Black Dragon

by MercilessKing

Rating: everyone
Tags: Main 6, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Romance, Original Character, Spike, Comedy, Cutie Mark Crusaders
Length: 38771

A mysterious black dragon appears in Ponyville and with some dangerous enemies close behind.

A mysterious black dragon appears in Ponyville, injured and alone. It's a strange thing to see, but nothing that the ponies couldn't handle. ...That is, until the little wyvern known as Nel accidently attracts some very dangerous attention.
Now, it's up to Nel and the Elements of Harmony to seal away the monsters spilling from the depths of Tartarus and hopefully before it's all too late...

One shot story about my second OC for MLP. I've seen weirder stuff, so I hope this is liked at least a little.

Published 2013-01-08 23:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-08-29 23:17:26 UTC

Blood and Black Scales

Chapter 1
Blood and Black Scales

Mornings in Ponyville, like any rural area, started early and seemed a little more than chaotic. It was the same all over. The Golden Oaks Library was chaotic, but it was organized chaos. Sweet Apple Acres was less than quite in the mornings. Even the crowded home of Fluttershy was loud and anarchic in the morning.

It was a struggle for her to rein in her many animal friends, but it was possible. On many days, like this one in particular, she was free to leave home when she was done taking care of her friends. Fluttershy skipped across the grassy fields outside of Ponyville, humming a cheerful tune. It was a relaxing start to her day to go out for a walk after taking care of her crowded household. She stopped every so often to smell the flowers and to admire a cloud or two, but they never stopped her for too long. …But, then she noticed something that could.

The fields that she explored were amazingly extensive. They stretched the gap between the Everfree Forest and Ponyville. There were plenty of sparse trees between the two and even fewer bushes. …But there was one bush in particular that garnered attention.

A very large bush seemed out of the ordinary. It was too large for the area and it seemed out of place with the thorns covering it. …And the blood seeping from under it.

Noting the odd sight, Fluttershy curiously approached. It wouldn’t do for her to pass up the opportunity to help an injured animal. …But, that didn’t include certain reptiles. With a squeak, she flinched away from the bush, getting her distance before its inhabitant could attack her! …But, when it didn’t she approached once more.

Inside the bush was a dragon! It was smaller than even Fluttershy and it looked odd as far as dragons went. Its arms and wings were one and the same and its tail was covered with sharp quills. It was also out cold and badly injured.

Fluttershy gawked at the little dragon for a moment before actually helping. She poked its tail, making sure it was still asleep and even the groan it gave made sure it was still alive! She braved the thorns of the bush and pulled him out, receiving only a few scratches on her forelegs. Again, she looked over the dragon’s body.

Upon further inspection, the dragon was found to be male! He was badly injured. A deep gash in his side marred his pure black scales. Another one to his left leg would definitely keep him from walking normally. But, the worst were the two in his right wing. There was a cut all the way up to his hand and another closer to his armpit that didn’t stretch as far. The two cuts would keep him from ever flying if they were left untreated.

Seeing how badly injured he was, Fluttershy pushed her fear down and helped him. Pulling him onto her back, she started back toward her home, hoping to get there before he bled out completely.

“So, you just found him there?” Twilight Sparkle asked, “No one else was with him or even anywhere around?”

“N-no, he was alone,” Fluttershy stated, letting Twilight clean the blood off of her coat. She couldn’t fathom why he’d be like that: injured, alone and thrown into a bramble bush. It didn’t make any sense!

“Well, whatever happened to him, it was bad.” Twilight looked up toward Fluttershy’s room, the same place they’d left the dragon after treating his wounds. It was amazing to see that he was still alive. Much longer and he’d have bled out completely! She dismissed the thought and went back to Fluttershy. “Do you mind keeping him for a while?”

“Not at all,” the kind pegasus cooed. She actually did want to see more of this little dragon. How lucky was she to see both a baby dragon and an adolescent in the same town?

“Thank you, Fluttershy,” the lavender unicorn chirped, heading toward the door. Maybe she could get some advice from her friends or the princess.

After a quick goodbye, Fluttershy absently trotted through her home, tending to the worried animals all around. They could smell blood and it had them as panicked as she was. Slowly, she made her way through the cottage and to the dragon’s quarters. Peaking in, she could see that he was still sound asleep as though nothing had happened. With any luck, she’d be able to talk to him when he woke up.

A slight sound—something that any pony could miss—awoke Fluttershy. She wasn’t sure what it was, but it woke her up all the same. Opening her eyes to the darkness of three am, she couldn’t see much of anything. …Aside from a pair of glowing green eyes catching the moonlight. She managed to suppress a squeak and to stay still under the scrutiny of the large green eyes in the dark. Either she was getting better at managing her fight of flight response, or she was scared stiff.

“I-I’m sorry!” a high pitched, but definitely male voice announced, “I just… Needed something to drink…”

Fluttershy, albeit clumsily, got to her hooves and trotted toward to the voice’s owner. “I didn’t know you were awake,” she stated. She squinted at the sudden light of a flame lighting a candle. From that light, she could see that it was just as she’d expected: the dragon had awoken.

He was shaking like a leaf in a thunderstorm, trying to keep from making eye contact with the pegasus. He was nervous that was certain.

Looking him over, Fluttershy couldn’t help but notice the tea cup hanging off of his tail’s largest quill as well. She quietly got a glass and water from a pitcher near her kitchen’s window. As soon as she turned back to him, she spotted the tea cup on the kitchen table.

“Thanks,” he chirped as he took the glass. With his blood loss, a glass of water was just as precious to him now as if he’d run a marathon.

She politely waited until he’d finished his water before asking her next question. “Um, i-if you don’t mind, I don’t know your name.”

“Hm?” He seemed to steady himself, if only a little bit. “My name’s Neliel Tsu Valshte. …It’s probably easier if you just call me Nel, though… What’s your name?” he asked, turning the subject back on the timid pegasus.

“I-I’m Fluttershy…” She trailed off slightly at the end, nervously averting her eyes. Spike was one of the only other dragons she’d spoken to so casually.

“Fluttershy,” he repeated, rolling the name off of his forked tongue. “Kinda makes my name sound like gibberish…” He cleared his throat. “Are you the one that helped me?”

“Yes, I am,” she chirped with a wide grin. “I didn’t think it was right to just leave you there.” She thought it would be a bad idea to tell him about the way he’d almost bled out without her help.

“Thanks for the help,” he purred, but then looked out the window at the pitch black sky. Simply from looking outside, he could tell the time of night. Three am was a distinctive time for him. “Huh… Wow, it’s pretty late…” He turned his glowing green eyes back to Fluttershy before averting them once more. “Uh, sorry for waking you up like that… I’m usually a lot more ninja than this.”

Fluttershy grinned at the comment. “You should get some sleep,” she stated, “You lost a lot of blood and you need your rest.”

“Aw!” he complained playfully, “Okay…” He passed by her, giving her a brotherly nudge. “But, it’s only because you’re nice about it.”

A smile crossed Fluttershy’s face. At least he had a good sense of humor.

For one of the first times ever, Fluttershy’s morning was blanketed by an odd sense of calm. As opposed to the intense chaos that enveloped the cottage normally, it was a pleasant change, but it was definitely something to think about.

Fluttershy awoke to the calming silence. It was nice of Angel to avoid waking her for once. Instead, she noticed something else that didn’t match up.

The black dragon, Nel, was curled up beside her on the couch! With his size, he quite comfortably fit between her legs almost as if he was waiting for her to hug him.

The pegasus shifted slightly, looking around the room. Whatever had happened, it hadn’t happened on its own.

The entire room was in quite tranquility. The small animals she kept were scurrying about on their own, making their own dealings. There were several piles of food all around waiting for them to retrieve and they seemed to be getting along the same as if Fluttershy was sitting over them! Whatever happened, it was different.

This was definitely strange, even for this house. Fluttershy could barely believe this! Before noon, it was usually total anarchy in her home! Now… Now everything was as calm as she wished it could be. She moved slightly, trying to get around the young dragon.

As soon as her hoof brushed over his onyx colored scales, he stirred. It was just a slight groan, nothing really to worry about. …Until he tried to roll over that is. Before Fluttershy could catch him, the dragon fell off the couch and onto his injured wing. “OW!!” He jumped up, taking pressure off of his arm. Even without the extra weight, he still had a throbbing pain in his wing.

“Oh no!” Fluttershy was immediately by his side. “Are you alright?” The sight of more blood didn’t exactly put her mind to rest.

He opened his wing as best he could, making sure not to put too much stress on his stitches. “Huh… It’s not the stitches…” He gently plucked a splinter from his wing. Most of his body was covered in protective scales, but his wings were not. The webbing was completely vulnerable, though.

She let out a short sigh, calming her nerves as much as possible. He wasn’t hurt that badly. It was only then that she noticed that the calm quiet of her home had turned into a terse silence.

The small animals all around had become very interested in the sudden yelp the wyvern let out. It was very obvious that they were worried about whatever had happened to him.

Nel was the first to react. “Sorry about the noise,” he meowed, “There’s nothing to worry about.”
With a little bit of hesitation, the many small animals wandered off, going back to their own business.

Amazing. It was nothing short of amazing! This little dragon had almost as perfect an understanding with animals as Fluttershy did! And here the timid pegasus thought that she was the only one who could do that.

Nel read the look on her face and responded immediately. “I really don’t know why I’m so good with animals,” he stated, “My brother and sister say it’s ‘cause I’m so nice.”

“They’re right about you,” she cooed, trotting off to the kitchen to make breakfast. Even if dragons were omnivores, she still wondered if he’d appreciate fresh fruit like her.

“Oh no!!”

Fluttershy nearly tripped with as abruptly as she stopped. Looking back, she found the black wyvern searching frantically for something. “I-is something wrong?”

“Before I passed out, I had a bag with me…” He looked under the couch and even went to go and check the room he awoke in the night before. “I really need that bag!” Darting back down to the living room, his next immediate thought was the bush. If the thorny bush was enough to turn away wayward souls, how long would it be until his bag was found?

“Oh! I-I can take you back to where I found you if it helps.” Odd. When she found him in that bush, she hadn’t seen a bag. …But, then again, she was distracted by the pool of blood around him.

“Thanks! There’s a lot of valuable stuff in there…” As they left the cottage, he just hoped that the valuable possessions he’d brought with him were still there.

It was normal for Rainbow Dash to lounge almost every day after her work with the weather patrol. Seeing as she and her fellow Pegasi controlled the weather, she felt that this gave just about all Pegasi the right to lounge whenever they weren’t working. She sat atop one of the many fluffy clouds she and her friends from the weather patrol took care of so very often, relaxing as she did all the time. The only thing that worried her was that her cloud was so low. That pretty much opened her up to an attack from Pinkie Pie. …But, today, it left her to question the odd voices on the ground.

“Ah!! I don’t see it!” one cried in distress.

“Um, m-maybe it fell somewhere else? O-or maybe an animal came and took it?” That voice was familiar. It was too quiet and gentle to be any pony else! It had to be Fluttershy!

Rainbow peeked over the edge of her cloud, looking down toward the ground. She wasn’t surprised to see her foal hood friend wandering around, but the sight of a new figure puzzled her. That was either a very large, very shiny tiger, or it was something else all together. “Fluttershy?” she mused and spread her wings to investigate.

The timid pegasus flew from bush to bush, searching each one for the thorn bush she’d found him in.

“Him,” as the case may have it, was the black wyvern, Nel. He’d completely tossed caution to the wind and was practically diving into each and every throne bush he could find. Unlike Fluttershy, his stronger-than-steel scales kept him from getting even the slightest of scratches. He jumped into another thorn bush, sniffing the soil and each leaf around him. “This is the one!” he announced, poking his head out to call to Fluttershy, “This was the bush I was in!”

“Oh, thank goodness!” She rushed over to the bush, looking in as Nel toiled in its branches. Whatever he was looking for must have been very important for him to simply dive into a bramble bush like that.

“Fluttershy!”

The timid pegasus was almost surprised to hear such a familiar voice. Turning to the source, she found her good friend Rainbow Dash flying toward them. “Oh, hello, Rainbow,” she chirped.

“Hey,” she landed in front of her friend and looked at the moving bush. “Uh, what are you doing?”

“Ow!!”

The two Pegasi turned curious looks to the bush, finding the young wyvern pealing a long vine of thorns from around one of his feline ears. “Huh? Who’re you?” Rainbow asked, looking the young dragon over.

The wyvern looked the rainbow pegasus up and down as well, but a grin quickly found its way to his face. “My name is Neliel Tsu Valshte,” he announced, “It’s nice to meet you. …Uh, you can just call me Nel… I know the whole thing’s kind of a mouthful…”

“Nice to meet ya, little guy,” Rainbow chimed, “I’m Rainbow Dash, the fastest flyer in Equestria!”

He paused for a moment in his search. He swiftly jumped out of the bush, looking at the Pegasus’s every feature. “The same Rainbow Dash that did the Sonic Rainboom in Cloudsdale?” A large grin crossed his face when he saw her Cutie Mark. “Oh my gosh! I need you to sign my headphones!!” His grin melted off with that statement. “And that just gives me more incentive to find my bag…”

The two Pegasi couldn’t help but to find some humor in that statement. “Hey, was it an old brown bag with gold buckles on the side?”

“Yeah, it was,” he sighed, looking through the bush once more. “Wait…” He looked back at her. “Did you see it somewhere? And please tell me it wasn’t in the mouth of something big and scary…”

Both gave him a look of confusion. “No, it was our friend, Twilight. She found your bag in the bushes.” She read the excited look on his face. If nothing else, she was an amazing judge of character. She could see the excitement in his eyes even before he opened his mouth. “Ya know, I can take you to the library to get it.”

“That’d be great!” he meowed, but then he hesitated, turning to Fluttershy. It was almost as though he’d just remembered that he was still only a child and thought to treat Fluttershy as a guardian. “Uh, is it okay if I go?”

Though it was surprising that he’d be asking permission, Fluttershy didn’t show her amazement. “So long as you don’t try to fly, you’ll be fine.” If not only for his well being, she didn’t want to hear anything about all the hard work she and Twilight had put into wrapping him up going to waste because he was overconfident.

“Alright!” Rainbow took up a knee. “Hop aboard, little guy!” She was almost surprised with how warm the little wyvern was. As compared to the only other dragon that had ever ridden on her back, she couldn’t help but notice that he wasn’t able to sit quite as comfortably with his size. “We’ll be back soon, Fluttershy!” Without any more hesitation, she spread her wings and took to the air! The only reason she slowed down was because of the black dragon struggling to hold onto her. She was sure she’d be able to have as much fun with him as she did with Fluttershy.

Days like this were normal for the Golden Oaks Library. There was a steady flow of patrons going in and out, the ponies were politely searching through books and such, and even the librarians Twilight and Spike seemed to be having a good time tending to their influx of patrons and guests. …But, there was always Twilight’s eagerness to learn.

Ever since finding the bag in the bushes, she’d been curious about its contents: a CD player, a pair of custom made headphones with a familiar cloud and rainbow bolt on the sides, a camera, a small notebook, and a strange piece of jewelry. The jewelry had stumped her by far. It seemed like the Elements of Harmony. Either way, it would have to wait. For now, she had to deal with the sudden appearance of a rainbow pegasus.

Rainbow Dash trotted in happily. She didn’t even seem fazed by the creature on her back arguing with her.

“Can we please never go that fast again?” he asked shakily, “Ugh! My legs feel like jelly!”

“Oh, come on!” she complained, playfully, “That wasn’t even my top speed!”

“I know,” he purred cheerfully, “But, never with me. Please.”

Ever since the Daring Doo incident, it wasn’t uncommon to see Rainbow Dash at the Golden Oaks Library, but it was odd to see her giving some pony a ride. …And it was even stranger to see that she wasn’t giving a pony a ride.

A small dragon, a young wyvern, climbed off of the cyan pegasus, stepping shakily onto the wood floors of the library. He was visibly older than the resident dragon, Spike, but he definitely wasn’t an adult. He was even smaller than an average mare! His black scales had a particular shine to them, but the light only proved to show the minute scratches on them. “I heard about your Sonic Rainboom, but I don’t think I ever want to be on your back when you do one…” He let out a heavy sigh, regaining his balance. “My species can’t fly that fast.”

“Nah, you’ve just never tried!” Her enthusiasm seemed to be contagious, spreading to the young dragon as well.

“I haven’t, but a friend of mine did and she broke a wing. Learn from the mistakes of others, as they say.” He flinched slightly, nearly running into Twilight Sparkle. “Oops… Hi…?” He tried to smile, but his sharp, carnivore’s teeth made him seem a little animalistic. Again, just like when he’d met Fluttershy, he felt nervous under this unicorn’s scrutiny.

Twilight couldn’t help but examine him. This was the first black wyvern she’d ever seen, and he was quite the sight. …But, where were her manners? She quickly returned the smile with a welcoming grin of her own. “Hello,” she chirped, “My name is—”

“Twilight Sparkle,” he said immediately, cutting her off. Once he did, he returned to his nervous behavior, backing away from her as if she was about to hit him. “Er, sorry… I heard about you in Canterlot…”

“Sorry about him, Twilight,” Rainbow interjected. She motioned to her temple with a hoof in a circular motion. “He’s kinda weird…”

“You’re one to talk!” he accused. He quickly turned his large green eyes back to Twilight with a wide grin on his face. “Uh, since I already know your name, my name’s Nel. I heard that you had something of mine?”

She knew exactly what he meant. After what Fluttershy told her, it was no mystery as to who the odd bag belonged to. “Yes, I do,” she stated, levitating the bag to the young dragon. “I was just wondering about what’s in it…”

The young dragon happily looked through the bag’s contents, pausing only for Twilight’s request. “S-sure… What did you want to know?”

“The necklace in that bag,” she began cautiously, slightly wondering if he’d take offense to her snooping in his belongings, “What is it?” It seemed so familiar to her, but it wasn’t.

He quickly retrieved the necklace in question. “This?” he asked, “Well, I’m not sure exactly, but it’s really important to some really interesting creatures.” He looked back at Rainbow. “And, yes, it is something big and scary.”

That almost worried the ponies. Whatever it was that he’d gotten that pendant from, it was obviously dangerous. And that also begged the question: what had he gotten it from?

Spike, though, wasn’t concerned about the necklace. He missed most of the conversation and was just amazed to see another dragon, and one that was almost as old as him at that! “Whoa,” he mused as he gawked, “Are you a wyvern?”

Nel was surprised to see another dragon too, but it was more the fact that this was a town full of ponies instead of a village full of dragons like he was used to. A wide grin crossed his face. “Sure am!” he purred, opening one of his wings for the younger dragon to admire. The only thing keeping him from opening both was the two gashes that marred his other wing’s webbing.

“That’s cool!” Spike gushed. He’d never seen a dragon like Nel and it was even amazing to see the shimmer of his onyx black scales and that shine of… Whatever that was on the edge of his wings.

“Yeah, but some pony,” he turned his gaze to Rainbow Dash, “Seems to think that I should be trying to fly faster.” He closed his wing, sympathetically rubbing it. “I’d rather not end up like my friends did.”

“But, you shouldn’t be flying yet,” Twilight stated, “Fluttershy told me about your wing. You shouldn’t be able to fly for a while.”

The luster in his eyes seemed to fade once he realized what she was saying. “Oh, yeah…” He opened his injured wing, showing the stitches across the cuts. “I can’t fly until this is healed… I can’t put much stress on it either…”

“Whoa… So, when can you fly again?” the younger dragon asked.

“I don’t know,” he sighed, “The last Narga I saw with an injury like this, there was no one to stitch it closed, but, if I had to guess, I’d say about a week with my magic at work.”

“Really? Only a week?” Rainbow asked. For an injury like that, she’d be down for months! Would it really take such a short amount of time for him?

“Yup!” he chirped, “With the stitches, I can’t use the spell I had in mind, but I’ve already got another one at work now. Without that spell, I’d be down for little over a month.”

That sounded more like the draconic healing process that Twilight and Spike had read about. …But, that also begged a question: he knew draconic magic?

The only thing that stopped their conversation was a door opening. The door was opened by a familiar unicorn: Rarity. “Hello, Twilight, Spike,” she cooed cheerfully, “I thought that today would be a good day to drop off those books I borrowed.”

Both Spike and Nel swooned over the alabaster unicorn, but in two different ways. Spike basked in her beauty as he always did, but Nel seemed to be in control of his interest in her. She did have a very particular shine to her, the same as Twilight, Rainbow and Fluttershy, but hers was as unique as theirs were.

“Thank you, Rarity,” Twilight chirped, taking the books from her unicorn friend. It was always good to get a visit from her friends, but she never expected to see so many in one day. The only thing that would make it perfect would be news of Pinkie Pie throwing another random party.

“Rarity,” Nel muttered, rolling the name off of his tongue, but as soon as he spoke, he found the unicorn’s large azure eyes on him. He hadn’t even spoken loud enough for any pony to hear!

“Oh, my!” Rarity squealed. Before anyone could stop her, she was at Nel’s side, opening his wing with her magic. “What is this on your wing?! It’s positively beautiful!!”

That was surprising. If nothing else, he wasn’t expecting that. “Uh… It’s… Obsidian… M-my species grows natural obsidian on their wings… We sharpen and file it down to blades…” He reclaimed his wing, relaxing the muscle to separate the five segments of the blade. “It separates like this when we sleep, but I can do it because of muscle control.” With a slight twinge, the blade snapped back together. “It also doesn’t come off without a little blood, so I can’t really give you any. …Sorry…”

“That’s fine,” she sighed, but she had a pouty look on her face, “I couldn’t ask you for something like that.” She quickly snatched Spike up instead. “And I couldn’t do that to my little Spiky-wiky either.”

“Spiky-wiky?” he thought, trying to keep from laughing. A quick shrug would have to suffice instead of questioning the nickname aloud. “That’s good to know.” He quickly slung his bag on. “Thanks for hanging onto my stuff, Ms. Sparkle, but I must be going.” He quickly went to the door. “Some bad stuff’s been following me since I got this necklace…”

Rarity was the first to question that. “Something bad is following you? I hope that isn’t a literal statement.”

His feline ears drooped slightly. “You’d be surprised, actually…” He flinched slightly at a sudden thud.

The sound was hard and heavy. It was more than just a pony falling or something. It was much larger than that and it was causing a reaction outside as well.

“On second thought,” Nel muttered, turning large, fearful eyes to the door, “You might be seeing something bad now…” He quickly opened the door, but it was to a terrifying sight.

Something from the bowels of nightmares had made its way into Ponyville. It was a monster at least three times the size of Ponyville’s largest inhabitant. It was a purely massive monster. It was covered in matted brown fur, but it took on qualities of plenty of monsters. Its tail belonged to a reptile covered in green scales, its legs belonged to a dog covered in black fur, its torso was that of a gorilla and its head was something of undesirable descent. …But, oddly enough, its left eye had deep gashes over it that sealed it shut and even a harsh burn on its right arm. “Where are you?” it growled, “You have to be here, little dragon… Your scent leads right to this town…” It slammed a hand to the ground, revealing the claws that tipped its massive hands. “Come out here and face me you little coward!!” It slammed a stand, destroying it like a toy.

“That’s…” Nel stared at the monster. It couldn’t be. Was that thing really there? “It can’t be…”

“Nel? What’s wrong?” Twilight was immediately at his side. With the way he was staring—not to say it wasn’t warranted with a monster like that before them—wasn’t normal for anyone, dragon or pony.

The monster seemed to go on a rampage, roaring and crying out as it slammed the venders’ stands all around. “Come out, little kitty,” it snarled, its voice dripping with malevolent venom, “I only want to pet you…”

Nel swallowed dryly, watching as the monster destroyed everything around it. “T-that thing…” He took a step outside, past the door’s threshold. “That monster’s… That’s the thing that ruined my wing…”

Author's Note

As with anything I write and post, I'd like everyone's help. Please tell me if there's an error or a typo anywhere in my work and I'll fix it immediately.
Thank you.

The Red Gem

Chapter 2
The Red Gem

Draconic Variation of Wyvern: Narga

The Narga are a race of dragons that inhabit the forests around Dragon Territory. Narga are known quite well by other dragons as the greatest hunters. Because of onyx black scales, advanced night vision and even a camouflage reflex, these dragons are known quite well as the creatures that haunt jungles on the prowl for food.

As far as personalities go, Narga are, for good reason, known to take on feline characteristics. Most tend to be very friendly when young, but become more jaded as they amass more years.

It’s a common occurrence in families of Narga to make records for the family member who can take a life at the youngest age. The youngest Narga to kill was documented at only twelve years of age. That record belongs to the Valshte family.

Neliel Tsu Valshte stared at a monster that made its way into Ponyville, wondering how it had found its way in. He could barely believe it. This was the same creature that had slashed his wing open!

“That thing?” Rainbow asked, going to the dragon’s side. That monster had actually hurt a child? That was something that Rainbow Dash wasn’t going to stand for!

“What a grotesque creature,” Rarity commented. The last time she’d seen anything even remotely as horrid as that, she’d been staring down a Diamond Dog, and they looked much better than this thing did!

Whatever that thing was, neither Twilight or Spike had ever seen anything about them in their research. Twilight wasn’t even sure how to categorize this monster. It was simply too strange. Spike, though, knew exactly what to call it: an abhorred thing.

“Come on out, little kitten,” the monster growled, “Or maybe you’d like to see what I did to that pretty little pegasus you like so much.”

Nel froze. What was godforsaken that thing talking about? It couldn’t mean Fluttershy. …Could it?

“It’s a shame you brought her into this,” it growled with a sneer, “She really did seem like a nice pony.”

“Huh? What’s he talking about?” Spike asked, “Does he mean—” He stopped as soon as he saw a black blur slice past.

The demon flinched slightly as a cut was opened on its face. It looked in time to see the dragon of interest landing.

Nel slid across the ground on his hind legs before dropping back to all four limbs. He turned a fierce glare toward the monster, his slip pupils narrowing to cut thin gashes. He didn’t even seem to notice the blood dripping off of his obsidian blade.

“Ah, how kind of you to show yourself, black cat,” it growled, wiping blood off of its face. “I didn’t expect a hunter to make such a defiant stand.”

“What did you do to her?”

That was unexpected. That question actually stopped the monster in its tracks. “What did you say?” it asked.

“The pegasus,” he growled, “What did you do to Ms. Fluttershy?” His glare was hard and every one of his muscles was tense and poised for battle.

The monster spat. “That worthless puddle of nerves? Nothing yet.” A dark smile crossed its maw as it saw the annoyance on the young dragon’s face. “But, since you’re so interested in her, I might just tear off her wings, make her skull into a necklace, maybe I’ll make her entrails into a new belt or—” It actually flinched this time as another cut was added to its already grizzled and damaged body. Looking back, it spotted Nel as he landed.

Nel turned a glare to the monster, standing ready to fight, once more. He had the look of someone on a mission.

“Wow…” Twilight had only seen Rainbow Dash move that fast. If he’d let her, she definitely had to do a study on this little black dragon. Simply seeing him fight, it was enough to inspire an entire report on him!

“Is that his blood?” Rarity’s question brought their attention back to the dragon.

Nel made his defiant stand like only a few creatures could, but something seemed wrong. It wasn’t his well warranted glare. It wasn’t his tense muscles. It wasn’t even his disturbingly animalistic eyes! It was the way he suddenly collapsed, falling on his right arm. He opened his wing, checking his injury. The stitches keeping the webbing closed were coming undone! “Damn…” he hissed. That was a definite step backward.

“Oh, what’s wrong?” the monster asked, approaching the dragon. “Is the little kitten hurt?” It took a step closer, swinging at the dragon! Its fist slammed the ground, but found no flesh. …But it did take great joy in watching the adolescent dragon limp out of harm’s way. “You didn’t hurt your wing or anything, did you?” It moved its massive arm in time to block several quills sinking into its flesh.

“There’s no need to be snide about it, asshole,” the young dragon growled. Even injured, he still had it in him to defy the monster.

The demon let out a snort. “But what better time to kick someone than when they’re down?” A wide, devilish sneer crossed its face as it slammed a fist down, narrowly missing the young wyvern. “I wonder if you enjoy this as much as I do.” It mockingly walked toward Nel. “A hunter must love being able to take a life in the blink of an eye.” It brought a fist down again to crush Nel into the dirt!

He quickly moved out of the way, but, thanks to the broken earth, he was put on the ground once more. Sadly, due to his injured wing, he had trouble getting up again. He struggled simply to push himself upright again! This time, he wasn’t going to be able to move out of the way as the demon approached. He had to do something. …But, what could he do if he couldn’t get up? He really wasn’t made for battle.

The demon didn’t waste any time. With Nel dead, it would be able to find its treasure and make Ponyville a distant memory! …But, then again, it would have to get past that annoying barrier first. It brought its claws down to crush Nel once more, but, this time, it was stopped by an odd red barrier instead of missing completely. “What?”

“Nel!” Rainbow Dash was the first to get to Nel. She was quick to help him up, giving him a wing to lean on. “You okay, little guy?”

“I’ve been better,” he grumbled. He flinched slightly as the demon started hammering the barrier with both fists. Even though it didn’t crack or give, he couldn’t help but wonder how long it would last.

Twilight Sparkle did her best holding off the monster, but the abuse its blows put on her barrier was a little much. She could hold it back, but not for very long.

Rainbow flinched as the monster roared, slamming the barrier’s wall. Some pony had to deal with this bully! With a growl, she opened her wings to take it head on! …But, she stopped with a single touch from the young wyvern beside her. She looked toward him, but she only saw the vacant look on his face.

“That’s too big and too strong for any one pony to take on,” he stated, “I wouldn’t do that if I was you.” His large green eyes scanned the monster’s body, analyzing its every tense, powerful muscle. With his own body in such disrepair, he knew he didn’t stand a chance alone.

“Ugh…” Rainbow could tell just by looking that the barrier wasn’t going to last much longer. Reflexively, she grabbed Nel and moved out of the way as the shield shattered. “So, what are we supposed to do?”

Nel looked at the monster as they got their distance. “I’ll tell you when I have a plan.” He didn’t stop analyzing the monster, even as Rainbow put him down by their friends. “It’s not gonna stop that easily,” he stated. He needed to think more about a positive strategy. “Rainbow, distract it. Don’t get too close and listen for my signal.”

That was unexpected. None of them had actually expected him to actually take charge like that.

This monster was too much for him or any pony to take on alone, but, if he did the math, they had a chance of taking it out together. …That is, if the ponies would move. He looked at the three ponies as they stared at him in confusion. “It’ll attack if we don’t do something,” he stated, almost sounding angry.

“Y-yeah, right!” Rainbow took off, soaring past the monster as she caught its attention. Keeping out of its reach would be easy for her. Her size and its speed both fell in her favor!

Nel bit his thumb as he thought. “That thing’s big and lumbering… If we’re careful, we can drop it with minimal effort.”

“What do you need us to do?” Twilight asked, eager to help. If they had to fight it, then they’d have to listen to the seasoned warrior.

“Well…” Nel looked the monster over as it flailed for Rainbow. “See that?” He pointed at the quills sticking out of its flesh. “Those are my quills. They have a powerful anesthetic on them. Given his body size and the number of quills in him already, we’ll need to sink four more into him. I still have seven needles to launch.” He let out a sigh. “I can’t guarantee that I’ll hit every time, so I say keep his attention off of me and give me an easy target.”

“Alright,” Twilight chimed, her horn popping alight once more.

“What will those quills to do it?” Rarity asked curiously. Sure they can do damage—especially the largest of them at the tip of his tail—but what was he planning to do?

“The anesthesia causes hallucinations in small doses, and paralysis in larger doses. I’m going for something just under full body paralysis—which is about three to four quills.”

If he was right, then they had to do it. Either way she looked at it, they had to stop it anyway. If they didn’t, it was bound to kill some pony!

The monster swatted at Rainbow Dash, missing narrowly every time. It was starting to get annoyed with this little nuisance! Maybe it would have two pegasus skulls and a wyvern pelt for jewelry when it was done. …That is, if it could lift its arms. “Hm?” It turned its attention to its suddenly heavy limbs, noting the two unicorns holding them down with magic. “Get outta my way!!” With a roar, it slung its arms, breaking their hold on them. The only thing that broke it from its rage was a sharp pain in its back.

Nel snapped his fingers. “Damn!” he gripped. Only a few more inches to the left and he’d have hit its spine. With that pierced, the rampage would have been over. At least he hit the large target before him, thought.

The demon roared at him again, setting its sights on the true target of its rampage. With Nel mostly immobile, it would be easier for it to crush him! …But, again, that annoying tug on its limbs was going to have to be dealt with. Looking to the source of the problem, it found, not magic, but rope holding its limb this time! “What?”

Nel grinned. He’d heard plenty and even read about the Elements of Harmony and was all too glad to see another one of them helping in the fight.

A mare with an orange coat and a blonde mane tied the rope’s loose end around a tree, helping to restrain the monster. With its arm restrained, it wouldn’t be quite as dangerous as it was before. …Or, that’s what she would have thought if the demon hadn’t torn the tree from the earth that held it.

A curse spilled from Nel’s mouth as the tree went flying toward a mare and her foal! Fighting the pain in his right arm, he snatched Spike up and darted toward them. “Torch it!!” Both he and Spike launched a wave of green and orange flame that turned the tree from fresh foliage into a pile of ash. “And that’s what a couple thousand degrees Kelvin can do for ya,” he purred.

Spike hopped off of his back. With Nel’s size, he was only half as comfortable to ride as a full grown mare. He knew good and well that he couldn’t have torched that tree by himself. He turned his gaze to Nel as the older dragon launched more quills at the monster. This black dragon was definitely a strong one.

“Ya’ll alright?” the orange mare asked, helping the other pony to her hooves.

“I-I think so… Thank you.” She quickly grabbed her foal before thanking Spike and Nel as well. With that, she took off for cover.

“Hey, little guy,” the mare began once she noticed the blood leaking from Nel’s wing, “You alright?”

“Oh, it’s just a flesh wound,” he purred before analyzing the monster again. “But, I could use all the helping hooves I can find…” He launched one more quill, hitting the monster in the leg, slicing its knee in half. “Hah! Alright, we need to keep it busy now.” He looked to Spike and the mare. “Spread the word—keep it busy for at least three minutes.”

With nods, the two took off to follow his directions. …But, then again, had he really used his quills enough to get the timing down to a science that accurately?

Three minutes—that wasn’t going to be too hard. It was simple for Rainbow Dash or Applejack. Their speed, stamina and resourcefulness made them very difficult targets. Twilight and Rarity were simply too well guarded with their magic to strike down. Even Spike knew to simply get ponies away from the monster and to stay out of the way.

Nel was almost proud. A trap like this would be the subject of every conversation everywhere near Dragon Territory. It was an interesting thought, but, then again, this monster seemed off. Why wasn’t he able to see the demon’s movements changing? If the anesthetic was to take effect, wouldn’t it cause a change or restriction of movement like it did for his other prey? He hoped desperately that this monster wasn’t immune. …But, then he saw it.

The monster swatted at Rainbow Dash and at Applejack alike, but then it swung at Rainbow and missed by miles. It wasn’t swinging at just one of her anymore.

“Maybe it is working,” he thought with a smirk. If he had his full mobility, he’d be able to get close and sink his tail’s largest quill in. He glanced at his tail. He only had one more quill to launch and all the others were firmly in place for at least another two weeks. …But, he wasn’t completely helpless.

This was strange. The monster could feel its body getting heavy. It was getting slow and its vision was getting blurry. …But, there was no way it was going to die before getting to know what that odd burning sensation was on its back. It turned to find the reason and found the black dragon instead. That was the reason it was here in the first place. “You…” it growled. It turned to attack him directly, but soon found itself on its face.

“There we go!” he meowed, limping to the monster. “And that’s what a Narga can do when injured and enraged.”

“Wow, three minutes exactly,” Twilight commented as she approached. It was simply amazing that Nel could do that with a simple distraction and a few quills.

“You do realize that your elevated heart rate helped to spread your paralysis, right?” Nel waggled his tail in front of the paralyzed demon’s face. “I guess you’re not getting that necklace back, now.” He started back for the library. “The paralysis—given his size—will last for about seven hours. I suggest we get him out of town and into the Everfree Forest soon.”

“I’ll get Big Macintosh and some other ponies on it right away,” the orange work mare chimed happily.

“Thanks!” And now, Nel could really be proud of his work. He took out a massive monster like this and without any casualties. Pretty good for a hunter if he did say so himself.

“Do you really think it’s that easy, kitten?”

Nel stopped in his tracks, looking back to the monster. “What do you mean by that?” he asked, keeping his voice neutral.

The demon let out a strained chuckle. “I’m one of many monsters on duty. We’ll get that gem back from you one way or another. And do you really think I’ll just forget about my eye or the burn you put on my arm?” It laughed again, harder this time. “I’ll come back and crush your skull like a grape! But before I do, I’ll be sure to make you watch as I destroy this entire town. …I’ll even make you watch as I kill these precious ponies of y—”

Nel grabbed its head, and propped it up. Without hesitation, he stabbed one of his obsidian blades into its throat and sliced it wide open! “You probably have about thirty seconds before the paralysis and blood loss get to you, so I’ll be brief. Yes—I do enjoy being able to take a life so callously, but only when it’s the life of a worthless piece of shit like you!!” He turned his back on the monster and started walking away. He only stopped for Rainbow Dash. “Uh, hey… I’m kinda worried about Ms. Fluttershy. Would you go and check on her for me?”

“Can do!” Without hesitation, she took off, flying toward Fluttershy’s cottage at top speed.

Nel watched with a grin as the rainbow pegasus flew off. After a second, he let out a heavy sigh. “As for me…” He plopped down on the ground, resting his shaky, well used muscles. “My wing is killing me and I can barely walk straight. Can I please go to a hospital?!”

Nurse Redheart carefully wrapped the black dragon’s wing under a neat layer of bandages. She was careful of the obsidian blade there as to keep from cutting the bandages or herself on it. “Alright,” she cooed, “That should do it. Be careful with that wing until it’s healed.”

“I will be,” he purred, “Thank you.” Though he seemed as calm and cuddly as a kitten, he was having his own little conniption in his mind. Defending Ponyville was one thing, but killing that monster so harshly was a little much. He couldn’t help but wonder what the ponies would think of him now.

“Oh, by the way,” the nurse continued, “You have some visitors.” She opened the door and stepped aside for four ponies to enter, including a nurse she knew very well.

This had to be the fastest Fluttershy had ever moved. She was at Nel’s side before even Rainbow Dash! “Please tell me you’re okay,” she pleaded.

From any other pony, he’d have been sorely surprised, but, from Fluttershy, he was pleased. “Yes, I’m fine,” he purred, “Just a little worse for wear…” He looked at the other three ponies and the dragon that had helped with the monster that attacked Ponyville. “Thank you all for your help. With my wing like this, I don’t think I’d have been able to handle that thing by myself.” He paused. “…Actually, even with my wing, I doubt that I’d have been able to take it on at all…”

“No problem, little guy,” Rainbow chimed immediately. She was just happy to be rid of such a dangerous monster.

“Even so, it was you who coordinated the counter offensive,” Rarity stated, “We wouldn’t have known what to do without you.”

He sighed. “Honestly, that’s a very scary thing… Most ponies don’t study battle strategies like most dragons do. …Not my species, but most dragons…”

“But, there’s still a question that’s left unanswered,” Twilight began, but she was unable to finish the question seeing as how another was asking already.

“What was that creature?” The question was asked by a pony that everyone, including Nel knew. The princesses of Equestria strolled in, finishing Twilight’s question.

Reflexively, every pony in the room bowed to the regal Alicorns, showing their respect to the rulers of Equestria. Even the young dragon bowed. …But, that was only one dragon that bowed.

Nel looked up at the two, somewhat surprised to see the princess ponies there. But, he also had to give them a proper greeting. “Hi, Tia! Hi, Lulu!” he meowed, confusing almost everyone in the room.

“Tia and Lulu?” Twilight questioned aloud, getting shy grins from both her teacher and the goddess’s sister.

Nel turned his eyes away nervously. “Well, uh, there was a border dispute a couple years ago between Equestria and the Griffin Kingdom,” he explained, “My ‘grandfather,’ as I call him, was asked to come as a neutral negotiator. I came with him to explore Equestria. Lulu found me wandering Canterlot Castle by myself and took it upon herself to keep an eye on me. I met Tia a little while later.”

“That explains a lot,” Spike muttered under his breath. He knew Nel was a learned and experienced one, but he didn’t think he’d know the princesses so well. It almost made him wonder what else Nel was hiding.

“The question still remains, Nel,” Princess Celestia continued, “What was that creature and why did it attack Ponyville?”

Nel let out a short sigh, his feline ears drooping to show his displeasure. “As much as I’d like it to be, that’s not an easy answer,” he said gloomily. He grabbed his bag, pulling the pendant from its contents. “That thing was a monster from beyond a Hell Gate. It was after this, but I’m not completely sure why.”

“What is it?” Princess Luna inquired. She couldn’t recognize it, but it did look vaguely familiar. And then there was that name: Hell Gate. That was something she and her sister knew very well.

“What is this Hell Gate you speak of?” Rarity asked carefully. She almost wished she was as learned as Twilight at moments like this. Maybe then she’d know about the gate he was talking about.

“Those are two very good questions with two very vague answers.” No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn’t give them very good answers. …Mostly because he didn’t know them himself. “The Hell Gate is one of five remaining doorways to… Well, I’m guessing the bottom floors of Tartarus… Monsters slither, scuttle, crawl and lumber out of them whenever they’re open.” He looked at the red gem. “How this thing fits in is beyond me, but I think it’s a key.”

Princess Celestia took the pendant from him, levitating it in front of her face to examine it more closely. “That much is certain,” she sighed, “With what we know about the Hell Gates, these red gems are used as keys to open and close them. Without them, it’s impossible to open it.”

“Makes sense for why that thing was so serious about getting it back.” Rainbow didn’t know anything about all of this. Hell Gates, keys, monsters coming to Equestria—it was all a little too dense for her, but what better time to learn?

“We should have closed all of the Hell Gates, though,” Luna mused, “Even Discord agreed to help us destroy the other four.”

“But, even with Discord’s help, we couldn’t destroy the last five. All we could do was close them off.”

“But, now that they’re back, that just leaves the question of what to do…” Nel was at a loss here. If the princesses couldn’t destroy the Gates without the ever annoying Discord, then what were they going do? He let out a heavy sigh. “I’m really not the kind of cat to just start barking orders, but I could hold on to the gem. It’s just one more Gate locked off until we can do something about it.”

Sadly, none of the ponies could argue. It sounded like the best course of action. Nel seemed to know what he was doing even if he wasn’t a warrior. And, even so, if he held on to the gem, that would give the princesses a distraction to go and close the Gates. For the time being, that was their only option.

There was a short silence before anyone spoke. “…Twilight Sparkle,” Princess Celestia began, “I’d like to request that you and the Elements of Harmony watch after Neliel Valshte.”

“Of course, princess,” Twilight chirped, eager to please.

“In the mean time,” Luna continued, “My sister and I shall close the Hell Gates once more. We hope you all can handle the task we’ve given you.”

Nel quickly saluted as the ponies and dragon did the same. “We’ll handle it with pride!” He never actually thought that he’d be taking orders directly from the princesses of Equestria. Even now, it seemed almost surreal that he’d be doing all of this. Somewhere in his mind, he couldn’t help but question if he’d still be in Ponyville when he woke up instead of at home questioning if it was all a dream.

Adventures in Ponyville

Chapter 3
Adventures in Ponyville

Morning was normally a groggy time for Nel. His species was said to be part cat so he was known to sleep most of the day away as such a young kitten. It was only made worse by his lack of a solid sleep schedule. Some nights, he’d go to bed at a reasonable time, others he’d finally sleep when the sun was coming up. Some days, he’d wake up at dawn and on others, he’d sleep well into the afternoon. Today, he was happy to sleep long after Fluttershy had woken up.

The elegant pegasus flew around her home with a particularly relaxed feel. She was glad to have calmed her home down so quickly that morning. It was nice to know that she didn’t need Nel’s touch to keep her home in proper working order. With the excitement the day before, she’d let Nel sleep through most of the morning. Now, it was time to wake him up. She quietly poked her head into her room, finding the black dragon still fast asleep.

For whatever reason, Nel had taken to Fluttershy the same as he would have for one of his own kind. He could still remember the many times he’d snuggled up to his sister the way he did to Fluttershy. Now, with Fluttershy’s absence, he’d taken hold of the soft pillow as something to hold onto.

A grin found its way to Fluttershy’s face she saw the kitten cuddling his pillow. She gently nudged him to wake him up. “Nel,” she cooed, “It’s time to get up.”

The young dragon let out a short moan before biting the pillow! He didn’t even bite enough to tear into it.

That wasn’t good! Fluttershy quickly doubled her efforts to awaken him. “Come now, Nel…! It’s time to wake up.”

Again, Nel groaned, but he let go of the pillow first. “No…! I wanna finish my giant marshmallow first…” He then went back to gnawing on the soft cotton pillow. This time, his sharp teeth cut through the cotton.

“Oh, but, i-it’s time to wake up!” She hesitated slightly as she saw his sharp fangs. Even for her, it was an uncomfortable sight. “Um, t-that’s not a marshmallow…”

At that moment, Nel ceased his gnawing. He opened one of his large green eyes and turned sharply toward Fluttershy, tearing part of the pillow off with it! “Hm? Then what is it?” he asked, fluff dropping from his jaws with each word.

Again, Fluttershy hesitated, hoping he’d see the error of his ways. “U-um…” She bit her lip, trying not to laugh at the drowsy kitten.

Now that he was more awake, Nel looked back at his “giant marshmallow.” He was confused at the lack of sweetness he usually got from treats of the sort. …And then he started to panic when he saw that there was cotton fluff leaking from the pillow. There was no way he’d actually done that! He opened his mouth, letting the slightly damp fluff drop off of the blue tip of his forked tongue. “Oh my gosh!! I’m so sorry!!

If Fluttershy was able to keep her own agenda of tending to the animals of Ponyville, then Nel was able to keep his own schedule. …Though, when compared to most any pony, his schedule was very lackluster. Nel roamed around the humble town of Ponyville by himself, looking at the ponies all around him. He was honestly surprised. After the display the day before, he’d honestly expected something different than this.

“Hey!”

He flinched, stopping on a dime. He looked up and found a stallion with a light brown coat and dark brown mane trotting toward him. “Uh… Y-you wanted me?”

The stallion trotted toward the dragon with a grin across his face. “Yes you,” he chuckled, “You’re the little guy that fought that monster yesterday, aren’t you?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Of course you are… It’s gotta be impossible to miss a little black dragon.” He offered a hoof to the young dragon. “I wanted to thank you.”

Nel was a little more than hesitant. He shifted his large green eyes around his surroundings, finding several ponies watching their conversation. One pony’s attention was bad enough, but a crowd was just weird. He nervously shook the stallion’s hoof. “Um, you wanted to thank me for what?” He’d be the first to admit that it was odd for him to defend a place so adamantly—especially since it wasn’t his home—but that was just natural for him.

“For what?” he mimicked, “You fought that monster! Plus, you protected a friend of mine from that thing. Thanks for that.”

That was honestly unexpected. Nel was actually surprised to hear that. In this little tussle with the monsters beyond the Gate, he’d defended more than one or two ponies, but he’d never been thanked like this. “Oh… I-it was nothing, really…”

The stallion chuckled at the kitten’s nervousness. Did Nel think that the stallion was going to hurt him or something? “Oh yeah? Well, if you ever need anything, just call me!”

“R-right… I’ll keep that in mind…” Nel made a hasty retreat, trying to get away from all the prying eyes. He was a hunter and a well decorated one at that. He wasn’t made to be in the limelight. He was made to be hidden until the time to strike came. It made him nervous to get so much attention. Strolling through town, it really did make him nervous to get so many ponies’ attention. …But, then again, he was still able to notice the little things. After half an hour of exploring the town, he found something to look at himself.

Three ponies—fillies really—were up to… Something. Whatever they were doing, Nel was sure they weren’t doing it right. They looked about as old as he was. They weren’t like the tiny foals he saw at the confectionary story with the funny pink pony. They were older than that.

“C’mon, Apple Bloom,” the orange pegasus said, “Just a little higher.”

“Why don’t you just fly up there, Scootaloo?” the unicorn asked, straining to lift her friends higher.

“I can’t hover,” she stated glumly, “I can’t reach it without hovering to it.”

“Just get it!” the yellow earth pony demanded with an odd southern drawl, “I can’t hold you much longer!”

Nel raised a brow as he watched the three and winced as they went down due to a slight wobble. Looking up the tree they were trying to persistently to get to, he spotted a large, multicolored ball in the tree’s branches. His wing was in bad shape and he still had gashes in his leg and side to heal, but he could manage this at least.

“Ow…” The pegasus sat up, rubbing a new bump on her head. This was more annoying than she thought it would be. “Hey, Sweetie Belle, let’s try your magic again.”

Before the unicorn could get her horn to even light up with magic, the three of them flinched at a sudden blur zipping past them. The blur, Nel, dug his claws into the tree to get up to the branches. He quickly snatched the ball out of the limbs without popping it and made a quick, but slightly painful dismount. He still managed to push himself up on his injured leg. “Looking for this?” he purred playfully as he gave them their ball back.

“Yes… Thanks!” The pegasus quickly took the ball. She’d never seen a dragon do that before. She knew that Spike wasn’t nearly as sleek and agile as this wyvern, but it was a question of if other dragons could pull that off now. He definitely did look different from other dragons, especially with that wide grin he was wearing.

“Don’t thank me,” he meowed, starting back on his way, “Just pa—ah!” He hesitated slightly, slowing for his injured limbs. That was odd, even for him. “Just pay it forward.” It was nice to do something like that for some pony, but it was a definite strain on him. Maybe he could go somewhere to avoid the prying eyes of ponies and get some time to breathe.

For an injured Narga, down time was a must. Even for a determined kitten, it was necessary that they rest and simply focus on healing. That was how that spell worked after all. But, at the same time, it was expected that one would keep their skills sharp for when they could come back and hunt on their own. That was the very thought that drove Nel out of Ponyville.

The Narga crouched in the tall grass, and, using his camouflage and his stalking skills, he was able to sneak up on his prey with ease. Something told him that Fluttershy would be very hurt if she found out about this. He was stalking something near and dear to her heart: a large blue butterfly.

The butterfly fluttered across the tall grass, drifting lazily. It floated with whimsy that only a few creatures could hope to mimic.

The young dragon stayed perfectly still as his prey drifted toward him. It was only for a second, but his perfect muscle control made it possible for him to quiet even his beating heart. The stealth master moved ever so slightly, digging his claws into the ground to pounce on his prey. He was so close, he could almost taste—

“Hey, slow down, Sweetie Belle!!”

Like the trained hunter he was, Nel turned his attention to the new noise before going back to his prey. …Sadly, that target had been scared away by the noise. With a nearly silent sigh, Nel sat up in the tall grass, looking for the source of the sound. …But, that wasn’t what he found. The dragon went down hard as a pony ran into him full force! He rolled once or twice, but he was forced to stay down after that. For the second time that day, he was kept down by a wound, but it was the gash in his side this time. He had to stay down until the pain subsided. Once he was stable again, he pushed himself up, finding a familiar white unicorn on the ground beside him. “You okay?”

The unicorn rubbed her head, nursing another new bump. “Yeah, I’m fine. I did hit you kinda hard. Are you alright?”

He cocked his head, questioning what she meant for a moment. “Oh, don’t worry,” he waved off her concern, “You couldn’t hurt me if you tried.”

“Hey! You’re the dragon from earlier today.” An orange unicorn and a yellow earth pony trotted up as well. “I didn’t think we’d run into you again so soon.”

“Honestly, the feeling’s mutual…” He rubbed his side, soothing the pain a little more. “I’m pretty sure I don’t have enough pony friends, so my name’s Nel. It’s nice to meet you all.”

The three ponies smiled at him. It wasn’t every day they met such a friendly dragon. “I’m Scootaloo,” the pegasus announced, “My name’s Sweetie Belle,” the unicorn stated, “And I’m Apple Bloom,” the earth pony claimed, “And we’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders! Yay!!”

Nel cringed at the sudden cheer. His hearing was one of his most sensitive attributes. Much louder and his ears would have started ringing. …But, he still had to question it. “Cutie Mark Crusaders?” Glancing at the three, he quickly found that none of them had Cutie Marks. “So, I take it you all are helping each other to get your Cutie Marks?”

“Eeyup,” Apple Bloom chimed, “It’s really fun too!”

“More like uneventful,” Scootaloo chided, “None of us have had any luck.”

“And we’ve tried everything!” Sweetie Belle added, “We’ve even gotten into a lot of trouble with this stuff…”

“Hm…” He tapped his claws on his own obsidian, thinking over his next response. “Well, I’m sure you haven’t tried everything. Otherwise, you’d have them by now.” He glanced at the sky. “I’ve got an idea. I’m gonna be in Ponyville for a while, so, while I’m here, how about I help you all with your, uh, problem?”

The three stared at him, completely dumbfounded. “R-really?” Scootaloo began, “You’d really help us?”

“Sure!” he mellowed, “Just like how every wyvern deserves to fly, every pony deserves a Cutie Mark! I’d be happy to help you all find yours.”

“Thanks!” Apple Bloom chirped. She didn’t think they’d ever be able to say that they’d added a dragon to their group. …But, then again, the day was full of surprises for them.

It was an odd thing. Fluttershy could barely place the sound she heard. It was almost an hour after most all of her little critters had gone to bed and even Nel was supposed to be asleep, but she still heard something from the room he resided in. She quietly followed the sound, distinguishing it as a song when she reached Nel’s place of rest. She’d never heard a song quite so beautiful or sad. She quietly opened the door, peaking in. “Nel?”

The young wyvern was looking out the window at the full moon over head. He was absently singing as he looked into the terrain lit by the pale moon’s light. His soprano voice was perfect for the song, but the words were a bit of a mystery.

“Um, Nel?” she called a little louder. She almost felt wrong with the way he stopped and turned his glowing green eyes to her again. “Is everything okay?”

He was silent for a moment, letting his large eyes drift away from hers. “I guess…” He didn’t seem to be all there. “I was just thinking…”

She joined him at the window, hoping to give him some type of comfort. “What were you thinking about? I-if you don’t mind telling me, that is…”

He shook his head. “No, it’s fine…” He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts. “You know… Over Dragon Territory, the clouds are a lot like over the Everfree Forest. They change on their own… But, there, we use it for pillows.” He didn’t notice the questioning look on her face, but still answered the next question. “Clouds there can help you sleep better. So, the flying dragons take some and give it to the lightning beast to get the electricity sucked out.” He let out a short chuckle, thinking of the time his brother had forgotten about that part of the process and got a shock to remember. “Back home, I have a pillow made of clouds… When I tried to go to sleep… I thought about that pillow a-and then I thought about home…” He trailed off, shrinking slightly. “…I miss home…” He tried to wipe his eyes clean, but the tears started running too fast.

Fluttershy quickly grabbed him, pulling him into a hug. “Oh, don’t worry,” she cooed, using her most soothing tone, “You’ll be able to go home soon. Everything will be alright.”

Nel didn’t even try to fight it. He accepted the pony’s affection without a fuss. He was a strong kitten. He didn’t show when he was in pain. He kept his anger in check. He was almost always able to put on a smile for someone else’s benefit. ...But, even he had a breaking point. Something told him that he wasn’t going to be able to go back home with the way things were going. It worried him and made his heart hurt to think that. He wanted to go home. He wanted to see his brother and sister again. He wanted to go back to being a simple hunter again instead of being a grizzled warrior.

Fluttershy really hoped this ended soon. She wasn’t sure if Nel could take this for very long. It worried her to see the kitten in such a fragile state. Cradling the young dragon, she couldn’t help but wonder: what was that song? …And why did it suit him so perfectly?

Nel looked at the forest of apple trees from the outside fence of Sweet Apple Acres. He knew that the Crusaders met there and they’d invited him over today, but he couldn’t help but think about what they did normally. Sweetie Belle had said that they get into a lot of trouble with their schemes to get their Cutie Marks. So, what did they do? He took a breath and headed in. What was the worst that could happen? With him there, they’d be able to avoid the trouble. …Or most of the trouble at least. He stopped abruptly as he nearly walked into a large—very large—stallion with a red coat and a strawberry blond mane. “Eep! Uh, hi?”

The stallion just looked at him, keeping a perfectly neutral expression. He didn’t even return the wyvern’s greeting.

He thought that was a little odd to say the least. Most ponies—stallions, mares and even foals—greeted him, but this one didn’t. “Um, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo invited me. A-are they still around?”

“Eeyup,” he bleated, pointing to a different row of trees nearby. He didn’t say anything else.

“T-thanks,” he meowed and went along his way. He found it slightly strange. He’d so defiantly faced down a monster from the bottom of Tartarus that was easily three times that stallion’s size, but he was made nervous simply by this stallion’s mass alone.

“Nel!”

The kitten looked up in time to see an orange pegasus soaring toward him. “Hey, Scoot—she’s coming right toward me…” He didn’t have enough time to move out of the way before Scootaloo hit him. He was able to avoid hitting any of his injuries as they rolled to get rid of their excess momentum. Once they stopped, he found himself under Scootaloo. “Nice landing, ace,” he teased.

Scootaloo smiled, trying to hide her reddening face. She’d never been quite so close to any pony of the opposite sex. “Yeah, flying is the easy part now. Landing is what’s got me stumped…” She quickly got off of the dragon before helping him up.

“I’d give you some pointers, but my flying is a lot different from your flying.” He opened his wing showing the butterfly bandages holding his healing wing closed. “And I don’t think I’ll be able to show you that anytime soon, either…”

Scootaloo and Nel started walking through the orchard together. “How are you healing?” she asked, “It’s been like four days since that monster attacked.”

“And five days since my wing got slashed,” he stated, “Give it two more days and I’ll be flying with the best of them!” He gave her a friendly nudge. “And you too.”

“Hey!” She returned the playful nudge, but twice as hard. “I’m a good flier! …I’m just not a good land-er…”

“Like I said, I’ll give you a hand with that part.” He was almost surprised with what he found. “Huh?”

A large tree house was sitting in the midst of the orchard! It even stretched into the apple tree it was part of with an observatory.

“You all have a clubhouse in the orchard?” He followed Scootaloo up the ramp to the door.

“It’s pretty cool, huh? Apple Bloom put in a lot of work on this place.” She looked around, taking pride in her friend’s work since she wouldn’t. It always made her happy to think of the place the Crusaders could call their own. She opened the door for the dragon to follow her in. “Hey, we’re here!”

Nel followed her in, but froze as he found two extra pairs of eyes on him. He knew about Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom—he was around them the most—but the purple unicorn and the pinto colored earth pony were a complete mystery to him. “Uh, hi?”

The two new ponies smiled at him. “Hi,” the pinto pony chuckled as he approached the dragon. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Pipsqueak. Just call me Pip.” He spoke with a very distinctive cockney accent.

“And I’m Dinky Doo,” the purple unicorn chimed, slipping around the only colt in the room.

Nel sighed. “I hate that… Every time I meet a pony, their name always make makes mine sound like gibberish…” It never failed either. Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Applejack, even that mare from Trottingham, Milky Way, they all made his name sound like nonsense. “My name is Neliel Tsu Valshte, but you all can call me Nel.”

“That’s a funny name,” Dinky mused, but then again, she was the last one to try to judge someone before getting to know them.

“A funny name for a funny cat,” he purred, “It’s in another language. That’s why it sounds weird.” He circled Pipsqueak. “But, then again, I kinda expected to be the strangest looking one here, but I guess I lost that contest…”

“Hey!” Even while trying to act indignant, Pip couldn’t help but fall into the chorus of laughter that filled the clubhouse.

“Oh yeah!” Sweetie Belle dug in her bag. “Nel, since you’re gonna be helping us out, I thought you should get one of these.” She pulled a dark red bandana with a blue and yellow patch on it.

Nel looked at the bandana for a moment, noting that all of the ponies in the room had the blue and yellow insignia on their person in some way.

Pipsqueak wore the symbol on a scarf around his neck.

Dinky had it on a hairclip connected to the ribbon tying her mane back.

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had the mark on bandanas of their own, all tied around their necks.

It really was like being invited into a secret club. Nel took the bandana with a grin and tied it on around his neck. He’d already gotten into the habit of wearing the red gem around his neck, so why not add something else? “Thanks,” he chuckled, looking at the bandana. He’d never been part of a club or anything like this in Dragon Territory. It was fun just being a frivolous child.

“Hey, are you sure about this?” Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash and Nel sat atop a cliff not too far from Ponyville. The three of them were there for a very big day: the day Nel would take flight once more! …But, his choice of stress tests was beautifully questionable.

“Now, now, Scoots,” Nel chided, “Don’t you know? I’m never sure of anything!” He opened his wing, grimacing at the scar there. “The doctor said that I should be able to fly now. I wanted to try one of the most stressful flying techniques out there to test out the integrity of my wing.” It was just too bad that the doctor also said the scar was going to follow him into adulthood. “Besides,” he spun around to face the two, “Who better to have around than the fastest and second fastest Pegasi in Ponyville? If something goes wrong, you two can catch me.”

The two Pegasi looked at one another. It was a bad idea and they all knew it. What if they couldn’t catch him in time? Sure he was a dragon, but a fall from this high was a death sentence for most any creature. It was survivable for an older dragon, but it was a death wish for a kitten like him.

“Ready?” He stepped up to the cliff’s edge, looking over at the ground far below. He breathed in the fresh air, reveling in the strong breeze. He’d missed this. Flying made him feel free. That was the same thing he’d heard from that griffon and it was the same way he felt about it all. It made him feel free. He glanced back at the two Pegasi.

Both Rainbow and Scootaloo were ready to take off as soon as he did! They would do everything in their power to catch him.

Without anymore hesitation, Nel leapt off the cliff. It was relaxing to simply enjoy the breeze, but it was an absolute adrenaline rush to go into free fall like this! It was something didn’t experience back in Dragon Territory. The skies were something far too dangerous for a young wyvern like him. It was only thanks to his connections that he was able to learn how to fly at all! With a smirk, the dragon opened his wings. He felt some stress on his newly healed wing, but it held together perfectly! He expertly caught the air and flew with the two Pegasi serving as his safety net.

It was an amazing thing to not only see a dragon fly, but to fly with one as well! Even though his wings were part of his arms, he flew just as blissfully as they did.

Scootaloo flew beside her friend. Even with the strong obsidian blade on the edges, his wings against hers was a friendly and welcomed feeling. She actually wondered if he knew what that was to Pegasi. He knew ponies, but he obviously didn’t know enough. Did he know that was a sign of affection for Pegasi? Even if he did, she decided to ignore it for the time being and just enjoy the flight.

Rainbow Dash was flying above them and spotted the odd touch. One part of her questioned if it was a fluke, but the other questioned if he’d done it on purpose. …But, of course, if he had, then what did that mean for their friendship, or was it more than that?

Now that he had his wing back, Nel was as cheerful as the day he’d learned to fly! He strutted down the streets of Ponyville with a wide grin on his face. He was happy to be around such friendly ponies. It was a welcomed change from the cold, mean spirited dragons back home. Above all, the young dragon couldn’t help but think about his new friends and even the mare that had so happily taken him in.

Without a doubt, Fluttershy was the kindest pony Nel had ever encountered. Honestly, it was to be expected from the Element of Kindness. She was deathly afraid of adult dragons, but her fascination with the younger dragons in Ponyville had prompted her to take him in. She’d selflessly taken him in and was the main pony looking after his wellbeing.
Nel was glad he’d been taken in by the gentle pony, but he did have to think about it all. He was staying at her cottage, sleeping in her bed, eating her food… How was he going to pay her back for all of this? Sitting by the fountain in Town Square, he couldn’t get that thought out of his mind. With all that she’d done, how would he repay her? The thought swam in his head for most of the day, but he’d come up with only half of an answer for it. He’d have to pay her back for all the food, the room and board, taking her bedroom and all the other precious commodities he’d taken from her. He snapped his fingers. “I’ll get a job.” That was the best answer he could think of. Jumping up, he took to the air and went to find himself some work.

“No…” The black wyvern sat up in a tall tree, marking on a map he’d made. He marked the locations with a sliver of coal. “I can’t dig up gems like Spike,” he mused, marking off Rarity’s Carousel Boutique, “I’m not as strong as Apple Bloom or Applejack,” he stated, marking off Sweet Apple Acres, “And I’m not so sure about baking with my flames…” The last time he tried anything of that nature, he’d burned his meal. He let out a heavy sigh. “And I’m not qualified to work anywhere else…” Maybe he wouldn’t be getting a job today.

“Ugh!”

The kitten’s ears perked up at the sudden noise. He shoved his map back into his bag and looked around for the source of the sound.

On the ground, there was a mare struggling with a large box. The pegasus struggled with the package, but she failed to get it far before having to put it back on the ground. Even using her wings, she couldn’t get it very far.

“Hm?” The black dragon got down from his perch and darted over to help the pegasus. Before he was even seen, he lifted one side as she lifted the other. “You looked like you needed some help,” he stated quickly.

The mare looked around the box, but couldn’t see his face. “Oh, uh, thanks,” she chirped. She walked the box over to a house with a thatched roof and knocked on the door. “I didn’t think any pony was going to help me!”

“Well, I just thought it’d be good to be nice…” He helped her carry the box into the house of a unicorn and his earth pony friend. …Though, he highly doubted that they were just friends. Setting the box down, he caught the confused look on the pegasus mare’s face, but remained professional.

“Thanks, Ditzy,” the unicorn chirped, giving the mare her bits, “I didn’t think it was that big.” He went to Nel and gave him several bits as well. “You’re always doing something for some pony, huh? Thanks for the help.”

“It wasn’t a problem,” he purred before making a quick exit with the pegasus. No matter what, he and Fluttershy would always have that in common: they both hated too much attention. Once out, he sighed, trying to retain his calm composure.

“Thank you.”

Nel quickly turned, finding the grey pegasus trotting toward him. “Oh… Really, i-it was nothing.” He went into his bag, retrieving the bits he’d gotten. “Um, don’t these belong to you?”

“Oh, no, no,” she giggled, “That’s yours. You do the work, you get the pay.” It was nice to see someone so young and so willing to help.

He paused for a moment. He knew the mechanics of a job, but he’d never actually been a part of it. He’d especially never seen had a pony pay him for helping. Any time he’d gotten money, it had been as a hand out, not for a service. With a shrug, he put the money away. It was apparently his now anyway. “Um, ma’am? I admit I haven’t been looking for long, but do you know anywhere I can go to find a job?”

The pegasus hesitated. He seemed nice and she knew he was a strong little one with the way he handled that package. “Hm… Well, why not ask for a job at Sweet Apple Acres? I’m sure they’d love to have the help.”

“The only place they need help is in the orchard and I’m not strong enough to knock the apples down like them,” he stated, walking with the pegasus. He had a very good balance between strength and speed, but he didn’t have enough to excel in either.

“Hm…” She thought of the way he’d coordinated the battle six days ago. It took one with serious thought power to do something like that in so little time. “Ms. Rarity told me that she was looking for an assistant. Maybe you can keep her in line.”

“Doesn’t the other dragon, Spike, fill that position?” He could still imagine the times he’d seen Spike swoon over the unique unicorn.

“Yeah, he does, huh?” She couldn’t keep from giggling at Spike’s infatuation with her. She was sure it would turn into something more sooner or later, but he seemed like a love sick puppy sometimes. She thought again, but then glanced at the small dragon.

He was smaller than her, but he seemed as mature as her daughter. His newly healed wing was flight approved and ready for use. He’d even gone off and made a map of Ponyville in his notebook! “Hm…” He turned his large green eyes to meet the mare’s yellow. “Do you think the post office is hiring?”

A wide grin crossed her face. “You’ve definitely come to the right mare for that!” She started strutting down the streets of Ponyville with more pride. “I’m the town’s mail mare.”

“So, I have to ask you for a job, then?” he asked with a chuckle. He stopped following as soon as he realized where they’d gone: the post office.

The post office in Ponyville was a cozy little building. It was a nice building and was well kempt.

Nel looked up as soon as he noticed that the mail mare had gone in already. He hastily followed her in. “S-so, uh, would it be possible to get a job here?”

The pegasus was going through the many letters and such in the office, gathering those that belonged in town to deliver to the ponies in Ponyville. “Yes, but it’s a demanding job.” She let out a short chuckle. “It’s a wonder that I ever get it done on time…”

“Huh? What do you mean?” He couldn’t see anything wrong with the pegasus. It did strike him as odd that she didn’t just fly back to the post office, but that was because he’d been around Rainbow Dash so much.

The grey pegasus leaned in close, beckoning for him to do the same. Without a word, she let one of her eyes go askew! “I’ve got a lazy eye…! I can’t fly straight because of it.” With a little effort, she put it back on center.

That answered that question. Normally, Nel was incredibly nervous under a pony’s scrutiny, but he was completely comfortable around this pegasus. Now, he could see that it was because she wasn’t looking directly at him as much. He cocked his head, trying to roll the information around. “That’s… Actually kinda cool…” He’d never met a pony with a lazy eye.

“Thanks,” she giggled, “But, if you want to work here, then I have one question for you. Are you ready?”

It was strange, even by Nel’s standards. This mare was obviously old enough to do whatever she wanted, but she acted like a big filly! Nel barely contained his laughter. Putting on a determined look, he let his grin show through. “Bring it on!”

The mare was actually quite glad that he had a good sense of humor. “My question is simple, but it can have any number of answers. My question is: when can you start?”

“H-hey!”

Nel flinched, stopping abruptly at the sudden call. This had happened to him several times in his past two weeks in Ponyville. It was usually from a pony that wanted to thank him for protecting the town. Looking around, he relaxed a little—only a little—when he saw that the pony vying for his attention was a colt close to Scootaloo’s age. “Uh, you called me?”

The unicorn trotted up to him in a hurry. “Yeah, uh, I was wondering if you could help me out.” The colt had a grayish coat and a choppy, dull orange mane. He seemed nervous and jittery, but nowhere near as anxious as Nel was.

“Um, okay…” Surprisingly, this wasn’t uncommon. Every other day, Nel was being asked for favors and help from ponies, but normally it was from ponies he knew. This random pony was someone he’d never met before. He was sure he’d probably seen the colt once or twice around town, but he couldn’t figure out where from. “What do you need?”

The colt shifted nervously, almost as if he had something to hide. His horn popped alight with a pale blue glow as he retrieved something from his bag. “You hang out with Sweetie Belle a lot,” he stated, giving him the envelope, “So, would you give this to her?”

The kitten took the note, keeping a neutral expression when he saw the heart sticker holding it closed. “Okay…” He tucked the note into his bandana instead of shoving it into his bag. “Um, you wouldn’t happen to be Snips, would you?”

He put on a friendly grin. “Yup, that’s me!” He suddenly became oddly eager. “Why? Did Sweetie Belle say something about me?” He was just a little too happy to have the marshmallow white unicorn as the topic of their conversation.

Nel bit his lip. “Y-yeah, she has said something about you…” He didn’t think it would be a good idea to tell him what she’d said, though. His mind went back to the conversation the Crusaders had about crushes and their opposing sexes. …The comments he’d heard about this unicorn were none too flattering. “I-it’s nothing!” He turned to make a hasty retreat. “I’ll get it to her in no time!”

“Thanks!” Snips chirped before going his own way. He galloped off to meet up with his friends: another unicorn and an earth pony.

Nel didn’t pay them too much attention. He took flight and got his distance before letting his mind wrap around the thought. Why would Sweetie Belle turn away a keeper like him? He’d be the last to ask about a pony’s appearance since he was one of the strangest sights in Ponyville, but even so, this colt seemed nice. …So, what was the deal between them?

On days like this, nothing was better than a stroll through town. Sweetie Belle was one of many ponies that could find the simple pleasure in this. Trotting through town, she hummed a merry tune and looked around at all the ponies she passed by. She knew most of them from living in Ponyville so long, but the merchants on the streets were the ones that confused her. Was Ponyville really that perfect for business? She’d have to ask Applejack sometime. The white unicorn would probably see her again soon any—

A large branch feel from the tree the unicorn trotted under. It hit the ground hard and barely missed hitting her!

She counted herself lucky to have missed the massive branch, but that only made her question what had made it fall. Looking up, she saw a familiar sight in the tree.

A young black wyvern clung to the tree, digging his claws into the bark. He honestly thought that branch was going to hold him. Once he caught his breath, he looked down and found a grinning unicorn looking up at him. “Oh, hi, Belle,” he meowed nervously.

“Hi, Nel,” she giggled as he made a surprisingly nimble landing, “What were you doing up there?”

He let out a short sigh. “I was going to take a nap, but my tree limb broke…” He looked at the unicorn’s green eyes. “What were you doing?”

“Taking a walk,” she stated, going back to her comfortable stroll. A smirk crossed her face as the dragon joined her.

“Uh, b-by the way,” he stammered, “I was kind of wondering about you—er you and a colt I met yesterday…” He pulled the letter Snips had given him. “He wanted me to pass this along to you.”

She levitated the note in front of her, opening it with little effort. “A love letter?” she questioned aloud, “Who’s it from?”

“A unicorn named Snips,” he stated, “He was really nervous about it, but he was really excited about… You…?” He trailed off once he read Belle’s expression. She definitely didn’t look happy.

She let out a heavy sigh. “He really went to you?” she asked in an annoyed tone, “I’ve told him a hundred times that I don’t like him, but he still tries to make me!”

“Really?” He didn’t think that was their connection. If nothing else, he thought that Sweetie Belle would be flattered at that notion. “Well, why don’t you like him? He seems nice enough. …Kinda jittery, but I’m really one to talk…”

She managed to keep from laughing at the comment, but a grin still crossed her lips. “Snips has liked me for years, but he’s so immature! He still thinks that teasing a filly is the way to tell her that he likes her…”

“So, I take it the spitball I found in your mane the other day was from him?” He couldn’t imagine a colt like Snips doing that. …But, then another thought caught the kitten. “Question… If you don’t like Snips, then what are you looking for in a colt?”

She hesitated. It was easy to see what she didn’t like, but what did she like? It was an interesting question, she had to admit that. “W-well…” She paused, trying to think of an answer. “I guess it’d have to be some pony mature, but fun. He has to be smart, too, and friendly.” She paused for a moment, looking up at the clouds. “Some pony dependable—oh! And some pony who can get along with me and my friends. That’d be the perfect pony for me.”

He let out a short chuckle. “That sounds like the perfect mate for just about anyone…” He trailed off toward the end. It could have been his imagination, but had she listed most of his traits?

Dragons like the Narga were known quite well as nocturnal creatures. They would generally hunt at night and sleep most of the day away. That could have been the biological reason for Nel’s sleep habits, but he chose to ignore that. After almost three weeks of living with Fluttershy, he’d learned how to tell when she was asleep or awake. Tonight, as soon as the timid pony fell asleep, he snuck out. Scaling the wall of her cottage, he made his way to the ground. A night time stroll wasn’t too much to ask for, was it? …But, he’d have to get past the security bunny first.

Angel Bunny had apparently had the same idea as the young dragon. He was hopping around, checking on the other animals around Fluttershy’s cottage. He came to a quick stop once he saw Nel and stood to confront the wyvern. What was he planning on doing?

He cautiously looked around, making sure the other animals weren’t awake. Quietly, he shushed the rabbit. “I couldn’t sleep. I’m just going for a little walk. Don’t tell Ms. Fluttershy, alright?”

It was only a few days into the dragon’s stay in Ponyville when Angel noticed that he could almost perfectly communicate with him instead of the game of charades he usually played with Fluttershy. The bunny raised a brow, thumping one of his large paws at the wyvern. Where exactly did he plan to go at this hour?

“Huh… Good point… I guess walking through town would be kinda useless, huh? No pony’s awake at this hour…” He shook off the thought. “I guess I’m gonna take a little fly to tire myself out. Ms. Doo doesn’t need me at the post office tomorrow anyway.”

The bunny couldn’t fight that argument. He shook his head. Nel was a trustworthy wyvern. What was the worst that could happen to him? So long as he was back before Fluttershy woke up, there was no problem.

“Can do!” the wyvern meowed, “I’ll be back soon, Angel!” Without anymore hesitation, he spread his wings and took flight, heading off into the night. With the work the weather team did, the skies were beautifully cleared and perfect for a midnight flight.

Ponyville was quite peaceful at night. It was hard to find any pony that wasn’t out cold, excluding the Golden Oaks Library.

Nel made a quiet circle of Ponyville, pointing out the homes of ponies he knew, landmarks he’d photographed and the homes of his fri—“What’s that?” He descended on the forest of apple trees known as Sweet Apple Acres. He’d expected the family of farmers to be sound asleep in preparation for the day to come, but some pony was still awake and they were roaming the orchard. With practiced precision, he swooped down, landing in a tree before making his descent to the ground. Instinctively, he went into predator mode. What if the wandering pony was an intruder on Sweet Apple Acres? …Or worse, another monster from Tartarus. He silently stalked his prey, getting as close as possible.

The pony wandered the orchard aimlessly, completely oblivious to Nel’s presence. It was only until the pony heard his growling that they stopped to find the source of the terrifying sound.

The wyvern pounced! He jumped on the pony, putting them on their back in only a fraction of a second! ...But, he was smarter than that. He lifted his claws to strike, but hesitated long enough to identify the pony. “Apple Bloom?”

The youngest of the farmers looked up at her friend in a panic. She knew the dragon could move faster than she could follow, but this was a little much. “N-Nel? W-what’re you doin’?”

“Oh… Sorry…” He absently scratched at his scales. “With all the monsters and stuff, you can’t really blame me for being paranoid…”

“Yeah,” she giggled, but then a thought hit her. Her yellow cheeks turned a bright red. “Uh, ya mind gettin’ offa me?” She’d almost missed how awkward an embrace they’d made with the way he’d almost torn into her.

The kitten let out a squeak and hopped off of her. “Sorry!” He quickly helped her to her hooves, feeling awkward to be under her scrutiny again. “I guess not sleeping during the night makes me more absent minded…”

“Or a little more frisky,” she teased, going back on her path. She didn’t even need to look at him to see the embarrassment painting his face.

He managed to suppress his camouflage reflex before going to join her. “I know I can’t sleep, but why are you out here? Shouldn’t you be sleeping for apple bucking tomorrow?”

“Nah,” she chirped, “I’ll be okay. Anyway, don’t you sleep all day? Shouldn’t you be asleep?” She didn’t have any reservations about turning the question around on the nervous wyvern.

“Yes, I do sleep all day,” he purred, “But, that’s because I don’t have as demanding responsibilities as you.” He quickly scaled a tree and swiped two apples before getting back to the ground. “You know,” he began, “I’ve been talking to the other Crusaders. I got kinda curious about Sweetie Belle the other day, so…” He paused, feeling that familiar nervousness again. “I-is there any pony in town you like? You know, a-as more than a friend?”

Apple Bloom stopped in her tracks. That was something she’d been trying to give more thought over the years. It hung on her thoughts when she was growing and it took her attention every time she fell victim to a mare’s curse: heat. “Well… I-I dunno…” She couldn’t think of any pony she could really connect with in town. Her attention was brought back to reality by a red apple put into her line of vision. Looking up, she found the wyvern’s glowing green eyes and a grin on his face.

“It was just a question. You don’t have to grill yourself over it.” As soon as she took the apple, he found a spot under one of the many trees and sat down. He bit into the juicy apple as the pony sat beside him. “I mean, hell, I’m not an expert on girls. I just try not to think about it too much.” He knew what to look for in a mate and how to get their attention, but he highly doubted that presenting the biggest and best corpse would impress a pony the way it would a Narga. “You just need to let things happen naturally.”

“That’s what Applejack told me.” She looked at her reflection in the shiny red apple. The wyvern could definitely pick out a good apple when he wanted to. “And a lot of fillies I know have got special some ponies already!”

Nel let out a short chuckle and gave the earth pony a playful nudge. “Like I said, don’t worry about it! I’m sure you’ll find the perfect mate for you soon. I guess it’s just like your Cutie Mark: it’ll happen when it happens.” He took another bite of his apple, but he couldn’t help but think about the interesting marks his sharp teeth left in the apple.

She let out a short sigh. “Yeah, you’re right…” Taking a bite of her own apple, she couldn’t help but wonder about the dragon sitting next to her. “Do you have a special some pony?” As soon as the question left her mouth she regretted it. He was a dragon after all. What were the odds that he even liked ponies?

He opened his mouth to eat the rest of his apple—core and all—but he hesitated. “Well, no, but I don’t really know many ponies that would give a dragon a chance…” He was sure that even Rarity was still on the fence about Spike and not for his age.

That was strange. How often would a pony get the chance to make a relationship with a dragon? She would have thought that some ponies would have jumped at that chance! Immediately, she tried to think of something—anything really—to dispel the dragon’s nervousness. “W-well, I’d date a drag…” She tried to stop herself, but that failed the moment she let the thought slip.

A wide grin crossed the wyvern’s face. “Or really?” He playfully poked the pony. “You’d date a dragon? You better be careful, then! I might end up trying to seduce you.”

“I-I didn’t mean it like that! I meant I…” She tried to think of an excuse, but each one made her sound more suspicious. With a sigh, she quickly gathered her thoughts for a legitimate excuse. “It’s just… Well, Applejack, Big Macintosh and Granny Smith always told me that if I like someone it don’t matter if it’s another filly or a griffon or a dragon! …I just didn’t know what to say…” She let out a squeak when she was suddenly pushed over and, oddly enough, used as a pillow.

“Commendable values,” he meowed, laying on the filly’s side, “Dragons are kinda the same. Smaller dragons—dragons like me, actually—get ponies for mates all the time. It’s not like we just shun them for liking ponies.” He pulled up his tail, checking his quills. “I’m sure ponies don’t burn bridges just for who they like. Aren’t you all supposed to be tolerant?”

She was honestly amazed with the way he’d so easily made such an awkward topic into something so trivial. She actually wondered if he could do that with any topic. “You’re takin’ this well,” she giggled, “I thought you’d be nervous…”

“Oh, no, I’m nervous,” he purred, “I’ve just been taking lessons from Pinkie Pie. That pony’s screwy, but really fun. How is it?”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “If ya did her voice, you’d sound better,” she teased. She’d never actually had a moment like this with any pony. It was nice just talking freely with him like this. She actually wondered if he’d be free to talk like this again tomorrow night.

“Damn it!” Nel flew as fast as he could, trying to get back to Fluttershy’s cottage. Looking back toward the east, he could barely believe that he and Apple Bloom had stayed up all night just talking! He could imagine Angel’s face already. ...Or worse, even, Fluttershy’s panicked face. If his math was right, he only had a few more minutes until Fluttershy woke up and he had to be inside by then! He landed on the side of the cottage, latching onto the foliage that covered the house. Quietly, he pulled himself in the window he’d left open, closing it behind him to keep inconspicuous. He pulled back the covers to climb into bed, but hesitated when he heard the door open.

Fluttershy trotted in with an angry glare marring her normally angelic visage. “Just where have you been all night, mister?” she asked. Sadly, most of the vigor was stripped from her tone by the volume she demanded with.

He shrank away from the angered pegasus. “I-I was at Sweet Apple Acres, t-talking to Apple Bloom…” He didn’t think Fluttershy was capable of such anger. “I couldn’t sleep, so I went for a midnight fly a-and I saw her trotting around the orchard… I just wanted to help…”

Fluttershy had actually questioned the effectiveness of her stern stare against the wyvern. He was a trained hunter and he even fought the same monster that scared her stiff with only a growl! Her glare melted away as the kitten cowered from her. Even if he was a predator, he was still a child. She gave him an affectionate nuzzle. “It’s alright,” she cooed in her normal, soothing tone, “Just, please, don’t run off like that again.”

He quickly relaxed with the gentle touch. If nothing else, he was glad that Fluttershy didn’t stay mad for long. “Alright,” he purred, “Thanks… B-but, uh, how did you find out I’d left?” The blankets still had his hand prints in them from when he’d left! There was no way she’d been in there to check.

“Oh, Angel told me,” she said immediately, “He was so worried about you that he went to check on you before I woke up!”

“Huh?” Nel leaned over, spotting the white rabbit at the door. Though he was thankful that the bunny was worried about him, he was still annoyed that he sold him out so quickly. He looked back at the timid pegasus. “So, I’m not in trouble or anything, am I?”

“No, not this time,” she teased, “But, don’t make me worry like that again, little mister!” Almost immediately, she deflated, fidgeting the same as him. “I-if that’s okay with you…”

“Of course not,” he purred, returning her affectionate nuzzle. He didn’t want to worry her anymore than he had to. …And he desperately hoped he didn’t have to.

Cutie Mark Crusading

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.

Dragon Feed

Chapter 5
Dragon Feed

Ditzy Doo loved her job. She enjoyed being able to meet and greet just about every pony in town on her route. Her special talent came in handy with delivering the mail during harsh weather as well. She could read wind currents like no other could. It was always thought that her clumsiness and that lazy eye of hers gave her the appearance of the dumbest pony around, but, in truth, she was one of the smartest and most caring as well. And that’s exactly why she could notice the little wyvern that worked for her. “Nel? Are you alright?”

At the beginning of the day, the little dragon had practically dragged himself in. Even though he’d finished his mail sorting for the day he’d still taken a while to get focused as well as if he hadn’t gotten enough sleep. And even now, he was lethargically curled up under the front desk for some strange reason. He let out a groan. “I don’t know…” He looked up at the motherly pony as she looked at his tired eyes.

She’d never seen him like this. Normally, he’d come in brimming with life and enthusiasm, but he seemed dead to the world now. His nose was normally cold, but it was never wet, so she couldn’t tell there. Fire dragons always ran an internal temperature of at least a hundred and ten, but he seemed oddly cold now. She didn’t know enough about dragons to tell if he was sick, but the pathetic way he looked at her was what won her sympathy. “You know, Nel, if you need it, you can take the day off.”

He let out a sigh. “I might have to take you up on that offer…” If nothing else, he just hated making the ponies worry like this. Fluttershy worried, Ditzy Doo worried, even Rainbow Dash worried when she saw him like this! He squirmed out of his crevasse, staggering away from the counter. For whatever reason, the room was spinning now and his stomach felt worse than before. After only a few steps, he had to sit and it wasn’t completely voluntary. His back legs seemed to give out on him, putting him back on the floor.

Ditzy actually had to fight a grin when the kitten found himself on the floor again. “I take it that wasn’t on purpose?”

“No,” he replied, “The room moved…” He laid down again, trying desperately to make the spinning stop. “Now I really don’t feel good…” He’d been sick before, but never like this. His acute balance was suddenly thrown off, his smelting pot stomach was churning, and he even felt as though his steel scales were getting softer! Something was definitely wrong with him.

“Okay, now I’m sure of it: you’re sick.” Ditzy circled the small dragon, working to put him on his feet. “Come on. I’m taking you to the hospital.”

Nel was absolutely amazed. He never thought something like this would happen from being around ponies so long. He wasn’t allergic to the fine hairs of a pony’s coat. He didn’t get magic discharge from staying with unicorns so much. He didn’t even get altitude sickness from flying too high! He’d gotten something worse than that.

“Nel? Are you in here?” A purple unicorn pushed her way into the room. She smiled when she saw the drowsy dragon. “Hiya, big kitty, what’s up?”

Even in his tired state, Nel still smiled at her. “This is the second time I’ve ever gotten sick.” He shuddered. “Why didn’t anyone tell me it was such a miserable time of life?”

“You know what it means to be sick,” she stated, taking a spot beside his bed, “I thought you’d have put it together.” She didn’t think she’d see him here unless it was from injuries during another tussle with the monsters. It was actually unnerving to think of Nel in a hospital. “So, my mom asked me to take your place sorting mail at the post office today. I kinda figured something was wrong when she did. What happened?”

He let out a heavy sigh. “The doctors are going by general knowledge on dragons, but they called it a lack of nutrition.” He picked an emerald out of the bowl of gems and diamonds beside his bed. “My scales are softer, the flame sack in my throat is swollen and even my venom is losing potency…” He crunched into the emerald. It was a good thing that dragon enamel never deteriorated.

“So what? Do you just need to eat a couple bowls of gems and get your strength back?” Dinky knew some things could be simple like that, but it was hard to think of this being like that.

He grimaced. “…No, I need to get back on a normal diet for Narga…” He let out a short sigh. “…And that includes eating meat…”

Dinky shuddered at the thought. Dragons really were terrifying when one got down to it. She couldn’t help but think back to the monster she’d witnessed him kill. The sound of his obsidian cutting through bone and spinal tissue still haunted her and made her stomach churn. He was carnivorous. She could see it in his body structure. The image of his animalistic maw of fangs digging in and tearing through the demon’s flesh flashed through her mind again.

“Sorry…”

She almost visibly cringed at the somber sound of her draconic friend’s voice. The expression on his face wasn’t much better. “W-what are you apologizing for?”

He sighed. “The Narga are… Scarier than other dragons. Our name—our full name—means ‘hunting devil’ in the same language that my name is in. We’re known as those scary creatures that lurk in shadows waiting for that moment when we can tear out your jugular. I’m scary, I know. …I’ve scared Fluttershy and Apple Bloom too many times not to be scary…”

“Oh come on!” She gave him a quick jab. “You’re about as fearsome as Angel!” She’d admit that she was afraid of dragons, but Nel wasn’t a dragon to her. To her, he was one of her closest friends. She was almost amazed with the way he’d so easily gotten to her, but she made friends very easily anyway.

“Hey,” he chuckled, “I take pride in being an accomplished hunter. If I’m not appropriately fearsome, I’m not doing my job right.” He made a face, trying to make himself seem more like his animalistic roots dictate he should be. …But, his scary face gave way to a fit of laughter. “Until my scales harden again, I can’t really do much hunting anyway.” He crunched into a large sapphire.

“Spike’s probably gonna want to see that,” she stated, “Food’s always been given to him. He’s not a hunter like you.”

“His species isn’t made to be carnivorous anyway. He’s made to dig for gems and eat just about anything.”

“You really know a lot about dragons,” she stated, “But, I guess you should… How’d you learn it all?”

He wriggled in his bed. “I live with other dragons. It’s only natural that I’d learn about them.” He paused. “Plus my family’s kinda famous. I know every dragon in the forest and even a bunch in the mountains and volcanoes.” He smiled at the thought of another injury of his past. The week he’d broken his wing in the valleys, he’d gotten the joy of meeting his grandfather Lao and his grandmother Dora.

“I wish I could see your family in its prime.” As strange as it was, she’d taken after Twilight Sparkle over the years. Now that she was given the chance, she wanted to learn everything she could about dragons, especially the nightmarish Narga. “But, uh, I’m not sure if I could watch you hunting. …And eating…”

Nel sat in the room Fluttershy arranged for him, staring out the window at the crescent moon. After the past two days of eating only gems, his scales were back to their original steel hardness, but a problem still remained. He needed a normal diet for a Narga and that included eating meat. As much as he wanted to, he wasn’t just going to go and gut a cow to fill his maw. He didn’t want to go and kill off a cow from Ponyville. He made it an effort to never cross friendships and dietary habits. His sensitive ears could pick up Fluttershy’s snoring, no matter how light and dainty it was. There was no faking that. She was definitely asleep. He opened his window silently and scaled the wall to the ground.

Angel was fast asleep in his hut. He didn’t always worry after everything when Fluttershy needed a break.

Nel snuck past and looked at the daunting sight before him. It was the one place he knew he could hunt to his heart’s content: the Everfree Forest. He could smell it. There were plenty of animals in there both dangerous and those that were delegated as prey. His mouth watered at the thought of tasting blood that wasn’t tainted, at tearing flesh for food and not for battle. The adolescent dragon wasn’t in the mood to wait for a decision! His stomach was full of gems and he needed meat! He took a deep breath before heading into the forest.

The Everfree Forest was a terrifying place at night. The darkness seemed more eerie now that it had cold shadows mixed in. Its depths seemed deeper with the less light shed there.

Nel loved this! It was the same as the harsh darkness that blanketed the forest floor of his homeland. Hunting here was sure to win him some dinner.

A twig snapped.

The dragon went immediately into predator mode. He hid in the underbrush, his scales flexing to help him blend in better. His green eyes scanned the area and, in no time, found something he could pounce on.

A shadow trotted through the darkness. It was a four legged creature and seemed to move through the forest with familiarity instead of with sheer cunning.

Nel tracked the shadow for only a moment before he got ready for a meal. It had to have been the same size as a pony! He would eat heartily tonight!

The shadow hesitated, ears perking up. It swiveled, turning in the same direction as the dragon. It stared into the darkness for a moment before it did anything else. “Who is there?” the shadow called with a thick accent, “Come and face me, predator, if you dare!”

That was a first. Nel had never had prey that bold before. …But, then again, if this figure was that large and could speak, then maybe he should refrain from eating it. …If only for a moment. “Uh, hello? Are you a pony?” He stayed in the darkness, not willing to take a chance on whomever or whatever this was.

The shadow seemed to relax a little. “I am a zebra, and we do not run. Who would you be little one?”

He felt as though he would regret this, but Nel padded his way out of the brush, flattening his scales once more. “I’m Neliel Tsu Valshte… Who are you?”

The clouds move away from the moon, shedding light on the figures in the dark. The shadow turned her turquoise eyes to the small dragon. A smile came to her face as the adolescent dragon seemed to cower away from her. “A Nargacuga on a hunt? Or maybe this is a type of stunt?” She offered a hoof to the dragon. “Tell me what it is that ails you, or are you simply here to find something new?”

Nel was honestly surprised. He’d never seen an actual zebra back in his homeland, but his grandfathers’ stories kept him wondering all the time. “W-well, I—” His stomach growled loudly and his camouflage reflex turned his face a bright shade of red.

“So it is a hunt for your next meal,” she stated, “This is a task you must carry out with great zeal.”

“I do, it’s just hard to find anything to eat in this town…” He let out a short sigh. “I’m sorry to have interrupted your, uh, night time stroll, I guess, but I have to find something to eat.” If this was the same Zecora Twilight had told him about, then he would definitely have to find a time and come visit her.

“Your hunt requires such persistence,” she said, “But, perhaps I may be of some assistance.” She pointed down a beaten path. “Down this path, beyond the Heart’s Desire, there is easy prey that even the youngest dragon can acquire.”

He looked down the path as well. “Thanks,” he meowed, but then a thought crossed his mind. “Uh, not that I’m not gracious or anything, but, why would you help me to, uh, you know, eat some poor animal’s entrails?”

The zebra’s smile was oddly cryptic. “Your draconic customs are much different from ours. You are too used to hunting while your prey runs or cowers. For you, I hold no ill will and I never wish to be the subject of your species’ impressive skill.”

A smirk crossed his face. He quickly bowed to the wise zebra. “Thank you for your help. If I ever can, I’ll be sure to repay you.” He gave her a wave as he got on the path. She seemed quite nice. It’s a wonder as to why Ponyville’s inhabitants considered her so unlikable in the past. He slowed only a little to smell the flowers, but that didn’t last. Instead, he continued on to find a large, open field.

The field was almost as large as the expanse of free air between the forest and Ponyville. It was unobstructed by bushes or rouge trees, but it did have what he was looking for.

There was game here—large game. They all seemed very large, probably the same size as Big Macintosh, but, something like the ponies, they didn’t seem to have any biological features meant for self preservation. Its legs looked too heavy to kick. It didn’t have horns or claws or even spiked tails! They were all just there waiting to be slaughtered. …And Nel was happy to oblige.

As opposed to the sad sight she’d seen the week before, Ditzy Doo was amazed to see the little wyvern strolling into the post office. “Well, hello, Nel,” she chimed.

The kitten jumped over the counter, landing beside her with expert precision. “Hello, hello, Ms. Ditzy Doo,” he purred, “How are you today?”

“I’m fine, but I should ask you that,” she giggled. It was amazing how easily he’d turned his condition around. Before he was struggling to stay awake, but now he was as lively as ever! His scales were shimmering and even his eyes seemed brighter. Whatever he’d done, it must have done the trick.

“I feel a lot better now,” he meowed, grabbing his bag for deliveries, “It’s kinda hard to do, but Rarity taught me her gem finding spell, so my scales won’t soften so long as there’s gems to eat.”

“And, what about, uh, the other staple of your diet?” She’d heard from her daughter and even noticed it about the wyvern’s smile that meat was his first choice of foods. She just had to wonder where he got his food now.

He gave her a devilish grin that did not inspire confidence. “I have my sources. I’m going to start hunting trips every week.” That would keep him nice and healthy for a good long time. He pulled a letter from his bandana. “But, enough of that. I have a letter that needs to go out of town. Is there any way to get it there?”

“Ah, you’re in luck my little friend,” she chimed, “There’s a pegasus coming to get the mail that travels out of town. He’s going all over by the looks of it.” She took his letter and put it in the pile, but she couldn’t help but question it. Who was he sending letters to?

At the end of a work day, the last thing any pony wants to see is something to give them extra work. Days like this were exactly what Ditzy hated. The mail mare flew through town, dropping off mail the way she did before Nel showed up. Before, it was just her delivering mail and, every so often, her daughter came in to help her sort. Today, she’d been dragged to all the edges of town.

Applejack got a letter from her cousin in Appleoosa.

Twilight Sparkle got a letter from her brother in the Crystal Empire.

Thunder Lane and his brother got a package from their parents in Cloudsdale.

After flying around so much, she just wanted to get done and go home. …But, that was why this sudden package annoyed her so much.

There was a large box sitting in the post office. It was obviously from out of town with all of the stamps on it. The box was, oddly enough, cool to the touch and it was very well sealed. On the side it read “Time Sensitive.”

“Hm?” The grey pegasus looked the box over for a moment before her confusion and curiosity piqued.

On one of the labels, it was written in scrawling script, “To the Little Black Dragon,” the last part—a name most likely—was written in another language.

“Little Black Dragon,” she muttered, and remembered seeing Nel’s notebook. The name seemed to be in the same language that he wrote in. With as often as the young wyvern had been checking the incoming mail over the past few days, she’d almost wondered what he was waiting for.

As if on cue, the black dragon came into the post office with his usual exuberance. “Hiya, Ditzy Doo,” he meowed, “I’m kinda glad I caught you. I forgot my bag earlier.”

“Hey, Nel,” she called, “Nice timing. Can you read this?” She tapped a hoof on the label, hoping her hunch was right.

He looked the box over for a second. “Hm?” For a moment, he looked confused, but then his eyes grew wide. “Oh my gosh!” He practically leapt onto the desk. “This is for me!” His sharp claws sliced through the cardboard and tap with ease, but he stopped when he almost cut through glass as well.

Inside the box was a metal milk crate with four milk bottles in it. The crate had four markings that somewhat resembled the language Nel wrote in.

The kitten wore a large smile on his face. He was surprised they were using those markings. Somehow, he never expected them to take his thought into consideration.

“What’s this?” She absently pulled one of the bottles out to get a better look at it. She’d never thought any pony would send milk through the mail system.

“This is cream,” he meowed, “I know a pony with a dairy who made it especially for me when I was staying with her.” He popped the cap off of one bottle, taking in its sweet aroma. Cold or warm, it was all delicious to him. …Though, the noble hunter did think about his image now. Looking directly at Ditzy, he put on a serious face. “Don’t tell any pony about the way I reacted.”

She made a gesture of zipping her lips closed. “You’re secret’s safe with me, little guy. …If some pony finds out about your crazy cream addiction, it won’t be from me…”

Author's Note

This is just a filler chapter to explain Nel's diet. He can't eat meat as often around ponies after all... Plus, I wanted to include Zecora for the hell of it.
Speaking of Zecora, I wasn't sure of her vocabulary. If anyone wants to give me some advice on that, I'll be sure to take it into consideration.

Black Heart

Chapter 6
Black Heart

Days like this were quite nice and quiet. They were the days that made the days of Discord seem like a distant memory. It was days like this that made Twilight cherish her ability as the sixth element. Arranging the bookshelves, she let the calm feel of the day wash over her. …That is, until the library door swung open and slammed shut soon there after. “Huh? Hello?” Looking around, she was nearly taken off of her hooves when a familiar feline face darted to her.

“Twilight, please help me!” he begged, his large green eyes shimmering with worry. “I need to hide and my camo's not doing it today!” He looked back, peering out a window and spotting a unicorn, a pegasus and an earth pony hot on his trail! “And we have to hurry!”

Never one to turn down a friend’s requests, Twilight’s mind went into overdrive as she tried to find a way to help him out of his trouble. …Whatever it was. “You can hide down in the lab,” she said, directing him to the stairwell. What was it that had him so worried?

In a flash of green magic, a unicorn with a white coat appeared in the library. “Hah! I-I’m first,” she panted, but her victory was short lived as the others barged in and ran her over.

Making an entrance as grand as ever, the Cutie Mark Crusaders collapsed over one another into a pathetic heap on the library floor.

“Hello, girls,” Twilight giggled, “What’s going on?” Though she kept a grin on her face, it was hard not to question what they were doing. Was this why Nel needed her to hide him?

“I-it’s nothin’ Twilight,” Apple Bloom panted, struggling to catch her breath, “We’re just trin’ to find Nel!”

“Have you seen him?” Scootaloo was the first to jump up after her question. She was second only to Apple Bloom in stamina and, today, she was winning the competition.

“Well, yes, but why are you looking for him? Did he do something to you?” She couldn’t think of the little dragon doing anything intentionally malicious to them. He was a prankster, but he’d never hurt them. As a matter of fact, she was almost certain that they were some of his favorite ponies! Why were they hunting the hunter with such gusto?

The three young ponies smiled at her. “Tomorrow’s Hearts and Hooves Day,” they cheered in unison.

That made sense! …And yet it still raised a few more questions. The holiday was meant for lovers of all kinds. Whether it was a simple crush or a married couple’s date night, Hearts and Hooves Day was their time to shine! …So, did that mean that the three fillies were after the same dragon?

“But, if you saw Nel, then where did he go?” Sweetie Bell inquired. She and her fellow blank flanks searched around the library’s main hall for a moment, but found neither hide nor hair of the dragon. “Is he still here or did he leave already?”

“O-oh… I don’t know… He stopped by, but he left soon after,” the lavender unicorn said quickly. She never was good at keeping secrets.

“Which way did he go!?” Three pairs of expectant eyes stared innocently into Twilight, waiting for her response.

If not for the fact that she was lying, Twilight really did have a reason to be nervous now. “Um, he was headed toward Sugar Cube Corner…”

“Thanks, Twilight,” they said in unison before charging out the door, making a miniature stampede toward the confectionary store.

Once she was sure they were gone, Twilight went to the cellar. Now she could understand why Nel wanted to hide from them. “Nel? It’s safe. They left…” That was odd. She looked around, but couldn’t find him. Going on a hunch, she even checked the ceiling, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“Thanks,” the kitten called, making her jump. His scales laid flat as he relaxed his camouflage. Even his green eyes showed up again. Though he didn’t know much practical magic, he was still an expert at invisibility spells, making his disappearing act a true art. He stood, letting out a short sigh as he shook his scales back to their normal positioning. When he did, the camouflage reacted, making a rainbow wave over his body before returning to the original black. “Sorry to have bothered you with this… I just couldn’t get rid of them!”

“Why were they chasing you like that?” she inquired, leading the dragon back to the library’s main floor. “Did they all really want you for Hearts and Hooves Day?”

“Yes…” he grumbled, hanging his head, “It’s not that I don’t want to go… I just don’t know which one I want to go with…”

Twilight let a smile cross her face. It was nice to see the wyvern taking such an interest in ponies. “Don’t worry,” she requested, placing a reassuring hoof on his shoulder, “You’ll figure it out soon. And, if you need some advice, you can always come to your friends.” Or at least he could get help from the friends that weren’t trying to attack him.

“But, I’ve already been to every pony I know!” He’d already hid under Fluttershy’s little bridge, in the kitchen with Mr. Cake, under a dress Rarity was making, in an apple tree at the orchard, in the cloud Rainbow Dash lounged on, and now in the cellar of the library! There weren’t many other places he could go that they couldn’t follow.

“Well, if your magic and camouflage aren’t working, then I’m not sure where else you can hide… But, you shouldn’t head to Sugar Cube Corner,” she said with a small smirk.

He let out a short sigh. “Right, thanks…” He headed to the door. “Hopefully I’m still on one piece by tomorrow…” Cautiously, he headed out again. The kitten could hold his own against the three fillies, but he didn’t really want to. …And he definitely didn’t want to have the two of them angry with him for not choosing them for Hearts and Hooves Day. Darting from hiding place to hiding place, he made sure to keep himself out of sight from most any pony on the streets. Looking around from a hiding place, he spotted the three fillies back on the streets. “Already?” he questioned aloud. He’d have to be extra careful now.

Sweetie Belle would be able to sense him if he used magic.

Apple Bloom could keep up with him in a foot race and she had more stamina anyway.

Scootaloo couldn’t land very well, but she could still fly faster than the adolescent dragon.

Either way, Nel was in quite the hard place. His only option was to hide and put his excellent stealth to work. Carefully, he scaled a wall and went over a house, going to a road farther away from the three fillies. He looked back, making sure the three didn’t see him before dismounting. …And having a chance encounter with another filly. “Ah!” He came crashing to the ground after landing on a filly’s back. Immediately, he was back on his feet, trying to help the filly as well. “Oh, my gosh—I’m so sorry!”

The filly let out a groan, pulling herself up onto her hooves. “Ow! Watch where you’re going!” she ordered. Her azure eyes had a hard look to them with the glare she was firing at him and she was busy brushing dirt off of her magenta coat. She didn’t even seem to notice the stray scale the dragon had unintentionally left in her violet and white streaked mane.

Nel barely managed to keep down a chuckle. “Sorry,” he meowed, gently plucking his scale from her mane. The longer he looked at her, the more he questioned who she was. She looked familiar but it was hard to tell. Something was missing. Taking a step back, one of his paws found what was missing.

There was a silver tiara tipped with diamonds on the ground. It had clearly fallen off thanks to the wyvern’s unceremonious landing.

“Hm?” He picked it up, examining the silver metal work. It was a very pretty piece of work. …And it was clear as to whom it belonged to. “Uh, sorry again, I wasn’t paying attention…” He handed her the tiara back.

The filly immediately snatched it from him, readjusting it atop her head. “You should be sorry!” she snarled, turning her nose up at him.

There weren’t many cases of it, but Nel was honestly confused now. Why was she being so snotty? He could understand if he’d done something to earn her ire, but he’d been nothing but kind and apologetic to her. For once, he returned her glare. “You really are a supercilious little brat, huh?”

That was unexpected! She stared at the wyvern for a moment before shooting a hard glare at him again. “What did you call me?”

The dragon leaned in, standing nearly an inch from her face. “You’re a supercilious brat,” he snarled. His oval shaped pupils narrowed to slits, adding to his intimidating posture. “There’s no need to be such a jerk. It was a simple accident.” He turned to leave. “Now I know why Apple Bloom hates you so much…” He didn’t give her a chance to reply before heading off again.

The filly was… Shocked to say the least. She never expected such a change. Maybe that was what Narga were really like. He had the nerve to call her a brat? Who did he think he was?! …And why did he have such an interesting face.

“Darn it!” Apple Bloom grumbled, “Where’d he go?” She could understand his nervousness—she really could—but that didn’t mean he should just run away like that! It was just a question. Why did he run off like that?

“I dunno,” Scootaloo grumbled. She leaned over the edge of the fountain in the middle of town, trying to cool down after such an intense search. “I knew he was fast, but I didn’t think he was this fast!”

“Well, we can’t just give up! We’ll have to keep looking until we find him!” Sweetie Belle tried to stand, but the lactic acid in her legs put her back on the ground. “After we rest for a bit…” Even if they did have better stamina, they were all just as tired.

“Man he can move!” Scootaloo looked around again. “I didn’t think he could move that fast!” And that was after seeing him fight! Searching for the tell tale black of Nel’s scales, she looked over the crowd of ponies. …Up until she saw something much more colorful approaching. “Uh-oh… Diamond Tiara’s coming this way…”

“What?!” The three of them moved together, making a stand against the bully. …Or at least they were until the realized the filly was alone and had a much more pensive look than a malicious one.

Diamond Tiara headed directly for them. …More specifically, she headed toward Apple Bloom. She glared for a moment, but swallowed her pride and simply spoke in as civil a manner as possible. “Apple Bloom,” she began in a much too controlled tone, “You know that dragon running around town, right?”

That was different. The three young ponies looked at one another, exchanging silent messages. “Uh… Yeah, I do,” the earth pony said hesitantly, “Why? Do you know where he went?”

“Tch, no,” she grumbled, averting her eyes and expressing her anger in a very unique way. It was very strange for her not to take out her anger on them. “The little gecko ran off somewhere…” She quickly turned her eyes back to them. “I wanted to know who he is. …And if I can talk to him…”

There weren’t enough words in the Equestrian dictionary to express how strange this was. Their overactive imaginations questioned if they’d somehow run into a parallel universe where Diamond Tiara knew how to be civil, but that was too hard to pass off. “Uh… W-well, we don’t know where he is,” Scootaloo said hesitantly, “We’ll, uh, tell him where to find you when we do find him…”

She rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Yeah, right…” She turned to leave, but hesitated. With a sigh, she turned with a blank look on her face. “Uh… Thanks, I guess…” Without any further hesitation, she trotted off, leaving them in a state of confusion they’d never been in before.

“Did… Did Diamond Tiara just… Say thanks to us?” Sweetie Belle wondered aloud.

“I dunno,” Apple Bloom muttered, “But, uh, if we’re gonna help, then we gotta find Nel for more than one reason.”

The three of them looked at one another before heading off to find the dragon.

This was a very miserable day. Nel laid on a large tree limb he’d been known to nap on, trying to relax a bit after his ordeal. It was one of few places he could go to nap in peace. …But he couldn’t get to sleep! He’d laid there for almost an hour, feeling tired, but failing to fall asleep. Maybe he was still too tense. He was known to sleep here in this large tree. Maybe his predatory instinct was keeping him awake in preparation to flee from the Crusaders again. With a groan, he got up and decided on flying around to tire himself out. If Scootaloo saw him, so be it. He took off, taking a few leaves with him. It wasn’t very long before he was above the clouds once more.

The skies over Ponyville were oddly clear today. It was understandable for a clear day on Hearts and Hooves Day, but that was a different story.

The wyvern soared high in the sky, trying to find something to relax his nerves and to tire himself out. After a shot round of flight, he swooped down, making sure that the only pegasi that saw him worked for the weather patrol. He made a swift landing in a tree, leaving the leaves and branches mostly undisturbed. He sighed heavily as he plopped down, laying on the branch. “Ugh… Sweet sleep, why do you elude me?” He closed his eyes, letting his mind wander a little as he used all his senses aside from sight.

The birds chirping in a nearby branch sang a lovely melody today. There was no doubt that Fluttershy had taught them that. The air was warm and there was a gentle, grass-scented breeze blowing through town, invoking a sense of calm that the kitten hadn’t noticed before.

Maybe it was because he wasn’t in his usual place, or maybe because this tree wasn’t as predictable as the large tree he always used, but Nel was finally able to relax here. A small grin crossed his face as sleep finally started to creep up on him.

“Hey!”

Nel flinched at the sudden noise, nearly falling out of the tree. He dug his claws into the bark to stay upright before looking for the source of the noise. “Oh, you’re kidding,” he grumbled as he found a familiar and not so welcomed face below his perch.

The tiara wearing earth pony was underneath the dragon’s branch. She didn’t look very happy to see him.

He let out a short sigh as he regained his composure, laying back on his branch to lounge some more. “What?” he groaned, “If you haven’t noticed, Narga aren’t very friendly during the day. We usually sleep the whole thing away.” He yawned loudly, trying to keep his annoyed demeanor. It was actually more work than he thought it’d be. “Now, if you would be so kind, go away.”

“What did you say!?” she growled.

“I’m only treating you the way you treated me. You were a jerk, so I’m being a jerk.” He stuck his blue tongue out at her in an incredibly childish display.

The filly glared at him, but she flinched a bit when he shot a glare back. His was much more potent than any other pony she’d met. Aside from the incident with Cerberus, Nel was the only apex predator she’d seen. She shook off her fearful grimace, trying to take back an air of supremacy. “Will you just get your scaly butt down here? I wanted to—” She stopped immediately as one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders pulled her away.

“Ya can’t do that to Nel,” Apple Bloom said, following the magenta filly as Scootaloo led her away, “If you’re mean to him, he’ll be mean to you!” She hadn’t expected to give Diamond Tiara any advice on talking to the kitten they’d all wanted for the most romantic holiday of the year.

Reflexively, Nel sat up before hanging upside down from his perch, looking at the four fillies. “How did you three find me?” he asked in a more expected tone of voice.

Sweetie Belle smiled cheerfully as her horn sparked with green magic. “Twilight taught me a new tracking spell,” she chimed happily, “With that scale you left on Diamond Tiara’s coat, it was really easy to find you.”

He deflated a little. “Oh, magic, you’ve failed me again…” He made a quick dismount, landing on his feet. “Alright, look, I just haven’t been able to decide which filly I wanted to—”

“I need to talk to you,” Diamond Tiara blurted. She didn’t even show any type of remorse for interrupting their conversation in such a way!

The four Crusaders didn’t say anything immediately. With such a random comment, it was a little hard to recuperate and get a reasonable remark across. It was Nel that made the first move. “Alright, group huddle,” he called, moving away from Diamond Tiara.

They didn’t need any other signals. They’d learned from experience to follow Nel’s orders however few there were. “What’s up?” Scootaloo asked.

“I may not always be the best cat to judge character, but if she’s always like this, then I don’t want to talk to her.” He looked back, getting a mostly neutral look from her.

“Well, she is like this a lot…” Sweetie Bell honestly couldn’t think of a time when Diamond Tiara wasn’t catty and snobbish toward them. Unlike them, she hadn’t grown up much over the years.

“But, we promised to help her and she’s been acting different today,” Apple Bloom persisted. As compared to the way the other earth pony was normally, they were really getting it good with her newfound interest in Nel.

“She was a jerk to me,” he grumbled defiantly. Even if she was acting differently, he still wanted nothing to do with a pony like her. One of his own animalistic talents was to sense the emotions of other creatures. He liked to say he could sense their auras, but it was probably simpler than that. With what he could sense from Diamond Tiara, he really didn’t want to be around her for too long.

“Tiara’s a jerk to every pony,” the orange pegasus stated quickly, “But, she’s being nicer to us today.” She poked Nel’s side with her wing. “C’mon! Give her a chance. …And then you get to be a jerk back to her…”

“Sounds legit,” he crooned with a wide grin that made him look oddly like the Cheshire cat. He looked at her again. “...Stay close… I’d hate to acquire a taste for pony…” He let out a short sigh as they went back to Diamond Tiara. “Alright! I’ll admit that I’ve never really received an award for my patience, but I’ll hear you out. What is it that you wanted to talk about?”

Tiara didn’t answer immediately. She looked at Nel and then at the three fillies she went to school with. She was weighing her options and trying to figure the best way to say this. It wasn’t every day that she got to talk so casually to a dragon. Glancing at the other ponies, she wondered if they were close enough to hear what she was going to say. After a moment, she finally looked him in his glowing eyes. “…Would you be my special some pony for Hearts and Hooves Day?”

Three jaws fell agape as they took the pony’s question in. Neliel Valshte stared for a moment. If there was any one answer he hadn’t thought up, it was definitely that one. “Uh… Well…” He averted his eyes, trying to find an answer for her.

“Did she just…? T-to…” Sweetie Belle struggled to put the thought together, asking her friends in a low whisper if she’d really heard that.

“She did!” Scootaloo whispered back. She could feel her blood start to boil at the very thought of it! They were Nel’s friends! They had first dibs!

Apple Bloom didn’t say a word. She bit her lip, waiting for his answer. On one hand, she did want to help Diamond Tiara in hopes that it would lead to a normal friendship between them instead of their usual rivalry. …But, at the same time, she hoped desperately that they could get their chance at Nel again.

Diamond Tiara may have kept a neutral expression—staring with the intent of snatching his answer whether an insult or the nectar of life—but, in reality, she was having a serious meltdown. She couldn’t believe she’d actually asked him! This seemed like a brilliant idea earlier, but now it seemed worse than trailing Apple Bloom to that odd stretch of the Everfree forest that smelled like charred filth. What was he going to say? Would he shoot her down or agree? Was he going to be nice about it or was he going to swat her like she would have to any other colt? Was he going to agree readily or hesitantly? Why was he taking so long to answer?!

The adolescent dragon swallowed dryly, weighing his options. It wasn’t as though he liked her or anything and she was quite the jerk to him the last time they spoke. …But, this did give him a few opportunities. For one, he could get out of trouble with the Crusaders. He wouldn’t hurt any of their feelings if he didn’t pick a favorite. He could also get down to the dirty details as to why Diamond Tiara was such a canker toward his friends. “U-um… Sure, w-why not?” He put on a grin, but his stomach churned with the thought of his friends’ reactions. They were probably going to be quite upset with him.

Tiara felt her heart seize with his answer. In the end, she couldn’t get herself to react at all past the shocked silence that filled the air. “W-w-well good!” she stammered, trying and failing at a confident smile. Her heart was pounding at the mere premise of going on a date with him.

“Oh my gosh!” Those three simple words spilled out of Sweetie Belle’s lips. It was a nervous gesture that had started only a few years ago. Struggling to make sense of it all, she started rambling, muttering incessantly.

“No way!” Scootaloo’s wings flared as she got ready to charge. She wasn’t going to let this just slide by!

“No!!” Apple Bloom quickly caught her pegasus friend’s tail in her teeth, holding her back the same as her sister would to Rainbow Dash. “Don’t do it!”

“What?! Why not?!” Scootaloo didn’t have the wing power to pull her friends along quite yet. She eagerly pulled against the earth pony, trying to get to Tiara and Nel.

“We can’t!” she said, pulling Scootaloo back down to the ground. Much like her sister would have, she kept a level head, trying to keep the group grounded. “I mean, Nel’s gotta have a good reason for agreein’, right?” She glanced at the dragon as he and Diamond Tiara made their plans for the next day. “We’ll just ask him what he’s doin’…”

The dragon waved as the suddenly nervous pony trotted off. He was actually a little surprised with how skittish she was. …Or rather with how quickly her confidence had shriveled. It was strange seeing a pony with such confidence crumble like that.

“Nel!!”

The dragon flinched, jumping almost a foot into the air. He knew they’d be upset, but this was worse than he thought. “U-uh… Is something wrong?” he asked, trying to smile at them.

“Why did you agree to that?!” Scootaloo asked, making the dragon shrivel as she encroached on his personal space. “You know Diamond Tiara’s a jerk, so why do you want to go out with her?!” She let out a short squawk when she was suddenly pulled out of the way by an odd magical grip.

“Come on, Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle requested, “Nel’s probably got a good reason for why he chose her instead of one of us.” She turned her green eyes to meet his. “…Don’t you?”

“I’m a little afraid to say so now…” He stood straight once more and cleared his throat. “I’m sure curiosity’s going to kill me one day… I wanted to know about her since everyone always complains about her. Sure she’s a jerk, but everyone—dragons and all—act differently when they’re looking for possible mates—er, uh, g-going on dates…” He wasn’t very sure of what the term was actually.

“We could have told you about her!” Scootaloo complained. She would have gone through all of the ways they hated Diamond Tiara herself, but she really didn’t know all the words to describe her.

“I believe you, but that’s not the only reason.” He looked back as if looking for the magenta pony. “If she’s really that much of a jerk then maybe a little bit of attention can get her to agree with us a little more. …And possibly get her to stop teasing ponies without Cutie Marks.”

They all paused when they heard that part. He could definitely be onto something with that, but would that really help them with her?

“Oh… W-well, I guess that does make sense…” Suddenly, Scootaloo felt incredibly foolish for getting so angry with him.

“That’s what I thought,” he purred, “So, I’m going to go out on a limb with this. Worst-case scenario: she falls madly in love with me and I have to give her the bad news that I like ponies much nicer than her.” The hunter started through town at a comfortable stroll with the ponies trotting behind him.

“What are you two going to do on your, uh… Date?” In reference to Diamond Tiara, that word just left a bad taste in the unicorn’s mouth.

“There’s a fireworks show tomorrow for Hearts and Hooves Day,” he stated, “She agreed to a picnic.”

“You got Diamond Tiara to agree to a picnic?” Apple Bloom had always imagined that Tiara was much too refined to do anything like that. She could almost imagine the bratty pony complaining throughout a picnic.

“You’d be surprised what please and pouting can do for you,” he said, poking the farm pony in the side with one of his wings.

Scootaloo let out a groan. She took to the air, hovering in front of the group to face Nel. “Why are you acting so casual about this? You’re going on a date with Diamond Tiara! The same Diamond Tiara that made school suck just that much worse for us!”

Nel let out a short sigh, blowing smoke from his nostrils. “I understand you’re, uh, caution, I guess, with this, but the decision’s made and the plan’s already in action.” He quickly went past Scootaloo. “If it bothers you all that much, then you can stay somewhere hidden and supervise. I’m sure I can hold Tiara’s attention while you three are skulking around.”

That idea didn’t sound bad. Actually, it sounded as great as any of the dragon’s other plans! Even still, the Crusaders weren’t as gung-ho as they normally would have been. Even if he didn’t acknowledge it, Nel was quite the charmer. If he somehow coaxed a kiss out of the detestable earth pony, there was no guarantee he’d be able to get away from their wrath.

“I guess it’s alright,” Apple Bloom said quickly, vouching for the trio of blank flanks.

“Just don’t do anything you wouldn’t want us to see,” Sweetie Belle warned.

“Now when have I ever done that?” he asked with a wide, toothy grin, “I’ll see you all tomorrow. …Even if you don’t want me to…” He quickly opened his wings and took flight.

The Crusaders watched as he headed farther into town. They didn’t have to say anything to get their point across to one another. They were all thinking the exact same thing anyway.

Their date was going to be a disaster.

“Now, don’t you look handsome!” Rarity was always the first to call for help, but, when Nel came to her with his request, she wasn’t sure if she could pull it off alone. Now that she looked at her work, she felt proud of herself.

The adolescent dragon was really dressed for his date. His scales and claws had been shined at the salon with Rarity and Fluttershy, the plume of hair on his feline skull was neatly styled for the occasion, and, with a little coaching, even his posture was unintimidating! Much like his guardian and the most refined unicorn in Ponyville, Nel was the image of composure. …And his disgust showed. “Is all of this really necessary?” he asked as Rarity straightened his tie.

“Quite,” she chirped, “If you want to win that little filly’s heart, you have to look your absolute best!”

Nel waggled his tail, pulling the green bows on his quill-covered tail into his line of sight. “Clearly, but this is taking it a bit far…” To say that the hunter was unused to being so well groomed was an understatement.

“You look like Opal after her weekly bath.” The orange pegasus couldn’t help but make jokes. With Nel unable to exact revenge, she had a clear target to aim for with her teasing.

“I look better than you do when you try to land,” he retorted, getting laughs from all three ponies, “Also, this is Diamond Tiara we’re talking about… I’m not so sure I want to win her heart…”

“Speaking of Tiara, where is she?” Rarity unconsciously shined Nel’s black scales. Diamond Tiara had asked her for a dress the day before, but failed to come and pick it up. …Or even to have someone pick it up for her.

“Probably getting all of her mean out before our date,” Nel chuckled. He could just imagine Tiara going around and getting all of her insults out before their get together. She knew he wouldn’t allow it at all.

“Nah,” Scootaloo sighed, “She was on her way to the clubhouse when I was flying here. I saw her trotting through the orchard.”

“What? Why?” Nel knew all too well that Diamond Tiara didn’t like the Crusaders. She was far too spiteful to allude to anything else. He couldn’t imagine very many constructive reasons for her going to the clubhouse.

“Beats me,” Scootaloo said, “But she was asking about you a lot yesterday. She probably went to ask about you.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet!” Rarity gushed energetically. She was excited to see Nel taking such an interest in ponies his age. She’d only ever seen him so very interested in older mares and stallions like her and Pinkie Pie.

“I never thought that you would be such a lady killer, Nel,” Fluttershy cooed. She tipped his chin upward, helping his posture a bit more. She’d be the first that Nel had a very cute face, but his feline nature was only so charming.

“I don’t think lady killer’s the right term for it…”

“Pig tamer sounds better,” Scootaloo muttered under her breath.

Nel’s enhanced hearing picked up on the insult, even if Fluttershy and Rarity didn’t. It put a grin on his face. He didn’t think she was that bad, but he’d been wrong before. He let his mind wander as the two mares squabbled over his looks. What if he had made the wrong decision? What if the Crusaders were right and Tiara was going to be a horrible mate? It worried him slightly. He didn’t want to get into this for nothing.

As the mares talked about Nel’s outfit, Scootaloo went over to the dragon. “You okay?” she inquired. Seeing him in a pensive mood always worried her. He was a little scary when he overthought things.

“Yeah,” he sighed, “I was just thinking about this date.” He looked at Rarity as she gave her friend the pick of a small collection of ties for him. “Ever feel like a sure bet is going to put you in over your head?”

“All the time,” she said. Her mind went back to the when she’d broken her leg during a stunt. Those precious few milliseconds in the air had given her that exact feeling. “Are you getting nervous or something?”

He looked out the window, spotting a few clouds in the sky. After a second of thought, he nodded. “Yeah, just a little bit,” he lied. Unlike fear signals, Nel could easily hide his nervousness. He was really starting to regret this now. How would this all turn out? Maybe he’d be able to decide on his way to see Diamond Tiara. Hopefully, by then, he’d have his thoughts together.

Author's Note

Sorry for the delay, bronies! I hope there are still a few faithful readers out there who still want to see how this story turns out.
This is the first of my first ever two part arc. I hope there are enough of you to answer the question coming at the end of part two, though.

Black Heart Pt.2

Chapter 7
Black Heart Pt. 2
Date Night

It was sad, really. Normally, Nel was a ball of sunshine. Now, he was just a poster boy for his entire species. He was pensive and serious, trying to think about everything he hoped would happen on this date. His sullen mood lasted up until he found himself on the doorstep of Filthy Rich’s large house. He shook his head, getting his mind right. Filthy Rich would chew him up and spit him out if he didn’t! He let out a heavy sigh and rang the doorbell.
The door creaked open and a mare with a teal coat in a maid uniform looked down at him. “Hello,” she said politely, “Can I help you?”

“Hello,” he purred, “My name’s Nel Valshte. I, uh… I’m here for my date with Diamond Tiara.” He felt almost as odd about that statement as Sweetie Belle did. It made him increasingly more uncomfortable to think that he was going on a date with Diamond Tiara.

The maid pony’s eyes grew wide. She glanced back inside. “Diamond Tiara hasn’t stopped talking about you for the past two days,” she said quickly and quietly. She quickly turned, leading him inside. “She’s been different since you showed up.” She gave him a small smile. “I wonder if having a colt friend could do this with all little fillies.”

He made a face, but kept his thoughts to himself. He didn’t like the thought of mares and stallions assuming that he was in a relationship with a filly or colt his age.

The mare led him to a sitting room where Filthy Rich was waiting for them. “Nel Valshte, sir,” she said respectfully and quickly dismissed herself. She silently hoped that the stallion wouldn’t tear into the precocious kitten too much.

“Sit, please,” Rich requested in a surprisingly civil tone. He seemed all too calm about his daughter going on a date with a dragon, nonetheless a Narga.

Nel quickly found a spot to sit, facing the stallion. He swallowed dryly, trying not to make eye contact. He was nervous enough without the stallion glaring at him.

“Neliel, is it?” Filthy Rich asked. His tone wasn’t overly stern or too harsh. It was clearly demanding, but it didn’t have a very menacing ring to it like one would expect of a father meeting his daughter’s date.

“Yes sir,” he meowed nervously, “It’s Mr. Rich, correct?” He’d heard from Ms. Cheerilee to call him Rich. She’d told him more than three times not to call him Filthy. “I had no idea you had such a large house…”

“Yes, I expected to have a larger family,” he stated, “But, why not indulge now, even when I don’t?” He liked the large house, but it did feel a little too large some times. His comfortable grin slowly melted off as he looked at the young dragon again. “Neliel,” he began after a moment, “How exactly did you come across my daughter?”

If he could sweat, there’d be bullets. “Well… It was a chance encounter, of sorts. I ran into her on the streets and we just started talking after that.” He neglected how hesitant he was to talk to her. He didn’t want to make a bad impression. Otherwise, that was true.

A small grin crossed his lips. He was either impressed with Nel’s cleverness or he saw through what he’d said. “I see.” He nodded. “I’m glad to see that a ‘chance encounter’ could end so well.”

“As am I,” Nel purred nervously. He grinned, trying to keep his lips closed. If his fangs made fillies and colts nervous, he didn’t want to know what they’d do to the stallion who’s daughter was going on a date with him.

“Hello, Nel.” Diamond Tiara quickly found the dragon with her father. She kept a wide grin on her face, but it made her nervous to see the two of them together. “Hello, father.”

The stallion said nothing. He only nodded, acknowledging her presence. He opened his mouth to speak again, but paused when he saw the two of them together. “…I suppose you two are ready to leave for your… Date?”

“Yes, sir,” Nel said quickly as he jumped up out of his chair.

“And we need to get going,” Tiara agreed, grabbing Nel by his arm and pulling him out the door in a rush.

Filthy Rich looked out the door at them. Silently, he wondered how far they’d go together. It made him chuckle a bit to think of his daughter marrying a dragon as feral as this little Narga.

“I wish you’d told me that I’d have to talk to your dad,” Nel said with a sigh. He really wasn’t as prepared for that conversation as he could have been.

“I didn’t know he’d get to you before I was ready,” she said quickly. She wished she’d gotten ready a little sooner now. Hopefully, she wouldn’t have to sit through a panic attack on the kitten’s part. She looked at him. Did he always look like that?

Nel looked presentable today! He didn’t look like the napping dragon ponies had seen around town. He looked like a distinguished hunter! He stood tall instead of the slight slouch he usually had. The short tuft of hair that graced his head was styled instead of tousled. Even his scales looked different! They were shined so efficiently that they looked blue under the right light! The dragon noticed the look, but tried not to acknowledge it too abruptly. In fact, he was giving her subtle glances as well.

Diamond Tiara didn’t seem at all like the pompous brat she usually was. She seemed… Nice. Humble, even! Her mane was styled differently, giving her a more mature look when coupled with her makeup. She was even wearing a different tiara today! Her dress was a masterpiece for fillies her age, but it was simple enough for this date. Slowly, a smile crossed her face when she realized the Narga was analyzing her the same as she’d done to him. “You know… I was actually kinda worried when I asked you out,” she admitted, getting his green eyes locked on her again.

“Really? I kinda thought you didn’t get nervous.” Living in such a primal place, he’d never even been on a date before. He’d always thought of the things ponies did as oddities when compared to his own life. Seeing her get so nervous over asking him out on a date, it felt as if he’d done something wrong.

“I-I don’t,” she said quickly, “It’s just weird…” She didn’t even get worried when she was in trouble. It was hard to think of a time—there than the day before—when she was worried! “I guess that’s just the effect you have on fillies like me.”

Nel kept a wide grin on his feline face. He’d heard stories about Diamond Tiara, but she didn’t seem to fit the bill for any of them now. She seemed like a completely different pony now! “I have that effect on a lot of ponies.”

She giggled just a bit. “I bet you do.” She was at a loss. If not for his imposing posture and his obsidian blades, she’d never believe that this wyvern was dangerous. “You’re a lot nicer than I thought you’d be,” she admitted.

He paused for a moment before a grin crossed his face. “The same could be said about you,” he accused, poking her with his prehensile tail. His thoughts went into overdrive as he found his opening. “Speaking of… Why are you so mean to every pony?”

The pony visibly tensed. She hadn’t expected such a serious question from him. She averted her eyes as she thought up her answer. “Well… At first it was fun… But, now…” She sighed as she noticed how far into her “fun” she’d fallen. “I feel like there should be a reason for why other ponies don’t like me…”

He raised a brow. Other ponies didn’t like her? …Well, that wasn’t a secret, but it was a little odd when seeing how nice she could be. He looked up to see the field they were approaching. “Well, if you just tried to be nice like this, it’d be fine.” He gave her a friendly nudge, getting her to see the grin he gave her. “You’re actually a really likable pony.” He paused at the edge of the Ponyville park, looking around at the other couples gathered for the fireworks show. “Hm…”

“Wow…” She’d never seen so many ponies in one place like this. She hadn’t even realized that so many ponies inhabited Ponyville! “Where are we going to sit?”

“I’m trying to find a spot no—ah!” He pointed to the top of a small hill where the Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had made them a space. “There.” He let a wide, toothy grin spread across his face. “Never know what your friends’ll do for you until you ask.”

She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help the short giggle that escaped her. She’d thought the Crusaders were done helping her out. Now, looking at the three of them, she wondered what else they would do if she allowed herself to be their friend. She trailed behind a little as they approached the trio of ponies, only now wondering if they held grudges for all the teasing.

“Hello, Crusaders,” he chimed, getting their attention. His grin widened as they lined up in front of him like troops before their commander. “Impressive work with the picnic.”

“Thanks,” Sweetie Belle chirped. She was the one who organized the entire picnic! After all the decorum and etiquette she’d gotten from her sister, she felt it was only right to put it to use.

“I hope you’re date’s goin’ well.” Apple Bloom was an oddly subtle pony. She knew Nel would pick up on the minute changes in her face that asked about their plan. Was it working the way the wyvern had hoped it would?

Standing just out of Diamond Tiara’s field of vision, Nel’s lips curled in a small smirk. His head moved the slightest degree, signaling a joyful yes. He was getting to the root of the problem and had given a solution. Hopefully, he could fix the problem before he had to leave Ponyville. “It’s splendid,” he purred, hoping to keep Tiara from suspecting anything.

“Good,” Scootaloo said happily, “Now, don’t you two get too excited up here. We’re still in public.” With a wide grin, she and her friends trotted off. …Or at least until they were out of sight. She hid in a bush with her friends, watching the date from a distance. With any luck, they’d be able to see how Nel’s plan will unfold.

“You’re probably the only dragon my age that doesn’t think I’m the worst pony in the country.” There weren’t many ponies that would so relentlessly pick on another filly.

“No, there’s worse ponies than you,” he stated, “Worse in Ponyville, maybe.” He smiled as she glared, unable to hide her grin. It was then that he realized they were almost exact opposites. She would always puff up and talk big, but she couldn’t do much of anything. He never puffed up to make himself more intimidating. The simple fact that he was a dragon did that for him. And, he also tried to downplay how dangerous he really was. …Though, he also wondered if she saw him as dangerous as well. “You can be pretty nice when you want to be, though.”

“Thanks,” she giggled. She felt oddly comfortable with the dragon. She didn’t even feel this way with other ponies! It was odd, but the dragon was good company. She was starting to enjoy having him around. …Or, at least, as opposed to when they argued the day before. It seemed odd, but… “Is this what every pony calls love at first sight?” She looked at him discreetly as the dragon got comfortable on the blanket Apple Bloom let them use. She didn’t want to think about it too hard. Quickly, she laid down beside him, looking up as the Luna’s starry skies started lighting up the night.

Nel grinned a bit when he saw the constellations. It was a new moon tonight, but the fireworks would soon light up the darkness. Princess Luna really outdid herself sometimes with the night sky. He looked over at Tiara, thinking of why she looked so pleasant now as opposed to when they’d met. He grinned, patting the spot beside him for her to lay down the same way as he had.

Though a little hesitantly, the pony moved over beside him, lying close enough to touch him simply by breathing. It was a wonder as to how Nel laid so comfortably on his stomach like this. “H-hey, Nel… Do you go on dates like this a lot?”

The dragon shook his head immediately. “Nope. This is probably the third date I’ve ever been on. …And the other two weren’t really dates…” He immediately thought about his meeting with Dinky Doo and his nighttime get together with Apple Bloom. …Though, he was actually quite certain that those didn’t really count as dates. “But, this one’s actually pretty nice. …Given current company…”

She giggled again. “I feel the same way.” She looked up at the starry sky again, but flinched a little as the first pyrotechnic was launched, filling the air with orange glitter. “Ooh… So, this is why you wanted to bring me here.”
He grinned, looking up as the fireworks popped and crackled above them. It was a spectacular show! The same as everyone else, he let himself get caught up in the display, staring at green pinwheels, pink hearts, green explosions and all the like. He never got to enjoy displays like this in his own country. Dragons didn’t have much to celebrate. …And their fire breath tended to get in the way as well. He sighed, relaxing as the fireworks put on a show of dancing flames across the sky.

Tiara watched the display for all of thirty minutes before she looked away. She’d let herself think of a way to express her gratitude to the dragon. Apple Bloom had told her he was a complex dragon that enjoyed simple pleasures, but that didn’t make it any easier. She glanced around at the crowd gathered for the show, trying to find some clues.

A mare and her stallion sat together, leaning on one another for support, showing their love and trust.

Two mares cuddled under the star bright sky, enjoying the light show like any other couple.

A couple even kissed down below, seeming to do so every time a heart showed up in the sky and stars.

She looked at Nel once more, letting her thoughts run wild. “I could cuddle up with him.” And she’d possibly get hurt on one of his blades or get jabbed by his scales. “I could give him a kiss.” And possibly come off too strong as well. She liked him, but he was such a shy dragon sometimes. “Ugh! Okay… Think… Something small… Something simple…” She glanced at him once more and spotted his hands. With a small smirk, she squirmed a little closer, letting the heat coming off of him warm her as well as she took his hand. Before she got the urge to give him a smile, she laid her head on his shoulder, making her thoughts go silent. “A date like this should be enjoyed,” she thought, “Not spent in a world of panicked thought.”

Nel glanced at her as she laid on his shoulder. It was nice to know she was so relaxed with him. Maybe this wasn’t a bad idea. But, he quickly remembered his plan. “Uh-oh… The Crusaders…” He looked at Tiara once more as she closed her eyes, finally finding comfort in him. Just out of her field of vision, he lifted his free hand, using the polished obsidian as a mirror. “Rarity did a fantastic job shining me up…” He looked through the darkness, spotting the three of them as another large explosion filled the air.

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were trying their best to calm Scootaloo down, but the pegasus looked like she was about to tear into the pampered earth pony.

His tail flicked, swaying back and forth the same as if he were waving his finger in front of her. It was a silent message to stay back. …And the fact that his quills bristled as well helped, too. Watching them in the reflection, he breathed a sigh of relief as they backed down with that little message. For now, he had to focus on the task at hand. His fingers curled around her hoof, putting a smile on her face. And that task was making Diamond Tiara feel special.

The walk home was a drowsy one. Diamond Tiara wasn’t used to being out this late and it showed. She was glad for the constant motion. It kept her awake long enough to get back to her large home. …Though, the walk was in almost complete silence thanks to Nel’s last question.

“Why don’t you come and hang out with the Crusaders some time?”

She’d racked her brain over all the possibilities. She could go to hang out and find that they were just goading her in for revenge, or they could be genuine about wanting to be her friends. They could be having Nel lure her in to break her heart later or he could be the one for her. It was hard to tell with all the possibilities. She didn’t even notice they’d arrived until she was going up the walkway. Stopping by the door, she looked for any signs of some pony being awake.

There were lights on inside. Clearly, one of the maids was still hard at work. It was hard to tell if Filthy Rich was still awake, but it was safe to assume he was. She was his daughter after all.

Standing on her doorstep, Tiara spun around to face the dragon. “Thank you for a wonderful evening,” she said, taking the line straight from the cliché of date night lines, “I had a lot of fun with you.”

The wyvern smiled, trying not to show off his fangs. “My pleasure,” he purred, bowing slightly, “It’s always a gift when I can spend the night with ponies like this.” Though, he’d only ever spent the night with Apple Bloom like this, and that was much less romantic. “I hope we can do this again sometime.”

She smiled at him. “So do I.” She wanted to do something more than just this. Letting him fly off without a treat was cruel. She only hesitated at the thought of her father seeing and gelding the dragon for trying to take his daughter. Filthy Rich seemed to like him, so there shouldn’t be any harm in it. And, maybe her mother could help as well! Throwing caution to the wind, she went in, giving him a gentle kiss on the cheek. “Good night, Nel,” she said, heading inside before he could see her pink coat turn bright red.

Though a little shocked, Nel took that as the sign of a job well done. Hopefully, something he’d said had gotten through to her. Without any further hesitation, he quickly took off, flying high above the clouds. He looked back at her house before it disappeared into the distance. Maybe—just maybe—there’d be a new Cutie Mark Crusader soon. A smirk crossed his face. “One can only hope,” he said, mimicking his grandfather Lao.

The morning air felt good! Nel flew high above the clouds, looking down on Ponyville below him. It was nice seeing how calm and serene everything was. After working most of the morning, it was nice to be of the clock. He looked down at Sweet Apple Acres, grinning as he spotted Applejack out in the fields. “Hi, AJ!”

The orange work mare looked up at him with a grin. “Howdy partner!” she called, waving as he soared overhead. It was always nice to see him flying around. She smiled as he disappeared into the orchard, guessing exactly where he was going. …Up until she remembered something important. Apple Bloom had wanted her to tell the dragon about a special visitor to the clubhouse. “Uh-oh…”

The wyvern swooped down, landing in the observatory. He tended to land and take off from there a lot when the ponies weren’t around. Went down, going to the ground floor. “Hello, ponies!” he meowed, “What’s today’s plans for getting your—Tiara?” He froze in mid stride as he spotted Diamond Tiara. In the clubhouse!

“Hello, Nel,” the earth pony chimed, sitting with his friends. She was getting and giving some tips on make up. She sat still as Sweetie Belle helped her to apply her eye shadow.

“Uh, hi…” He looked around, spotting their past attempts at make up: Scootaloo and Dinky Doo as well. “Not that I’m not always happy to see you, but what’s the occasion?” He knew he’d suggested it, but he hadn’t expected her to act on it the very next day. He looked at Scootaloo’s make up. “And, uh, why so heavy on the blush?” He knew it wasn’t the make up, but he didn’t want to bring any unnecessary attention to Scootaloo’s reddening face.

“No occasion,” she said, “Just making new friends. …And a few amends as well…” She opened her eyes just as Belle finished. “Why? Am I not allowed to be in the club?”

“Well, you do have a Cutie Mark already,” the wyvern said and found a place to sit. “I’m not one to deny ponies a place, though.”

“’Course you wouldn’t,” Apple Bloom teased, poking the dragon, “You probably want another kiss!”

Nel glared at the farm pony as his camouflage worked against him, turning his face red. He whipped his tail around, poking her with the largest quill. …And leaving her side completely numb. “You say it as if I got a kiss on the lips.” He knew Scootaloo would never allow that from Diamond Tiara. But, then he realized something. “Wow… I’ve never had an actual kiss…”

“What? Really?” Scootaloo was the first to realize what he’s said. “You’ve never kissed someone before?”

He shifted his gaze, looking up at the ceiling, as if the answer was somewhere up there. “Not that I can think of.” He shook his head. “I’ve never had a dragoness—or a pony for that matter—to kiss.” He sighed, but he suddenly realized four fillies looking at him hungrily. “Well! Would you look at the time! I’m pretty sure Fluttershy said she wanted me home soon, so I’m gonna be going—bye!” He quickly darted out the door.

“Quick, go after him!” Sweetie Belle ordered as she ran after him followed by her fellow Crusaders. …And Diamond Tiara. Their frantic chase left Dinky Doo and Pipsqueak alone in the clubhouse.

“I’m not sure if he’s lucky or cursed,” the earth pony muttered, getting a nod of agreement from Dinky.

Author's Note

Alright, bronies! Here it is, my big question! This will effect how the story ends, so give me your answers before the end of the next chapter! (Which gives everyone a HUGE window of opportunity...)
Which pony should Nel be with?
Apple Bloom?
Scootaloo?
Sweetie Belle?
Diamond Tiara?
Fluttershy?
Pinkie Pie?
I need your answers to finish the story, so please be prompt.
(Revisions completed)