Rise Of The Dragon Lord

Chapter 3:

What The Next Day Brings

"Today was a good day," Derpy proclaimed as she entered the house. I followed close behind, happy to hear that Derpy enjoyed her day.

"It was alright," I replied as I walked into Derpy's living room.

Derpy just seemed to ignore what I said and took a seat on a small couch. I decided to just take a seat in a chair near the rooms entrance.

"You can sit next to me if you want," Derpy said as she pointed a hoof at the seat next to her.

"I'm good," I quickly replied. The couch wasn't that big and I knew that I would be scrunched up next to Derpy.

"I promise that I won't bite," Derpy replied as she tried to make a joke. "I just wanna ask you something."

I began to feel a knot form in my chest as Derpy continued to indicate the seat next to her. "How about I just sit here and look pretty as you ask your question," I asked, not really wanting to leave my current seat. But, after Derpy asked several more times, I got up and took a seat next to her.

"Yay," Derpy chimed as I sat down. As I sat next to her, Derpy kept her gaze fixed squarely on me as she began smile.

"Well," I asked Derpy, breaking several moments of silence. "Well what," she asked back, keeping the smile. "What was your question," I replied, a little annoyed.

"Oh yeah," she said as she began scrunching her face in thought. "I wanted to know what you think of Ponyville so far," Derpy asked after some thought.

"Really," I asked, raising an eyebrow. Even though Derpy had asked her question, she looked like she actually wanted to ask something else. "Ok, then. I guess Ponyville is fine," I began to say.

"And the ponies," Derpy quickly asked before I could continue.

"The ponies are nice," I mumbled. I could tell Derpy was trying to get to something, but whatever it was, I couldn't tell.

"What about. . .," Derpy began before her sentence trailed off. Her question seemed to linger in her head rather than escape through her mouth. "About . . . about," she began to stutter.

"How about I ask you some questions," I said, interrupting Derpy's stutter.

"O. . .ok," Derpy said as she accepted my offer. "What do you wanna know?"

"Basically, whatever you can tell me," I replied. "I know about Ponyville and about you and the other ponies, but who's to say that there aren't any differences from what I know and what is. . . real." I could feel the hesitation in my voice as I said the word 'real'.

My mind kept telling me that this couldn't be reality. That any moment now, I would wake up in a bed at home or the hospital. I would see my family and tell them of this crazy dream and they would laugh.

"Like they always do," I whispered to myself. making sure Derpy couldn't hear me.

"What do you mean by that," she asked as she got up from the couch. She was trying her best to understand what I meant, but I knew I was going to have to explain.

"Remember how I was talking about different dimensions today,"  I said as I watched Derpy leave the room. She returned several minutes later with a plate full of muffins on her back.

"Yes," she replied as she set the muffins on a small table.

"Well, it got me to thinking that this may not even be the same Ponyville that I know about," I continued, taking a muffin from the plate.

"Well, I guess that kind of makes sense," Derpy said as she returned to her seat.

From there, I began asking some general questions about what kind of things happened ever since Twilight first came to Ponyville, and even though Derpy didn't know many specifics, she told me what she could. It didn't take long to see that I wasn't going to get far.

There were to many things that Derpy didn't know about outside of what happened directly in Ponyville. But, by what she could tell me, there weren't many differences from what I knew. The biggest though was that the Twilight of this dimension wasn't an alicorn.

"So, Twilight is just a regular unicorn," I asked in shock.

"Yeah, why wouldn't she be," Derpy asked, obviously confused by my question. By what Derpy had told me, everything that had lead up to Twilight becoming an alicorn happened. Only, she never became an alicorn.

"Its nothing," I replied. I knew it would be a bad idea to introduce the concept into this Equestria, even if it was only Derpy who would know.

"So, are there any differences," Derpy asked, noticing the end of my questions.

"A few," I replied. "But nothing that really changes what I know. As long as I just act off of what I do know, everything should be alright. "So, did you figure out what you wanted to ask?"

Derpy seemed to be taken off guard as I asked this, obviously thinking I had forgotten that she still wanted to ask me something.

"Oh, it was just a silly little question," Derpy said turning a little red. "There's no need for you to answer it."

"I can't decide on whether or not I'll answer it if you don't even ask," I said, only mildly amused by Derpy's embarrassment.

"Ok," Derpy said as she began looking around the room. "I was wondering, you know, because you knew my name and all," she began, as she looked at me hopefully. "Am I a big part of the show from your world?"

I actually didn't know how to answer. She was, by what I could make out, a 'wheres Waldo' character placed in the show. She never really showed up for more than a second. Even the one time she actually talked, the episode was changed because she was found offensive.

Either I could tell her that, or not at all. As she continued to look at me hopefully, I almost wanted to tell her, just so she would know. But, I decided on something else instead.

"Lets just say, you were in almost every episode," I said in all truths. This seemed to excite Derpy as she began asking me more questions. All centered around her character.

"DERPY," I yelled, stopping her from continuing her questions.

"What, " she quickly responded with a large smile.

"Calm down. I'll answer your questions, but only if you calm down," I told her straight out.

"Ok," Derpy said, getting embarrassed again. "Its just, to know that I'm known by so many ponies is just." She stopped talking and started daydreaming.

"Humans," I said, trying to correct her. But she was caught up in her own little world.

"So, am I just like my character in the show," Derpy asked after regaining her composure. "It depends," I said getting worried. She was never showed long enough to make a accurate reading of her.

"Are you a mail man. Uh, mare, I mean?"

"Yes," Derpy replied as she began to jump up and down in excitement.

". . .You really like muffins," I asked. Although, by this point, a question like that was redundant. She seemed to eat nothing but muffins all day. But I was quickly running out of things to say or ask. Even the whole mail thing was just something I had read on the back of a card.

"I love muffins," Derpy quickly responded. She obviously didn't notice the look on my face, because I knew I had a forced smile going.

"What about Dinky? Is she in the show with me," Derpy asked as she hopped off the couch. "Yeah," I replied with a chuckle. Remembering all of Dinky's so called appearances.

"Whats so funny," Derpy asked as she noticed me laugh.

"Oh, its just that, its believed that Dinky was your daughter," I said. I expected to hear Derpy laugh as well and then ask another question, except she never did.

Looking, I noticed that her happy expression had been replaced and she was staring at me with a stern look in her eyes. "That's not funny," she said angrily. "Yes, Dinky is my sister, not my daughter," she began to say as she poked a hoof into my chest. "But that doesn't make it ok to laugh at the idea of it." Then, before I could respond, Derpy stomped off and left the room. Several moments later, a door slammed.

"That was weird," I said as I got up and left the room after her.

Walking towards the origin of the door slam, I wasn't surprised to see that it was Derpy's room.

"Derpy?"

"What," she snapped as she quickly opened the door. She still looked mad,but I had to apologize.

"I wasn't laughing at the idea. I just thought . . .," I tried saying before trailing off. I Couldn't really think of a proper response. In all truths I did find it funny. More People believed them to be mother and daughter rather than sisters. I even remember seeing some things that suggested that she was adopted.

"No. . . I over reacted," Derpy said, preventing me from coming up with an answer. The anger in her eyes fading away. Derpy then moved to the side, letting me walk in.

The room was about as big as Dinky's, but far more bland. The walls where a shade of gray that almost perfectly matched Derpy's fur. A bed was pressed up in a far corner of the room with a open window just above it. The sun could be seen setting through it. Other than that, the only other thing in the room was a desk littered with papers and quills.

"Its just, whenever it comes to Dinky, I always tend to over react," Derpy said as she hopped onto her bed and took a seat.

"I understand," I said as I took a seat on the bed's edge.

"I remember when we first came to Ponyville," Derpy said as she looked out the window at the setting sun. From there, Derpy began telling me everything that had led up to her and Dinky living alone at the edge of town.

Because Dinky was a unicorn, Derpy and her family couldn't stay in Cloudsdale any longer because unicorns cant naturally stand on cloud's like pegasi can. So, while Derpy watched Dinky, their parents went down to Ponyville to find a home for them, but they never came back. Derpy wouldn't say what happened to them, only that she decided to take care of Dinky from then on.

She had to get a job, but in the end, she found a place that she could afford to stay in with Dinky. They originally lived closer to the center of town, but moved because some ponies thought something was wrong with Derpy because of her eyes. She knew that they didn't mean to upset her, but she couldn't handle the constant stares every time she walked outside.

"I don't blame any pony, but I couldn't keep going like that," Derpy said as she ended her explanation. She had been keeping her cool, but I could tell she was close to tears. "So, what about you," Derpy continued as she tried changing the subject. "What's your family like?"

"Their like any other family," I said, trying my best to be sincere. Talking about my family wasn't something I liked doing. "My mom left when I was young. She would show up every now and then, but I haven't seen her in awhile."

"Is your mom still alive," Derpy asked as she put on a caring smile.

"Who's to say. I gave up on her after the last time she disappeared," I said with a smile.

"So, you're ok with that," Derpy asked, a little confused.

"I had a step-dad who cared enough to raise me as his own flesh and blood and younger brothers and a younger sister. So I'm perfectly fine," I responded happily.

"Ok," Derpy replied, obviously a little uncomfortable with my answer. "So, How old are you then," She then asked, looking confused.

"Lets see," I said thinking a bit. It had been awhile since I had bothered thinking of my age  "I left home when I was eighteen, and that was around . . . two years ago this coming May."

"So, your twenty years old," Derpy nearly yelled. "That would make you almost fully grown."

"Yeah," I replied, not really seeing the problem with that. I was about to say something when I remembered that full grown dragons of this world were usually the size of small mountains.

"Lets change the subject," I said, trying my best not to add another question to the hundreds I already had.

"Ok," Derpy replied as she began to think again. “Do you have a special somepony back where you're from?”

At first, I laughed. I was completely caught off guard and was almost unable to answer. “No,” I said as my laugh turned into a chuckle. It was the last kind of question I thought Derpy would ask.

“Oh,” Derpy said scrunching her nose obviously confused. “Why not?”

“I just haven't,gotten to that point in my life where I need someone like that” I replied. “Next question,” I quickly said trying to change the subject. Although her next one just made it worse.

“So then you've never, well. . .” at this Derpy became very red as she began knocking her hooves together. It took me a second, but I quickly realized what she meant.

"I'm outta here," I said quickly moving toward the door. I was about to walk out when I heard Derpy laughing from behind me.

"I'm sorry," she wheezed through her laughs. "I promise I wont ask something like that again. I just thought it would be funny to ask."

"Fine," I sighed as I sat back down on the bed's edge. "But if you ask something like that again, I'm going to tie you up in a embarrassing position and leave you there for the night."

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It wasn't my phone that woke me up this time, but a warm breeze that seemed to be hitting me just under my chin. I quickly recognized it as someone's breath. This realization caused me to quickly open my eyes.

I was about to sit up, but there was some weight on my chest. It wasn't heavy, but it was definitely annoying. After a moment, I realized what was going on.

I remembered laying down as Derpy continued her questions. She had been asking a lot about me and where I was from and I must of fallen asleep. Derpy, who must of fallen asleep soon after, deciding to just leave me laying there.

Looking down at her, I couldn't help but remember my uncles old dog who would sleep on my chest when ever I slept over. Although, thinking of Derpy like that caused a knot to slowly form in my chest. I quickly pushed that feeling aside.

Laying my head back down, I brought a hand up and began scratching Derpy behind one of her ears. It didn't wake her, but she began to shift a bit. After a while, I felt Derpy begin to wrap her hooves around me.

I quickly began working to pull them apart, but this only resulted in her wrapping them up higher, around the top part of my chest. Her face mere inches from mine.

“Uh, Derpy,” I said, trying to wake her calmly. Her face was so close to mine and I could smell her breath. She definitely needed to brush more.

“Derpy,” I said a little louder. This time, she slowly opened her eyes and gazed at me. At first, she smiled. Then she began to turn a bright red and a look of fear spread over her face.

“What are you doing in my bed,” She quickly yelled as she shoved me off the end. Her face was even redder as she looked down at me on the floor. She looked far more embarrassed than angry.

“I was sleeping,” I muttered from my position on the ground. “Also,” I said as I began to sit up. “Brush your teeth will ya?” Derpy replied to this by throwing a pillow in my face.

“You just. . .,” Derpy began as she began scrunching her face. “B. . .better not of tried anything funny.”

“So I can't keep the pictures?"

“Pi. . .pic. . . pictures,” Derpy began stuttering, glowing redder than an apple. It seemed she was close to tears. she quickly began rocking back and forth as she began mumbling to herself in worry.

“Wait, it was a joke,” I said quickly trying to correct my mistake. The knot that had been in my chest was now replaced by a feeling of self loathing and a incredible urge to laugh.

“I’m sorry that I said that,” I told Derpy as I got up and returned her pillow to the bed. Although it did little to help. She had regained her composure, but looked very embarrassed. “Is there anything I can do,” I asked hoping to put her at ease. By this point, I was trying my best not to laugh at the situation.

“Breakfast,” Derpy mumbled under her breath. Simply nodding, I left the room and headed into the kitchen. But as I closed her bedroom door behind me, I quickly began to laugh.

It took a while at first, but I found everything I believed would help make a good breakfast. "Milk, orange juice, pancake batter, eggs and a little seasoning would lead to a . . . great . . .breakfast.

“Wait a minute,” I said staring at the ingredients. “Why the hell am I doing this?”

I quickly began to question why I was even contemplating on the idea of making Derpy breakfast. Memories of all the times I had embarrassed people began flashing through my mind. I had done it countless times, in public even. Yet this time, I actually felt bad for doing it. I was about to go back and tell her that she can forget about the breakfast.

I made it to the kitchen door before stopping. With a sigh, I turned back around saying, "And people think chivalry is dead."

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“Ok,” Derpy said to herself as I left the room.

“Just calm down, there's nothing wrong,” she said to herself. “nothing happened.” She quickly repositioned herself on her bed so that she could lay her head on a pillow. She could tell she was still blushing.

“Pull yourself together Derpy,” she continued to tell herself as she began hugging a pillow tightly. “He was joking about the pictures. I mean, he doesn't even have a camera,” Derpy explained to herself, trying her best to calm her nerves. But then a thought popped into her head.

“What if he does have pictures?!” Derpy’s mind began to fill with thought of what possible pictures could have been taken. "I was asleep, what if he touched me?

“He wouldn't do that,” Derpy told herself as she lifted her body with her front legs. Deep down, she wanted to believe that I was someone good. “Besides,” Derpy quietly said to herself. “Why would a dragon ever want to be with a pony?”

This thought hung in Derpy’s mind for several moments before she pushed it away. She didn't need to think of such things. But try as she might, the thoughts continued. What if I was flirting with her? What if it was all just an act? What if I was planning dirty things?

Each thought made her blush more and more. She felt as if she was about to explode.

A sudden knock on her room door did little to help the situation. “No ones home,” she chirped as the door began to open.

“Then why are you answering,” I chuckled as I walked in holding a large tray. It was packed with different things to eat that I had made. The only things I thought it lacked was some bacon and sausage. But I decided it would still be good enough.

As I set the tray on the bed in front of her, I couldn't help but notice just how red she was. “Are you feeling sick,” I asked her.

Ignoring my question, she quickly began eating what I had placed in front of her. After awhile, her face’s color turned back to normal.

“This is all really good, but,” Derpy said after finishing half of what I had put in front of her.

"But what," I asked, afraid that I had undercooked something. It was hard to tell since an animated world didn't give much leeway for cooking.

"Wheres the muffin's?"

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“So, by the time we reach the farm, Twilight should be almost at the train station,” I asked Derpy as we walked.

“I don’t know,” she responded, trying to work out the times in her head. “She should be,” she continued after some thought. But I could tell that she wasn't really sure.

“Well, I hope she is,” I replied as I looked down at her. I still didn't know if this was all real, but if it was, the sooner Twilight showed up, the better.

“So, when Twilight does show up,” Derpy began to ask as we walked on the farm. “How long do you think it will be until you find a way home?”

“Hopefully not to long,” I replied without a second thought.

“Well, you’re still welcome to stay at my house until we find you a way home,” Derpy said a little weakly. “And I’m sure Twilight will know exactly what to do. She's the smartest pony I've ever met."

“Yeah,” I agreed. I knew that if anyone could help me, it was going to have to be Twilight. Although, I was sure that the princesses would know how to help to. But Twilight was still my best hope.

"But, what if she doesn't know how to get you home," Derpy asked as the Apple family home came into view.

Derpy's question caused me to stop where I was. If Twilight didn't know how to get me home, then what would I do? Twilight would've asked the princesses for help before giving up on me. But what if they didn't know either?

"Hay," Derpy said as she cut into my thoughts.

"Oh, sorry," I said as I began walking again. "If Twilight can't help me, I'll figure it out on my own."

"And I promise to help in any way I can," Derpy replied with a smile. Just then, Applejack came into view. She looked to be hard at work as she was tending to the apple trees.

"Good morning Applejack," I said as we walked up to her. Happily taking a seconds rest, she turned to greet us.

"I don't know about it be'in morn'in and all," Applejack said as she indicated the sun, which was at its highest point. "But, good afternoon. So, how was your night?"

"Fine. Just fine," Derpy quickly stated as her face began glowing red. This just caused Applejack to look to me for a more precise answer.

"She's just embarrassed because she woke up in bed with me," I clearly stated. At first, Applejack accepted the clearer answer, but quickly froze up when she realized exactly what I said.

I was about to laugh at the way she stared frozen, but several apples being launched my way prevented me from doing much of anything.

"Stop talking," Derpy yelled as she continued her apple assault. Her face were as red as the apples she was throwing at random. It was only when a stray one hit Applejack that she realized what was going on.

"Derpy?! I just bucked those," Applejack said as she stopped the apple barrage. The moment the attack stopped, I fell to the ground laughing. I was laughing so hard that I could barely breath.

"That's not funny," Derpy said as she smashed her front two hooves into my lower gut. Thanks to my scales, most of the pain was blocked, but the strike was still enough for me to lose what little breath I still had. "Nothing happened," she continued as she turned her attention back towards Applejack.

"I believe ya, but," Applejack said as she looked down at me. I had regained my breath quickly, but continued with my laughing fit. "Whats up with him? He wasn't like this yesterday."

"Sorry," I said as my laughing began to subside. Standing up I brushed the dust off my cloths. "I tend to get like this sometimes. But don't worry, It just means that I feel like I can trust you," I said truthfully. When ever I knew I could trust someone, I always ended up trying to joke around more than necessary.

"It's good and all that you're getting to know us," Applejack said, not really amused. "But could ya tone it down a bit. I wouldn't want any of the youngins hearing something like that."

After promising to try my best, Applejack turned her attention back to Derpy. "You're here to check on Dinky right?"

"Of course," Derpy said with a smile. From there, Applejack lead the way into the apple orchard.

After a while, a small clubhouse could be seen nestled between a few trees. Several voices could be heard from inside.

"How much longer," Scootaloo's voice echoed out.

"They were heading this way," Sweetie Belle's said soon after.

"Who do you think will open it first," Apple Bloom chirped.

"My sister for sure," Dinky said, finishing the conversation.

"You all heard that, right," I quietly asked the other two. They nodded back, each giving a small wink. Then, Applejack directed Derpy to circle around to a side window with her hoof. She then headed for the other side, pointing to the front door as she walked past it.

Sighing, I walked up to the front door and began to open it. At first, I expected to be hit by a pie or a water balloon. I was surprised to see the four young fillies instead standing by two hanging ropes. Each rope lead to a window on opposite sides of the room.

"Buckets connected to the ends," I said pointing at the ropes.

"Yep," both Dinky and Sweetie Belle said as Apple Bloom and Scootaloo pulled on one each. Almost instantly, I heard two loud splashes.

"APPLE BLOOM," Applejack yelled as she popped her head through the window. I expected to see her dripping wet, covered in water. But in fact, she was covered in syrup.

"Scootaloo, I thought you filled them with water," Apple Bloom asked in desperation as she turned her attention to Scootaloo. Scootaloo barely had time to answer before Applejack jumped through the window looking sternly at the fillies.

"Actually," Sweetie Belle said as she raised a hoof. "That was my bucket." As if in response, Derpy flew in through the other window, dripping wet.

"You ok Applejack," Derpy asked as she noticed her.  Applejack merely looked back at her with a look that showed little means of compassion.

"I'm ok," Applejack said turning her gaze to Sweetie Belle. "But make sure its water next time."

Sweetie Belle just smiled back, trying her best to look innocent. Which, she did quite well.

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"Twilight," Spike called as a purple furred unicorn exited the train.

Without saying a word, The unicorn walked over to Spike and gave him a small hug.

"Hi Spike," she said as she finished her hug. She looked well rested and seemed happy to be back in Ponyville. "Where is everyone," she proceeded to ask as she noticed that Spike was the only one there.

"Rarity had to work on orders, Rainbow Dash is asleep on a cloud over by the library, and Fluttershy had to feed her animals lunch," Spike quickly said in one breath. "Pinkie Pie has to watch the twins. But Applejack said she'd be here once she finished her morning work."

No sooner had Spike said this than Applejack walked onto the platform, closely followed by me and Derpy.

"Welcome back Twilight," Applejack greeted. Twilight was about to respond, but then her eyes fell on me.

At first, I expected her to stare in confusion like everyone else. She would ask several different questions, followed by an incoherent rant about how most of what I said would be impossible. But when the questions never came, I felt like something was wrong.

Within seconds, I could feel an invisible force forcing me to the ground. "What in the name of  . . ." I sputtered before the force on my body made it too hard to talk.

"Twilight!? What in the name of Celestia are you doin'," Applejack yelled at Twilight. Twilight's horn was glowing brightly as her spell held me to the ground. Derpy could barely form words as she watched what was going on.

"What are you doing here," Twilight demanded as she ignored Applejack. I felt the force on my body lighten just enough for me to talk.

"What the hell are you doing," I quickly yelled, looking up at Twilight. I began pushing against her spell with shear force, hoping to make it to my feet. It was at that moment that our eyes met and she released her spell.

"Your eyes," she began. "Their blue? But, they should be red. Then your not," she stuttered as a look of shame spread on her face.

"What was that for," I angrily asked as I got back to my feet. Seeing it as the best time to leave, several ponies in the area quickly ran off. Others continued to watch, which only seemed to annoy me.

"Yeah, Twi," Applejack said as she tried to make sense of what happened. "You slammed him down harder and faster than most professional bull wranglers."

"I am so sorry," Twilight quickly replied. "Its just that," she said as she levitated a old book out of her saddle bag. "I was reading this book the princess sent me and well. . . " Twilight then began flipping through the pages, until she found the one she was looking for. Holding the book out, we all looked at what it showed.

The writing was old and faded, and was written in a language that I clearly didn't know. But the thing that caught all of our eyes was a picture place within the margin.

"It looks just like you," Spike said pointing at a mildly large picture of anthropomorphic looking dragon. He was right, except for a few differences. One was that the dragon in the picture wasn't wearing clothing. Another thing was that because the book was so old, that some of the colors were faded and were almost impossible to discern. Finally, I noticed the largest difference between myself and the picture.

I knew that my eyes were blue, which they had always been, even as a human. But, the dragon in the picture had blazing red eyes. They were the only things that had kept their color throughout the ages. It was only a picture, but looking at them caused a shiver to run down my spine. I could feel myself being drawn into them as a familiar feeling began to wrap itself around my mind.

"Chris, are you ok," Derpy asked as she broke through my stare. looking around, everyone seemed to be staring at me with worried looks.

"Again, I am so sorry," Twilight said, breaking everyone's worried looks. "Its just, when I saw you, I was worried that it was this dragon in disguise."

"But why," Applejack asked. This was quickly followed by a explanation from Twilight.

While the book was written in a forgotten language, Twilight had been able to interpret some of it, mostly by using the pictures. The book detailed the existence of a strange dragon. A dragon that had the ability to perform amazing feats of magic that even some unicorns could not.

"I haven't been able to interpret the writing. But the book seems to end a few years after the Princesses came to power," Twilight said as she put the book away. "I had to make sure you weren't the same dragon. So while I held you down, I also performed a spell to remove any disguises."

"And that's why you were so shocked when you saw my eyes," I said, realizing what she meant.

"Exactly," Twilight responded, happy to see that I understood.

"That's all fine and good," Applejack said as she looked around. Allot of ponies could hear our conversation and were looking at me with fear filled eyes. "But lets finish this conversation back at the library."

Agreeing with Applejack, we all left the station and made our way to the town library.