//------------------------------// // Arrival // Story: Dragon Re-Quest // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// The red dragoness slowly flew through the sky, taking her time as she carefully examined the map the Elders had provided her with. This was a rather important mission, and the last thing she wanted to do was get lost flying over pony territory and cause an international incident. She supposed she could have taken the Elders' advice and fly straight to the pony capitol, make contact with the Princesses, and make this an official visit and delegation...but all things considered, that didn't feel right. The actions that had been taken were personal, so she felt the recompense needed a personal touch. That's why, rather than any sort of official robes or attire, she was only garbed in her leather jacket and pants, and the enchanted bindings across her chest - looking like ordinary bandages - to make her more aerodynamic for flight. That was a matter of embarrassment for her, as most dragonesses didn't require them until they were much older. Eventually, she saw the town come into view. Rising to a higher altitude, she examined the surrounding countryside. The forest was rather distinctive, and the castle in the center - old and dilapidated - said it was the right forest, and her destination was the only settlement that close to the forest in question. Satisfied that she had indeed found the right location, she stuffed the map into the breast pocket of her jacket before executing a dive into the settlement, landing near the edge. Seeing a yellow pegasus mare nearby, she slowly approached. "Excuse me," she called out. The mare turned towards her, her pink mane concealing most of her face the way her baggy green sweater and flowing brown skirt concealed most of her body. "Yes? Wh-" The mare froze as she stared at the dragoness. She did her best to smile disarmingly, unwittingly baring a mouth full of sharp teeth. "Yes, I was looking for-" Her statement was interrupted by her growling stomach. She blushed, realizing it had been a while since she'd eaten. "Sorry abo-" The mare screamed in abject terror before running away at a rather respectable velocity towards the town. The dragoness blinked in confusion. "...how rude," she mumbled as she began to walk towards the town. Perhaps somepony else could give her directions. However, as she entered the town proper, she noticed that there were few ponies anywhere to be seen, and those few she saw were as doors were being slammed behind them or windows slammed shut. She could only sigh as she shook her head. What got these ponies so panicky? A dragon lived in town. Why was her presence reason for such fear and panic? A rainbow maned, cyan pegasus mare flew towards her, a flight suit her only garb. "Now where's that dragon that scared-buck! It's Garble!" With that, the mare turned around and sped off towards a large tree in the center of town. The dragoness blinked, then facepalmed. "Stupid!" she muttered to herself. "Bound like this, you look just like him! No wonder they're afraid." Sighing, she made her way towards the tree, ready for a chilly reception. She could only hope she was able to convince them to hear her out. Waiting for her at the tree was a small gathering of ponies. Most noticeably was a large red earth pony stallion in farm clothes, slamming his clenched fist into his palm as he prepped himself for battle. Near him was an orange mare in overalls and a white shirt, standing just as ready to fight. The cyan Pegasus from earlier hovered over them, clenching her fists. A white unicorn in a rather fancy dress also stood there, her rather beautiful face twisted into a mask of barely contained fury. She could just barely make out purple scales hidden behind the mare's dress. On the other side, a very pink earth pony mare dressed in blue bounced back and forth on her hooves, making playful jabs with her fists. Between that and the huge grin on her face, it was hard to tell if she was taking the situation seriously...if not for the massive cannon in front of her. The yellow pegasus was hiding behind her. One last pony stepped out amongst them all, one the dragoness recognized immediately even without the tiara that adorned her forehead. The dragon elders had been sure she would know all the princesses on sight...including the newest, Princess Twilight. Twilight stood there calmly, looking the dragoness up and down. She waited calmly for the Princess to take action. "Come on, Twilight!" the brash pegasus spoke from above. "What are you waiting for? That's-" "Not Garble, Rainbow Dash," Twilight interrupted. "Huh?" Rainbow responded as the others looked confused. "Twilight, look at him! How can you sit there and tell me-" "She's a dragoness," Twilight said calmly. The visitor rubbed the back of her head. She knew she wasn't the most feminine of dragonesses, but only the princess could even tell she was a female up close? Even bound as she was, that was rather deflating. However, she was going to do her best to conduct herself properly. She bowed to the Princess. "My name is Garbledina," she said quietly as she raised herself back up. "I bring apologies from myself and the Dragon Elders regarding the behavior of my twin brother and his cronies during your time in our lands, and beg your forgiveness." Twilight shook her head. "Garbledina, you and the Elders have done nothing to warrant an apology. And if I believed that Garble himself was apologizing, I could accept it. However, the sentiment is much appreciated." "Agreed," the white unicorn spoke up. "You surely can't be held responsible for a sibling's actions. I know how much of a headache a rambunctious sibling can be." She extended her hand, no sign of the purple scales that had been hidden behind her. "My name is Rarity, darling." Garbledina happily accepted the handshake. "A pleasure to meet you." She turned towards the others, only to get a facefull of confetti as the cannon went off. "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!" the pink mare proclaimed, glomping onto Garbledina. "Now that I know you aren't here to hurt anyone, I can throw you a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party instead of a 'We're Going to Kick Your Flank' party, so I was able to replace the buckshot in the cannon with confetti before firing it! I'm glad I didn't have to turn my party cannon into a weapon, but that's just how strongly I feel about keeping my friends safe! I'm glad you get to be a friend instead of an enemy, and I really really look forward to getting to know you, GD! Can I call you GD?" Garbledina could only blink as she stared down at the hyperactive pony practically crushing her lungs. "...sure," she finally said, wincing at how much more Pinkie smiled before rushing off. She turned to the others. "Uh..." "It's Pinkie Pie," the orange mare said, stepping forward. "Don't question it." She extended her hand. "Name's Applejack." She gestured to the red stallion. "This is my big brother, Big Macintosh. Sorry about the chilly reception earlier." The dragoness happily shook both offered hands, wincing a bit at the stallion's grip. "Quite alright. After the impression my brother left on your friends, I suppose I should have taken greater pains to distinguish myself from him...or at least let everyone know I was coming." "I-I'm Fluttershy," the yellow Pegasus spoke up, shyly stepping forward. "S-sorry for screaming before, but when you said you were looking for something and your stomach growled, I thought you might be looking for...breakfast." The last came out in a squeak. "I'm scared of dragons." Garbledina chuckled. "Well, on the list of races to be instinctively terrified of, I suppose my own is high on the list for good reason," she replied depreciatingly. Twilight smiled. "Won't you come inside?" she asked. "I'll ask Spike to rustle up a ruby salad for you, and we can talk for a bit." She turned to open the door. "Spike!" she shouted as she stepped into the tree, which was apparently a building. Garbledina promised herself not to breathe any fire while inside. She carefully followed the ponies inside, Big Macintosh turning to go elsewhere. "Go ahead and make yourself comfortable," Twilight said as she reentered the main room, apparently a library of some sort. Garbledina smiled. "Thank you," she said. Reaching behind her back, she undid her bindings, letting them unravel. Her rather ungainly chest reshaped as the magic was temporarily dispelled, and she exhaled a breath of relief as she flopped into a nearby chair, her breasts barely covered by her open jacket. "While good for flying, those bindings are really uncomfortable at ground level." She rocked her head around as she stretched her neck. As she faced forward again, she saw the one whose scales she'd spotted earlier stepping out of a kitchen like area. He was rather short, shorter than the ponies, but well built for his height. She could easily tell that the purple and green dragon she was looking at was deceptively strong, likely able to easily lift three times his weight without strain. His scales were polished to a shine, showing he took good care of himself. The simple clothes he wore spoke of a humility uncommon in dragon males of any age. The bright blush on his cheeks as he carefully held the food tray - a salad made with chunks of ruby mixed amongst the greens - showed he lacked any association with females of his own kind. Obviously, he hadn't expected that dragonesses wore clothing only for cleanliness purposes, and had no compunctions against lounging around nude in front of males, which the mares he apparently lived with obviously did have. Garbledina had only one reaction as she gazed at the young dragon as he placed the tray down. "Who's the cutie?" she asked casually, fluttering her eyelashes at him. As the young drake blushed and got extremely flustered, Garbledina noticed several of the mares giggling...although she wasn't sure why Rarity looked angry again.