A Dragon's Journey

Chapters

A painfull arrival
An interesting friendship
Misunderstandings, Misconceptions, Mixed Receptions
Explanations and Parties
Food for Thought

A painfull arrival

A Dragon’s Journey

Ch. 1: A painful arrival

Pain. Lots of it. Holy crap that’s a lot of pain. It felt like I got ran over by a freight train, who then thought it didn’t do such a good of a job the first time, and decided to back up for another pass. In case you couldn’t tell, I was in a lot of pain. It might seem a little redundant to you, but it’s not enough to me. That was about the only thing I could think. I had no memory of how or what happened, because whenever I tried to muster up any form of concentration, the pain was quickly shattering it on contact. Instead I tried to focus on my senses. Not much luck there either. The world was a blurry mass of off-color blurry masses. My ears were undecided between trying to listen to anything and bursting into flames. My head was about to be split open from the migraine running through it. My whole body felt like it was burning. If I could, I would probably be screaming at the top of my lungs, if said lungs didn’t feel like burning lead.

A little while later (and I say “a little while” because I have no idea as to how much time has already gone by), the pain had subsided enough for me to form coherent thoughts. Short ones at that, but none the less, thoughts. The first one that whizzed by was how much pain I was still in. Then there is the question of what in hell could cause so much pain and not outright kill. From there, I tried to backtrack what happened. It wasn’t easy; the migraine-now-demoted-to-heavy-headache ever present. But I managed to press through it, and gain a peep at what I hoped to be that day’s earlier events.

It was a bright and sunny morning. Too bright and sunny if you asked a few late night party goers. As usual, they were planted in the yard outside the dorm, most of them groggily cursing under their breath. I would have pitied them, if it wasn’t for the fact that I told them it was a bad idea to party so late in a school night anyway. I had a few beers myself, but unlike somebody, I knew my limits.

I slowly made my way through the group of hung-over college students to a particular one still lying down on the grass. When I finally reached him, I took a moment to analyze the situation. He has face down in the grass, about a dozen and a half beer bottles randomly thrown around him. After a little formulating, the conclusion that there was only one sensible action was reached. So I screamed at top of my lungs.

“Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!”

“GAH!” was his answer. Quite rude actually, after I took the time to wake him up when I certainly didn’t have to, this is how he reacts. None the less I still smiled like a maniac. “Duuuhuuuude, please stop doing that! It’s going to kill me one of these days!”

“Only thing that has a chance at killing you right now is Mercer. You might want to get going, you know. He doesn’t need more excuses to kick you out.”

“Wait. What? What time is it?”

“It’s 9:32. You got exactly an hour and a half to get rid of the alcohol stench.”

“Crap!” he cursed as he shot up and sprinted towards the dorm. “Thanks a lot Jack!” he yelled over his shoulder.

“Don’t mention it Cole!” I yelled back, waving him off. Somehow, Cole’s antics always seem to brighten my day, even if it was already shining. After that little wakeup call that was beginning to become part of my weekly routine, I set out again. Today was a big day after all. Today was the day I got to show off my designs to hundreds of people. Today was the first student expo of the year. Representatives from almost all companies worth their salt were attending. This was the day that student got to brag in front of prospecting employers and investors in hopes of picking up a job or some money to further their research. I was looking towards the former. I had my newest designs with me, ranging from simple ideas for foundations, to hanging bridges that could cover miles. Only thing I had to do was show up, talk a little bit, maybe answer a few questions, and I would have a guaranteed job as an architectural engineer once my studies were done.

Without realizing it, I reached the school’s exposition hall. I quickly made my way inside and into the crowd. It was a massive crowd I might add, maybe a thousand people in there. Lucky for me and everyone else, the school had this place built specifically for such events, meaning that navigating the crowd wasn’t as difficult as it might have been. I reached my booth and set up shop. I had a relatively simple presentation compared to others. Just a projector, a PowerPoint, and a few 3D models; as opposed to some massive real scale concepts and prototypes I saw on my way.

I had to admit, some of those things were quite impressive. I looked at my watch, and then at my booth, that was now ready. The first representatives weren’t scheduled to arrive for another hour or so. I decided that I had enough time to go browse a little while. And I was glad I did. I saw a few industrial designers that had a lot of talent, and some physicists had some interesting theories, all sparking little strokes of inspiration for me. I took note of them on my phone and kept on looking. I rounded a corner to see a small cluster of people around a display that was significantly larger than others. I squirmed my way through the mass of persons until I reached the epicenter of the commotion. I hate to admit it, but the thing was impressive to look at.

Set up on top of a steel platform was perched a massive steel and titanium ring, wide enough for a truck to pass. There were some cool looking patterns stamped all around it, which some led to tiny spikes on the inside of the ring. Wires were jutting out from its outer diameter, all going back into a myriad of expensive looking computers. Besides it was a short skinny guy wearing a lab coat and thick framed glasses. The only thing missing was a goofy looking bow tie. He was babbling about something about space contraction and bi-dimensional travel or something like that. I wasn’t really paying attention to be honest, I could have made that up for all I know, I was instead trying to figure out how the hell I didn’t see that massive thing from way out.

Before I could answer that question my phone rang out, alerting me that I had ten minutes to make my way back to my booth. I pushed through the enlarging crowd converging on the steel doughnut, and walked towards the booth. To my surprise, it took me about two minutes to get back. Looking in the direction of the circular contraption, I realized that it was probably about a hundred feet away. This gave me enough time to ponder how again, was it that I didn’t spot the thing earlier. It towered over the walls of the booths, making it visible to anyone within the next two hundred yards. I never was known for my observation skills I suppose.

Shaking off the thought, I set about steeling myself for the oncoming interview. Soon enough, the first representatives arrived, looking a bit tired. Understandable, I guess, chances are they had already seen a few dozen presentations. I didn’t want to waste their time, and cause a bad impression. So I started the presentation, diving straight to the point.

“Hello there gentle men!” I beamed. “Allow me to cut all unnecessary chatter and show an idea that will revolutionize theAHGG!” My incredible speech was interrupted. A massive quake shook the building, knocking off everything and everyone that wasn’t bolted into the floor. Screaming in the direction of the space donut caught my attention. I stood up to be greeted by a panicking stampede rushing away from the ring’s booth. There was an eerie purple light was emanating from the booth, where the ring should have been. I sprinted towards it to figure out just what the hell happened. I reached the booth to be greeted to the sight of a black whirlpool in the middle of a collapsed ring.

Then it hit me what the thing was. A warp gate. A freakin’ warp gate. A freakin’ out of control warp gate by the looks of it. I was about to make a run for it when I noticed something. It was the little nerdy guy who was standing besides the gate earlier. He was clamped beneath one of those computers hooked up to the gate. He was struggling to get off under it, but his straw limbs couldn’t muster up the strength needed. Me being the gentleman and overall nice guy I was, I did about the stupidest thing I could have done at that moment. I ran towards the guy, edging away from the runaway dimensional door. I reached the nerd, and with some effort, managed to get the computer of his back. He immediately bolted upright and ran for the door, shouting something along the lines of “thank you”. I was about to do the same when another quake tripped me. I looked at the gate to just in time to see it collapse and implode. The next thing I remember absolute white, and absolute pain.

That would explain it. I got sucked up by an exploding dimensional hole. Now, I’m no physicist or sci-fi nerd, but even I know that getting dragged into an unstable warp gate has dire consequences. I for once, was glad I didn’t die right there. And I would be (hopefully) happier once I figured out where I was. The headache resided into a barely there buzz, allowing my senses to takeover. First thing that my now active senses picked up is the awful taste of copper and chlorine. Why was that, I didn’t know. I took a deep breath, the smell of humid dirt and various plants in the air. I began to listen to my surroundings, a breeze shaking the top of the trees, the sound of small critters in the distance. Then I finally opened my eyes. I was lying down in a small clearing in the middle of what appeared to be a massive forest. It was nighttime, the full moon looming straight up. ‘Well, at least I’m not in hell’ I thought. ‘I hope.’ Everything seemed normal enough, except for one thing. Something was off about the moon. I never took time to look at it very often, so I wasn’t really familiar with it. Yet, something was different about it, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on, but knew it was there. And on top of that, it felt strangely soothing to just look at it, like it was emanating energy, like magic or something. ‘Hah. That’s a funny thought. Magic. Right.’

It was about time I got a move on. I didn’t really know how much time I was out cold, or if there was any food around. The sooner I could find some, the better. Then I heard a distant howl of a wolf. It was far enough for me not to worry, but I still didn’t want to become something’s chew toy. I got enough of that from my sister. I sighed deeply and closed my eyes, reaching for the back of my head to scratch a few itchy scales… To scratch a few itchy scales… Itchy scales… Scales…

What.

My eyes shot open. I raised my hand in front of my face and sure enough, I was looking at a scaly, sharp, set of claws. My scaly, sharp, set of claws. Raising my head from the ground, I took a good look at the rest of my body. It was an elongated, slip-streamed frame, muscles visible even under the scaly hide. The scales themselves were thick, and shined in a deep royal blue. The underbelly was covered by smaller; cream colored scales that diffused the moonlight instead of reflecting it. Further down was an elongated tail that tapered into what seemed like a head of a harpoon. The legs looked strong, yet nimble, and the claws seemed to retain all the dexterity of a human hand. Besides the main body were a set of long, broad, webbed wings, the same blue hue as the body.

The best thing I could to at that moment was stare. My brain was too busy trying to put an ounce of logic into the situation. I didn’t even associate the things I was seeing as mine. They were foreign to me; it simply did not make sense. Then I felt one of the wings twitch. That’s when something in my head clicked. Those are my claws. That is my body. That is my tail. Those are my wings. I was a reptile, a winged one at that. I flipped onto my legs, and carefully stood on all four. At this point in time, my face twisted into twitchy mess. I would laugh if it wasn’t my own. My mind was grinding against itself trying to figure out just what the hell was going on. I was standing on four scaled limbs. It still didn’t make sense.
In an attempt to save myself from a mental meltdown, took a better look around. The forest seemed like an odd combination of your average oak forest, and a jungle. The robust trees were covered in vines, and the ground around them was covered in different varieties of fungi and ferns. That meant I couldn’t really use the forest itself to determine my location, seeing the unlikely combination of biomes.

I took a step forward, only to see the ground reaching to greet my face. I groaned, and got back up. Walking on all fours would need some getting used to. Tried to take another step, dubitably taking moving my paw (it’s called a paw right? I don’t know) forward. It landed, and I had yet to eat dirt again. Good. I moved the other one forward, and put it on the ground. That apparently didn’t work, seeing as my back legs were still in place, stretching out under me. That hurt a little bit, but it felt good at the same time, kinda when you stretch your legs after you wake up from a nap. Actually, that’s pretty much what I did. Tried backing up again, only to lose balance and tilt backwards.

To my surprise, I landed on my hind quarters, and managed to balance myself there. Somehow, it felt kind of natural, as in, I was not struggling to keep my balance, and it was actually a bit comfy. And top of that, it allowed me extend my full frame upwards, allowing for a peek at over the tree tops. The forest seemed to extend over for miles, but I could see a few lights off in the distance. ‘Ha! Civilization! No camping out for me tonight!’ I started to make my way out of the clearing, but then the ground thought it missed me and came to say hi. Right, can’t walk on two legs. I lifted myself, again, and tried to remember as to how lizards move. After a few experimental steps, I managed to get a pattern set. Now I could move. Good. Again, I began to head out towards the lights, only to be interrupted by my stomach this time.

At this point in time, I about lost it. The situation was way too weird. I was moving in a skin that wasn’t my own, in the middle of an unidentified forest, in what could be another dimension for what I knew, alone, and now I was hungry. Great. Fucking great. I was about ready to scream in frustration, and in all honesty, I couldn’t find a reason not to.

“Goddamn it. Goddamnit. GODDAMNIT!”

“Eep!”

I whirled around in surprise. Someone was there! Someone who could possibly help! For the first time since I got here, I smiled. That smile was gone in about two seconds though. Because when I finally spotted my company, I was startled, and utterly confused. Staring back at me from behind the bush line, was a small yellow horse. It had a pink mane that covered half of its face. I’m skipping any further description, because I know who she is, and so do you. She was Fluttershy. The ever-adorable shy pony of Ponyville. The ever fainting pony too, as she was clearly demonstrating now.

Normally, I would have rushed to her side under normal conditions. But this was far from normal under any book. To recap, I was a blue reptile, a dragon from what I now deduced, staring at a yellow flying horse, which was now passed out about fifty feet out. Yep. My head was reeling. Not because I didn’t know what was happening, but the opposite. I knew where I was, and I was defectively not happy about that. I was in Equestria, home to magic wielding unicorns and flying pegasi. Home to manticores and hydras, dragons and ursas. It was, for a lack of a better word, impossible. A malfunctioning warp gate send me to the land of Equestria. There was only one thing to say.

“… Aww crap.”

An interesting friendship

A Dragon’s Journey

Ch.2

An interesting friendship

This situation could not suck worse. There I was, standing right in the middle of the Everfree forest, with a passed out yellow pony, in the middle of the night, with who knows what lurking around, and no food to be seen. It was literally a worst case scenario. The only good news is that I knew where the nearest town, Ponyville, was. Normally, I would just have waltz right into town, Fluttershy in tow, but it wasn’t a possibility. I could have done so if I was a pony, and maybe even arrive as a human without causing much of a stir. But nooooo. I had to be a freakin’ dragon, one of the most feared creatures in Equestria. As much as I set one claw in town, I was guaranteed a mob. And, it could only be worse if they saw me carry a limp Fluttershy around. And to top it off, I was still hungry. My only option at the time was to wait for Fluttershy to wake up and hopefully don’t pass out the moment she sees me.

On the subject of Fluttershy, you might be wondering why is it that I know her name, even when neither of us managed to say a word before she passed out. Scratch that. I know what you are thinking, and let me tell you, it’s wrong. Yes, I’ve watched My Little Pony. No, I’m not a brony. Now, don’t take me wrong, I like the show, I’m just not such a rabid fan as other people I know. I began watching it when my friend Cole, forced me to watch it with him. I was surprised that it was that good, but it didn’t particularly strike my fancy. The only reason I still watch it is because it makes for good conversation with my sister whenever we get on the phone. She’s eight by the way.

Back at the situation at hand, Fluttershy had begun to stir. I was hoping for the best, and preparing for the worst. I honestly didn’t know what to expect. There are too many possibilities with disastrous consequences, and only a few with good ones. Best case scenario, I wake up from this screwed up dream. Second best scenario, she wakes up and is perfectly fine, and leads me into town where a parade in my name is waiting. Fat chance, but I’m allowed to dream. Next best case, she wakes up and freezes in fear, giving me enough time to explain my situation and hope that she doesn’t run of screaming. Knowing what little I know about Fluttershy, that was the most likely case, or at least I hoped so. And in any case, I was about to find out.

Fluttershy began to stir. She just had the worst nightmare. She was walking through the Everfree forest on her way back from Zecora. She needed a special herb that only the enigmatic zebra could have. Once acquired, she headed back, only to be distracted by a patch of the most beautiful flowers she could have seen. She stepped out of the path to get a better look at them. This turned out to be a mistake, because as soon as she got within ten feet of the flower patch, the earth shook, and a massive root spurt out of the ground. It shot straight for the pony, scaring her witless. She ran away as fast as her legs would allow. She stopped once she was sure to be relatively safe, which was not much, considering that she strayed from the path and now was utterly lost. With no better option, she aimlessly wandered the dark forest for hours looking for an exit.

Night began to fall, and she was still lost. The dark forest was now almost pitch black, and she was beyond nervous. She caught a break when she came a across a clearing, moonlight dispelling all creatures. Or at least she thought so, because as she reached the bush line, she saw her worst fear: A dragon.

She stared unbelieving. A dragon, a story and a half tall, with massive claws the size of her legs, sat on his hindquarters, looking over the horizon, no doubt looking for prey. In an event that Fluttershy didn’t expect, it tumbled into his face. He got up, shaking his head. He started to walk, with very careful and considerate steps, almost if he wasn’t sure of himself. He stopped, looking satisfied by the simple act of walking straight. Fluttershy’s curiosity almost overrode her fear at the unusual display, almost.

The beast’s tummy rumbled, and this seemed to upset the dragon very much, because it roared something that she never heard before.

“Goddamn it. Goddamnit. GODDAMNIT!”

“Eep” she squeaked. The dragon’s outburst startled her, trembling in fear. Much worse was the fact that the beast was now looking straight at her. She fainted, and that’s where her nightmare ended.

She took an easy breath, knowing that it was just a dream. She now just wished to go back to sleep again. She probed for her blanket, but found grass instead. Then the realization hit her. Her eyes shot open, and took in her surroundings, and indeed, she was still in the forest. Oh uh. She slowly stood up, and turned to face the beast. It was staring at her, and she froze on the spot, fear clenching her muscles. She was completely expecting the beast to eat her alive, or roast her, or roast her and then eat her. She clamped her eyes shut, not wanting see her impending death.
To her surprise, none of the above happened. She opened one eye, expecting to see the angry beast’s maw. What she saw instead took her completely off guard. The dragon stood there, not moving an inch, and instead of the angry eyes that she was expecting, she saw ones that were full of apprehension. There was silence. They continued to stare at each other both in fear and worry. Finally, the dragon opened its jaws. Fluttershy squeaked, expecting a fireball.

“Are you ok?”

“Huh?” The question caught Fluttershy off guard again.

“Are you ok?” it repeated his eyes filled worry and anxiety.

“Um… Yes, I’m… I’m okay” the yellow pegasus managed to whisper, barely audible even in the dead silence of the night. She managed to break eye contact with the dragon. She knew that was probably a mistake, but nothing seemed to happen.

“Good. I’m glad” it answered. The pegasus looked up to the dragon. It seemed genuinely relieved. This confused her to no end. Why was this dragon, one of the most dangerous beings in Equestria, happy to see her?
“May I ask why is such a small thing like you, wandering around such a dangerous place, at such an hour?” It asked the nervous pegasus, concern clear in his voice, with a hint of nervousness.

This confused the yellow pony even more. Why was this dragon, concerned with her? And why did it seem nervous? Something was up. “I… I was h-heading home from Zecora’s when I… I saw a flower patch a-and… it tried to e-eat me… and I ran and got l-lo-lost…” she half stuttered, half whispered, tears forming in her eyes.

“Hmmm…” The beast seemed to ponder her statement for a moment, until it noticed the pony’s watering eyes. “Wait, no need to cry,” it said, raising his forelegs. “Everything is going to be alright” it said, trying to calm the yellow pegasus. “Everyone gets lost from time to time…” It stopped for a moment, and looking pensive, before a small smirk formed in its face. “I’m kind of lost too at the moment” it continued, a small tinge of sadness escaping along the amusing tone.
Fluttershy was completely thrown aback. One of the most fearsome, and proud creatures in the land was admitting weakness to her. That went completely against what all dragons believed in. At this point, she didn’t know what to think.

“Tell me, my little pony, what’s your name?”

“Uhh… My… My name is Fluttershy…”

It chuckled a bit before speaking. “Hehe, that’s a pretty name. Fitting too.” Fluttershy couldn’t help but blush a bit, her fear quickly dissolving into her usual nervousness. “The name’s Jack, by the way. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Fluttershy.” She nodded in agreement.

“The pleasure is all mine,” she whispered, a little louder that before, but still quiet as a mouse.

“Hmm. Tell you what; from up here I can see a few lights way over there. I’m guessing it’s the town you live in. I can get you over there unharmed, and then you can get me a map or something so I can place myself. Does that sound good?”
Fluttershy pondered the Jack’s offer for a moment. He seemed trustworthy, but then again, he was a dragon. She hadn’t heard of friendly dragons besides Spike. She kept weighting the consequences of leading a dragon to Ponyville for about a minute. But her decision was made for her when a howl was heard in the distance.

“Ok” she quickly said. “Lead the way”.

“Really? Alright! Town’s this way, follow me”. His voice was full of relief. He pointed in a direction, and set off.

Man, that’s a relief. My prediction turned out to be right. Fluttershy locked up, I spoke, and managed to get a bit of her trust. She was still shaking like hummingbird on a sugar high, but at least she wasn’t screaming in fear. It’s odd actually, that was slightly of character for me to present such concern. Normally, I would have presented myself in a stoic way, and chat it up with a bit of playful snarkiness I’m known for. But that didn’t happen. Instead, I was genuinely interested in her well being. Maybe it had something to do with me being a nervous wreck at the moment. Or maybe my brains got scrambled in the warp hole. Or maybe is the fact that Fluttershy is so damn cute. Or maybe all of the above.

For those who didn’t already know, Fluttershy is just about the most adorable thing on TV. Not even I, a guy that watches the show with no particular care for it, can deny that fact. Well then, let me tell you all a little something, they seriously tone it down in the show. In person, Fluttershy is an ambulating cuteness stroke. Seriously, just from watching her from fifty feet away, I felt like I was going to die out of diabetes.

I managed to snap out that train of thought for long enough to notice the awkward silence. We reached a wide trail, were the moon illuminated the path. Fluttershy was nervously shaking her head from one side to another, scanning the trees, looking out for whatever there is out there. I decided that it was wise to strike up a conversation, get her mind out of current situation.

“So… Fluttershy, care to tell me about yourself?” I already knew a little about her, but then again, I wasn’t a fan of the show. Every tidbit helps.

“Ummm…” Well, duh. I feel stupid now. I completely forgot that she hates being put in the spotlight. And no doubt the vagueness of the question put her on edge. Now she’s nervous for entirely different reasons. I have to find another subject, pronto.

“I mean, do you have any hobbies or such?”

“Well,” she continued. “I take care of all the little creatures in Ponyville. They come to me whenever they are hurt or sick.” Save!

“Oh? So you like animals then? He, you would look like the kind to do so. I like animals too.” I turned to look at her, a little smirk on my face. She instantly snapped her attention on me. She seemed to brighten up, but then her face quickly changed to one of doubt. She’s probably thinking that I’m going to eat them or something. Got to do something. “I used to have a cat. He was the cutest little ball of nuisance in existence. Only time he wasn’t jumping around was when he was sleeping someplace weird. I loved him to death and beyond”

That seemed to do the trick, because her face went back to a gentle smile. “Oh my,” she giggled. Lucky me, she seems to be ignoring the fact that a dragon with a pet cat would be a bit weird. “He does sound like a cute thing. Where is he? I love to meet him.”

“To be honest, I have no idea. He ran off one day, probably chasing after a butterfly or something.” I sighted. “I wonder what shenanigans he’s up to now. Hehe. No doubt pestering some poor soul out of his fish.”

An honest smile reached my face. Those were sweet memories. That cat was a personification of spasms. There was never a dull moment when he was around.

“What was his name,” I heard Fluttershy ask. I turned to look at her. Her eyes somehow managed to compact apprehension, worry, sadness, empathy, and support into a single, D’aw inducing, gaze. I couldn’t help but let out a slight chuckle. I wanted to get some information on her, but she somehow turned the tables without even trying.

“His name was Jerry.” I know that’s a weird name for a cat but I already had a cat named Tom, so instead I opted to pay homage to the little mouse in a rather ironic way. Anyway, I could tell I was getting to Fluttershy, because she had an honest smile both on her mouth and on her eyes. It’s incredible how much emotion can be conveyed by the eyes, especially if said eyes are at least four times the size of normal eyes.

Unfortunately for both of us, the happy moment didn’t last much longer. The trail had opened into another clearing, and low growl quickly killed both our smiles. From a high bush on the far right, a pair of yellow glowing eyes could be seen. Even worse was that, once I actually started to pay attention, I noticed that we were completely surrounded by them. A dozen and a half at least. Crap. I felt something lean against me. It was trembling madly. I looked back to see the yellow pegasus press against my leg, fear evident in her face. One of the set of eyes came closer, stepping into the light. It was big. Bigger than Fluttershy, and about half my height when I stood on all fours. It had huge fangs, complimenting the obviously sharp claws. But what really struck me, was the fact that this being was completely made out of wood. It looked like a chewed out ball of tree roots.

“T-t-t-t-timberwolfs!” I heard Fluttershy stutter. More of them came into the light, closing the distance between them and us. I didn’t like it one bit. For one, they looked hungry, which is hard to say, because you can’t exactly read twisted twigs. For another, they looked pissed, and that was clear from the beginning. But what bugged me most is that somehow, they looked desperate. They had to be to go against a dragon, now that I think about it. This meant that they would not likely back away until they got what they wanted. And they apparently wanted some yellow pony for diner.

One of them lunged forward towards Fluttershy. I managed to react in time, swatting away with a wing. Another one went for my front leg. That earned it an uppercut to the kisser. Two others timed themselves and ran towards us, one in my direction, and the other in Fluttershy’s. I grabbed the one that was charging me, and tossed it at the other. They crashed with a yelp, and tumbled for a few feet. I felt something cling to my rear left leg. One of the wolves was clamped solidly on it. It was trying to chew through my scales, but its teeth were soon flattened. I shook it off with ease. I noted that had they been normal calcium teeth, they could have a chance, but then again, this thing was made out of wood. Not exactly the most durable material if you asked me.

My train of thought was interrupted when I heard Fluttershy scream. My lapse of concentration allowed them to get closer, and the ones I hit earlier were recovered by now. This was a losing battle if I didn’t figure out a way to take them out en masse. One charged at Fluttershy, and I again tried to swat it away with my wing. This time it dodged, and lunged at my wing. His hit connected, tearing a small gap on the webbing. It hurt like a bitch. I looked around, hoping to find any openings in their formation. There weren’t any, we were surrounded. My mind was going into overdrive trying to come up with a solution.

I knew a few things about combat, most of them from the Military Channel, but no experience in actual fighting or logistics. They were closing in, and I could feel my heart on my throat. ‘Think, Jack think, what I have to work with, what they have.’ I was a dragon, I could try to burn them out of existence, but then, I didn’t know how to breathe fire. I had wings, but again, I had no idea of how to use them. What was left, then? I looked at my claws, then at the living wood surrounding us. Only option left was take them out one by one. It was going to be lengthy, messy, and very likely to be painful.

Three more charged at us, two from the front, one from the back. I slammed the back one with my tail, instantly flattening it. The other two jumped at Fluttershy. I got a hold of her and used my wings as shields. That added another few holes into the webbing, which burned like hell. I was not going to last long under these conditions. Taking them out one by one was going to take way to long. I needed a way to break them apart quick.

About half a dozen of them attacked us now. I quickly got a hold of Fluttershy and sat down on my hind legs. With the trembling pegasus out of reach, the wolves circled the scaly tower that was holding their prey. They clawed at my legs harmlessly, the scales easily deflecting their blows. They were at it for a good five minutes before a growl interrupted them. I looked down to see that the wolves were backing up. They went into a V formation where a timberwolf considerably bigger than the rest took the lead. ‘The alpha,’ I thought. They were getting ready for a coordinated attack on us. This time, instead of a few, the entire pack seemed to get ready. If my calculations were correct, this would completely suck. I needed to do something quick, or we would be wolf fertilizer in under a minute. I looked around, only to confirm that we were still surrounded, the V formation creating a dent in the otherwise perfect circle.

Wait. A dent! Yes! That’s what I need! The plan had already cooked in my head. I just needed for these brainless twigs to get closer. And to my luck, they did. I could have sworn that the alpha almost looked smug, but then again, it’s was like trying to figure out a tree’s mood. I put Fluttershy on my back, and landed back on all fours. I kept my poker face, as to not giveaway my plan to the plant beasts. The formation got within my range, and I couldn’t help but crack a small grin. You should have seen the face of the alpha when it realized what was going on. I lifted my front legs and spun on the back as fast as I could. My tail swung around, clobbering the wolves in the formation, including the alpha. They flew a few feet away, landing near the bushline. That’s all I needed, the previously perfect circle now had a huge gap on it. I made sure Fluttershy was holding into my back, which she was, and ran like hell.

I dashed past the shocked wolves and onto another trail on the opposite side of the clearing. It was barely wide enough for me to go through, and had to clamp my wings against my body. I kept running as fast as I could, which wasn’t much given that I still wasn’t accustomed to my new body, despite the sudden prowess I displayed back there. It felt awkward to say the least. I wanted to lift my front legs and stretch my wings, but I knew I would trip otherwise, or hit my wings against the trees. But I still felt like doing so.

I killed the thought when I heard barks further down the trail. They were, without a doubt, chasing us. I focused on running, checking every so often on Fluttershy. She was clamped solidly on my neck. Good, at least she wasn’t going anywhere. I kept running down the trail, the barks getting louder and closer. Up ahead I spotted a chasm. It could either mean salvation or damnation if I didn’t figure out how to cross it. Fortunately, I noticed the lingering impulse to stretch open my wings, which gave me an idea. The trail ahead widened just about enough for me to stretch them open. Despite not being able to fly, I figured at least I should be able to glide.

“Uhh… There’s a… gap up ahead,” a tiny voice said.

“I know,” I answered the voice I knew belonged to the pegasus on my back.

“A-are we going to… m-make it?”

“In all honesty, I have no idea.”

I was pretty sure she wanted to say something, she didn’t get the chance. The trail finally opened up, and I stretched my wings in the last ditch effort. The edge of the chasm was within reach, and with all my force, I leaped over it. Somehow, my last minute plan worked. I sailed through the gap, landing on the thankfully lower side of the chasm. I turned to see the faces of the very frustrated Timberwolves. The alpha was sporting what I assumed to be the wooden equivalent of a black eye. That made it, I let out a mocking laugh, which they answered with angry growls. That only lifted my spirits further. I was about to gloat a bit more when I felt something trembling on my neck. I turned to see the still scared witless Fluttershy holding onto my neck. I giggled at the sight, and picked her up. I placed her carefully on the ground, lowering my head to her eye level.

“Are you ok?” I asked.

“Y-y-y-yes… I’m… Okay, I think?”

I frowned. “You think?” Apparently she didn’t hear me, her face still frozen in shock. Or at least I thought so.

“You… saved me,” she said.

“Well, of course. I’m not about to let some rabid tree lunch on my friend. Now, answer me, are you okay? She kept ignoring the question, and decided to dwell on something else. It aggravated me to no end. “Fluttershy, answer me, are you-…”

My sentence and my train of thought were abruptly cut off by a trembling yellow pony. She lunged at my face, muzzling it tenderly. “Thank you… Oh thank you so very much,” I heard her mutter. She was sobbing, and I could feel tears seeping between my scales. “You saved my life…”

All my worries melted along with my heart. This was a true heartfelt moment both for me and her. “You’re welcome,” I whispered back at her, returning the muzzle. I was fighting tears of my own. That is when I realized what happened. I made an honest real friend, the first in a long time. And with a pony none the less. He, imagine that, a human turned dragon friend with a yellow and pink pegasus. It felt unreal, yet so real at the same time. And what struck me as the weirdest is that I was honestly happy. Something that comes far and wide and something you don’t expect to see from me in such a situation.

After what seemed like an eternity, we broke the embrace. She had a happy smile on her, and I imagined I did too. I reared up again, peeking over the trees. I could see the edge of the forest further down. I got back down to eye level, and spoke, suddenly feeling very weary, the adrenaline rush fading away.

“We are close; I can see the edge of the forest. We just have a few minutes more of walking.” She apparently picked up on my condition, because she snapped from a smile into a concerned stare within a second.

“Are you ok?” she asked. “You don’t seem to well.”

“I’m fine. Just a little tired is all.” She certainly wasn’t convinced, concern still plastered on her face like a mud mask. She trotted around me, a watchful eye examining every inch of my body until it fell on my wings.

“Oh my gosh!” she gasped. “You’re hurt!”

“Am I?” I turned to see what she was fussing about. My wings had a few holes and tears here and there, some were bleeding slightly. I had completely forgotten about it, to be honest. The initial burning had reduced to a dull pain, masked by the adrenaline. “Meh. Don’t worry about it. I’m pretty sure it will heal eventually.”

“Oh no nonononono. We need to get this patched right away. I hate to see you hurt.”

“I said not to fret over it. I will be…” Again, my sentence was interrupted, not by a show of affection, but rather of authority. The tiny pegasus was hovering in front of my face, staring intently at me.

“You are hurt. You are coming with me to my cottage to get bandaged and rest.” There wasn’t an ounce of doubt of a question in that sentence. It wasn’t even a sentence or a statement, it was an order. And if there is anything I hate more than anything, is being ordered around. I however was in no condition to argue, so with a sigh, I conceded.

“Lead the way.”

“Yay!”

And with that, we set out again. I took a minute to look at the Timberwolves, still staring at us with hateful intent. I made sure Fluttershy wasn’t looking, and gave them their well earned one finger salute. I assume they got the gist of it, by the growls I got back. I let out a quiet chuckle and trotted a bit to catch up with a waiting Fluttershy. She seemed confused at my act, but didn’t push it any further to my relief. After about twenty minutes of walking, we reached the edge of the forest. I could see Ponyville of in the distance. I was wondering if we were going into the town itself, but Fluttershy began walking in a direction towards the right.

“My home is on the outskirts of town, we can get there from here.”

“Ah. That makes sense. I think.”

We walked for another ten minutes or so, the forest of to the side. We reached Fluttershy’s cottage eventually, and I couldn’t help but notice it was dangerously close to the forest. I didn’t think about it much, I was too tired to. We walked to the back of the house. And then is when all the events of that night finally caught up with my body. I lost all motor control, and promptly collapsed to the ground.

“Oh my gosh! Are you okay?!” A very worried pegasus asked.

“Yeah… Just a little tired,” I answered, barely above a whisper. I chuckled lightly when I remembered I still had nothing to eat. I could feel consciousness leaving my grasp, eyelids barely holding open.

“Jack…” I focused my eyes on Fluttershy, her sad eyes full of concern.

“Don’t worry; I just need to sleep for a little while.” I smiled, hoping to reassure her. It halfway worked, her expression softened, but she was still nervous. I smiled.

“Fluttershy?”

“Y-yes?

“Thank you…”

And with that, I fell unconscious for the second time that day.

Misunderstandings, Misconceptions, Mixed Receptions

A dragon’s Journey

Ch.3

Misunderstandings, Misconceptions, Mixed Receptions

It was a bright and cheery morning, the birds sung, the critters played happily, and the sun blessed everyone with its sunshine. I hated it deeply for it. It must been a hell of a party for me to be this hungover, I’ll give Cole that much. My stomach was screaming for food, and my head was screaming for some aspirin. I gave a loud yawn and stretched my wings. Oh wait. Wings. That’s right. I was in magic pony land. There was no waking up from this one apparently. Not that I’m complaining about that though, the one friend I made completely makes up for the situation’s inherit weirdness.

Oh yeah. Fluttershy. Wonder how she’s holding up. I stretched my legs, and looked around. I found her leaning into my belly, sound asleep. D’aw. She spent the entire night with me. That’s sweet of her. I looked at my wings; they had patches of gauze and medical tape where holes used to be. I hope those heal soon, I really want to try my hand (claw) at flying. I should figure out how to breathe fire too. Last night’s fight would have over and done with within a minute if I knew either of those. I was reminded that I hadn’t eaten in at least a day by my very loud stomach. I was hoping it didn’t wake up Fluttershy, but a tiny giggle gave me the answer I needed.

“Somebody’s hungry,” she said in a sing song voice. If didn’t know better, I’d say she’s messing with me.

“Yeah, don’t really know the last time I ate was.” Technically, I knew it. It was at 7:30 yesterday morning. Or at least I thought so. Like I said, I really didn’t know for how long I passed out after I warped. And I was still trying to figure out if there were any time discrepancies. And I wasn’t sure of telling Fluttershy any of this without some sort of plan. Before I gave any further thought to the matter, my stomach kindly reminded me of the current situation. Thanks for nothing you little jerk.

Fluttershy giggled again. It was as sweet as it was grating. “I have some fish, is not much, but it should help… that is if it’s okay with you...” Hmm. Fish for breakfast. Not the most appetizing option, but it’s the only option right now.

“Alright, I’ll have some fish. Thank you Fluttershy.”

“Oh no. No need to thank me. I’m just returning the favor.”

“Favor?”

“You know… For saving my life…” She looked down and pawed the ground. She was the perfect definition of “bashful”, and it was utterly adorable. I swear I’m going to have a heart attack.

“Hehe,” I laughed. “I think this more than made up for it,” I said, pointing at my bandaged wings.

“Oh no, really, I’m just…” Her sentence was interrupted by my very impatient tummy. I gave the yellow pony a sheepish smile of my own.

“Say… How about that fish?”

“Okay,” she said between giggles, covering her mouth. She ventured into the cottage, and about five minutes later, she was pushing a crate about her size out the door. She was struggling to move it, so I decided to help her about a bit. I took the crate, which caused Fluttershy to fall on her face with an adorable squeak. I laughed lightheartedly as she picked herself up. To my surprise, she was giggling a bit herself.

“There you go, enjoy!” she said. I nodded and opened the crate. It was full of fish, and judging by the weight, at least a hundred pounds worth. I raised an eyebrow at the pegasus, wondering why she would need so much fish. I got my answer when she picked up a handful and began handing it over to a few critters far off. My stomach grumbled once again, and with a sigh, I dove in. It wasn’t particularly bad, but it wasn’t a treat either, which was good enough I guess. Maybe my taste buds adapted along with my body, whether that was good or bad was still to be determined. I downed the entire crate, feeling about half full. I turned to Fluttershy with a grateful smile. She was tending to a rabbit family at the time. She turned to me and smiled back. I noticed that all the animals where looking at me cautiously. I couldn’t blame them; I was a dragon after all. I’m guessing the only reason they haven’t ran of screaming their little heads off was because Fluttershy hadn’t done so yet.

It kind of hurt actually, knowing that I was scaring them. I’m not much of a people’s person, but I always was an animal lover. You tend to be when you were raised in a farm in the middle of nowhere. But that’s a story for another time. Right now though, I needed a way to gain this animals’ trust. I spotted a large sack from which Fluttershy was taking nuts to feed the squirrels. As carefully as my pony-size claws allowed me, I graved a handful (clawful?) of nuts and stretch it over to a family of squirrels. They obviously made a run for it, I wasn’t surprised. But I knew few tricks to gain their trust. I turned my head to the side and looked off into the distance. A little known fact about animals is that the regard eye contact with as much, if not more importance than humans. For example, if you were to stare down a cat, the cat will freeze in place. This works with all cats, including the big ones. By adverting my eyes, I’m hoping to remove a little pressure from them, kinda like saying “don’t worry, I’m not looking”.

To my slight surprise and relief, it worked. The lessening weight on my hands told me that the squirrels were taking my offer. When I didn’t feel any more nuts, I turned to see my empty hand. The squirrels were munching on their food to what a little distance away. They were sitting considerably closer though, eyeing me with equal parts of caution and curiosity. I smiled, it was progress. I turned to Fluttershy, who was staring at me with an exited grin.

Before I could say anything, she rushed me with a hug. “Oh my gosh! That was amazing!” she said, clamping on my snout.

“Uhhh… It was nothing?” I was at a lack of words. Seeing Fluttershy exited instead of her usual quiet demeanor was certainly different, if not disconcerting.

She broke of the embrace. “Oh no! It really was! You got them to trust you! It took Twilight weeks to be able to get near them, and you got them eating out the palm of your paw in minutes! It’s truly impressing!”

“Umm… Thanks?” I’d admit it was quite a feat, being a dragon and all, but it certainly doesn’t deserve this much praise, right? I mean, I’ve been around animals for the most part of my life; it’s like a second nature to me.

“Would you like to help me feed the rest of my friends?” asked in a hopeful, cheery tone.

“Uhh… Sure?” And with that, she bolted of into a shed, and brought a sack of carrots and handed it to me. She pointed to a group of rabbits a good thirty yards out. Repeating the same process as before, and with a little extra encouraging from Fluttershy’s part, I was feeding the rabbits. We repeated the process a few more times, and in no time, I was surrounded by a plethora of little critters. Some of the braver birds even perched on top of my back. Fluttershy was ecstatic, going back and forth between one animal and the other, humming happily. It was a bit weird for me, but none the less appreciated. Having a bunch forest creatures peacefully flock around me was soothing, in a way. I could see why Fluttershy would enjoy it so much. That peace didn’t last any longer, however, as a shrill cry broke the air and scattered all the woodland inhabitants.

“FLUTTERSHY! You are okay!” In the time it took Fluttershy to react, a pink blur tackled her to the ground.

“Ohmygosh you have no idea how worried everyone was when you didn’t come back from Zecora’s and we didn’t know where you were and we thought something happened to you and we spend the entire night looking for you and when we didn’t find you everyone was scared and…”

Both I and Fluttershy were utterly confused, and in the pegasus’ case, a little scared. I knew that the pink blob now assaulting Fluttershy with a verbal barrage of unintelligible gibberish was undoubtedly Pinkie Pie. The party pony was bear hugging a very nervous Fluttershy, completely ignorant to the pegasus’ weak calls for attention. Unsure of how to react, I decided to speak up, seeing as the earth pony was completely oblivious to my presence.

“Umm, excuse me?” The pink pony instantly ceased talking, and turned to me. Her eyes became the size of peas, quickly darting between me and Fluttershy. Her jaw slung open. We all stayed frozen in place, the tension was so dense one would need a saw to cut through it. And in a very stupid move, I spoke up again. “Hi…”

With a loud gasp, she shot up in the air, and in defiance of at least a dozen laws of physics, she disappeared
leaving a pony shaped dust cloud in her wake. Oh goodie, just what I need. There was no doubt in my mind that she was heading to town. Once she opened her really big mouth, the town would go into frenzy. I had no idea what these ponies could do to me, but I was sure as hell didn’t want to find out. I turned to Fluttershy; her worried expression told me that she was thinking the same thing I was. After what seemed like an eternity, I finally spoke up.

“Should we go after her?”

“Um… Maybe…”

I sighed. I knew it was going to be a long day. “Come on, we better get moving. The sooner we get to town and clear this mess up, the better.” She nodded, and we started walking toward Ponyville.

After an undefined amount of walking, we reached the edge of town. To both our surprise and worry, the town was desolate. The streets were bare, all the shops were closed, and there wasn’t a soul in sight. I was taken aback, to say the least. I’m not gonna lie, I was totally expecting a mob. I turned to Fluttershy, who was as confused and worried as I was. “Where’s everyone?” I asked.

Before she could answer me, a sudden flash blinded us both. I heard Fluttershy “eep”, and when I regained my sight, she was gone. Crap. I felt the ground rumble. Double crap. Within a matter of seconds, a mass of multicolored equines, all of them scowling at me, had gathered. There’s my mob! And here I was thinking I got lucky for once. Heh, some of them even had torches and pitchforks. I didn’t know whether to call appropriate or cliché.

Another flash erupted, and a very determined looking Twilight Sparkle and a very panicky Fluttershy stood in front of the crowd. They were soon joined by three more ponies. One was an earth pony with an orange coat, blonde mane, and a Stetson hat. Another one was an alabaster unicorn with a purple curly mane. Ladies and gentlemen, introducing Rarity and Applejack. Both were staring at me, petulantly and determinedly, respectively. The third pony was a disgruntled Pinky Pie. Why she was like that was beyond me.

Hold on a sec. We are still missing a pony. Rainbow Dash was still nowhere in sight. That all changed when I felt something wiz past the back of my head. A rainbow colored contrail shot from on top of my head towards the crowd, where it made a couple of pirouettes and landed alongside the others. There she was, Rainbow Dash, looking smug as ever. I’ll let you in on a little something. From all the ponies in the show, Rainbow is the one I dislike the most. Something about her just seems annoyingly familiar, and her smugness just rubs me the wrong way. I frowned, which at the time was a very stupid thing to do, seeing as the ponies steeled themselves.

Twilight stepped up from the group. With sheer determination, she spoke. “We don’t know why came here, but we are not letting you stay! We will not allow you terrorize our friend any longer!” Terrorize? Come on! I was feeding the freakin’ birds! I was about to retort, but as soon I opened my mouth; it was clamped shut by a glowing purple aura. I saw Twilight’s horn glowing in the same hue, and her demeanor changed to a considerably angrier tone. “We can do this either of two ways,” she continued. “You can leave peacefully and save both us and yourself some trouble, or we can kick you out.”

“Girls…” said Fluttershy in her usual meek tone.

“Shush now dear. No need to fret. The mean dragon won’t scare you anymore,” said Rarity, trying to comfort a pony that needed no comforting.

“Yeah! We’re going to kick his flank all the way back to the Everfree forest!” exclaimed Rainbow. My opinion of her wasn’t getting any better.

“But I’m not…” Fluttershy tried to rebut, but was interrupted by an orange hoof to the mouth.

“Don’t worry sugar cube, when all of this is done, I’ll get ya some of mah granny’s apple pie. There’s nothin’ like homemade pie to lift the spirit,” said Applejack with a wink.

Pinkie Pie remained quiet, deep in thought. But seems I’m the only one who noticed.

“Yes, but right now, we need take care of something,” said Twilight at the group. She turned to face me again. Her horn began to glow brighter as her face scrunched up with concentration. Then the purple aura that surrounded my snout soon covered my entire body. I could feel the ground grow further away as my entire weight was lifted into the air. I would be screaming in protest if my jaw wasn’t magically strapped in place. I opted for flailing instead. It didn’t do me much good. I could feel the energy building up around me, and I could see the unicorn’s horn glowing brighter by the second. The crowd was cheering. “Now…” Twilight spoke between clenched teeth.

“Back. Home. YOU…”

“WAIT!”

“…GAH!” And with that, I was unceremoniously dropped to the ground. Ouch. “Pinkie Pie!” Twilight screamed. “Why did you do that?!”

“He even hasn’t had his party yet!” Pinkie pie shouted.

“What?! Party for whom?”

“Well duh!” said Pinky while rolling her eyes. “Him!” she shouted while pointing at me.

“What,” said almost everyone present, in the same unison flat tone. Twilight face palmed (face hoofed?).

“Pinky,” said Rainbow, her tone carrying a certain annoyance, not unlike a parent addressing a stubborn kid. “How
many times do I have to tell you? We don’t throw parties for bad guys.”

“But he’s not a bad guy,” Pinkie countered.

“Pinkie, he’s a dragon, he’s dangerous,” said Applejack. I’ll admit that stung a bit.

“So is Spike,” Pinkie rebutted. “And he’s one of the nicest ponies I know! Well, he isn’t a pony but you get the idea.”

“This is different; Spike has been around ponies his entire life. This dragon on the other hand, hasn’t. He’s dangerous, and certainly not friendly,” Twilight half nagged, half lectured. I was about say otherwise when Pinkie beat me to the punch.

“But he’s Fluttershy’s friend!”

“What?” answered Rainbow. “Pinkie, there’s no way that he could be…”

“It’s true,” interrupted Fluttershy.

“Huh?” said all the friends, sans Pinkie.

“He saved my life,” continued Fluttershy. She turned to me, and smiled gratefully. Everyone present let out a collective gasp, and looked at me with incredulity. All except Pinkie, who looked pretty happy. Seeing that all eyes were on me, get up and sit down. Everyone stepped back when I did so, except Fluttershy and Pinkie, who walked, or Pinkie’s case, bounced next to me.

“What’s your name?” asked the hyperactive pony. I looked at her, and then at the crowd, and answered in as a cool and collected voice I could muster.

“My name is Jackson Hail.” The crowd cringed a little. I could see why, I just noticed how booming my voice had become. Must have something to do with having a throat the size of an oil pipeline. In a more controlled volume, I finished. “But you can call me Jack.”

I looked away from the crowd and lowered my gaze to the two ponies sitting next to me. One was smiling proudly, and the other beaming with excitement. I turned my attention back to the crowd. They were still acting nervously, but considerably less hostile. The rest of the group of friends approached us cautiously.

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, uh, Jack,” said a nervous Twilight, obviously forcing a smile. She, Rarity, and Applejack looked unsure, and Rainbow Dash was eyeing me suspiciously. “I’m sure that anypony who is a friend of Fluttershy’s is a nice, eh, dragon,” she finished. The only way it could sound more unconvincing is if she had big sign that said “don’t eat me” over her head.

“Well thank you, uh…” I doubted there for a moment. I was about to call her Twilight, but I realized she hadn’t introduced herself yet. If I called her by her name, then I would need to come up with a lie as to how I knew it. I wasn’t ready to tell them the full story just yet and much less about My Little Pony. I didn’t want to be responsible for breaking their minds.

Lucky for me, Twilight picked up on my doubt, and although she misinterpreted what I was thinking, it was for the best. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, protégé of Princes Celestia,” she said. “And this Applejack…”

“Howdy,” said the farm pony, tipping her hat. She still looked rather nervous, if not a bit suspicious.

“Rarity…” continued Twilight.

“A pleasure to meet you Mr.… Uhm, Hail, was it?” the alabaster pony said. I nodded. No doubt the name sounds weird to them, specially coming from a dragon.

“Pinkie Pie…”

“HI!” shouted the pink sugar mass.

“And Rainbow Dash.” The pony in question scoffed. She got with a couple inches of my face and whispered in an angry tone.

“I’m watching you.” My eyes narrowed as did hers. It was obvious neither of us liked each other. We locked stares for a few more seconds, before Twilight continued.

“And you’ve already met Fluttershy.”

I broke off from my little staring contest and looked down at Fluttershy. She looked nervous, but was smiling none the less. My expression instantly softened, my aversion for the speedster completely forgotten. I turned to face everyone again, nobody said anything, and everything was deadly quite. I could have sworn I saw a tumbleweed roll by.

“So… What now?” someone asked from the crowd. Pinkie gasped loudly.

“I completely forgot! I have a party to plan!” exclaimed Pinkie. She bolted off in a random direction.

“Umm, I could give you a tour of Ponyville… If that’s okay with you,” Fluttershy said.

“Hmm. That sounds nice, I guess…” A tour did sound nice. But then again, the entire town was rather… Apprehensive about my presence.

“Well, ah have business to tend to back at the farm,” said Applejack. She turned to Fluttershy with a worried look. “If ya need me for anythin’, just holler. Alright?” She might be the Element of Honesty, but let me tell you that trust isn’t part of the package. Can’t say I blame her though. She trotted off to the farm, along with a thinning crowd.

“Hmm, I need to get going too, I’m afraid. I still need to finish this week’s orders.” Rarity turned to leave, but stopped and looked over her shoulder. “Again, pleasure to meet you, Mr. Hail.” And then she left. She didn’t sound as nervous, but I could still tell she didn’t exactly trust me. Again, I can’t really blame anybody for that.

Next to leave was Rainbow Dash, who just whispered something to Fluttershy before she shot up to the sky. That left me, Twilight, and Fluttershy. The unicorn turned to me, nervousness still apparent in her face, but a glint of curiosity showed through. “I’ll head to the library. There are a few things I need to take care off. But feel free to step by later. I would like to ask you a few questions, if you don’t mind.”

“Hmm… Alright, sure.” Twilight smiled faintly and departed. I felt the need to refuse, but at I didn’t want to raise any suspicion. I turned to the last pony left, and asked “So, how about that tour?” Fluttershy beamed and we set off.

That’s when I took first good at the town. It looked exactly as it did in the cartoon. And by that I mean a collection of colorful, crooked, thatch roofed buildings. I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of worry. Most of the houses there were half timbered structures, two stories high, and the second one usually overhanging the first. I couldn’t help but wonder how the hell these things held themselves together. I listened as Fluttershy explained what each building was and who lived in it, taking mental notes about the different structures, running different calculations on how they could fail.

You’re probably thinking I’m a jerk for saying such things, but remember one thing: I study to become an Architectural Engineer. It is within my field to build the safest, longer lasting buildings I can, so trust me when I say that these things did not look good. The design seemed almost random, windows and balconies placed with no sense of structural support or even uniform aesthetics. I dismissed their implausibility as some sort of cartoon physics, trying to dispel my fears. It didn’t work.

We continued the tour, Fluttershy pointing out things of interest along the way. As we made way through the conveniently wide streets; I couldn’t help but notice the weary looks I was getting. I had a suspicion that Fluttershy was taking a bit of the edge off their fears, but I still felt kind of threatened.

That train of thought was cancelled as the smell of fresh baked sweets reached my nose. Sugar Cube Corner is as colorful and cheery as it is in the show. I took special interest in the roof, and more specifically, on the material it was made off. It wasn’t gingerbread, but it looked rather realistic. I took a mental note to ask Pinkie about it later. Other than that, the building wasn’t much different than the rest surrounding it, meaning it was a structural nightmare. From the inside I could hear Pinkie Pie singing something about cupcakes, and the clattering of multiple metal bowls. She must have been getting ready for whatever party she was planning for me.

Next up was Carousel Boutique. I was happy to say that I actually kind of liked this one. I wasn’t too hot on the décor, but I found the architecture itself interesting. It could easily be put on top a cathedral tower. And it was one of the few buildings that seemed solid. I noticed a pair of olive green eyes peering out the window. They retreated shortly after. I raised my eyebrow in suspicion and curiosity, but quickly dismissed it.

Our next stop really took the cake. The town hall, a circular structure in the middle of town, was easily the best. It was a half timbered structure, like the rest of town, but it also had beautiful gothic style windows and a roof that slopped perfectly. It was quite well made compared to the leaning homes surrounding it, and it was also quite aesthetic. I need to get hold of a copy of the blueprints.

After about half a day, we reached last stop, the library, and to be honest, there’s not much I can say about it other than the obvious fire hazard. The actual building was carved out of the tree, with a few balconies built on top of the branches. A carpenter or a sculptor would have a better word out of this than me.

As we approached the end of our tour, the library’s door slammed open. From within, a tiny purple and green lizard ran through, a lavender unicorn giving chase. “SPIKE!” the unicorn yelled. Spike, Twilight’s dragon assistant, made a beeline towards Fluttershy and me. He skidded to a stop a few feet from me. He looked up, aw apparent in his face. Twilight was standing a little further away, looking at the scene with fear and anxiety.

“Whoa…” he said. I could feel a smile creeping up my face. I’m a sucker for unspoken praise.

“’Sup little dude” I called.

“So you are the guy who saved Fluttershy…” He’s admiration was threatened to cause my ego to swell near bursting lines.

“Yup." I turned to Fluttershy, her usual shy smile in place. Spike followed my gaze back to Fluttershy, his eyes widening when he saw her.

“Oh! Sorry Fluttershy, I didn’t see you there!” He’s eyes were darting between the pegasus and me. I could not fathom what he was thinking.

“It’s quite okay Spike, I don’t mind,” the yellow pony answered. Twilight approached us. She seemed to breathing relatively normal now, but she was still trembling a little. She walked up to me with a forced smile.

“I’m sorry” she said. “I hope Spike isn’t bothering you, I’ll just…”

“Hm? Why would I mind?” I interrupted. Her eyes widened in surprise, and my eyebrow rose in curiosity.

“You… Don’t mind?” she asked in incredulity. “But… Dragons are supposed to be extremely territorial! For one to see another in its territory would…”

“Technically, I’m in his territory I believe.” I interrupted again. The little dragon’s face displayed a mix between awe, and pride, and utter joy. “I don’t really want a fuss over such things.” Twilight was utterly confused. I wish I had a camera, that face was priceless. I smirked before I continued. “Besides, as far as I can tell, neither of us is what you can call a ‘normal’ dragon.”

“I, uh…” Hehe. She was speechless. It filled my heart with a warm, fuzzy feeling.

“Anyway, I do believe you wanted to ask some questions?”

That snapped her out of whatever train of thought she was having, and nodded. “I was wondering if you two could tell us what happened last night.”

Hmm. I wasn’t too sure I wanted to answer that one by myself. That mean I would have to explain my presence in the forest. I turned to Fluttershy, and signaled her to begin. She stuttered a bit, but proceeded to tell of her little misadventure in the forest. I picked up the story when we reached the point where we entered the clearing, Fluttershy becoming a little shaken up at the memory. About twenty minutes later, we finished the story. I tried veering off some of the more touchy-feely stuff, but Fluttershy didn’t. It ended up with a content pegasus, a teary eyed unicorn, an impressed yet slightly irritated hatchling, and a somewhat embarrassed me. I was never particularly inclined to tell people of such moments.

Wiping of a tiny tear, Twilight turned to me smiling, all traces of doubt gone. “That was a really nice story, Jack.”

“Ehm, thanks…” was all I could say, while scratching this weird itch in the back of my neck.

“Nice!?” exclaimed Spike. “Just ‘nice’? It was awesome! He pummeled a pack of timber wolfs with his bare claws! He could have burned them to the ground, but no! He didn’t take the easy way out! He fought them on even ground, and won!”

Even ground? That’s debatable, but looking back at it, it was quite badass if I say so myself. Fluttershy seemed to agree, and so did Twilight. But then a thought seemed to cross the unicorn’s face.

“Excuse me Jack, Spike just brought up a good question. If you don’t mind me asking, why was it that you didn’t burn them?”

“To be awesome! Duh!” said Spike, like if he was stating the most obvious fact.

“Errr…” was I managed to say.

“But it doesn’t really make sense though. If you were so worried for Fluttershy, why didn’t you burn the timber wolves? Or why didn’t you fly away? You’re young, but you should be capable of flight.

“I… uhh, you see, ehh…” Dammit. This really sucks. I usually pride myself in being a very good liar, but coming up with a good excuse after a line of logic that destroys every possibility of any lie being possible is really difficult, if not impossible. I shifted nervously while I inspected the surroundings for possible escape routes. I turned back to Twilight, and angry scowl replacing all past hints of happiness. Spike was next to her, looking at me with a mix of worry and suspicion. Even Fluttershy looked at me weird. That’s when the unnerving feeling that you got caught with your hand in the cookie jar settled in. There’s no way out of this. I either spewed a half-assed lie, and lose the one friend I made, or tell the truth and risk getting tossed into a room full of ponies with white lab coats and scalpels.

I sighted. Unluckily for me, only one option had a chance of not ending badly. Seeing as I could not weasel my way out of this one, the only thing left to do was tell the truth. I looked around once again, but for onlookers rather than escape routes. Seeing none, I turned back at my present company. I noticed Twilight’s horn was glowing ever so faintly.

“Can we speak somewhere with a little more privacy?” I asked.

Twilight’s face flashed a little confusion before she understood what I wanted. With a somber expression, she pointed to the library door. “We can talk inside. Nobody should be able to hear. The door should be large enough for your head.”

I nodded, and turned to Fluttershy. She was a little scared. I gave what I hoped to be an encouraging smile and nodded to the door. She nodded in response and walked inside. I took one last look around for anyone who could hear. Satisfied, I slowly pushed my head through the door. It was barely big enough for me to pass without scraping it. I signaled for everyone to take a seat. Talking in the most serious voice in the entire day, I spoke.

“Gather up little ponies, I have a story to tell…”

Explanations and Parties

“Okay, let me get this straight…”

Twilight was clearly not amused. Apparently my little tale set off a few of her bullshit meters. But I don’t blame her, I set off a few of my own, and this actually happened to me. Hell, I’m still not completely sure if any of this is actually real, or if I’m in some sort of coma in a hospital bed.

“… So you are from another dimension.”

“Correct.”

“Where there is no semblance of magic.”

“Not that I’m aware of, no.”

“And the dominant species is a form of hairless monkeys.”

“There’s a bit more to it, but yes.”

“And you got brought here when this ‘warp gate’ blew up.”

“Right.”

“And when you got here, you were turned into a dragon.”

“Yes.”

“Uhuh.”

“Mhmm.”

“…”

“… You know how insane that sounds, right?”

“I’m aware.”

She let out a tired sigh. She looked at me with a face that had at least three different kinds of skepticism plastered all over it. Spike on the other hand, regarded me with a cautious curiosity. He still kept some air of skepticism, but there was no doubt that the idea of talking to an inter-dimensional traveler appealed to him. Then there was Fluttershy, who stared with wide-eye wonder. I myself felt a little weary.

“Listen,” said Twilight. “It was a nice story and all, but there is simply no way that it’s possible. The theory behind it is just absurd, not to mention the numerous holes in it.”

‘Holes?’ “What holes?”

“Oh please. Another dimension? An entire species that not just survive, but thrive, without the use of magic? A warp gate? That’s simply too many impossibilities. There is no…”

“Not to be rude or anything, but what’s a warp gate?” asked Spike, scratching the top of his head. I was about to answer, but Twilight was a mile ahead.

“A warp gate is essentially that: A gate or door that warps space to allow travel from one point to another, without having to travel the actual distance between the two. It’s essentially my teleportation spell set to a door. It’s not very useful in comparison though. I can use my teleportation spell on anything, at anytime, anywhere I want. A warp gate on the other hoof, it’s stationary, meaning that you have to get to it if you want to use it. Not to mention that an entire team of veteran unicorns are need to run one for five minutes.”

Well that was a long winded explanation. But it certainly beats whatever explanation I had. Unfortunately most of it flew past Spike’s head, if the unfocused stare is anything to judge by.

“This lead’s us back to one of the many holes your story, Jack,” the unicorn pointedly said. “According to your story, there was only one “human” running this warp gate. That is not possible for certain reasons. Namely that such a device would need incredible amounts of magic to run. One being does not have enough to power it or focus. And that’s the thing, if there really is no magic where you claim to be from, then there is no possible way for you to be here in the first place. How do you explain that? Or better yet, how can you prove all of this?”

I am well aware of the mistakes in her theory, but that’s honestly besides the point. The point is that…

“…I can’t.”

She rolled her eyes. “I thought so. Look, as entertaining that was,” the unicorn said she turned to leave. “I still have work to do. So, if you could please…”

“Hold up one moment please.” I interrupted.

She hung her head dejectedly. “Uhhg… Yes?”

“Look,” I began. “I know that my story is farfetched…”

“More like utterly impossible,” Twilight cut in.

“…But think about this: What possible reason could I have to tell you this? What could I gain from it?”

Whatever retort Twilight had died in her throat. She pondered my statement for a few moments. Then she turned to look at me, with a look that was half contempt, half curiosity.

“That is a good question. Why did you tell us all of this?” she asked.

“Because I need your help,” was my answer. “I need to get back home. I have friends and family to go back too. I need to go back to them.”

“Oh my…” Fluttershy whispered. “They must be worried sick.”

“Exactly. So please Twilight. I need your help. As beautiful as this place is, I simply don’t belong here.”

Sorry Bronies. You all probably want to strangle me right now, but Equestria simply isn’t my cup of tea. Deal with it.

“And what makes you think that I can help you?” asked the unicorn, slight tone of suspicion apparent.

“Maybe the fact that you live in a library? Or maybe because you introduced yourself as the Princes’ protégé? I don’t know, maybe you just look smart.” I answered.

She humphed in defiance, but the little blush along her cheeks tells me that was the right answer. I’ll admit I’m not one for flattery, but I’m certainly not above it. Some sweet words here and there and you can do anything. In this case, it saved me from explaining how I know that Twilight has a mad scientist set in her basement.

“Well, it’s true, I did say that,” confirmed the unicorn. “But what exactly do you expect me to do?”

“Well, I was thinking that you could do a bit of research or something. And seeing that you already are so knowledgeable in the subject, it might not be much of a problem.”

Twilight nodded in confirmation. She seemed to be actually considering it.

“Wait,” Spike spoke up. “What about us?” he asked, pointing at himself and Fluttershy, who looked up with an inquisitive eye. “Why tell us?”

“That’s simple,” I said. “Since I’ve been only a dragon for a day or so, I have no idea of how to do a lot of things. Like how to spit fire, or how to fly or… how to go to the bathroom for that matter.”

Spike’s cheeks puffed in barely contained laughter. The two ponies in the other hand, blushed a red not unlike that of molten steel.

“Go ahead, laugh it up. But no, seriously, had I known any of those things yesterday, the fight would not have lasted thirty seconds.”

I look of comprehension punched through Spike’s contained mirth.

“I get it! You want me to teach you how to be a dragon!” I nodded in response. “Oh man! This is so awesome!” He exclaimed, giddy with excitement.

“Umm…” Fluttershy hummed in her mousy tone. “What about me?” she asked.

“Well, I still need to learn how to fly, and I don’t see any wings on Spike.”

“Hey!” the diminutive dragon cried.

Fluttershy made an “oh” face before nodding. “I would love to teach you how to fly, Jack. That is… If you want me too.”

“But of course.” I answered with a smile, which Fluttershy returned in kind.

Twilight however, had something else in mind.

“Wait,” she said. “If you indeed don’t know how to fly, then maybe Rainbow should teach you. She’s the best flier around after all.”

For some odd reason, the thought of Rainbow Dash teaching me anything filled me with an unnatural irritation. I don’t really know why, just thinking about her makes me want to take a sledgehammer to something. Either that or make out with someone.

… Where the fuck that came from?

“That reminds me,” continued Twilight, saving me from a really weird train of thought. “If we are really doing this, we need to tell the others. Even if they don’t really help us out, they should know why we are hanging around a possibly dangerous dragon.”

Fluttershy nodded in response. “Oh yes. I can’t imagine telling them anything else.”

‘Uhh, what do I say here?’ I told Twilight and Spike because it would be of benefit for me, and I feel that lying to Fluttershy would be a cardinal sin. But what about the others? What reason do I have to tell them? And what reason do I have not to? Although I positively hate the idea of anymore people… er ponies, knowing who I am, I can’t really find a logical argument as to why not. And I can’t simply tell them to make something up. I’m betting that doing so would lead to a snowball effect. You know? Where a lie piles on top of another lie, that then pile into another pile of lies? That later come crashing down on everybody? Yeah, I want to avoid that. Plus, I know that these guys are pretty crappy liars. Lying here is simply not an option. But what then?

“We should arrange a meeting as soon as possible,” said Twilight.

“Wait, I don’t really think that’s a good idea,” I said without thinking.

“And why is that?” the unicorn questioned. The suspicion in her face was thicker than a swamp.

“Because I can tell that besides Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy here, none of you precisely trust me. I’ll admit that I have no good reason to not tell them, but if you don’t mind, I would rather tell them one by one.”

“Why?” asked Spike.

“Individual reactions are easier to handle.” It’s true. One rage fit is easier to contain than a flash mob. This way I can localize damage and keep it from spreading. Not that I’m expecting a flash mob, but something tells me that certain pegasus would no doubt rush me if I don’t have proper support.

“Fine,” Twilight said after considering my offer. “We’ll tell them individually. But I rather do this fast. I don’t want anyone to be left out.”

“I have no objections,” I said.

“Well then. It’s decided. I’ll put your little project in the backburner. In the meantime, we need to tell the others,” the unicorn stated.

“Who should we tell first?” Spike asked.

I thought for a second before answering. “Your friend Pinkie seems pretty accepting. Maybe she should be first. Then it’s a tossup between Rarity and Applejack. Both seemed pretty level headed. And Rainbow Dash should be last.”

Twilight nodded. “That’s a good plan. Rainbow can be a bit rash sometimes. Especially when any of her friends are involved.”

“Alright then. It’s settled, Twilight will look for a way for to get me back home, Spike will teach me how to be a dragon, and Flutters will teach me how to fly. Any objections?”

“Nope, it’s all good,” answered the purple dragon, cocky smile in display.

“Same here,” Fluttershy agreed.

“I got a bad feeling about this, but ok. I’m in,” Twilight finished.

I took a moment to look at my present company. Their expressions varied from poorly hidden skepticism to giddy excitement. Despite everything, I couldn’t help but smile a bit. I was less than a day in this strange world, and I had already taken the first step back home. The only thing left to do is wait. For how long? Not much I hope, but I’m willing to wait.

An awkward silence grew as I kept smiling to the ponies, lost in thought. I snapped out of it to see that everyone had grown slightly uncomfortable.

Finally, Spike broke the silence. “Sooo,” he drew out. “What now?”

“That’s… actually a pretty good question,” I answered.

We all pondered the question for a few minutes. Was there anything I’m supposed to do now? Flutters and I had already fed the animals, and it was already too late to do any form of training, if the light coming in from the window was anything to judge by. Yet I could still tell it wasn’t quite late enough to just head home and do nothing. So what’s left for me to do?

“Hey guys! Ya in there?” came a voice from outside.

“Hold on, where coming out!” answered Twilight. “Hey Jack, could you please move?”

“Uh? Oh! Sure, give me a sec.”
I slowly backed up, popping my head out the door. I noticed that as I did so, something scratched the top of the frame. I prodded the top of my head for whatever that might have been. Didn’t really find anything though. Looking around, I spotted Applejack sitting besides the tree. She was scanning my entire frame with a discerning eye, evaluating me, I suppose. But once Twilight and Fluttershy came out, she got noticeably chipper.

“Hey Twilight, Fluttershy,” she greeted. “How are ya guys doin’?”

“Oh just fine, thank you,” Fluttershy answered.

“Well that’s good ta hear. Anyway, I came ‘cause Pinkie asked me ta get ya guys and our blue friend over there ta Sweet Apple Acres.”

“What?” we all said in unison.

“Why would she want Jack at Sweet Apple Acres?” asked Spike, who was just walking out the door.

“I have no idea,” answered the farmer, and unbeknownst to me, winked. Everyone then made an ‘oh’ face, followed by smiles, leaving me completely clueless as to why.

“Already then! We should get going!” she proclaimed.

Everyone giggled and followed along. I was a bit suspicious, but I still followed suit. The sun was just about to set when we left the library, and I was guessing that we would probably arrive at the Acres somewhere around nightfall.

Now that I have time, I can explain a few things. I know that most of you are wondering why I would want to leave Equestria. You are all probably going ‘Dude! It’s Equestria! Magical ponies ‘n shit!’ Well let me reiterate something: I am NOT a brony. I have no interest in staying here. Unlike many of you (no offence), I have many things waiting for me back home. When I said I have a family and friends back home? Yeah, I wasn’t lying. My parents are probably worried sick, and my sister is probably where her older bro went. Then there’s my little group of friends. They are probably doing something stupid. I did always was the voice of reason.

Actually, I do wonder what they are doing right now. Are they looking for me? Or are they arranging my funeral? If they knew I was here somehow, how would they find me? … Would they even recognize me now?

NO, nonono. No use in brooding now. Right this moment, I have to focus on blending in. Be as inconspicuous as possible. Kinda hard considering that I’m the size of most houses around here. But still, right now, I’m an invading wasp in a bee hive the size of the White House. One wrong move and I’ll get kicked out into the Everfree, or worse. Heh. Now that I think about it, I’m walking a really fine line. One screw up and I run the chance of getting stranded here, seeing as I haven’t completely won over my ticket back home. If Twilight does not deem me deserving of her help for whatever reason, then I’m effectively fucked.

NO! Don’t think about that. Think about kittens. Yes, nice fluffy kittens, with really big eyes and pink noses. Ahh. Much better.

“Jack?”

“Huh?”

I broke out of my fuzzy thoughts to see the expansive rows of trees that formed Sweet Apple Acres, which seems to an appropriate name, because the only thing visible for miles were apple trees. That and the barn that served as the Apple family’s residence. There was a half second delay before my brain switched out from the ‘kittens’ gear and pieced the current situation.

“Oh, we’re here,” I said.

“Yeah, we arrived about three minutes ago.” Spike commented. He looked a bit worried. “Are you alright?” he asked. “You had a really vacant stare and this really goofy smile,” he said just as he demonstrated. That earned him a chuckle from my part.

“Yeah, I’m good. Anyway, now that we are here, care to tell me why we’re here Applejack?”

“Pinkie said she wanted ya here,” said the farmer, while looking around. “The thing is, I don’t see her ‘round here. Maybe she’s in the barn?”

A barn? Ok now, I might be being paranoid, but this reeks of an ambush.

“Come on now, no need to keep her waitin’,” Applejack encouraged while she tried to push me into the barn.

I frowned at her, but then I sighed and began to plot my way to the barn. I examined the doors, looking for any form of booby trap. Satisfied, I carefully opened the door, peeking my head in. The entire place was dark, which did nothing to alleviate my nerves. Against my better judgment I thought I’d call out into the barn.

“Hello…”

“SURPRISE!”

“HACK!”

And the lights came alive in the form of three dozen gas lamps, unveiling the massive conglomeration of ponies massed in to the barn. The utter scare sent me flailing into my back. Once I halfway regained my bearings, I saw a very pink blur in my three inches away from my eyes.

“Oh boy were you surprised because it sure did so I mean you did squawk like a bird does that mean you were surprised I sure hope so because otherwise it’s not a surprise party just an plain ol’ party not that there is anything wrong with those but then all the work we did to keep it secret would have gone to waste so where you surprised?”

Jesus Christ, can that pony talk. I had to process it a bit before I came to Pinkie’s question.

“Yeah…” I said, still a bit dumbfounded. “It was quite the surprise.”

“Wee!” yelled the pink blur as it zipped back into the barn. “Alright everypony! This party is officially ON!” Pinkie screamed into a megaphone just as she hit a rather big audio system. From it, a rather catchy party tune started blaring out. I sat down, still slightly dazed. Applejack was sitting next to me with a self pleased smile. I pointed a claw at her.

“You tricked me.”

“Well, I had ta get ya in the barn without spoilin’ the surprise.” She said. I might have grumbled a few expletives at that.

“Anyway,” she continued. “While you were spacin’ out Fluttershy and Twilight filled me in your little adventures in the Everfree.”

“Oh yeah… About that…”

“Don’t say a word pardner, anypony, or anydragon, who risks their lives for ma friends, is ok in my books. Think of this little party as my thank you.”

“Well I uh… Don’t know what to say…”

“Never mind that, go and enjoy your party.” And with that, she walked into the barn, the rest of the group trailing behind, each flashing a quick smile.

Well that was easy. My plan might actually go smoother that I originally expected. I might be able to tell Applejack a little earlier than planned, which would really appease Twilight. Speaking of Twilight, I seemed to have misjudged her. She is very skeptical about my story, but apparently not completely adverse to my presence. Which only proves that I can be a paranoid idiot at times. But I digress; I have a party to attend.

Within minutes, a small crew had set up a set of tables and other party paraphernalia out in front of the barn, allowing the previously cramped ponies to dance without smacking into each other.

It was a rather lively party. Couples and friends danced inside the barn like happy morons, while groups gathered in the tables outside to eat Pinkie’s pastries and chat among friends. It was certainly a change of pace compared to what Cole defines as a party. I myself opted to sit on a far corner, partly because that’s what I always tend to do, and partly because I was afraid of stepping on someone. The ponies on the outside every so often stole glances my way, before going back to whatever they were doing. ‘Novelty I suppose.’ I took a sip out the barrel of cider I had courtesy of Applejack. To my unsurprise, there is no semblance of alcohol in Equestria. Not that I’m complaining, this stuff is the best I’ve ever tasted. I’d pick this and Pinkie’s awesome (if a bit too sweet) cupcakes over a beer any day. Not that any less of a man, mind you, but when you’ve been to enough of Cole’s parties, you tend to appreciate your sobriety. There are actually a couple of funny stories behind that. But those are for another time. Right now, I see an incoming mass of pink heading my direction.

“Hey!” greeted the pink spasm.

“Hello Pinkie,” I greeted back.

“Are you enjoying your party?” she asked with no lack of enthusiasm.

“Certainly am.”

“Aren’t you going to dance?”

I looked back at the barn where the dance floor was set up; it was packed as much as it could without ponies bumping into each other.

“Nope, I’ll pass for now.”

“Aww, come on! It’ll be fun!”

“He, I don’t doubt that, but I don’t think the ponies I step on wouldn’t be too happy about that.”

Pinkie’s face flashed comprehension before going to her default grin. “Okie dokie! I’ll have to look for another place for next time. It’s kind of a bummer too, because I thought that Applejack’s barn would be big enough but apparently not oh you would not believe the work it took me to convince Applejack to let me throw this party but she eventually let up so now…”

Oh no, not this again. “Pinkie Pie, don’t you have a party to host?”

She let out an overdramatic gasp. “You’re right! I’ll see ya later!” And she was off. One can only wonder how she works.

I spotted Fluttershy trying to make her way out of the barn. Knowing her, she was probably trying to ask her way out there. Hardly a possibility, considering that the massive speakers very handedly overpower her meek voice. Somehow, after five minutes of pointlessly apologizing, she managed to get out. She immediately spotted me, and fluttered next to me.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey,” I said back.

“Do you like the party?”

“Yes I do. How about you? Enjoying yourself?”

“Oh yes. Pinkie’s parties are always fun. But… Um… I really don’t like being in the middle of them. I always feel like everybody is staring. I prefer to sit on the side and just watch.”

“Hehe. Same thing here. Anyway, cupcake?” I offered.

“Oh yes please.” She took it, and daintily nibbled it. It was fucking adorable.

Most of the night was spent mostly like that, with idle chatter and comfortable silence. A few of the braver ponies managed to gather just about enough courage to walk my way and ask a few questions. I noticed with slight amusement that their knees where shaking like guitar strings. Applejack came to check up on us, and had a bit of small talk, mostly about the cider I was drinking, of which she gracefully shared another barrel. Little while after she left, Twilight came in to go over some of the logistics and theories she had in mind. She admitted that now that she thought about it, inter-dimensional travel is kind of a cool concept to research. So the egghead part of her won. After a quick overview, the conversation somehow got derailed into a heated argument of whether chocolate cakes were better than vanilla ones. After Fluttershy was forced to declare a tie, Twilight left to make sure that Spike didn’t drink too much cider.
I noticed that neither Rarity nor Rainbow Dash were present, the latter to my secret relief. When I asked Fluttershy, she said that Rarity was still stuck with work, and that she didn’t know where Rainbow was. She was a bit worried, but convinced her that she just probably overslept or something.

The party began to die down somewhere around midnight, as spent ponies headed the long way home and into a well deserved rest. I noticed that Fluttershy’s head was beginning to droop. She let out a small, adorable, yawn. I chuckled slightly.

“I think is time for us head back,” I said.

Fluttershy could only nod in agreement. But a certain pink pony had other ideas in mind.

“Aww, leaving already?” Pinkie cried as she popped on top of my head.

Out. Of. Freakin’. Nowhere.

“I uh… Yes,” I stammered as I looked at the blue eyes that filled half my field of vision.

“Come on! It’s still early!” she argued.

“Ehh… Fluttershy would like to disagree,” I said as I pointed to the almost snoozing pegasus. Pinkie took a once over before looking back at me and nodding.

“Okie dokie lokie! I guess I’ll see you later! Have a safe trip back home!” And then she disappeared to where she came from, absolutely nowhere.

I sighed. I was too tired to try and rationalize something as bizarre as Pinkie Pie. Instead, I took Fluttershy, who barely gave a week(er) squeak and placed her on my back. I said my goodbyes to the few ponies still there, and headed for Fluttershy’s cottage. Once there, I was received by a rather pissed looking rabbit. Angel bunny if I remember correctly. I placed Fluttershy on the door next to him, and he herded her back into her room, but not before giving me the stink eye. I just simply ignored him and went out to the back yard where I laid down. It took about a minute for me to fall asleep.

I dreamt of kittens.

Food for Thought

A Dragon's Journey

Ch. 5

Food for Thought

It was a bright and cheery morning, much like it was yesterday. Only difference is that I didn’t feel something akin to a very bad hangover. Kinda strange, considering that I was at a party last night. The birds sung, the squirrels played, and I was rather content. There is something strangely relaxing in having all those little critters frolicking around you while you are still in that sweet daze after a good night of fitful sleep. With a blissful sigh and small smile, I decided it was time to get up.

I groggily stood up, the little animals clearing my way as I moved. Reaching forwards, I stretched just exactly as a cat would, producing a few satisfying pops as I did so. With a yawn, I laid back down, keeping my neck upright. The woodland critters resumed their usual business, some birds again perching on my back. It is rare for me to be this calm. Most mornings for me are spent rushing through the usual early routine of a college student. Not even on weekends did I get the chance to sleep in, as I had a part time job to go to. I might be in a cartoon world I was not completely happy to be in, but I finally had free time and I was going to enjoy it, dammit!

I didn’t know how much time I spent just sitting there, enjoying the morning sun, before my stomach decided it was time to end it. With an annoyed groan, I hefted myself up again. I looked around, but Fluttershy wasn’t in sight. That’s odd; the sun was well up in the sky at this time, meaning that Fluttershy should be already up and running. I noticed a few animals loitering around the house, waiting for someone. Deducting that Fluttershy wasn’t up yet, I approached the small home to check up on her.

That was the first time I got a good look at the cottage. Underneath the incredibly thick foliage that seemed to be the roof of the structure, was a two story building. It was a half timbered structure, just like the rest of Ponyville. And like the rest of Ponyville, it had that cartoony feel to it. The design seemed more sensible in my eyes, as opposed to the precarious things in the town. Didn’t mean it wasn’t an odd house though.

Once at the front of the cottage, I lightly tapped the wooden door. My light ‘taps’ came out as a set of sharp knocks, a bit louder than I intended. I was expecting a small squeak, typical of the easily startled pegasus. I was slightly worried when I didn’t hear anything. I knocked again, this time calling out.

“Hey Fluttershy, are you alright?”

The door opened, but instead of a yellow pony, a snow white rabbit stood at the portal. The small lagomorph was currently in the process of staring daggers at me, which out of habit, I returned. I was mildly surprised to see him stand his ground. A bunny is the last thing you’d expect to stare down a dragon several hundred times its weight. The stare down ended after Fluttershy walked up to the door, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

“Good morning Angel,” she said. “Oh, um… Good morning Jack.”

“Morning Fluttershy,” I answered with a smile.

Angel just kept staring at me like his life depended on it. He turned to Fluttershy and pointed with back at me as if saying “What’s with this guy?”

“No need to be rude Angel. We went over this; Jack will be staying with us until we find a way to get him back home. So just be nice and try to get along.”

The rabbit just crossed its paws and made soundless huff. He took one last cursory glance at me before rolling its eyes, not unlike saying “Your funeral.” Then he just hopped back inside.

“Not a friendly specimen, I see,” I thought out loud.

“Oh no no, Angel bunny is one of the sweetest there is. It’s just that he can be a bit um… Grouchy in the mornings. But he is really friendly otherwise.”

‘Somehow I doubt it.’

“So Fluttershy, I was hoping that you had some more fish or something. I’m kinda hungry.”

The pegasus suddenly looked apologetic. “Umm… Sorry, you ate all yesterday. I don’t have anymore,” she said as she hid herself behind her mane. She then casted a worried glance over to the river where a few otters were playing.

At that moment, a realization hit me: I was a dragon.

“Yes, we already knew that,” you are saying. Well, shut up. That’s not the point. What I’m saying is that Fluttershy was attempting to feed a dragon of some odd thousand pounds with reserves meant for ducks. I went through a crate that could have fed those otters for weeks in five minutes. If either of us tried to keep up with the current plan, Fluttershy would be broke within weeks, if not days.

That cannot stand.

“It’s quite alright,” I reassured the sad pony. “We just have to go shopping for some. Maybe find a steadier of food supply for myself while at it. There ought to be someone who can help. ”

“Um… Right!” said a perkier Fluttershy.

She went back in the house, and came back with a couple of bags slung over her back. I always forget how those are called. Anyway, we headed to town, making occasional small chatter about the different creatures around Ponyville.

We reached town in about twenty or so minutes. Couldn’t really tell since I didn’t have a timepiece with me (dammit I miss my phone). The townspeople, or townsponies I suppose, were still giving me a wide berth. Then I was pleasantly surprised when a few ponies I met yesterday actually waved me hi. They were still at what I suppose they considered a safe distance, but at least it was progress. I would have waved back, but it’s kind of hard when you are in motion, so a polite nod was their answer.

We walked through town into the market street. You could feel the normal market activity grind to a halt to look at the dragon waltzing its way through the stalls. It only lasted a few moments though, as everything got back on track when everyone spotted Fluttershy with me. In term, Fluttershy walked to a stall started to talk to the salesman. I couldn’t actually hear what they were actually talking about between the market noise and my head being twenty feet of the ground. I did see the mare at the stall look at me before shaking her head, which was met by a dejected expression from Fluttershy. Even so, the mare handed Fluttershy some vegetables while offering an apologetic smile. Even if I didn’t hear a word, it didn’t take a genius to figure out what happened. The same thing happened to all the stalls we went to; Fluttershy makes a request, the stall owner declines, Fluttershy walks away crestfallen.

Then we reached Applejack’s stand. This encounter lasted longer than the rest, for obvious reasons. They were having a lively conversation, smiling and laughing even. I managed to catch something about Applebloom and kerosene. I didn’t know what that was about but I was sure as hell I didn’t want to find out.

Finally Fluttershy asked the question that she wanted to ask. Applejack looked at me with an uncertain look. Her eyes drifted down in thought, before looking back at Fluttershy and giving a tentative nod. Fluttershy just about jumped in joy before Applejack raised a hoof. She said something to which Fluttershy nodded enthusiastically. They discussed something for a little bit longer, and then the pegasus turned my way.

“What was that all about?” I asked.

“Oh! It’s great! Applejack agreed to give us a few apple crates every week to feed you!”

Right. Somehow Applejack doesn’t strike me as the generous type, despite how nice she was yesterday.

“Uh-huh. So what are her conditions?”

“Oh, nothing too big. She just wants some help on the farm in exchange for the lost profit. I um… Hope that’s okay with you.”

Farm work. Something dreaded and yet found extremely familiar. I was raised in a farm after all. Oh yes, the countless hours I spent digging assorted vegetables out of the damn ground. The hundreds of days I spent manually milking cows before dad had the sense to get the carousel. It’s something that I despise, but certainly something I can do.

“Alright. I’ll do it.”

“You will?”

“Yup. It’s not like I have an option.”

Fluttershy giggled. She started to walk, and I kept up with a lazy pace.

“So what else is on schedule today?”

“Hmm. Applejack told me that Rarity went gem hunting today. With luck we might be able to get you some of the gems she doesn’t use.”

“Mm. Sounds reasonable. But I thought Spike usually got those.”

“Oh… I don’t think he’ll mind though. But wait, how did you know Rarity gives her gems to Spike?”

Oh crap.

“Uh… Inter-dimensional intuition?”

“Um… Alright…”

She gave me a weird look before turning to the road ahead. I would like to call that a save, but it was certainly a stupid slip up from my part, with an even more stupid response.

By now we were already on the bridge that leads to Rarity’s boutique. The pony in question was walking towards from further down the road. And it seemed that Twilight and Spike were with her. The first one to spot us was Spike, who waved amiably. Twilight and Rarity broke from their current conversation to look. Both unicorns waved too, Rarity slightly less enthusiastically. They trotted to meet us at the entrance of the boutique.

“Hey guys!” greeted the dragon.

“Jack, Fluttershy! Good to see you!” said the purple unicorn.

“Fluttershy darling! Ah, Mr. Hail, pleasure to meet you again,” said the other unicorn.

“Twilight, Spike, Miss Rarity,” I greeted back, with a nod each.

“Hello,” was all that Fluttershy said.

“What brings you to my humble shop dear? Do you need anything?” asked the alabaster pony.

“Oh no, I don’t need anything. Is just that Applejack told me that you went gem hunting today, and I was wondering that… If you don’t mind… Could you give some the gems you don’t need to Jack? We are having some trouble finding enough food for him.”

“Oh my! I certainly wouldn’t mind giving him a few gems, but I doubt that I would have enough to even nick the appetite of such a large dragon! No offence.”

“None taken.”

Fluttershy hung her head. Rarity seemed just as disappointed. Twilight however, seemed to be thinking.

“Hey Rarity,” the purple unicorn spoke up.

“Yes dear?” Rarity answered.

“Back there you said that there were an awful lot of gems underground, but you didn’t dig them out. And there’s also those too big for ourselves to carry.”

“Ah yes. Those were too deep for to dig with simple shovels. And yes, there were quite a few that were too big to carry. Why do you ask, darling?”

Twilight pointed at me before answering. “He doesn’t seem particularly picky, and it seems he is able to carry a lot.”

Comprehension dawned on Rarity. “You are saying that I should bring him along, so he can dig out gems we can’t reach and haul the heavier gems!”

“Exactly,” confirmed Twilight with a smile. “And in exchange, he can eat the gems that you don’t want.”

Rarity hesitated for a moment before answering. “Well… Alright, I suppose it’s good business, and those larger stones would be useful. Maybe…”

A loud groan interrupted the unicorn’s protests. It didn’t take long to pinpoint it back to me, and more specifically, my stomach.

I gave an embarrassed chuckle before speaking. “You wouldn’t happen to have some gems right now, would you?”

“Hmm… Alright I guess,” Rarity mussed. “I do believe I have a few useless gems on the back of the store. They were so dreadful that I wouldn’t even give them to Spiky-wiky here,” she said as she ruffled Spikes’… Uh, spikes? Whatever.

“But seeing that you are famished, you can have them. I was going to dispose of them anyways.”

“Oh Rarity!” Fluttershy ‘exclaimed’. “That would be wonderful!”

Hmm. Gems. Essentially stone. And usually harder than stone. Excuse me if I’m not completely for this. I mean, they are rocks! No person in their right mind would eat rocks!

But then again… I wasn’t quite a person anymore. And sure, I had already eaten raw fish, skin and everything. But these were rocks. But then again, I was a dragon. I’m supposed to be able to eat gems, right? Right?

“Alright… I’ll have those gems, if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all, follow me,” the alabaster unicorn said, walking inside. She promptly walked back out again, realizing her little mistake.

“My apologies,” said the slightly embarrassed Rarity. “I momentarily forgot about your size. Twilight, be a dear and help get those gems please. Mr. Hail, if you would be so kind to wait outback, I’ll be there shortly.”

And so, the two unicorns went inside, Spike in tow. I went to the back of the store, Fluttershy keeping me company. It was five minutes before Twilight and Rarity walked outside, a few crates and chests in tow.

Rarity placed one of the chests in front of me before speaking. “Alright, there you go. I apologize for the quality, some of these snuck past my scrutiny. But you’d be surprised how many of these show their flaws after a little cleaning.”

I took one of the gems and took a good look at it. It was a ruby. A fairly large one at that, compared to those back on earth. One side was clean and polished; the other was rough and unfinished. The clean side must be were Rarity began cutting the stone before she gave up. Through the clean cut, I could see an irregular occlusion. That must be why Rarity disposed of it.

Looking back at Rarity, I noticed that she was looking back at me with the hesitant nervousness of an artist showcasing it’s masterpiece to a critic. She seemed to get even more nervous when I turned to her.

Taking my sight back to the red stone, I hesitantly put in my mouth and chewed. The stone crunched under my teeth, not unlike the way hard candy does. I chewed slowly, waiting for the taste to reach my tongue, unsure of what to expect. I waited for a fraction of a second, then…

Wow… Just… Wow.

To this day, I have not found a way to properly convey the way a gem tastes to those who can’t eat them. Rubies taste just like you expect them to taste, yet don’t. It somehow still manages to taste like a rock, but at the same time, it tastes like watermelon…

Watermelon, whose seeds were replaced with grape Skittles.

Yeah, you heard me. Grape Skittles. And even then, it is still an understatement.

Yet this particular one still managed to feel… Off. I couldn’t quite place my finger (or claw) on what, but I knew there was something wrong with this ruby. It tasted great, but I could taste something that didn’t quite belong. It felt… dirty somehow.

But my stomach kindly reminded me that I was in no position to be picky. I looked at Rarity, who was sweating bullets by now. With a firm nod, I spoke.

“This will do. Thank you.”

Rarity visibly relaxed. Wiping the sweat of her brow, she spoke. “My pleasure. Feel free to have as many as you want.”

I happily obliged. Taking one gem at a time, I methodically tasted each one, cataloguing each taste. It was like picking candy from a bowl. It was fun in a way, trying to figure out to what each type of gem tasted like. Some of them where pretty close to something I knew; quarts taste like flat 7-Up in solid form. But some others, like emeralds, defied qualification. Oh god, emeralds. They forever remain my favorites. Yet, each one I tried had a certain flaw of sorts. I suppose that’s what Rarity was referring to when she said these were “dreadful”.

Still, I was quite content. Food was good, and I was with somewhat good company (still partial about Rarity), and it was noon, meaning I still had time to do whatever.

I laid down, shifting to a more comfortable position. I kept picking at the gems from the chest, humming appreciatively. That’s that when I noticed when everyone was staring at me.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing” was the collective response. I snorted, half in amusement, half in annoyance. It was a little too quiet for my taste. Awkward even. Giving it some thought, I came with a good solution that both solved my current problem, and help me get better acquainted.

“So,” I began. “What’s new? I’ve been out of it for a little while and I was hoping to catch up on current events.”

“Hmm,” hummed Spike. “I heard that there is a new dragon living here in Ponyville. Rumor has it that he’s living with Fluttershy.”

“Ha. Very funny. Seriously though, I would like to know what’s going on, here and everywhere else.”

“Well…” Rarity began. “I’ve heard that Lyra and Bon Bon have being a little too close to each other. Oh, the other day I saw them…”

“Wait a moment,” I interrupted. “No offence, but I’m not interested in gossip.”

Rarity seemed a bit miffed, but she nodded. “I apologize. I should have guessed. Now let’s see, current events… Well, there are the changelings, but I’m sure you’ve heard of those.”

“Changelings?” I asked.

“You mean you haven’t heard?” Rarity gasped in (overdramatic) alarm. “The pesky ruffians have been causing havoc all over Equestria ever since the royal weeding! Oh I cannot believe you have not heard of it!”

“Wait, back up. Royal wedding? Who got married?” I didn’t really care, but I’d imagine Cole would flip if he found out Luna got married.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” Rarity answered, wide eyed. “The wedding between Princess Cadence and Shining Armor was one of the biggest events ever!”

“Uh… Well, like I said, I’ve been out of it for a long time. Please, do tell me about it.” Again, I don’t really care, but you never know when the information might come in handy.

My request most have set off something in Rarity, because she immediately began a very, very detailed story of what happened at the wedding. Twilight cut in from time to time, adding relevant details. She even relegated the part where she found and rescued Princess Cadence, who I didn’t ever really know existed until know. I’ll skip further description since I know you have already seen this. The gist of it is that the evil Queen What’s-her-name was defeated, Twilight’s brother (who I also didn’t know existed) and the Princess got married, making Twilight a duchess or something, and ever since then, pockets of changelings that managed to remain in Equestria have being major nuisances to the general population. Oh, and apparently they managed to weaponize love. What the hell is up with that?

“Well, that certainly was an interesting story,” I said.

“I know!” Spike gushed. “It’s just as awesome every time I hear it! And I was there! I planned the bachelor party!”

“Uh-uh,” I answered. I still couldn’t figure out what idiot would put a kid to plan a bachelor’s party.

I looked up to the sun. Rarity’s story burned at least a few hours, which meant that Fluttershy and I had to head back sometime soon. From what I understand, her schedule allows for a few hours before the animals start to get restless. Shame too, I wanted to get a bit more info on the Elements.

“So, is there any other news along those lines that I should be aware of?”

“Hmm...” hummed Twilight. “There are a few rumors about a Diamond Dog pack past the northern borders. There is not much information on it, but apparently they managed to become large enough to actually present a threat. There is nothing definitive, but it’s enough to keep the Princess on edge.”

“That’s certainly something note worthy,” I said.

“And then there is that rebellious group down south,” Rarity added. “I’m not one hundred percent clear on the details, but apparently; a small group of ponies that aren’t quite content with the return of Princess Luna have been causing a ruckus on the small settlements surrounding the border. There was something about a bomb on the newspaper a few weeks back, but I tend not to read such scandalous news.”

Well this is certainly interesting. Equestria isn’t the happy little fairy tale it amounted to be. It still has the same problems Earth has, if albeit more fantastical. I mean, look at this: A super powered plague, a raising army, and terrorist cells. I doubt the ponies know what terrorism is, but the concept still stands. I guess nothing is perfect. But I already knew that, and if anything, it just means I might have an interesting stay.

I was about to pick another gem to chew on when I noticed that I had gone through the entire chest. It didn’t surprise me, since I’ve been picking at it for a few hours now. What did surprise me however is that I really didn’t want any more, I was satisfied. And it even wasn’t a particularly large chest, slightly smaller that Rarity herself. And I still had the other two crates! These things were filling! This bode well for me because it meant I could get myself a few gems each week and be set. No more draining on Fluttershy’s pocket. And I still could get a few apples from the farm, for variation’s sake. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel somewhat happy. This proved to be a rather productive day.

Looking back at the sun, I decided that it was time for me and Fluttershy to head back. We had to drop off all the food that she bought today before doing the usual chores. I lazily stood up and stretched, and everyone else followed suit.

“Alright,” I said, cracking my neck. “I really enjoyed this little chat. It was informative. And thank you Miss Rarity for the gems. These should last quite a while.”

“Not a problem dear. I’m glad to be of assistance,” answered the unicorn.

I nodded in response. “Anyway, Flutters and I still have a few chores to attend to. If you’d excuse us, we need to go.”

“Oh! That’s right, I forgot. I’m terribly sorry girls, but he’s right.”

“Don’t think anything of it Fluttershy. Spike and I have some things to attend to too,” Twilight said, at which Spike groaned.

“Hmm. I suppose I should get back to work also,” Rarity said. “In anyway, it was nice to see you all.”

“Likewise,” I added.

Rarity smiled before saying her goodbyes. Spike and Twilight were next to leave, leaving me and Fluttershy to head back to the cottage. I had the two crates with me, awkwardly balanced on my shoulder blades. The rest of the day was uneventful. The critters were taken care of and the supplies were restocked. Fluttershy decided to turn in early, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I thought of home, family, and friends. I thought of whatever might lie ahead. I had to admit, I missed them.

I fell into a dreamless, but easy sleep.

“Is that a dragon?”

“It is…”

“What’s it doing here? They said there was only one! A baby!”

“He seems to be guarding the shy one.”

“Oh, this is bad. This is really bad. What do we do now?”

“We do nothing. We report back, and wait.”

“Oh boy… I don’t like this one bit.”

“Stop worrying. It doesn’t change anything at all. Just another small set back. Nothing we can’t deal with. Soon enough, we will have the tools to rid ourselves of that witch that claims the thrown. Soon enough.”

“… I guess you are right. We will win, no matter what. For the greater good.”

“For the Glorious Day.”