Black Dragon

Chapter 4
Cutie Mark Crusading

On days like this, Sweetie Belle would normally be found helping her sister at the Carousel Boutique. Today was no different. She would always do what she was told to do and she worked feverishly to keep things organized. She was always happy when Spike came to help, but that wasn’t nearly as common as she wished it was. Making sense of the chaos in the boutique, she cleaned and coordinated everything aside from her sister’s bedroom and her inspiration room. With a short sigh, she pulled up a list and began checking off her tasks. “I’ve straightened up the show room, cleaned the windows, swept the floors… What else is there?”

“What about dusting the windowsill?”

She sighed. “I probably should…” Wait, what? She turned to the source of the sound, finding a familiar wyvern hanging in the window. “Oh… H-hi, Nel. What are you doing?”

“I have a package for Ms. Rarity,” he stated casually, “And I noticed the window was open when I flew by earlier.” He kept it to himself, but it was a question he had to ask himself: why did she seem so nervous? She seemed like he did when he met a new pony: nervous and jittery.

“So, why did you come to the window instead of the door?” she asked quickly. He was eccentric, but he always had a reason.

“I saw you when I flew by and I wanted to be cute.” A wide grin spread across his face with the look he got from her.

“By the way,” she began, looking up at him, “How did you get to that window?” The window was high enough that she had problems reaching it with her magic. How had he gotten up there?

“Claws give great traction,” he stated before hopping in. “So, genius, is this what you do normally?”

Sweetie Belle grinned when she heard the nickname. Contrary to why Nel gave her the term of endearment, she knew exactly why he called her that. Without a doubt, she was one of the smartest of the five equine Crusaders with Dinky Doo as a strong second. …She just didn’t pick up on things as quickly as others did and certainly not as well as the hunter did. “Not all the time,” she stated, going back to her chores. “I just like helping Rarity as much as I can.”

He rang a small bell by the door, alerting the store’s owner to his presence. He was honestly amazed. He’d been in Ponyville for a month now, and this was only the second time he’d been inside the Carousel Boutique. It made him smile to think of all the different places he’d never seen in Ponyville.

“Oh, hello, Nel!” Rarity trotted down her stairs with a smile on her flawless face.

“Hello, Ms. Rarity!” Even though he knew he didn’t need to, he still addressed ponies of Rarity’s caliber in such formal ways. He usually deemed it force of habit. He pulled a box from his bag. “I have a package for you.”

“Ah, yes,” she took the box from him, levitating it out of his hands, “This must be the gossamer fabric I ordered.” She opened the box, showing off the thin cloth wave in the air. It was the perfect thing to tie her newest dresses together.

“Ah, so that’s why that box was so light,” he muttered absently. He tensed slightly when Rarity looked back at him and quickly put on a wide smile.

“Thank you very much for your service,” the elder unicorn chirped, giving him a hoof full of bits.

“Not a problem, ma’am!” he meowed. As long as he was in Ponyville, he hoped he could work for Ditzy Doo. It was a great way to meet new ponies. With any luck, before he left for home, he wouldn’t be nervous with any pony in town. “I wish I could stay longer, but I have more deliveries today, so I bid you both fair well.” He gave Sweetie Belle a wide grin before heading out and taking flight again.

Rarity saw it, but she did her best to make it seem as though she hadn’t. She was sure that her sister would never stop smiling after being acknowledged by the wyvern. Something told her that having the kitten around would be good for her sister.

Flying above the clouds was a relaxing activity for just about any creature—griffon, dragon, or pony. It was the best way to end a long day or to begin a short one. Even for adrenaline junkies like Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash, it was a great way to cool down after a hard flight.

Scootaloo, though, couldn’t help but find something to look at when she was flying. Normally, she’d set a target for herself—a cloud or a lost balloon of some sort—but today, she flew toward something else. She made an unceremonious landing on a large cloud and trotted across the soft surface to the strange sight. “What are you doing?” she asked with a chuckle.

The resident wyvern of Ponyville sat on the large cloud, toying with its extensive fluff. “I was bored,” he said absently, dragging his obsidian blade across his project and giving off the sound of shaving fuzz off of a pony’s coat. “So, I came up here after work and started playing around with the clouds.” He quickly blew a lung full of flames on the clouds, condensing them. “The clouds here aren’t like the clouds back home and I wanted to see what I could do with them.” He lifted his project into the light.

The clouds were made into an odd sculpture. It seemed like a figurine made in the shape of a familiar animal.
“Hm…” He showed it to the pegasus. “Does this look like Angel to you?”

The pegasus giggled at the odd sculpture. She was surprised that he was that artistic. “Yeah, it does, but it shouldn’t be smiling like that.”

The wyvern let out a low grumble. “Yeah, good point…” He rubbed the face off and remolded it to look angry. “Did you know that, with a little heat, the clouds condense and get really malleable like clay?” He carved a grimace onto the bunny’s face. It almost looked exactly like the little white bunny.

She honestly would never have guessed that. Without the ability to breathe flames, she couldn’t ever have found out that odd fact. …But, that only gave way to another discovery for both of them.

The cloud bunny slowly regained its excessive fluff and fell apart, floating away as normal clouds once more.

“Well, I guess that’s a definite drawback,” he stated casually, “It doesn’t last long…” He turned to the pegasus. “I know you and I are always flying around, but what’s got your head in the clouds today?”

The pegasus let out a short groan and laid back on the soft clouds. “The usual,” she grumbled, “Nothing special…” She almost wished she did have a better reason for a simple fly. Normally, she only had to do this to escape her troubles on the ground and today was no different.

The kitten found a space beside his friend. “Want to talk about it? That usually helps.” If nothing else, Nel was a good listener and he could always remember everything in the conversation. It was a wonder how he kept up with Pinkie Pie, but that seemed to be oddly simple, even for him.

“Sure,” she sighed, “Don’t hate me for getting all girly on you all of a sudden, but, I was talking to Dinky and Belle and they were going on about boys and makeovers and stuff… I just felt weird that it was so weird to me…”

Nel felt that there was an odd pattern developing between his favorite five ponies, but he wasn’t one to rush to conclusions. “Really? I kinda expected about as much from you…” He didn’t notice what he’d said until he saw the pegasus glare at him. “Er, well… You just don’t seem like the girly type! It’s not bad.”

“How?” she asked indignantly, “Colts are practically afraid of me! Some of them don’t even think about me as a girl anymore…”

“Like I said, it’s not bad.” He squirmed slightly, rubbing the moisture from the cloud into his scales. “If you’re looking for a colt, it’s not good either, but it’s definitely not bad. I may not be an expert, but guys—er males of just about any species—like mates that they can relate with. It’s probably good that you’re a tomboy. You’ll probably end up with a colt before any of the other fillies you know…”

That was an interesting way of looking at it. Scootaloo had never even considered that possibility, but, now that she did, she seriously doubted it. Most of the fillies she knew were already in relationships. She chuckled nervously. “What about you?” she asked, “Do you like tomboys or girly girls?”

He honestly hadn’t expected her to turn that around on him that quickly. “Hm…” He actually didn’t know how to answer. “I don’t know… Female Narga aren’t like fillies and mares.” A nervous, strained chuckle escaped him. “Actually, females of my species are even scarier than the males…” That was really saying something since males didn’t have any reservations about spilling their children’s entrails.

That was actually funny. The orange pegasus found that funny and couldn’t contain her excitement. “Ponies are a lot nicer than dragons.”

“Well, that’s obvious!” He quickly wriggled around, getting to his feet. “Well, I guess the only way to test the waters is to dive in.” He went to the edge of the cloud. “So, ace, I’ll race you to the clubhouse. Loser has to by the winner lunch.”

Scootaloo was on her hooves sooner Nel could even spread his wings. “You’re on!!” With that, she took off with the black dragon by her side.

On sunny days like this, Pipsqueak would be with his friends whether it be the Crusaders or the guys. He was glad that he had two separate sets of friends—both colts and fillies—to hang out with whenever he wanted to. …But, some days were more rewarding than others.

“I’ve always kinda wanted to see something like this,” Nel stated, “I kinda wondered how ponies would play baseball with no hands.”

“Unicorns use their horns, Pegasi use their wings and earth ponies use their mouths,” the pinto pony answered, “It’s simpler than you think.” He and the dragon watched from the sidelines until it was his turn. They all agreed that Nel should watch until he got the feel of how everything should go.

Snips stood on the pitcher’s mound, ready to send a fast pitch toward his brown and white friend. Even as he got ready to pitch, he couldn’t help but question if the thin pegasus behind Pipsqueak could really take a hard pitch from him.

Nel’s instincts kicked in as he watched the ponies. He saw every silent message sent between Featherweight and Snips. He saw every muscle tense in Pipsqueak’s body. Unlike most ponies, he could see the faint aura of energy coating a unicorn’s horn and he winced at the sight of the crude magic sparking off of both Snips and Snails’ horns. He tensed with the pitch and cheered the same as the other ponies with the crack of the bat!

Pip actually hit! And he sent it flying!! It was out of range for all the unicorns and Featherweight was one of only four Pegasi playing. There was no pony to catch it and it seemed like a perfect home run!

A loud crash rang out over the game. It was the most obvious sound to the group of colts and the dragon as well. It was the sound of a window shattering from their baseball.

As if on cue, most all of the colts fled, running off into the streets of Ponyville. Only the more responsible of them all—Snips, Snails, Nel, Pipsqueak and Featherweight—stayed behind. …It was mostly because they didn’t have time to escape before an irate stallion came to confront them.

The large stallion trotted out to the group. He towered over the young group, but only to give off an imposing visage. He wouldn’t dare to discipline another pony’s children and he’d seen what Nel did to the monster that appeared a month ago. “Alright,” he began, “Which one of you broke my window?”

The five of them were afraid to speak for their own reasons. Snips and Snails simply didn’t want to get into anymore trouble. Featherweight was trying to stay out of his line of sight. Pipsqueak was too intimidated and Nel was uncomfortable under the stallion’s scrutiny.

After a moment of collection, Pipsqueak spoke up. “Uh… W-we… I—”

“Um, I did,” Nel said quickly, garnering plenty of attention. Before his friends could protest, he stepped forward, fidgeting slightly and walking with instability. “I-it was a mistake to say the least. I’ve never actually played a game like this… I, uh, have the bits to replace it, if you want.”

It was surprising to say the least that this little dragon would so willingly take the blame, but it was especially surprising to the pinto pony. Pipsqueak was amazed that Nel would cover for him like that. Any of the other colts would have simply passed the blame and let him take the hit, but the wyvern had taken the blame without a fuss!

The stallion was actually impressed with Nel’s lie. He’d expected them to blame one of the many colts that took off running at the shattering of his window. “Oh… Uh, y-you all just make sure this doesn’t happen again!” He made an uneasy exit, trying to make sense of the young wyvern’s actions.

As soon as the stallion trotted off, Nel deflated. He let out a heavy sigh, sitting on the ground to get rid of the nervous wobble in his knees. That actually worked out better than he’d expected it to.

“Thanks…”

The wyvern turned and saw his friends reacting much like he did: calming their nerves. He saw that Pipsqueak was smiling, but it was more of an uncertain smirk. He returned the smile. “Don’t mention it. Besides, what are friends for?”

The four of them were going to remember this for more than one reason. For one, they were going to have to turn the baseball diamond around to avoid houses as homerun targets and they’d also remember this day so that they could somehow find a way to repay the wyvern for his help.

Dinky stared. She had to bite her cheek to keep from smiling at him. She could buy that Nel wanted to go to Sugar Cube Corner with her, but his reaction to the treat Pinkie Pie gave him was simply priceless! She almost wished she had his camera to take pictures of him with.

Nel cocked his head, trying to make sense of the odd cupcake. He sniffed it, but that only made him more curious. He hesitated to lick it, pulling his forked tongue back into his mouth. After a few more seconds, he finally gave in and turned to the pink pony. “What is it?!”

Pinkie Pie bounced past with a wide smile on her face. “It’s my super, deluxe, mega cupcake! I thought it up a month ago and I really wanted you to try it!” Pinkie felt an odd connection to the kitten. He was one of the only creatures in town that could keep up with her and even at that, the amount of sweets the two of them could down would make any other pony gag! She definitely couldn’t wait for him to try this confectionary masterpiece!

“I kind of expected a ‘mega cupcake’ to be bigger…” He examined the confection once more, trying to determine what he was eating.

The cupcake sat on its plate with a seemingly unassuming air. It sat in a blue wrapping and had a top of yellow icing. There was a cherry on top that sat between two candy canes poking out of the cupcake.

He wasn’t sure about what to make of it. It smelled sweeter than anything he’d ever had and it looked stranger than he’d expected. Maybe he should just go ahead and take a bite? …Or, that’s what he thought until he and Dinky both flinched from the sudden spark of energy that arched between the candy canes! “…I’m gonna let that cool off for a second…” Instead, he turned his gaze to the purple unicorn before him. “Contrary to popular belief, I have a reason for asking you to meet me here.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that about?” She knew that Nel wasn’t the most serious dragon in Ponyville—or in Equestria for that matter—but, that only brought up the question of what he wanted to talk about.

“I’ve been talking to just about every pony I know about this. …And, somehow, it hasn’t gotten any easier to say…” He hesitated slightly, trying to make the question seem less awkward. “Is there, you know, any pony you like? As more than a friend, I mean.”

That was unexpected. Where had that come from? Dinky averted her eyes nervously. It made sense in half a second. He’d brought her here for a date! “Uh, no offense, Nel, but I don’t like dragons that way…”

Nel stared at her for a moment. What was going through her head? “Well, I don’t like unicorns,” he retorted immediately, getting an amused glare from her. “I didn’t mean it like that. I was just asking and I’m actually kinda glad for that answer. Now, seriously, is there any pony you like? Maybe some pony like Snails, Featherweight, Truffle Shuffle… Pipsqueak…?”

This time when Dinky turned her gaze away, she did it out of shyness more so than shock and embarrassment. A grin spread across her lips and her golden eyes had a particularly interesting luster.

Nel’s green eyes grew wide. “Really?” he asked, getting her attention back, “I was actually right? Forgive me for gushing, but you actually do have to tell me about it this time.”

She giggled. “Is it really that obvious?” She was sure that she kept it hidden well enough to keep any pony from noticing, but obviously the dragon was quite different.

“I’m a hunter,” he stated casually, “If I didn’t know how to read body language, I’d never be able to get food.” He quickly realized what he’d said and answered the question on her lips. “I don’t—er, actually no one in my family—likes pony meat.”

That was good. If he did, then she’d have to find a way to quarantine him. “Well, I guess I can tell you if you can keep it secret.” She leaned closer to him and lowered her voice. “I do like Pip and I know he likes me too. I’ve seen him looking at me when didn’t think I’d notice.”

“So, why not just, I don’t know, go ahead and kiss him and seal the deal? You’re not as shy and apprehensive as I am, so it should be pretty easy for you.”

“No… I’m waiting for him to say something first instead of jumping him.” She paused for a moment. The dragon may have seemed interestingly ambiguous, but he was still masculine enough to relate to the colts in Ponyville. “Hey… Could you say something to him?”

The dragon hesitated for a moment. He and Pipsqueak were friends, that was certain, but he didn’t think he knew the pinto pony well enough to suggest mates for him. “Well… I guess I could say something… I’ll try to get it across, but that pony’s about as sharp as Pinkie…”

Dinky almost took offense to that in Pipsqueak’s absence, but then it occurred to her: Pinkie was one of the smartest ponies in Ponyville.

“I’ll do what I can,” he continued, “But, I make no promises.” He absently took a bite of his cupcake.

“Thanks, Nel,” she chirped, but hesitated when she noticed the odd look on his face. “Are you okay?”

He shivered, swallowing his mouthful of almost pure sugar. Whatever Pinkie had made, it was either a medical disaster or pure genius. “…I’m kinda glad I don’t have a gag reflex…” If he did, he’d have done something very disrespectful. He cleared his throat before turning to the bubbly pink pony. “Hey, Pinkie, can I have two of these for the road?”

It was odd to have days like this. For as long as he’d known them, Nel had always been crusading with the Crusaders. He’d always been thinking up different ways to help them get their Cutie Marks. He’d always been working in some way to help them. …But, today wasn’t about their Cutie Marks. Today was just a day to be friends.

The six Crusaders took a day off from their usual schemes and simply let themselves relax as kids.

Throughout their entire afternoon off, Nel continued to take pictures of them all. They would serve as perfect keepsakes and mementos for when they all got older.

There were three pictures of Pipsqueak and Apple Bloom racing.

There were five pictures of Dinky Doo and Sweetie Belle talking and laughing together.

There were even four pictures of Scootaloo flying and failing to land gracefully.

Somehow, there were even a few pictures of Nel relaxing in the shade.

Now as he looked through all the pictures, he could feel a grin form across his face. He hoped he could keep them long after he left Ponyville. This was actually fun. Running around, hanging out and even just laying around and looking at the clouds above them was fun! A heavy sigh escaped him, garnering plenty of attention.

“Nel?” Sweetie Belle began, “Is everything okay? You seem kind of…” She trailed off, failing to find the right word to describe his mood.

The wyvern remained silent for a moment. “…This is just kinda weird to me…” He stared at the clouds above them. “Back home—back in the jungles and forests—Narga are the main monsters hiding in the shadows. From experience, I’ve found that most Narga that haven’t left their natural lifestyle are very primal and animalistic. Survival of the fittest is law.” A sigh escaped him, and a smirk painted itself across his face. “Here… Every pony cares about one another. Altruism is commonplace and no pony ever fights. Equestria doesn’t even have a very large army. It may be hard to believe, but I don’t have friends back home.”

He was actually right: that was hard to believe. If he didn’t have any friends, then what did he do in his spare time? Was it really just hunt, kill and eat?

“My family is the only group that I really have there… It’s weird here in Equestria. …And, oddly enough, to actually have friends…” He sat up. “I actually kinda hope I can come back to Equestria after everything’s over.” He flinched slightly as one of the ponies suddenly grabbed him, hooking a foreleg around his neck.

Scootaloo was the first by his side. “Hey, don’t sweat it!” she requested, and was quickly joined by Sweetie Belle.

“Even if you don’t have any friends back home, you’ve always got us,” she said resolutely.

“Alright,” he chuckled, “Having you all worry about me makes it even weirder…” His mind went back to his head injury years ago.

None of the dragons had cared. It was either get up and find food or starve. None of them had even so much as wrapped the wound! It was good that Nel’s family was kind enough to nurse him back to health.

He took in a lung full of the fresh air. “I’d rather have a good time now instead of thinking about the dragons back home.” Just like that, he’d put them all back in a good mood. “And speaking of a good time…” He quickly jabbed Pipsqueak in his foreleg. “You’re it!” Without anymore hesitation, he took flight, getting out of the earth pony’s range.

Pipsqueak was almost in a state of shock! He hadn’t expected anything so random from the wyvern. …But, he still knew how to roll with the dragon’s punches. He quickly hit Scootaloo. “You’re it!” he, as well as his friends, all took off, joining in an incredibly childish game.

It was a bad idea to tag Scootaloo. Though she couldn’t land without falling on her face, she could take off like Rainbow Dash. She took off like a shot and tagged Apple Bloom before the earth pony could get too far away. “Now, you’re it!” She flew upward, getting her distance. From there, she could see the grounded ponies passing “it” around one another.

Nel flew in closer to the pegasus, getting to a good spot to watch the game below. It was fun even to be a spectator in this game! …But, then, one of his ears twitched with an odd noise. Swiftly, he kicked Scootaloo away and banked as something nearly took them both down! “Watch out!!”

The four ponies on the ground moved out of the way just in time for the mysterious and powerful something to slam the lands. They all kept a perimeter as the black wyvern landed and got ready for a fight.

Sniffing the air, the kitten caught a familiar scent that gave away what the mysterious visitor was. That scent was one he knew all too well. That scent was the thick, suffocating, and for him, mouthwatering, scent of blood.

“What is that?” Dinky wasn’t sure what to expect. She’d only seen a few creatures that could do damage like that and she’d only seen them in books from the Golden Oaks Library.

A low, harsh growl escaped the wyvern. “That’s something from Tartarus… Right?” He stood perfectly still, brave and resolute. He didn’t want to bring them into this. He needed to keep them out of the line of fire. If any of them got hurt, he’d never be able to forgive himself! …But, he had the feeling he wouldn’t be able to get them away from the creature that strolled out of the crater it made.

The daemon looked like a horrid mixture of a wolf and a bat. It was covered in matted brown fur and walked on all four legs. Like the wyvern, its front legs had webbing on them that formed its wings. Elongating its spine was a two foot long tail and its sharp claws dug into the ground. Worst of all was its face. Its face was elongated awkwardly, but took the shape of that of a white bat’s. Its red eyes scanned the area, taking in every bit of information it could about its surroundings. “Ah… So, you’re the little kitten that fought my good older brother… Is it true that you killed him, too?”

Nel didn’t answer immediately. He was too busy trying to think of how to get away from the monster. “…Yeah, I did,” he said carefully, but still with a defiant hiss to his voice, “Why do you ask?”

The demon’s face split open as a god awful sound rang out. It was disturbing noise and was hard to define, but it was almost like a laugh. “Amazing!” he announced, “You killed a dreadnaught! I thought you’d be bigger with an achievement like that!” It took a step forward, almost laughing at the way the group of ponies took a step back. “Thank you, dragon. My brother—the one you killed—was a real pain in the ass. …But, you should know, dreadnaughts are powerful and useful creatures, but they’re nowhere near as deadly as me…” Its sneer widened as it dropped to a fighting stance, making the ponies flinch again. “You can avoid the swath of death I can bring if you simply hand over the gem now.”

Nel pulled the gem from under his Crusader’s bandana. “You mean this?” He let out a sigh and let it hang around his neck in a taunting fashion. “This thing’s just a fashion statement to me.”

“Then it would be better to hand it over and avoid the blood bath,” it hissed, but then its grin diminished at the grin Nel gave it.

“This thing’s a fashion statement to me, but it’s important to freaks like you.” An animalistic grin crossed his normally inviting face. “And so long as it is, you’ll have to pry it from my cold dead claws!”

Its sneer widened and its eyes grew more demented. “Really? Then, I’ll be happy to oblige!!” It darted forward, charging the group at full speed!

“Move, now!!” the wyvern called. He was glad his friends followed his instructions in time. He pulled one of his obsidian blades down to cut the demon’s body open, but he growled in annoyance as his blade failed to find flesh.

The monster had spread its wings and flew over them. Swooping down, it charged down at the wyvern once again!

Immediately, he jumped up, flying out of the line of fire. Looking back, he regretted it. A squeak escaped him as the monster tackled him, pulling him out of the air! He hit the ground hard and regretted another decision.

The gem fell off of him when he hit the ground!

He jumped up to recapture it. He had to keep a hold of it! As soon as he saw the monster swoop down for the gem, he got ready to spin and launch his quills at it! …But, then he found that he didn’t need to.

The red gem was suddenly pulled away by a dark red aura!

With the pendent in her magic grip, Dinky Doo quickly turned and ran, putting as much distance between them as possible. She couldn’t even figure out why she’d gone out of her way to get the gem! This was a horrible idea!!

The demon let out a short hiss. Maybe it would have a snack as well as the wyvern’s head. It turned sharply, falling to the ground before chasing after her. “Pathetic little—”

As if on cue, Nel tackled the monster, throwing it to the ground before it could catch Dinky! In the chaos of the tumble, the Narga stabbed at the daemon with his tail’s largest quill. He quickly took flight again before the demon could regain its composure. He had a chance at this thing, but he couldn’t do it all alone. Looking around at the ponies, he got a quick idea. Swooping down, he landed as the ponies regrouped. “Nice save, Dinky,” he commented.

The purple unicorn panted in a mixture of fear and exhaustion. “Right… T-thanks…” She levitated the pendant back to the dragon.

“No, no,” he chided, denying the gem, “I told you all—I’m not a warrior. I’m a hunter and I need help. …Namely, a distraction…”

“Really?!” Scootaloo encroached on the young wyvern, trying to give him a stern look. She was almost amazed with the way he didn’t back down. “That thing may not be able to hurt you, but it’s too much for us to handle!”

His gaze remained hard and cold. “That’s why you all aren’t going to be fighting it. I just need you all to keep its attention off of me.” Before any of them could argue, he launched another quill at the chimera, missing narrowly.

The demon dodged the quill with less than an inch of leeway. It kept its distance, wary of the dragon’s next attack.

“I don’t like this anymore than you all,” he said, “Do you think I’m relaxed in this situation? I’m freaking out as much as the next dragon would!” Instead of wasting another quill or two, he turned and blew an orange and white fireball at the monster, making it back away more.

“What?!” Sweetie Belle took a step back toward Ponyville, ready to cut and run at a moment’s notice. “A-aren’t you supposed to be all brave and strong?”

He let out a sigh. “…I’m still a kitten… I’m not as strong as every pony makes me out to be.” He turned his green eyes to them, reveling in the thought of them all holding their ground against his animalistic eyes. “And bravery isn’t the absence fear. Bravery is having the better judgment that something is more important than fear.” A short, humorless chuckle escaped him. “I’m scared out of my mind! …I’m just focusing more on protecting my friends than being scared…”

Once he said it, they could all see his nervous quirks. He was shivering and his legs wouldn’t stay still. Even his wings were firmly plastered to his arms. He really was scared and none of them had noticed it until now. Seeing Nel cracking under the pressure served to remind them all that he was still just a child like them.

“I know it’s stupid to bring you all into this, but I can’t handle this alone. It’d be really cool if you’d help…”

It wasn’t really as if the ponies would or even could simply abandon him. They were his friends and they weren’t just going to run away and let him handle this on his own!

Apple Bloom was the first to join him. After all they’d said about always being there for him, there was no way they were going to pull out on him now!

As the five ponies joined him in his defiant stand, Nel got ready to charge. “Hold onto that pendant,” he ordered, “And if you would so kindly—scatter!!” He took off as soon as the monster darted toward them. Looking back, he saw the five ponies disperse as he ordered. Now, he just needed them to keep out of range.

“Dinky!” Pipsqueak circled around to the purple unicorn as. “Hot potato! Pass it to me!”

That was one of the best ideas she’d heard all day! Dinky Doo quickly launched the red gem to her friend, but was swatted out of the way by the monster. Rolling to a stop, she pointed to the gem as it sailed through the air.

The demon snarled in annoyance. Looking at the downed filly, it went to pounce on her for revenge!! …But, then it was forced aside again by the black dragon!

Nel sunk his fangs into the demon, letting genetics take their toll! Like all Narga, his fangs curved back toward his throat. If he pulled away, he’d be taking chunks out of the monster’s body. …And there was the factor of his venom.

The demon let out a pained cry before trying to shake the wyvern off. That only served to tear at its flesh even more!

After he was certain that his venom was running through the monster’s veins, he pulled away, getting his distance before it could lash out at him.

The demon snarled, but it couldn’t go after Nel just yet. It would kill them as soon as it got the gem back. Looking around, it saw the pinto pony pass it to a pegasus! It let out an annoyed groan and took flight to catch her.

Scootaloo knew she couldn’t get caught. She was the second fastest flier in Ponyville! There was no way she was going to get caught by this wyvern impersonator! She dipped and ducked when it got too close and made sure to keep out of its reach.

The chimera was getting tired of this. It dipped as soon as Scootaloo ascended. Making a quick loop, it got closer than ever! It opened its jaws to latch onto her tail, but quickly found two holes in his left wing and a quill in its back!

“Whoo!” Nel gloated on the ground, pumping a fist in victorious celebration. “Three bull’s eyes in a row! I’m definitely getting better at this!”

“Nel!!” Scootaloo swooped around, passing it off to Sweetie Belle as the demon passed them by. She was just glad it was tearing its wing more with every flap.

The monster went back, going toward Sweetie Belle! “I’m tired of this game!!” It descended on the fleeing pony, ready to slam her to the ground in one dive! It only failed because of the sharp turn the unicorn took to keep out of its way. It landed hard, but quickly turned and charged after her!

Sweetie Belle wasn’t the fastest runner and had to resort to cutting away and running in different directions instead of simply out running the beast. As soon as her legs started to burn with lactic acid, she made a quick toss to one of the more physically fit ponies in their group: Apple Bloom.

The earth pony caught the chain to the necklace in her teeth, grinning as the demon chased after her instead of Sweetie Belle. She could run faster than most of the ponies in their group and, under normal circumstances, even the dragon! …But, that was what working on Sweet Apple Acres, apple bucking trees all day, could do for a pony.

The monster pushed its burning muscles to the limit after her! After a moment of chasing, its muscles stopped burning and it pounced to tear into her! …And was, again, tacked out of the air by the black dragon. When it stopped rolling, it found itself on the ground, being help down by the dragon. “You little… W-what…?” Instead of pushing itself up to take them out, it found its muscles completely numb!

“Gotcha,” he meowed as the ponies gathered around. “The poison on my quills and the venom in the gland making my tongue blue both have the same effects: hallucinations and paralysis. I’m surprised you didn’t notice the hallucinations when I bit you!”

Even with numb muscles, it managed to squirm a little. “You bastard!! I’ll kill you for this!!”

Nel made a face. Maybe his poison wasn’t as effective on creatures like this. “For those of us with weak stomachs, please cover your ears and avert your eyes.” He quickly moved to its pierced wing and broke the arm connected to it!!

The demon felt that!! It let out a loud roar of pain. If it weren’t paralyzed, it would have writhed and squirmed in gut wrenching pain. “Ahh!! I’ll kill you! I’ll tear off your arms! I’ll rip out your entrails! I’ll—”

“Make an excellent example for all the other demons on their way to Ponyville for the gem,” the kitten interrupted, “Now, we can resolve this without any more blood and gore if you just give up and go away.”

There was a short silence. It was almost as if the monster was thinking over its answer. After a second, it laughed. “All I have to do is give up and I can go, correct?”

“I’ll patch the hole in your wing and get a cast for your arm myself,” Neliel promised.

The demon laughed again. “Ah, if only the other monsters at Tartarus were as kind as you… I’m sure we wouldn’t even have plans to invade this country.” It let out a heavy sigh. “But, sadly, the others aren’t like you. If I return without the pendant, they’ll kill me.” It struggled to do so, but it looked back at Nel. “And worse even, I’m a sadistic creature as well.” An evil sneer crossed its face. “I don’t need a reason to kill you, but since I have one—or maybe three now with my broken arm and all the trouble you’ve out me through—if I live, I’m going to kill you on principle!”

There was another silence after that statement. Nel was the only one unfazed by the threat. He let out a heavy sigh. “Again, those of us with weak stomachs, look away now.” He didn’t wait very long for them to react. Instead, he simply pulled his blade across the demon’s neck, severing its spinal cord! He ignored the monster’s coughing and sputtering. “That was the C3 vertebrae,” he stated, “I hope you realize that this is only happening because you tried to hurt my friends.” He went to the ponies, ignoring the blood dripping down his blade. “Is every pony okay?”

They were actually surprised that he could act so innocent and timid after nearly slicing a demon’s head off like that. ...But, then again, that probably wasn’t the worst he could do. What would he look like when he ate if that was how he killed?

“Nothing worse than a few scrapes and bruises,” Dinky Doo chirped.

The dragon let out a heavy sigh. “Good…” Looking around, he gauged where they were in accordance to Ponyville. “Sweet Apple Acres is pretty close…” He rubbed dirt out of his eye, getting rid of the foreign itch he’d gotten when he fought the monster. “We should go there to get cleaned up…” This was a horrible way to spend their day off from Crusading. The only thing that brought him out of his thoughts was the giggles from his friends. “Huh? What?”

“Um… Y-you’ve got something on your face,” Sweetie Belle stated, struggling to keep from laughing.

Confused, the dragon used his clean blade as a mirror. He hadn’t polished it in a while, but he could still get his reflection perfectly. There was blood smeared on his face, around his eye. It made him want to laugh twice as much as the ponies. He accidently made it look like the intense war paint the Narga wore around their eyes. Immediately, he jabbed a claw at them. “We never speak of this,” he ordered, but that only served to make his friends burst into riotous laughter. Again, he felt happy to be able to share this with his friends. …Though, he never thought he’d get ponies to laugh over blood.

Applejack was a little amazed with her work today. Without Apple Bloom, she was only a little farther behind than she thought she’d be. It wasn’t surprising that she helped that much, but it was surprising that she didn’t get as much done anymore now that she had more help.

“Um, Ms. Applejack?”

The work mare smiled. The only one in Ponyville that called her Miss was the adolescent dragon, Nel. She spun around to greet him, but bit her tongue when she saw the six Crusaders.

They were all in bad shape. Apple Bloom was covered in dirt, Sweetie Belle had bruised on her legs, Dinky Doo was covered in scratches and Pipsqueak had dirt and smudges all over his spotted coat. Scootaloo was the only one that didn’t have anything foreign on her coat aside from a thin sheen of sweat.

Nel was probably the worst of them all. As a reptile, he didn’t sweat, but he was covered in dirt and grass was lodged between his scales. And, worst of all, he had blood all over his left obsidian blade and it was even smudged around his eye! The dragon smiled nervously, letting foreign blood drip from his sharp teeth. “Uh, h-hi… Can we get cleaned up here?”

After little less than an hour, the Crusaders managed to explain their predicament and even to get cleaned up. The ponies couldn’t stop singing Nel’s praises, but he was a little more than modest. After a while, he simply went silent, letting them tell the story. …But that was because he wasn’t listening anymore.

Nel sat at a short distance, staring at the pendant he’d draped from a sapling’s limb. As the ponies talked on, he simply stared. These battles were starting to bother him. This was the third monster he’d had to kill in his two months in Equestria. He’d given all three of them the same chance to retreat and leave the key alone for good, but all of them had continued to challenge him.

The first demon, an imp, had lied to him about retreating. It attacked him even after it said it would back down, putting gashes in his leg and side. The second, the dreadnaught, had cut open his wing, but at the cost of its own eye and arm. And even the latest of them, the chimera, had told the truth about why they wouldn’t back down: the threat of death. …And yet, all three of them had thrown away their lives taking on the trained hunter. The imp was impaled, the dreadnaught had its throat slashed and the chimera was almost decapitated!

Nel was starting to get worried. What if more demons came? What if they came stronger than the first three? …What if he wasn’t strong enough, or skilled enough to continue fighting them?

“Nel?”

The dragon barely reacted to the sudden sound. He turned his attention to the voice and found her friends’ worried eyes cast on him. “Is something wrong?” he asked with plenty of concern in his voice.

“That’s our line,” Scootaloo said, “We called you twice already. Are you feeling okay?”

He let out a sigh and went back to the pendant, batting it lazily like a toy. “I’ve been in Equestria for two months… I’ve seen plenty of amazing sights, met some fun ponies and made some great friends…” He trailed off. He still smiled when he thought about the view of Horseshoe Bay near the border, at the thought of the kind pony with the cherry orchard in Dodge Junction, and even at the thought of the milk mare in Trottingham. They were good memories, but they only served to amplify the harsh thoughts of the monsters. “…I’ve also fought three monsters in Equestria—two in Ponyville—and I’m starting to get worried about all of this…”

“Well, ya gotta remember that you’re not alone in this, partner,” Applejack chimed, “Don’t be afraid to ask your friends for help. …I learned that lesson the hard way…” She still shuttered at the thought of the year she’d tried to harvest the entire orchard by herself.

He let out a short chuckle and gave them a warm grin. “Don’t worry, I’m not afraid to ask for help. I just hope I can get it when I need it.” Even as his friends consoled him once more, he still had to think about what the work mare had said: he didn’t have to do it by himself. It was a kind gesture, but he was more worried about if the ponies could help him in this conflict.