and a large room greeted my vision. It was sparsely furnished with only a few candles adorning the walls, a window at the far end, and a plush but enormous bed taking up most of the space. There was also a clean white plate full of gems on the floor by the bed.

“Welcome to the dragon suite,” Celestia informed me.

“Do not think that thou art the first dragon to ever stay with us. Granted their visits are few and far between,” Luna explained.

“Get some rest tonight,” Celestia said. “Tomorrow I would recommend exploring the palace grounds as Chip recommended. Perhaps there you can learn some other useful skills such as flying. You will need to know how to fly if you wish to survive in the Dragonlands.”

“As always, I shall keep watch over the night,” Luna stated. “Good night.”

“Good night Scale,” Celestia also wished me.

I entered the room and then closed it behind me. I slowly flopped onto the dragon sized bed and my eyelids shut almost instantly. I hadn’t even realized how tired I was until I was lying down.

“Flying sounds like fun,” I said before falling into a deep and much needed sleep.

3: Flying and Failing

Chapter 3: Flying and Failing

Light, that most evil bane of sleeping ponies, dragons, and humans everywhere. It poured onto my closed eyelids and caused me to rouse from a good dream. What the dream was exactly? I can’t actually remember, but it was a good one. I would know, it was MY forgotten dream. Slowly my heavy eyes opened and I instantly regretted it. They closed tight and my black scaly arm shielded them from the burning light of the sun. Why did you have to raise the sun so early Celestia? Why? With a snort I worked my eyes open again. This time I managed to keep them open and I began to come back to my senses.

I sat up. My bed was a mess I noticed. Well, I guess some things never change whether human or dragon. Now don’t let me fool you, I still hadn’t quite gotten over the fact that I was a dragon. A fact that was not lost on me when I looked at myself in a golden mirror hanging on the wall and screamed at the image I saw. I even tried pinching myself to make sure that I really wasn’t dreaming, but do you know how hard it is to pinch through scales? No? I didn’t think so. Well, it’s really, really hard. Hope that answered someone’s burning question.

After finally accepting the fact that I truly was a dragon in Equestia and no longer a human being on earth…what am I saying? Yeah, accepting something like that doesn’t just come overnight. But I had no other choice than to live with the fact that I was, for all intents and purposes, a dragon. With this decision made up in my mind I reached over to the plate full of gems and stuffed some into my mouth. Man these things are tasty! Why don’t we have something like them on earth? I suppose potato chips might be about as addicting…and that’s when I looked at a small clock also mounted on the wall. You know, it’s amazing how many little fixtures you miss when you’re tired, and a dragon, and sleeping. But it was already noon! I mean I’m all for beauty rest, but sleeping for over 12 hours? That’s as bad as my sister!

A bit angry at myself I yanked my bedroom door open and stormed into the castle. Half a day wasted and I was going to learn how to fly today too! That is one thing that I didn’t want to miss. Granted I was still a bit wobbly on my legs, but who could resist the tempting allure of flight?

With these thoughts buzzing through my head I rounded many corners and traveled down many a corridor, getting plenty of odd looks from well to do ponies and guards, until I finally realized that I had absolutely no clue what I was doing or where I was going.

“Well, fancy that!” a stallion’s voice called from behind me. “Scale! I was just on my way outside for my lunch break.”

I knew that voice, it was truly unmistakable: Chip.

“Morning Chip,” I greeted with a bit of a toothy smile. A few of those nearby actually winced at my teeth…or was it my breath? But not good ole’ Chip. He was just as chipper as ever.

“Well, come on!” Chip walked right past me and waved me to follow him.

I followed after the brown stallion with as little wobbling as possible, but I’m sure that I scared a few passersby when I got precariously close to falling on them. After following Chip through a few more hallways and a couple of large rooms we had finally reached the palace grounds. You’d think it would be easy to navigate Canterlot Castle, but that place was a maze! Or maybe it’s just because I can’t read Equestrian. Whatever the matter, we were now standing out in the open.

Sunlight poured onto my face and it felt soothing. I had been stuck in that castle for almost two days. Fresh air was one of those things you don’t really think about until you don’t have it for a while. I took in some greedy gulps of the clean air and sighed contentedly. A few lazy clouds moved through the air. But one was moving really fast and it kind of looked like a pegasus. I squinted my eyes to get a better look. Holy snap! It was a pegasus and it was pile driving right at me!

Thankfully I managed to dodge to the side in time. Unthankfully, this knocked me off my balance. I careened to the side and then fell with a great crash into a clump of well watered trees. Why gravity? Do you enjoy it when I fall over? Do you get a kick out of making a dragon look stupid? But I wasn’t the only one on the floor. Nope, not this time. This time gravity had taken another victim, the pegasus.

I groaned and turned my head to where the pegasus had almost nailed me. The pony had slid across the ground and was currently eating a mouthful of dirt and grass. The flying pony was a bright yellow color with two toned blue hair and the symbol of three raindrops on her flank.

“Better than yesterday Stormchaser!” called Chip happily.

The pegasus, called Stormchaser, pumped her front hoof in victory even while her face was smashed into the ground. You know, I think Stormchaser might actually have been eating the grass? Then Chip moved over and helped the yellow pegasus up and helped to brush the pony off.

“Scale, come on over here!” Chip beckoned. “I want you to meet my friend Stormchaser.”

I picked myself up from the trees and dusted myself off before making my way over to Chip and his pegasus friend.

“Storm, meet Scale. He’s a dragon,” Chip motioned to me as he talked to the pegasus.

“Whoa! Dude! That’s so cool!” a feminine voice came from the pegasus. She must have been a mare. “Hey, sorry ‘bout almost crashing into ya’ a few seconds ago. Just practicing a new trick.”

“That was some trick,” I huffed.

“I know right?” she replied back. “But you should see it when it actually goes as planned.”

“I can only imagine,” I said with a cringe.

“So? Let’s see ‘em!” she prodded.

“What? See what?”

“Your wings of course! I’ve never seen dragon wings up close before.”

Were all of these ponies nuts?! I was a dragon for crying out loud! A fierce, flying, impenetrable, fire breathing fortress!

“Um…I guess,” I said. “But aren’t you scared of me or something?”

“Phft. Naw,” she waved a hoof through the air nonchalantly. “Dude, if the Princesses say that you’re chill, then you’re chill.”

She instantly took to the sky and came right up to where my folded wings attached to my torso. She gingerly placed her hooves onto their leathery surface and rubbed them. I think she was trying to get a feel for their texture. It was strange seeing this pony, so much smaller than I was, totally unafraid. She then began to slowly pull one of my wings open. I gave her what little help I could in unfurling it, but I was really still learning how to open them myself.

“Impressive wingspan,” she stated when the wing was fully outstretched. “Sturdy skin, lots of torque in those joints. Yep, just what I was expecting from a dragon.”

“Just what you were expecting?” I admit, I was shocked and a bit upset that this pegasus knew me better than I knew myself.

“Well sure, how else could a dragon even consider even getting off the ground? I mean with your weight.”

“Is that a fat joke?” I pressed. This pegasus was starting to rub me the wrong way.

“Whoa dude, chillax,” still she was clam despite my subtle threat. “Now if I could actually see you in flight…” her voice trailed off as she looked up toward the sky, deep in thought. A smile spread across her face. “Hey! I got it! How about a race?”

“No,” I stated curtly, partially because I didn’t like her attitude and partially because I really couldn’t fly.

“Come on dude. Scared that a measly old pegasus’ll beat you?”

I felt my blood begin to boil and I started to slowly unfold my massive black wings. I really shouldn’t be doing this. I can’t fly. Don’t do it!

“That’s the spirit tubby!” she taunted.

Oh no she didn’t! Able to fly or not, I had never been able to resist a challenge.

“Three quick laps around the castle and touch down here,” Stormchaser stated the rules and then firmly planted her front hoof on the ground. I swear she was smirking at me. “Chip, can you start us off?”

“Righty-o!” the stallion said as he walked up to the front of us both.

Stormchaser flung her wings wide open with one quick snap. I could actually feel a gust of powerful wind coming off of the sudden motion. What had I gotten myself into? Slowly and with a few soft grunts I opened my own wings to their full span. Stormchaser didn’t look frightened in the least, but instead was pawing at the ground. A strong determination was all that was written across her face. Oh great, an adrenalin junkie. Apparently they exist even in Equestria. With a nod of my head and trying to look as confident as possible, the race began.

“Annnnnddd…GO!” shouted Chip.

Stormchaser blasted into the sky with outrageous speed and took off around the palace. I, on the other hand, pumped my wings as hard as I could. Shockingly I found myself lifted off of the ground. Yes! I could fly! And in my first attempt too! Take that gravity! Take that! Of course, it also usually helps when you pump your wings again, something that I forgot to do.

Soon I found myself going from about five feet in the air to a solid face plant into a clump of bushes, which I managed to swallow in my massive jaws. So let’s recap the score: Gravity- Like a billion, Scale- About 0.05. Curse you gravity!

Chip broke out laughing. He literally fell to the ground and held his sides as he rolled around on the soft grass. Curious as to Chip’s laughing fit, Stormchaser looked down. This made her veer to the left and she crashed into a large oak tree, landing in a thicket of her own. Chip watched all this and somehow managed to laugh even harder. Tears were rolling off the brown stallion’s cheeks in bucketfuls. There was also very little I could say in my defense considering that my mouth was full of twigs and leaves.

Surprisingly, Stormchaser jumped to her feet like nothing had happened and brushed herself off without a second thought. She waltzed calmly over to Chip, who had finally stopped laughing, and the two looked into each other’s eyes. Slowly two pairs of smiles broke out onto the ponies’ faces until neither could hold back from their chuckling any longer. They both started laughing! I spit out the sticks and moodily stomped up to the two.

“What’s so funny?” I asked angrily.

This only made Chip laugh harder.

“S-Stop it!” the stallion hooted out. “Y-You’re gonna give me a heart attack!”

I growled and then sat down beside the two merry ponies. Slowly the laughter died down and they were both actually able to speak.

“THAT is one of the best things I’ve seen in a long time,” chuckled Stormchaser as she wiped a tear from her eye.

“Yeah! Scale, what WAS that?” Chip giggled.

“I can’t fly,” I mumbled so quietly I might have even rivaled Fluttershy.

“What?” Chip prodded.

“I can’t fly,” I repeated barely louder than before.

“Huh?” Stormchaser queried.

“I. Can’t. Fly,” I stated clearly then lowered my head.

“Whoa dude! You’re serious?” the pegasus asked.

I nodded slowly.

“Oh Scale, I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” Chip apologized.

I sighed. “No, it-it’s fine. I’m just a failure of a dragon.”

“Whoa flyboy!” the mare declared. “You’re more of a dragon than I’ll ever be. Plus, how ‘bout this? I’ll teach you how to fly.”

I lifted my eyes to meet the pegasus’. I saw nothing but sincerity in them, well that and adrenalin.

“Plus, I need a flying buddy. So, I guess that’ll pay for the lessons.”

“Really?” I asked.

“Yeparoo, she really does need a flyin’ budy,” Chip pitched in his two cents. Even though that wasn’t what I was asking at all.

“Mister Coco!” crowed out an angry voice from the palace.

All our heads turned toward the sound.

“Oh no! Not again!” moaned Chip as he tried to hide behind my body.

“Ah tut tut tut! I see you Mister Coco. Now get up here before I come down there myself,” the voice was that of a female and had a bit of a thick accent.

Chip poked his head around my body and slowly plodded back up to the castle. Stormchaser and I followed behind. I was curious as to just who this was. As we came closer and closer to the palace I began to make out a form. It was another pony, big surprise there. This one was an older mare who had her hair done up in a bun and had a chef’s apron still on. Her tail was short for a female and was colored a rich blue. Her coat itself was a pale grey and her eyes were blue. She had the cutie mark of a chef’s hat.

“Mister Coco, how many times do I have to come and get you?” the mare huffed. “Now come on, we’ve got dinner to prepare.”

“But I-”

“No excuses this time,” she interrupted Chip and then looked up at me. “And you. You’re that dragon that’s going to eat Canterlot out of gems if I let you. You’ll get your dinner when everypony else gets there’s. Now Mister Coco you are coming with me.”

I was shocked at the sudden insult but didn’t have any time to reply. With a curt turn, the elderly mare turned toward the palace and walked inside with a practiced march. Chip followed closely behind with his head held a bit lower than usual. He also tended to drag his hooves. Then the door to the castle slammed shut, leaving me alone with Stormchaser.

“Who was that?” I asked.

“That was Chef Flour.”

“That’s the Royal Chef?”

“That’s right.”

“She didn’t really seem fond of me. I thought you said that if the Princesses gave me the ‘Ok’ that I’d be good.”

“Look dude, not everypony is up for having a dragon around. Sorry, that’s just how it works. Now we gonna get to flying or what?”

“Wait that’s it? What about Chip?”

“He actually had that coming for a while now. He’s been showing up late for work everyday for the past month or so. Now come on big guy! Let’s get you in the air!”

After being thoroughly flustered by my encounter with Chef Flour, perhaps some airtime might be nice. If I could figure out how to fly that is. With so many mixed emotions crossing my face I’m not even confident what I looked like, I trundled back out to the open palace grounds where I was instructed to once again open my wings to their full span.

“Good, now for starters, you’re not gonna push your wings as hard as possible. Trust me dude, I know how badly you want to taste that open sky but you’ve got to start with the basic motions or else you’ll wind up with another mouthful of dirt. So just flap your wings gently up and down until you get the basic feel for the motion.”

I did as instructed. My massive wings swished up and down slowly as my mind and muscles figured out how the basic motion worked. After a few minutes I pushed them a little faster and a little harder. As I moved my wings, so too did Stormchaser. It looked like she was the “Teach by Example” type, I could respect that.

“That’s it big guy! Now, flap only one wing at a time. Start with your left.”

I stopped my right wing from moving but kept my left wing going. Soon I was instructed to reverse the wings.

“Now, what you just did, don’t ever do it again.”

Wait. What?

“Excuse me?”

“That’s right. Doing something like flapping only one wing is a sure fire way to knock yourself clean out of the sky. When you turn you want to lean your body and tilt your wings. Do not only flap one, unless you’re trying a really dangerous stunt. Like this one.”

She burst into the sky and did some loop-de-loops as I sat and watched dumbstruck at her brashness. Then she flapped only one wing, exactly the thing she told me NOT to do which quickly propelled her into a corkscrew. And what a corkscrew it was! She spun straight down and collided with a tree, which helped to break her fall. I lunged toward the fallen pegasus and tried to help her to her hooves, but she was already up.

“Not again,” she groaned. “I thought I had it that time.”

“So, that’s why you never only flap one wing?” I asked.

“Pretty much. Look dude, this is one of those ‘do as I say, not as I do’ things.”

“Right,” I replied. “But are you hurt?”

“Pft, naw,” she replied as she brushed herself off. “Look, I’ve crashed so many times I can’t even feel the pain anymore. Now come on, we’ve got to get you into the air!”

She trotted away from the tree and back to a more open space where my wings wouldn’t damage anything. Of course, I was starting to have second thoughts about my flight instructor, but with no one else to turn to it was either her or gravity left to teach me.

“Ok, now you’ve hopefully got the basic motions down, so let’s try to get you in the air for a little while. We’re not going to do anything big, but try hopping and flapping your wings to give yourself a little extra airtime.”

I was a bit unsure about the whole jumping thing. I mean I still didn’t have the greatest balance, but still I tried. It was either fly or fail. I hopped into the sky and then, surprisingly, landed back on my feet with only the slightest of wobbles. Yeah! That’s right gravity! Boo-yah!

“Hey, uh, Scale,” Stormchaser’s voice interrupted my happy dance. “You know you actually need to flap your wings right?”

In my mind I could see myself slapping a hand into my forehead. Well played gravity, well played.

“Try again, but this time flap those suckers.”

I inhaled deeply and then focused on flying. With another leap I bounded into the wild blue and this time pushed down hard with my mighty wings. I felt myself boost a little toward the heavens. But wouldn’t you know it? I came down to the earth a bit sideways. I landed on one foot, jumped clumsily around, and then fell over.

“What did I do wrong?” I asked.

“You flapped your right wing harder than your left one, bro. That’s kind of what I was telling you not to do.”

I’ve seen birds fly, I’ve flown in planes, I’ve even seen THIS pegasus flying. You’d think it would be easy, but no. Nothing is ever easy is it?

“Come on, try again. Getting down the basics is the most vital and hardest part of learning to fly.”

As the afternoon wore on, I practiced. And I fell. And I practiced. And I fell. But sometimes I didn’t fall. Sometimes I actually got an extra flap or two in my jump. Sometimes I could almost taste the open air. It was these moments that pushed me to keep trying. Well, those moments and Stormchaser. Oddly enough, she was a good teacher and pretty funny too. But the afternoon somehow turned into evening and my flight lesson came to an end.

“Nice effort today Scale,” Stormchaser said. “Hey, I’ve got to get goin’ but if you want, I’ll come by again tomorrow.”

“Yes, I’d like that.”

“Sweet. Alright, catch ya’ later big guy!”

With those words the pegasus leaped into the sky and flew away, something that I would hopefully be doing myself soon. It was at this time that I actually looked around at my environment. I mean sure, I had noticed a few passing ponies pointing and watching the 80 something year old dragon learning to fly, but I hadn’t really looked. The sun was hovering over the horizon and would be setting soon. In the red glow of evening, the palace grounds looked amazing.

The grass was cool and the gardens were well cared for. The only thing that was off was the clump of brush I had managed to land in earlier. It did look nice though, before I accidentally wrecked it. With a contented sigh and feeling the soreness beginning to build in my muscles, I headed back to the castle.

As I neared the large entrance doors, they opened. A white alicorn walked gracefully through them. The guards at both sides of the doors bowed low. I decided to do the same.

“Ah Scale,” Celestia stated happily. “Just the dragon I was looking for.”

“For me your highness?”

“Yes. My sister and I were watching some of your progress today. Well, most of the palace was watching your progress from time to time. But it made us think of other essential skills you will need before we send you off to the Dragonlands.”

“Most of the palace was watching?” I was suddenly feeling very self-conscious.

“And so tomorrow, along with your continued practice in flight, I will be helping you learn how to breathe fire.”

She avoided my question entirely, but that’s ok because she said ‘learn how to breathe fire’. Finally, we were getting to the cool stuff!

“Meet me early tomorrow morning outside. I will be at the same place you were at today. You’ll want to get a good rest tonight because you’re going to have a busy few days ahead of you. Good night, Scale.”

“Good night Princess,” I bowed once again and this time there was a giddy grin plastered across my face.

The guards flung the door as wide as possible to allow my massive frame into the castle. Celestia had already headed back inside and was walking down a corridor. I went down the other, toward the Dragon Suite. At least I hoped it was toward the Dragon Suite. This time luck was finally on my side. I found my room and thoroughly enjoyed slumping into the gigantic sheets. As soon as my eyes closed I was out cold, but all that night I dreamed of battling massive dragons with fire.

4: Learning Curve

Chapter 4: Learning Curve

Morning erupted into existence and I launched out of bed. I was still amazed at the fact that I was a dragon, but it was beginning to feel somewhat normal to me. I checked my appearance in the gold mirror. My black scales seemed to shimmer as the glistening sun poured onto them. I even pressed back my blue spines; I thought that it might look more professional in front of the Princess. With that and a handful of gemstones I rushed out of my bedroom door.

It was still very early and most of the palace guests and staff were still asleep, but I wasn’t tired. I had fire breathing to learn! Calling upon my vast powers of memory, I managed to find my way out of the castle with only taking three wrong turns. The palace lawn glistened as the sunshine spread itself over the tiny drops of dew. I blinked away the bright light and made my way over to where I had practiced flying yesterday. Standing where I had stood, and apparently made a small imprint in the dirt from all my jumping, was the glorious Princess Celestia.

“Good morning,” greeted the gracious alicorn with a polite bow of her head.

“Morning,” I croaked. Apparently my voice had still not woken up.

“Are you ready to begin or do you want a few minutes to prepare yourself?”

I cleared my throat before replying. “No. No, I’m fine. I can start right now,” I said a bit too eagerly.

The Princess chuckled ever so lightly. “Very well then. But first let me give you a quick lesson on your stature as a dragon.”

I stomped over to the Princess and raised an eyebrow in question.

“As a dragon you have very strong scales for protection. Not only protection from attacks, but also from the elements. For instance, you can swim in lava and it will feel like only a warm hot spring to you.”

She must have seen the thought behind my widening eyes because she then added, “No. Don’t even think about it. I am not giving you permission to find a lava pool and jump in it. But I will show you something else.”

The Princess’ horn ignited with a bright yellow hue and small tendrils of fire erupted from it. I cringed and jumped backward a few feet. But the yellow fire danced playfully through the air until it made contact with my hard black scales. The fire wrapped around me. It actually felt nice, it was warm and comforting. Not at all the burning sensation I had been suspecting. I stopped cringing and instead let the warm glow do its job. My sore muscles felt soothed and, for the first time since I found myself in Equestria, I felt relaxed. The fire dissipated when Princess Celestia’s horn lost its glow.

“Normal fire will do you no harm,” she stated calmly. “After all, lava itself cannot hurt you. In order to harm a dragon the blaze must be hotter than magma.”

Then her eyes flashed at me with a hard set determination as her horn again blazed to life. Another fire leaped from the solar Princess, this one a bright orange. I allowed the flames to crash into me. At first I didn’t feel anything, but soon the warm sensation in my body started to feel boiling hot. I felt the heat and it hurt, a lot. It was far beyond a simple tingling sensation this time, it was burning me!

“Ah!” I screamed as the orange fire pierced through even my tough armor.

The fire stopped and Celestia pulled in a long puff of air. Her eyes went back to their normal kind appearance. There was some serious power behind this Princess.

“Dragon fire is not normal fire Scale, it IS hotter than magma and it IS magic. Do not forget this fact both when you face dragons in combat and when you breathe fire yourself. Be respectful of how powerful your magic is. If you do not respect it, it WILL hurt you. Are you still sure that you are ready to begin?”

“…Yes?” I answered shakily.

Celestia drew in a long and soothing breath and then slowly exhaled.

“Very well,” she stated calmly. “The first thing you need to understand is proper breathing technique.”

“Breathing technique? You mean like this?” I puffed in as much air as possible and then exhaled it all at once in a powerful roar.

“No,” she stated simply.

My shoulders slumped. Was doing anything even remotely cool going to be difficult?

“First lift up your chest,” she instructed.

I puffed out my chest in response.

“Not quite like that. Don’t puff yourself up like a penguin; instead hold yourself straight and tall. Something like this.”

The Princess stood as majestically as ever, but stood with a pose that showed her at her most regal. She was straight and tall. Her back legs were planted firmly on the ground, ready to spring to action at any moment while her head was held up. It was impressive how a simple change of posture made her look even taller and elegant than she already was.

“Now you try,” she commanded as her posture went back into a more relaxed state.

I tried to duplicate her posture as best as I could. I planted my feet smartly on the ground beneath me and slowly stretched out my back. I felt more gentlemanly already. It kind of reminded me of what my choir teacher tried to show my class when I was in elementary school. Oh! That’s exactly what I was doing. Proper breathing technique.

“Better, but you’re still puffing out your chest too much,” Celestia broke into my thoughts.

I corrected.

“If you’re doing this correctly, it should feel a bit strange at first. Perhaps even a little constricting. But you should be able to feel that your lungs are more free than normal and that you can hold more air.”

She was right, I felt a little stiff in this posture but I sucked in a lungful of air anyways. Shockingly, I really could hold more air than before. I guess my elementary choir teacher wasn’t a nut job after all. I exhaled another powerful breath of air.

“That really works!” I smiled.

“Yes it does, but it will take some practice for you to actually be able to use it. I want you to practice holding that stance and breathing in, but this time exhale slowly. Try to lengthen the time your breath comes out.”

I nodded and did as instructed. Celestia watched me perform this task and then spoke once more.

“Good. Good. Now keep practicing as I talk,” she began to pace around as I breathed in and out. “As a dragon, breathing fire should be natural. Even Spike was breathing fire soon after he was hatched. However, you are not a normal dragon. For you it may take some time. Do not lose patience, but stick with what I will teach you. Now listen carefully to me, magic is something that is not easily performed. It takes a great deal of practice, study, and research. Dragon fire IS magic. It will take time for you to learn its secrets. Do you understand this?”

I exhaled slowly and then spoke with a nod, “Yes.”

“Good, now you will actually try to breathe fire. You will most likely not do this correctly the first time,” the Princess stopped pacing and planted herself directly in front of me. “Breathe in.”

I did as told and held my breath.

“Now, try to raise forth fire from within your gut. You should be able to feel it building up in you.”

I placed my focus upon the task. I could feel a rumbling sensation in my belly. Something was building, burning, wanting to escape. It wasn’t quite something tangible, but just something I knew was there. It was something magical.

“When you believe you are ready, release your breath into the sky.”

I raised my head skyward. Now was the time. Now I was a true dragon! I released the full extent of my fury to the heavens, but only a small, pitiful cloud of black smoke belched forth. I began to choke on the fumes and cough. That stuff tasted nasty!

“Ack! Ugh! Uh!” I coughed.

“That’s not quite right,” Celestia stated.

No?! Really?!

“Why don’t you try again, but this time release it slowly. Just like you practiced. Don’t release it all at once. Focus.”

After the puny black cloud dissipated and I finally stopped choking, I growled to myself and took another long breath of air. This should be easy! I concentrated once again on building fire within myself. I could feel its pressure, it wanted to be released, it wanted to burn brightly in the skies above. But this time I released my breath slowly. A long stream of black smoke floated into the sky. But this time the smoke was more focused than the last and didn’t stick close enough to my nostrils to really choke me. There was still no fire though.

“Much better,” Celestia said with an approving smile.

“But there was no fire,” I replied glumly.

“No, and there probably won’t be for a while yet. You still need to learn how to build up the magic inside yourself until it can be effectively released.”

“But I CAN feel it!”

“Yes, but you must learn better control of it. Simply feeling magic is not control of magic. Scale, all of Equestria is saturated with magic. It is in the air, the trees, the creatures who live here, but without proper control and focus you will never be able to utilize it. Now, I must attend to my duties but I want you to keep practicing these basic techniques. We will meet here again tomorrow and then we will practice some more.”

Celestia turned from me with practiced grace and ease of composure. Her ethereal mane was even more magnificent when it flowed around her in the light of the sun. Of course, practicing was not exactly my favorite activity. All I wanted was to breathe fire! Was that really so hard to ask? With a heavy sigh, I turned back to my task.

That morning I kept sucking in huge mouthfuls of air, built up flaming magic within myself, and released pitiful clouds of disgusting black smoke in long puffs. It always left an aftertaste in my mouth, but never really burnt anything. One thing I did notice, however, was that the black clouds were growing slightly hotter as the day moved on. But I could only stand there practicing with limited success for so long. Soon I was bored and my stomach started to growl at me. I agreed with my stomach, it was definitely time for lunch and time for a break. With my mind made up, I waltzed casually back to the castle to find some grub. I felt that I had finally gotten walking down, and there wasn’t anything that gravity could do about it.

I smirked to myself as I pushed the large castle doors open. Take that gravity! New score: Scale- somewhere around 1, Gravity- somewhat less than infinity. I suppose I could accept that, it was better than me having 0.

The large double doors opened easily beneath my strength, I suppose that’s one thing that I got for free. I was strong. I’m guessing it was just how dragons were built. After all, nothing could ever be easy in Equestria. Couldn’t give the human anything that would make him uber powerful or cool, now could we?

My stomach growled again.

“Oh, be quiet. I’m looking for food, ok?” I looked down and spoke at my own belly. I suppose that’s what I got for leaving college and living by myself too long, I can now talk to myself and not feel weird. Maybe that’s what happened to Trixie?

“Scale!” a happy voice called from down the hallway I was plodding through. “What a coincidence! Just the dragon I was lookin’ for!”

It was Chip and yes, he was just a chipper as ever. Ha, ha ha, see what I did there? Chip, chipper…yeah, ok. My mind is a scary place when it’s hungry.

“Looking for me?” I questioned as I pointed to myself.

“Well sure! I’m on my lunch break and I figured that you hadn’t had lunch yet, so why shouldn’t I take you to the kitchen and we can both get some grub. I mean, eating by yourself is boring.”

My stomach rumbled in agreement.

“Count me in,” I replied.

“Great! Follow me!”

Chip rushed down the fancy carpets of Canterlot Castle. I actually had to almost jog to keep up with him, which was impressive because of how much longer my legs were than his. If I had gotten some odd looks from the guards before, now watching a dragon literally chase down another pony I really got some strange bizarre glances. But soon we arrived at the royal Canterlot kitchens and it was a sight to behold for a dragon with an empty stomach.

Dozens of staff, unicorns, earth ponies, and pegasus, were all chopping greens, baking deserts, or simply washing a litany of pots and pans. Loud shouts from various ponies could be heard over the din of the kitchenware being clanked around constantly. Above all other voices though, I heard one that gave me a slight chill.

“Oy! Cinamon Swril, more sugar! Joy, scrub harder! Melody, take those biscuits out before you burn them! Chop! Chop! Chop! Let’s move ponies! Lunch was too be served ten minutes ago!”

That voice was unmistakable. Even if I had only heard it once, the accented shouts of Royal Chef Flour penetrated my eardrums.

“Come on Scale!” Chip motioned for me to enter a side room he was standing in.

I slunk over to the friendly stallion, trying to make myself as inconspicuous to Chef Flour as possible. She was one mare I did not want to run into today. I moved into the small room, well, small by dragon standards, and sat down on the floor next to Chip. The brown colored stallion was picking through a cabinet of some sort. I leaned my head over to see what he was up to.

Chip was rummaging through a food storage pantry. He picked out a bag labeled Hay Fries and placed it on the ground behind him before poking his head back into the pantry. More foodstuffs came out and joined the Hay Fries on the floor. Finally, he pulled out one last item, a small plate filled with sapphires. My claws lurched instinctively at the gemstones, but I was able to stop myself before I accidentally smacked Chip by mistake.

“Easy there buddy. Here ya’ go!” Chip plopped the crystals down in front of me.

Without another second’s hesitation, I dug in, shoving each jewel into my massive jaws. Food at last! I sighed happily. I then looked over at Chip. He was munching through his bag of Hay Fries when, of all ponies, she walked in.

“Ack! You! What are you doing in here?!” Flour pointed an accusing hoof at me. “Trying to steal some extra gems? Get out!”

I lifted my arms in a non-aggressive posture and tried to speak, but she just wouldn’t listen.

“Uh, I let him in here Mam,” Chip spoke up for me.

“You let him in Mr. Coco?” she turned upon Chip.

“Yes Mam, just for a quick bite to eat. He was hungry and I’m on lunch.”

“Oy. Fine!” she threw her hooves up in dismay. “But don’t let me catch either of you trying to sneak anything out of here. This is MY kitchen. As for you Chip, you may enjoy your break in here but do not leave. You’ve been late off your lunch break for far too many days. Ack! Look at the time! Too much to do and too few hooves to get it all done!” The Chef huffed out of the room.

I didn’t dare to say anything until she was out of earshot.

“She’s some boss.”

“Eh,” Chip shrugged as he bit into a flower petal sandwich nonchalantly. “She’s not all that bad. She just takes some getting used to.”

I was glad that Chip was taking everything so calmly. I knew I would be pulling my hair out if I was in his position.

“Oh hey, I caught Stormchaser this morning. She’s really pumped for your lesson this afternoon,” Chip stated after a few more bites. “Speaking of that, you’d better get going or else you’re going to end up pulling off one of my showing up late stunts.”

Holy sea biscuits! He was right! I had totally forgotten about the flight plans I’d made with Stormchaser.

“Yikes! Thanks Chip!” I roared as I nimbly dodged out of the kitchens.

“No problem! Catch ya’ around!”

* * * * * * * * *

A warm afternoon sun met my eyes as I exited the mammoth sized castle. Upon the palace grounds, in the exact spot I’d found Celestia actually, Stormchaser was practicing a quick loop-de-loop in place. This attempt ended in a crash when she tried to throw a corkscrew into the mix.

“Yo Scale! Glad you could make it!” she called from the ground.

“Afternoon Stormchaser,” I greeted her.

I walked up to my teacher and gently picked her up in my large claws and then set her back down on her hooves.

“You saw that?” she asked.

“Yep.”

“So…on a scale of one to awesome, how great would it be if I could actually pull it off?”

She sure bounced back quickly.

“Um…close to awesome?” I responded.

“Eh, if it’s not totally awesome I’m not sure that’s what I’m going for then. But anyway, we’ve got to get you airborne today! Come on! Time to taste that open sky!”

She took a place in front of me and I placed myself back in the tracks I’d made the day before. Stormchaser snapped her wings open. I also pushed my black wings to their fullest, albeit a lot more slowly than my pegasus friend.

“Alright, remember what we did yesterday. We’re going to do a quick review and then move on. So, up and at ‘em big fella. Let me see what you’ve got!”

I nodded and then focused my mind on my wings. I leaped into the sky and flapped with my powerful wings, giving me some extra time in the air, before I landed with both feet firmly on the ground. That’s two for me gravity! You’re off your game today.

“Nice work. Ok, now if you really want to fly we’ve got to get you to a high location.”

“High location? You mean I’m going to just up and jump off?”

“That or I’m gonna push you. Actually, I kind of want to push you off. That sounds like fun.”

I gulped. This pegasus was crazy!

“Uh, well, the Princesses said that I couldn’t leave the palace grounds. So, unless I climb the castle, there’s not a high enough place for me to jump from.”

“Seriously dude? But Canterlot is built on a mountain! That’s weak sauce.”

“I GIVE THOU FULL PERMISSION TO JUMP FROM ATOP THE CASTLE!” a shout echoed across the grounds.

I turned my head and saw a certain blue alicorn leaning out of an upper window. Thank you Luna. Thank you soooo much. /sarcasm

“Sweet! Hear that? Come on, let’s get you up there!”

Reluctantly, I followed the excitable pegasus through the castle and to an upper balcony. Princess Luna was waiting there, like she was expecting us.

“I thought you slept during the day,” I grumped at the alicorn.

“I decided to awaken early today. Now, thou hast a leap to perform.”

I moved close to the edge of the balcony and looked down. It was a really far distance to the ground and I saw a few curious heads looking out of other windows and up at me. Well, at least somepony could get some entertainment out of this at least. I took in a deep breath and promptly scooted away from the edge.

“Do I have to do this? I mean, couldn’t I just fly from the ground?” I pleaded with Stormchaser.

“Chillax dude. It’s like what birds do. You have to start high up so that you have time to get your wings working. It’s either fly or keep trying until you do.”

I gulped again. I was never all that scared of heights, but jumping off of a castle and down to the hard ground below wasn’t exactly my idea of fun. I tried to jump off, but I never could bring myself to do it. Then I felt something hit me hard from behind.

“Stormchaser!” I roared as my body careened off the edge.

“You’re welcome bro!”

“Ahhh!!!!”

I felt myself twirling and falling out of control as I plummeted to my imminent demise. I closed my eyes and pressed with all of my might, trying to open my wings. They flapped open and I could feel an incredible pressure pushing against them. My fall began to slow and I even took some control over my freefalling body so that I was no longer tumbling wildly though the air. Then something just clicked.

My wings were fully outstretched and they caught the wind. I began to glide around, it was like the time I went parasailing during my Spring Break one year. I still don’t know how my friends convinced me to do that, but now I was gliding again. The excitement, the thrill, the rush of being in the sky was overwhelming. It was exhilarating. It was freeing. It was me finally being a dragon.

And that’s when my eyes went wide a split second before my face met the grass. Curse you gravity! I was actually enjoying that!

“Whoa! Sweet moves for your first time out big guy!” Stormchaser landed right next to me and tried to help me to my feet.

I got up with a really stupid grin on my face and dirt stuck between my teeth.

“Let’s do that again!” I said.

I swear I heard Princess Luna laugh, but she denied it.

The rest of my afternoon was taken up with learning the basics of gliding and flying. I learned about updrafts and thermal-whatchamacallits, and other cool stuff like that that help to keep you in the air without having to push with your wings. And then I worked on actually using my wings to keep myself in the sky. My best time that day: close to 3 minutes. I was proud of myself and more than ready to crash in my bed that night. I had done a lot, seen a lot, and learned a lot. That day was a good day.

* * * * * * * * *

The next few days passed in much the same manner. I would wake up early to practice fire breathing, something I still couldn’t get down. It was incredibly frustrating just breathing out clouds of black smoke. The only good news from the entire experience was that I started getting used to the aftertaste.

After fire breathing lessons would fail, Chip and I would meet up in the kitchen for lunch. I don’t really know why I started doing that, but it was nice to talk with somepony I knew. Always Chef Flour would give me a suspicious look when I came in to eat. Chip and I started to joke about how she had a magical third eye. You couldn’t so much as touch a stove without her knowing it. Trust me, I tried. That day was interesting to say the least.

Then, I’d meet Stormchaser after lunch to work on my flying. I showed the most improvement in this department. I could now stay in the air for around 10 minutes and I learned a lot about my teacher. Apparently she helped take care of the weather in Canterlot. Sometimes Chip would come out to meet us either on break or after his shift ended. The three of us would talk and joke. I think by the end of those few days, I finally had somepony I could call my friends.

Finally, evening would come. Being stuck on the palace grounds meant that I couldn’t leave to do anything with Stormchaser when she left. I found out that Chip actually lived in the castle. One night he showed me around his place, but it was much too small for me to do more than admire it from the doorway. He would go to bed early as he always had the breakfast shift which left me to trundle back to my room and sleep as well.

And then a very special night came. I had spent six full days in Equestria. After this night, it would be one week. One entire week in Equestria and it felt good.

5: Always Consequences

Chapter 5: Always Consequences

Excuse me for one second…

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Aaahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!! Aaaahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!! Aaahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MY BRAIN IS ON FIRE!!!

Ok, deep breaths. Deep breaths. One. Two. Three.

Pain. Searing pain lacerated my mind.

It was morning and I woke up, nothing unusual there. Except that I was in my bed, my HUMAN bed in my HUMAN apartment. But I was also in my dragon bed in Canterlot. I couldn’t be in both, but I was! The human/dragon mind is not meant to live two lives in two places at once! It wasn’t possible, but I was awake as both a dragon and as a human. And my brain felt like it was almost about to explode!

“Arghhhh!!!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. Both me as a dragon and me as a human shouted out in pain from our separate beds. “Ahh!!!” I couldn’t contain the sheer pain and shock of being in two places and as two different species at one time.

A loud thumping came from my door. But which one? Was it in Canterlot or on earth?

“Jake, you ok in there?” a muffled male voice asked.

Jake. That was my human name. And the voice, I knew that voice; it was my apartment neighbor, Ralf.

“I-I’m fine,” I shouted back from my bed through gritted teeth. “Just a headache is all.”

“If you’re sure,” Ralf’s voice barely reached my ears through my throbbing mind.

Then silence, he must have left. But my morning was far from over. Another door pounded open. This one was in Equestria. Bursting through the door and charging at me were two royal guards ponies, clad in golden armor.

“Sir, are you alright?” one of the guards asked.

“NO!!!” I released the full outcry of my agony in their faces.

I began to thrash around on my bed, tearing up the soft mattress with my claws, scales, and spines.

“Get the Princesses. I’ll try to hold him here,” the other guard commanded his companion.

The first guard rushed out of the room while the other remained behind. He was holding a sharp spear gingerly in front of himself, but stayed a good distance away from me.

“Now, just settle down,” the guard spoke calmly to me. “Try to relax. Can you do that?”

Putting my entire concentrated effort to bear, I was able to stop myself from tearing up the bedspread any further. I gritted my teeth and began to breathe through my teeth heavily. My pain was so intense that smoke even began to pour out of my nose and tears began to well up in my eyes.

Hearing the guard in Canterlot, I tried to do the same in my apartment. I breathed in and out slowly, gritted my teeth, and tried to not murder my bed sheets. I closed my eyes in both worlds and let the tears roll out freely.

“Scale,” a gentle voice echoed in my ears. I opened my eyes and Princess Celestia was standing in my dragon room. She was regal and elegant as always, but this time more strict in appearance. She did not appear to be scared of me in my predicament.

“Scale, now listen to me. Don’t be frightened, but for safety reasons we are going to tie you down. Try not to resist.”

I didn’t know what was going on! My brain was trying to kill me and now lots of guard ponies were climbing over my body. They picked me up and set me down on the floor where they began to tie my legs and feet down. It took all of my self-control to not flinch and accidentally hit one of them. But soon my entire dragon self, including my tail, was pinned snuggly on the floor with a small contingency of guards surrounding me. Then Princess Luna ran into my room, the guard who had first left was right behind her.

“What has happened?” Luna spoke to her sister.

“I don’t know yet,” replied Celestia. “Scale, can you tell us what’s going on?”

“My mind is on fire!” I screamed. More tears rolled down both my scaly cheeks.

“Can thou elaborate?” Luna queried worriedly.

All I could manage was a light grow and some whimpering.

“Guards, leave us.” Celestia commanded. “I believe my sister and I can handle this.”

The armor clad ponies promptly exited my room until the only ones remaining were Celestia, Luna, and myself.

“Scale,” the white Princess said soothingly, “I have a feeling that whatever this is, it is related to your magical appearance in Equestria. Am I correct in my assumptions?”

I slowly nodded as the painful throbbing continued within my mind.

“Can thou speak at all?” Luna asked kindly. She even came up close to me and placed a tender hoof upon my wet cheek.

“…I…am awake…both as a dragon…and as a human.” I shakily whispered.

Luna was taken aback. “Is that possible?”

“So you are conscious as both a human and a dragon. Alive in both worlds,” Celestia mused as she paced around the room.

The pain inflicted upon me made me cringe and shuffle on the floor. Luckily, the bonds the guards placed on me held fast or else I would have broken something.

“When magic was bent it could not bring you here as a human, but you could also not cease to be a human. How very interesting,” Celestia kept talking to herself.

“Can you make it stop?” I pleaded with the royal sisters.

“We can try,” Luna replied.

“Scale, stay as still as possible,” Celestia commanded me sternly.

I closed my eyes tight, clenched my jaw shut, and took hold of my fragile nerves. Shaking, scared, and in pain I laid in both worlds. A brief sensation flitted through my bones and my shattered mind. It was warm. It was soothing. It was gone. The pain returned and I screamed.

“Ahhh!!!!”

“Shh…” Luna hushed me back down to a whimper.

Even with my eyes closed I could hear the two sisters grunting and straining with the exertion of their powerful magic. From time to time I could feel brief respite from the pain I felt, but always it would fail. This dragged on for a few minutes until I heard Celestia sigh deeply and agitatedly. I dared to open my eyes. Both Princesses appeared exhausted. They were panting and I could see sweat on their brows.

“I am sorry Scale,” Celestia whispered through deep breaths. “But we are powerless to do anything for you.”

I wanted to say something stupid or just plain scream, but instead I held it in. Tears flowed down my face like a waterfall had been opened in my eyes.

“As we’ve stated before, when the rules of magic are bent,” Luna explained, “there are always consequences. But these consequences cannot be unmade. Whatever the outcome, it must be seen through to the end. This is one such consequence of you coming to Equestria. We are truly sorry, but thou shall have to learn to live with the pain.”

“Why?” I sobbed. “Why did I ever want to come to Equestria in the first place?”

“Scale,” Celestia spoke and placed a caring hoof on my cheek and looked me gently in the eye. “I do not know why you wrote yourself here or even why the Elements allowed magic to be bent, but I do know one thing. There is a reason for your being here. It may be hard for you at times and there may be times that it hurts, but in the end there is always a reason. If there wasn’t you wouldn’t be in Equestria at all.”

I heard the words, but I couldn’t accept them. I was in pain and I was mad, now was not the time for philosophy! I closed my eyes and turned my throbbing head away from the kind Princess in anger.

“SCALE!!!” a voice shocked me out of my agony for a moment. A familiar voice. A warm voice. Chip’s voice.

I turned my head back around to find the chocolate colored pony bursting through my door. He jumped over guards and even pressed passed the Princesses. He ran up close to my throbbing head and stopped.

“I’m here for ya’ buddy,” he whispered.

We looked at each other. In the background, the guards were attempting to remove Chip, but the Princesses held them at bay.

“I heard that somethin’ was the matter with ya’ and had to come.”

“Why?” I whispered back.

“Because you’re my friend.”

Not another word was spoken for a long while. The guards had quietly left us alone so that only Chip and the two alicorns remained. There was still pain. And it was still searing. But despite it all, I found a new reason for tears to fill my eyes. This tiny, silly, happy-go-lucky, candy colored, chef had somehow managed to find a way to break the pain that magic could not. I had a friend. No, it was more than that. After only one week, I had a friend who really cared.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“Don’t mention it.”

For the first time that day, despite the pain, I smiled.

“Ack! Mister Coco! You know the rules! If you’re not on time once more you’re fired! Now get out here before that happens!” a rough voice echoed into the sweet moment. Flour.

“Do not fret Master Loco, we shall allow thou an exception,” Luna stated.

“No,” I replied. I got a few eyebrows raised from that simple word. “It’s alright. I’ll be fine. Thank you Chip, but you’ve got a job to do.”

“You got it,” Chip smiled and then gave me a quick pat on the head.

I know it’s the thought that counts and all, but never ever pat a dragon on the place that’s hurting him…ever. I winced as Chip ran out to meet with Chef Flour.

“Are you really going to be fine?” Celestia asked after Chip had gone.

“Yes, I think so. But…no practice today?”

Celestia chuckled ever so slightly. “Sure. No practice today. We will be monitoring you should you need anything.”

She and Luna released my straps and levitated me back into my shredded bed. The white Princess turned to leave.

“I believe thou hast found a suitable dragon roar,” mentioned Luna before she also left.

I half-growled, half-chuckled at the comment. The rest of the day was a pain. The throbbing never stopped, but I did begin to tolerate it. All that day I lay in bed and simply tried to get to sleep. Finally, at noon, I did manage to fall into rest. Of course, that’s when things got even stranger.

Only part of me slept, my dragon self. My human self was still fully awake. I was still in bed, in my apartment, fully awake and the pain was totally gone. I was once again a fully functioning human being with no pain. But that wasn’t the strange part, no the strangest part was what time it was. The entire debacle in Equestria had only taken half an hour on earth. It certainly felt like it had been half a day in Equestria, but it also felt like it had only been half an hour. Both my internal human clock and internal dragon clock told me different times. The scary thing is; I think that both were correct. I had lived both half a day and half an hour as two separate beings at two different speeds. Equestria was weird!

Finally back in control and without pain in my noggin, I got up. I made some breakfast, forgot to make my bed, and turned on my laptop. I looked at my calendar, today was Sunday. I pondered over all that had happened. I thought on all that was happening. I decided to turn on my small TV and let the background noise calm me down as I tried to comprehend everything. For the next few minutes I stared blankly at the screen as colors and noises filled my tiny apartment. Sometimes it felt good to just sit and do nothing. But this was not to last for long.

The pain flooded back into my mind. I woke up as a dragon even while I stared at my TV screen. It had only been about three minutes, but it had also been about three hours. In Canterlot the sun was just beginning to fall. On earth the morning sun hung bright and clear in the sky. It felt so wrong, but I knew it was also right. I somehow knew that both times were correct. But I didn’t have much time to consider these things as the pain of being two different creatures was flooding my mind again. I winced in both worlds and put my hands to my head. I breathed in and out slowly; the pain was less severe than last time.

In Canterlot I found a small pile of gemstones had been placed at the foot of my bed. I smiled, knowing who had brought them. A mouthful of the succulent jewels later made my stomach stop growling. In only a few more hours of being bedridden, it had turned to night and I, Scale, was once more asleep.

On earth I noticed that it had only been about 20 minutes. It was now 8 am on earth, nowhere near nighttime. The pain had left the exact instant Scale fell asleep, just like last time. I began to do some quick calculations in my head while I had the chance. I had been asleep for one night on earth, but in Canterlot I was around for an entire week. I slept for three hours in Canterlot, but had only been awake for a few minutes on earth. Yep, time was jank. Screw logic! Equestria runs on magic. Ooo…magic. That topic sounded far more interesting than time configurations. But what did I know about magic? I couldn’t even breathe magical fire as a dragon; much less perform it as a human. What to do? Well, for all good questions, there is one place that humans can always turn to: The Internet.

I threw my half eaten cereal into my sink and then hopped over to my laptop. The screen flashed on bright and beautiful. A sight I had not beheld in an entire week, and yet one that I had seen just last evening. No! Focus! Time was jacked up. I needed answers and I needed them before I woke up in Equestria again.

I clicked on my internet browser. It came up with a loading screen and I waited. And I waited. And I waited. Then I checked my connection.

“What?! It’s down?! Now? Why now?” I yelled into laptop.

With a grumble I exited the browser. Grumpily I crossed my arms and stared blankly at my screen. Then an icon caught my gaze, the document I had written on last night. I quickly opened it. There were those words, “I am in Equestria.” In fact, that was the only statement on the entire document. As I sat and pondered these four seemingly normal words another thought entered my mind. It was the words of the Princesses when I had first come to Equestria.

“His magic must be powerful,” Luna had stated.

“Magic? I don’t have any magic.”

“Your writing magic?” Celestia replied.

Yes! That was it! Writing magic. I might be crazy, but I might also be able to do something as a human after all! But what was it that I really wanted? What could I test my powers on? I knew I was low on time and would have to think quickly or else the pain would come back. I couldn’t think straight when I was two people at once. Trust me, it’s an experience.

“Ah ha!” I shouted back at my screen in triumph.

My fingers flew across the keyboard until a few new words appeared, evenly spaced, below the first line.

“Scale can breathe fire,” I spoke aloud and then began to laugh like a lunatic.

“Ha! Ha ha! Ha ha ha! Take that Celestia! Who says that magic takes time to learn?”

I pointed a grubby finger into my laptop screen with glee. Then I sat and waited, smirking to myself at really nothing in particular. It would only take a few more minutes, I hoped, until I could see the brilliance of my genius in full force. Writing magic for the win! If my brain had to hurt, then at least I could get my fair due from its advantages.

The next minutes passed by slowly. It was like waiting for Christmas morning when you were a kid and you couldn’t get to sleep. I spun around in my chair like a goofball and checked the clock every single minute. I didn’t even know what time I was waiting for. But, finally, it came. I felt the pain slowly crawling back into my mind. I gritted my teeth and grunted. This time, however, I was ready for it. Besides just spinning in my chair, I had grabbed some ibuprofen. Take that magic! What you got on science?

I chugged down the pills with a tall glass of water then I felt my mind being torn in two places. Scale was waking up.

Even though I was awake as a human, my dragon form still felt the weariness of recently waking up. How strange it was to feel both fully awake and still drowsy. But with that searing pain in my mind I really didn’t stay tired for very long. I ground my dragon molars against each other and snorted painful bursts of grey smoke from my nostrils. The pain was less severe than yesterday I noticed, but it still hurt.

Then my thoughts began to refocus. Instead of simply holding back the pain, a feeling of eager happiness filled me. It was time to test out my newly found “writing magic”. It was time to breathe some serious dragon fire! Despite the pain, my dragon self began to chuckle. I pulled in a deep breath and then looked at my surroundings. Oh! I was in my room, which was most likely not fireproof. Not a good idea. I mean, I still wanted a bed to sleep in instead of the floor.

I let the air puff out slowly so that not even a hint of smoke came out. I trudged slowly out of my room. The pain made it difficult to walk and I had to move slowly. Outside my room stood two guards. I calmed them both by mumbling to them that I was fine and that I would be outside should anypony need me. They gave me some nervous glances, but eventually consented. After what felt like the walk of my life, I reached the open palace grounds.

The scene was peaceful. The Princess wasn’t there this morning. In fact, I couldn’t see a single pony in the vicinity. I allowed the sunshine to warm my black scales before testing out my fire breath. It felt good to simply stretch, especially with the pain I was in. It made my life feel more…normal I guess. Because, you know, being a dragon in Equestria is normal. There wasn’t time for me to fool around with though; it was time to get down to business.

I gulped down obscene amounts of oxygen. I stood there and waited. I could feel the magic building up in my gut. It felt just as warm and enticing as ever. The magic wanted to be free. It wanted to burn bright. And burn it would. I was ready.

“Arrggghh!” I roared as a beautiful stream of golden fire burst from my mouth.

Success! I began to dance around. My massive form stomped and shook the very earth below my feet. There was really only one problem. My mouth still felt like it was on fire. It wasn’t that nasty aftertaste that announces failure. No, this was different. I slowed my happy dance down just a bit and opened my eyes open to find out what the problem was.

I was still breathing fire. Alright! I can not only breathe fire now, I can breathe it out for an insane period of time. I will be the most powerful dragon EVER! Fear me and my magical writing powers all ye mortals! Fear the fire of Scale! Ok, but it was time to stop.

…

The fire kept going. I needed to stop. Come on brain, I know that you’re hurting but I really, really need to stop breathing fire now.

…

I can’t stop. I can’t stop. I CAN’T STOP! Dear Celestia, what have I done!? No, it’s not over yet. If I just focus…I can…close my mouth…There! Ha! Oh, oh no. No! No! Not through the nose! Not the-! Ow! Ow ow ow ow! It burns!

“Aahhh!!!” I roared as a massive fire erupted from my gaping jaws.

Yellow light spilled through the sky and painted everything a with light. The shadows slunk away in terror of the nonstop fire. It might have looked sort of pretty if I wasn’t screaming. Something landed to my right. I turned my head to look and almost singed the blue wings of an alicorn. Luna deftly dodged away and stood there looking at me as the yellow fire continued to pour out. We both stared blankly at each other.

“I see thou hast learned how to breathe fire.”

“Ah comft shtofph!!!” I roared through the fire.

“Come again?”

“Ah comft shtofph breephink firr!”

At this Luna began to chuckle and then she promptly broke into a fit of laughter.

“Scale, I shall never get to bed if thou art here to keep me awakened at these odd hours!”

“Ahh!!!” I screamed.

I wanted to stop. I NEEDED to stop. This was starting to hurt. My brain was already hurting and now my mouth was hurting. What have I done? Why can’t I stop?!

“Luna, what is going on here?” a new voice entered the conversation.

Celestia was now gazing over a blue alicorn who was doubled over in laughter.

“S-Scale tried to talk whilst b-breathing fire. Go on. S-Say something else Scale!”

Luna couldn’t stop laughing. I couldn’t stop breathing fire. Celestia couldn’t stop looking between both of us with an odd expression. It was quite the scene to behold.

“Scale,” the sun Princess finally spoke. “I’m happy that you have learned how to breathe fire, but now you need to stop.”

“Ah camfpht!”

I began to sob. Whenever a tear would roll a little ways down my face it would evaporate near the yellow flame. Luna just broke into another fit of laughter.

“I-I shall miss raising the m-moon one day because of thou S-Scale! Ha ha ha!”

“Scale. You need to stop. Now,” commanded Celestia. “And sister, shouldn’t you be in bed?”

“H-How could anypony sleep w-with him around?”

Thank you Luna. I’m really glad that you’re enjoying yourself, but MY MOUTH IS ON FIRE! LITERALLY!

“Scale, that is enough,” Celestia glared at me seriously.

With nothing else that I could do, I clenched my mouth closed. The yellow flames shot out of my nose again. I fell to the ground and buried my head in the dirt. I started to sob into the ground and fill my mouth with the dust. I hoped that something, anything, could stop the fire. It was useless. The fire was unquenchable.

“Scale, are you alright?” Celestia’s voice turned in an instant from threatening to worried.

Luna started to laugh anew at my antics, but she soon sensed that something was terribly wrong. The Princess of night stopped her laughing and came to look upon my pitiful state.

“Is something truly wrong?” asked a now concerned Luna.

“Mmfff. Umm humph!” I gurgled into the earth.

“No. You didn’t!” Celestia’s eyes suddenly went wide.

Luna’s eyes soon joined her sister.

“Surely thou hast not bent magic yet again, hast thou?”

“Ahh!!!” was the only noise I was left capable of uttering.

“We both warned you about bending magic. Why didn’t you listen?”

“Sister, is there anything we can do for him?” Luna asked.

Celestia nodded resolutely. “We can certainly try.”

The sisters put their magic to the test. Both concentrated on my fire. In no time, the yellow hue changed color. It was now a green flame, but I was no closer to being able to stop it. It changed again to orange and then to red. I swear the red fire began to whistle at me. But then it switched back to green and stayed put. I turned my head. The royal sisters had stopped.

“Once again, I am sorry,” Celestia stated sadly. “You have bent the rules of magic and now must pay the price. We are powerless to stop this.”

By this time, a good number of curious ponies had popped their heads from the castle windows. Noble ponies and guards alike watched the scene from a safe distance, but I doubt any could actually hear what had been said to me.

“What are we to do with you Scale?” Celestia asked, but she didn’t expect an answer.

6: To the Kitchen!

Chapter 6: To the Kitchen!

The white alicorn began to pace slowly back and forth. She was deep in thought. Of course, my head was still buried in the ground. I was really hoping that I didn’t burn anything down. I can only imagine how popular burning Canterlot Castle would make me. Suddenly, Luna clicked a hoof upon the ground.

“Sister, I have an idea.”

Celestia stopped pacing and looked expectantly at Luna.

“Why not place him in the kitchen? He could heat the ovens. Perhaps something good can come of this yet.”

Heat the ovens? Thank you, oh mighty Luna, for suggesting such menial labor. Thank you soooo much. But Celestia’s eyes lit up. Oh no. Please tell me they weren’t serious.

“A good idea. Today you will work in the kitchens heating the ovens and stoves. That way nothing will get burnt down and you will do some good with your newfound abilities.”

“To the kitchen!” Luna shouted.

I so wanted to slap myself. If only I was dreaming! But I wasn’t. I was pinching myself as hard as I could back in my apartment. Now my brain hurt, my mouth hurt, and my arm hurt. I should really stop hurting myself. It’s not good for my health.

I felt myself being levitated. A light blue haze filled my vision and a golden bubble surrounded my frame. A barrier to keep the fire in? Clever. Soon the three of us had made it to the royal kitchens. Where Celestia explained what I was to be doing for Chef Flour. Oh joy, I now had that grumpy mare as a boss.

“A dragon? No. No dragons in MY kitchen. He eats too much as it is. Letting him in here will not help at all.”

I wasn’t sure whether to be happy that Chef Flour was trying to dissuade the Princess or whether I should feel insulted.

“He will be helping you,” Celestia demanded. “I suggest that you make the best of it.”

Flour threw her hooves into the air and sighed.

“But I don’t think he’ll be eating much today. You can trust me on that,” Celestia finished with a slight smirk on her face.

Within no time I had been moved over to the ovens. I was placed near the back of them and belched forth my unending green fire.

“Just stay out of trouble and don’t eat anything,” Flour snapped at me. “I have better things to do than to baby-sit some misguided dragon.”

She then turned to her kitchen staff. They were staring. Big surprise.

“By order of the Princesses this dragon-”

“Scale!” I heard a small voice call from the back. Brownie points for you Chip.

“Eh hem…this dragon will be ‘helping’ us by powering the ovens. Nothing is to be done differently than normal. Now back to work. Chop chop!”

The staff quickly fumbled around with whatever they had in their hooves or mouths and soon the place was abuzz with activity. I watched as the ponies worked. It’s not like there was much else to do.

Ponies stirred. Ponies rolled. Ponies poured. Ponies even came to the ovens. I noticed that they approached the ovens cautiously though. Chef Flour never seemed to stop yelling at somepony.

“More salt! Roll faster! Cook longer! Stop talking! Chop chop!”

Urgh…that voice was starting to wear on me. I will admit one thing however; the kitchen was definitely well organized. Each pony knew where they were supposed to be and what they were supposed to be doing. The reason for this was simple, if they ever messed up Flour would immediately let them know. And I do mean immediately.

As my time in the kitchen passed I noticed one particular stallion begin to edge his work closer and closer to me, a certain brown earth stallion with black hair.

“Hey Scale!” Chip whispered over to me with a small wave.

“No talking to it!” Flour snapped.

Chip went abruptly back to work. This only lasted for a few minutes, if that long, before he was once again vying for my attention. A feat that was not very difficult considering that I really had nothing to do. I think this time he was trying to use a primitive form of charades as he whipped up some kind of batter.

“No sign language either!” Flour’s voice again echoed through the kitchen.

This made Chip freeze up for a second before he stiffly went back to work. Chip was most definitely impressive to watch. It seemed that he had his mouth doing one thing even while both front hooves were each doing separate tasks of their own. Within no time whatsoever a large bowl full of batter was taking shape in front of him. It wasn’t long before I knew what he was making. As soon as he poured a large bag of chocolate chips into the mix I knew why he gotten his cutie mark. He was making cookies, chocolate chip cookies. My favorite!

If I could have licked my lips and drooled I would have done that. Unfortunately having fire blaze out of my mouth made this near impossible. Then, Chip got his chance. His batch of cookies was ready to be baked, which meant that he needed an oven. As luck would have it, the oven closest to me was open. Well, perhaps luck and the fact that everypony seemed to strangely stay as far away from that oven as possible. Chip flung a sheet of gooey globs of goodness into the oven.

“How’s it goin’ Scale?” he whispered.

I waited, but there was no response from Flour. I tried to reply, but the only thing that came out was a soft, “Mmumph urf grummt shmooze.” Or something like that.

Chip nodded his head happily. Either he actually understood what I said or he was simply being polite, I really didn’t know. Another tray was flung into the oven and another whisper came my way.

“Sounds like a rough day.”

I waited again, still no reply from Chef Flour. Ha! She must have been off her game. I smirked inwardly to myself. I would have smirked on the outside, but fire tends to deter my lips from their smirkishness.

Back in my apartment I also would have smirked, but I was downing water like it was nobody’s business. Before this unfortunate serious of events occurred I never would have thought that one human could be capable of drinking an entire waterfall. Now, I’m not so sure about that. Apparently breathing endless amounts of fire makes my human mouth feel like it’s full of ghost chilies. Such a wonderful side effect! At least I’ll get my doctor’s daily recommended amount of water in. This’ll also take care of the past weeks that I skimped on too. In fact, this might possibly finish off my recommended consumption of water for the year. But I digress.

In the royal Canterlot kitchen, Chip was just taking out his first tray of perfectly baked treats. They smelled so wonderful and yet slightly burnt. No, wait. That was just the fire coming out of my nostrils.

“When do you get your break?” Chip whispered as he passed me.

For only the briefest of seconds had he turned his head to speak, but it was during this second that he collided with something solid. The tray of cookies flew into the air, but was skillfully caught by none other than Chef Flour. Of course, Flour was also the thing that Chip had run into.

“Mister Coco,” she stated calmly. “I do believe I asked- No. Told you to stop chatting on the job. If you listened as well as you talked then we wouldn’t have to be having this conversation. Now please, get back to work.”

She gently placed the tray on the nearest counter and walked a few paces away.

“Oh, and the cookies look particularly well made today. Now back to work. Chop chop!”

Chip picked himself off the floor. I didn’t know that my jaw could open any larger than it already was, but I swear it fell all the way to the floor. Did I just hear a compliment from Chef Flour? Chip seemed happy enough as he continued his work, but he did actually stop talking to me.

I’m positive that the rest of my day would have been particularly boring aside from watching Flour yell at the staff and seldom hand out compliments, but thankfully something else happened. A pegasus burst through the kitchen doors.

“Scale! I missed ya’ yesterday you big lug!”

The only thought that registered in my mind goes as follows: “Stormchaser in the royal kitchens…Celestia help us.”

“NO!” a sharp yell caused the entire staff to freeze. “Out! Out! Out! Out!” Flour commanded as she stormed over to the entrance.

“Chillax. I’m Scale’s flight trainer and as such, I demand to see my student. I was told I could find the big guy down here, so here I am and there he is.”

Stormchaser moved ever so slowly into the kitchen even as Flour moved closer to intercept the brazen pegasus.

“Unless you are staff or a special guest you are not allowed in MY kitchen.”

Both of their faces came together and Flour glared into Stormchaser’s eyes.

“Well that’s nice,” the pegasus said before flying over the chef and to my side.

“So how’s it going Scale?” she asked.

“Rrrrrr…” Flour growled and then noticed that her staff had stopped working. “Well, what are you looking at? Back to work!”

The other ponies quickly went back to their tasks. Flour gave Stormchaser another threatening glare, but went back to work herself. And by work, I mean criticizing everypony else’s work. Stormchaser chuckled and gave me a shoulder bump.

“Nice to see ya’ again. Heard you were out sick yesterday and that they had you working here today. What’s up?”

“Mimf rigget guggle furf,” my sore throat replied.

“Come again?”

“He’s keepin’ the oven going with his fire,” Chip told her without looking up from his work.

I saw Chef Flour glance over our way, but she didn’t say anything.

“No way! You finally figured out fire breathing? That’s sweet bro! But seriously, we need to get you back in the air. I sort of feel like I need my flight buddy, it’s not the same crashing into plants without someone to crash with me.”

How I wished I was outside crashing, I mean flying, with Stormchaser! But I’m sure that the Princesses wouldn’t be too appreciative of a flaming death trap flying around their castle.

“Ah wursh ee kulld,” I groaned with my mouth stuck in the ovens.

“Hey man, don’t sweat it. When the Princesses say something, you’d better do it. We’ll just have to get some extra flying in tomorrow.”

She then turned from me and noticed Chip busy stirring up another bowl of something tasty.

“I’ve never actually seen you at work before. Whatcha doin’?”

I had never seen Chip act so secretively before. I think he might even have blushed ever so slightly. He shielded the mixing bowl from Stormchaser.

“Just baking. You know, the usual.”

The pegasus tried to move her head around to get a better look at what Chip was up to. But Chip mirrored every move perfectly so that she couldn’t see what he was doing. Now, I’m not one to go pointing out what I don’t know for certain…but Chip had a crush.

After a few moments of these shenanigans, Stormchaser flew into the air a few inches above Chip’s head. He was mixing up yet another batch of cookies.

“That looks good. What is it?” asked the pegasus.

“N-Nothing special, just some chocolate chip cookies,” mumbled Chip. He began to stir faster than usual.

“Putting that cutie mark of yours to work I see.” Stormchaser winked at him.

“Heh. Yeah, I g-guess so.”

Chip stirred even faster and fumbled around a little as he looked for more ingredients. I wasn’t the only one to take notice of this little scene. Most of the other ponies in the kitchen seemed to be taking a mild interest as they glanced up from their work from time to time. Finally, Chef Flour moved in. She came right up to Stormchaser and blocked the pegasus’ view from Chip.

“First, you invite yourself to MY kitchen and now you are interrupting MY staff. If you’re going to continue to be a problem I will. Will. Kick you out.”

“Uh huh…” Stormchaser didn’t look Flour in the eyes but instead moved her head around like she was scanning the kitchen for something. “So, what kind of grub do you have to eat around here?”

“Ooo! That is it! Out!” Roared Flour.

Quickly Chip moved between the two mares.

“Hold on Chef. Will you let me take care of this please?”

Flour’s gaze met the pleading eyes of Chip.

“Harrumph. Fine, but make it quick. I need more cookies before dinner. Lots of guests tonight you know.”

The angry Chef turned away and began to bark orders at the other staff. My head might have been throbbing and my mouth might have been on fire, but these two had somehow managed to distract me from feeling the pain for a little while. I watched as Chip pulled Stormchaser out to the side room where the stallion and I usually ate lunch. Though I couldn’t tell exactly what was said, I could still guess based on Stormchaser’s next actions.

The pegasus and stallion both came back in with smiles. Chip started working again almost instantly, but this time Stormchaser didn’t bother him. Instead she started bothering everypony else.

“So, what exactly is this thing used for? What are you making? What’s for dinner? Is there a special occasion? How do you…Oh wait! I figured it out!”

I saw Chef Flour’s patience visibly wearing thin as the pegasus continued her probing, poking, and questioning. If I thought that the kitchen was busy before, I had no idea how much nervous energy that one pegasus brought with her. At last the final straw was blown.

“You want one of those bowls on the top shelf? No problem! Hold on a sec,” I heard Stormchaser say. “Oh! This is where you keep the chocolate chips! Nice!”

I heard the crumpling of a bag as the pegasus grunted and yanked on the bag of chocolate chips. What she didn’t know was that the bag had been caught under a stack of large metal bowls. As she wrenched the bag full of sweets off, down came a clatter of bowls which bounced and rolled all around the kitchen. One of the bowls splattered into a bowl full of cake batter which had been resting on one of the many counters. Goo flung through the air and painted the kitchen and staff. Sheepishly Stormchaser handed one of the staff a bowl that had come to rest at her feet.

“Um…here’s that bowl you wanted.”

“OUT!” screamed Flour.

“But I-”

“OUT!”

Flour started to push Stormchaser closer to the exit.

“Did you want these-?”

“No! Take the chocolate chips! Just leave. Please.”

“Sweet. See ya’ around Scale! And I’ll see you later, Chip.” The pegasus waved farewell and winked at Chip before taking off.

The kitchen was cluttered with round metallic bowls and goo. All over, the staff was frozen in shock. A mass of mostly finished foodstuffs littered many messy tables and countertops. The ponies themselves, including Chef Flour, were partly covered in goo, paste, and flour.

“Everypony,” declared Chef Flour. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Let’s take a break. Good work today. Fifteen minutes. Now shoo! Go! Relax!”

A mass of sighs came from the staff. I hadn’t realized that they had even been holding their breath. Chatting and light laughter came from the ponies as they quickly walked out of the kitchen and into the side room. Most brushed themselves off, but others were just happy to be able to sit down. Almost all of them still avoided me, but some braver ones or maybe inattentive ones, passed suspiciously close to me.

I would have loved to have a break as well, but I had a suspicion that endless fire wouldn’t be a welcome addition to the brake room. So I sat there, blowing fire into the ovens. The kitchen soon cleared out and I was left alone with Chef Flour. The mare sighed deeply, looked around, and hung her head.

“Aren’t you going to take a break as well?” she asked without looking my way.

I shook my head. This was the only action I could actually perform unless I wanted another round of “Mffriggle mcdootle,” coming out of my pie hole. She nodded and looked me in the eye.

“You know, I respect that Scale. You’re a hard worker. You’ve done good today.”

She walked away to clean herself off. Of course, I kind of lost track of time due to the fact that she had actually said my name and I think she threw in a compliment too. My brain was already exploding and there she goes and makes it explode again. Is that possible? Is it possible to explode twice? Whatever the case, I could tell that Flour was starting to calm down as she paced around and looked over her messy kitchen. Soon, however, the fifteen minutes were over and the staff walked back into the kitchen quite cheerily.

“Attention all staff!” declared Flour after they had reentered. “We’re almost done for the day. Just another hour or two of good hard work and then you can all go home.”

The kitchen staff raised a small cheer and got right back to work. There was a kind of rhythm in the kitchen that I began to pick up on as the last few hours passed. Each pony had their job and knew what they were doing. One would finish using an oven and not a second later another would be right there to take their place. One pony would grab for a bowl, but would actually snag a tray as well and pass it on to another in the staff. Chef Flour was the main cog in this ‘machine’ as it turned out. She would keep everypony at the top of their game, and would always give praise but only if the staff really deserved it.

At long last, the work day ended. I glanced around the kitchen. It was dirty, but everything smelled so wonderful. Amazing dishes were spread out everywhere and server ponies would come in and take the wonderful looking food away to some large dinner party. To tell the truth I didn’t know that spinach could look so tasty. The staff quickly cleaned up their messes and then walked out of the kitchen. When they had all left, except for Chip and Flour, the most wondrous thing occurred: My fire finally stopped! One long stream of smoke exited my lungs and then…nothing. Blessed nothingness!

I instantly collapsed to the floor and sucked in clean, fresh, fireless, air. Oh the bliss of simply breathing! I felt like I was in heaven.

“Scale, you alright there bud?” Chip asked as he walked up to me.

“I can breath,” I whispered contentedly.

Then I started laughing. It felt so good to finally be free.

“Mister Coco, a bit of a rough start today, but you finished strong,” Flour walked over to us. “And Scale, I shall be seeing you again tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

“But of course! With you around we don’t need to waste any resources for heating the ovens. I’m going to have a chat with Princess Celestia about having you instated as an official staff member. I could use more hard workers like you, even if you do eat too much. Well, good evening.”

She nodded her head respectfully toward us and then left the kitchen.

“So, anything you want to do with the rest of your day?” Chip asked.

“Sleep,” I stated. And I promptly crashed right then and there.