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by Purple Smart

Stop Dragon Your Feet and Help

---

Dragon - Dragons are creatures that are typically with serpentine or reptilian traits. They come in many different sizes, although most dragons are typically larger than a house. There are many creatures that have a similar physique to a dragon, but must not be confused with a dragon, such as a sea serpent or a hydra. An easy way to identify a dragon is by it's tendency to hoard gems. All dragons tend to have a natural adoration for gems, both as a treasure and as nourishment. There have been reported cases of transformations caused by greed, and precaution is needed when one tries to approach it...

[Several pages of notes later]

...one could therefore be able to avoid any conflict with a dragon by simply avoiding eye contact, unless the dragon wishes to establish conversation, which is a sign that the dragon wishes to proclaim a negotiation. Dragons are amazing, powerful creatures, and should be treated as such, with lots of respect, honor, and ice cream.

---

Field Looks up from the notes he was writing down. "Ice cream? Are you sure these are actual facts, or are you just trying to get a treat?"

"Of course they are!" said Spike.

Field looked at him, one eyebrow raised.

"Okay, maybe not that last part..." Spike admitted. "But at least I'm honest! You should write about that!"

Twilight Sparkle rolled his eyes. "I think Field has enough to work with now, maybe you can help clean up the confetti from last night's party?"

Spike got up and walked away grumbling "yeah, yeah," grabbing a broom before he left the room.

Twilight turned back towards Field Work. "So, did you find what you were looking for?"

Field Looked back through the past few pages. He had a plethora of information about dragons. True, some of it might have been biased towards the small purple dragon, but it can easily be fact-checked with the equally voluminous books about dragons. He had enough notes to write his own report on dragons, and because he interviewed a live, breathing dragon, it was a bonus, since he had personally seen one up close. He had all the knowledge about dragons he would ever want to know.

"No." He said simply.

"Wha~? No?!?" Twilight was surprised. "But- you have plenty of notes on dragons! Wasn't that what you wanted?"

"Sure." Field got up and walked to a bookshelf. "Answer this question: Do you have any books on the Great Dragon Migration?"

Twilight nodded. "Yes, there's some books on the third shelf by-"

"That's fine." Field began again, interrupting Twilight, "How about the three pony tribes? Any books about the founding of Equestria?"

"Um... yes, that would be near the-"

"Mmhmm, okay, that's fine. What about the first two alicorns, Celestia and Luna? Any books there?"

"Well, that would be either The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide or the Journal of the Two Sisters, but I'm not sure if I should-"

"Uhuh. Great." Field stopped looking around and looked directly at Twilight. "Now answer this: Do you have any books on how to deal with a changeling attack?"

This question caused Twilight to raise an eyebrow. "Well, no, but-"

"What about parasprite infestations? Diamond dog attacks? Timberwolfpacks?"

"Erm... no. Sorry." Twilight began to see what he was trying to get at.

"All of these strong, powerful, destructive creatures, all living in the land of Equestria, and no pony, not a single one, has ever written a single book about it?"

"Well, there has never been a need to." Said Twilight, trying to calm down Field Work. "Starswirl the Bearded has made references to his battles with mythical creatures, but only to show a way to defeat them. No other pony has ever actually had a problem with these creatures."

"No pony, you say?" Field said, thrown a different notepad at Twilight, who caught it with her magic. She opened it up and looked inside.

---

North Star- Gender: Male, Age: 21, Task: Navigator, Cause of death: Venom (Chimera)

---

Packer- Gender: Male, Age: 19, Task: Supplyholder, Cause of death: Attacked (Manticore)

---

South Star- Gender: Female, Age: 20, Task: Navigator, Cause of death: Drowned (Cragadile)

---

Stable Pines- Gender: Female, Age: 16, Task: Builder, Cause of death: Infestation (Parasprite)

---

Berry Scent- Gender: Male, Age: 20, Task: Hunter-Gatherer, Cause of death: (???)

---

Task Work- Gender: Male, Age: 24, Task: Leader, Cause of death: Ambush (Dragon)

---

There were a few more on the list, but Twilight stopped reading. "Your father's name was Task, wasn't it?"

Field Work nodded. He shifted his book bag and lifted his jacket up slightly. Twilight gasped, for she saw a deep burn mark along the side of his left foreleg. "I travel from place to place with my pack. He was the leader. He... he sacrificed his life to save all of ours."

Twilight looked down. "I... I'm sorry to hear that. I guess it was hard for you to see Spike here."

Field was quiet for a while. "...No, not really. I understand that he's nicer, and very helpful to you. I'm just a bit upset that I could not find any other information about any other creature."

Twilight nodded. "Yes, I can see why that would be beneficial to your nomadic lifestyle. Unfortunately, aside from you and your allies, I'm afraid I do not know many other ponies who would be in harm's way frequently." Twilight sighed. "If only there was some pony who was actually willing to go out and do some research on his own."

"Ma'am, you're a genius!" Field looked up excitedly.

"I am?"

"Yes!" Field began to put the books away and pack up. "The solution is so simple! I'll go out and research it myself! That way, I'll have experience to deal with the situations whenever they come up!" Field shook Twilight's hoof. "Sorry to be in a rush, Miss, but I must be going now! I hope to see you again! Bye!"

"Wait!!!" Twilight used her magic to stop Field in his tracks. "You can't just go out there alone! You'll get hurt."

Field smirked. "It's okay, Miss, I'm been wandering around for quite a while, I know how to take care of yourself."

"But now you will be alone! It'll be even more dangerous."

"Ma'am, please." Field became more serious. "My father lost his life in order to protect ours. I must make sure that he did not die in vain. I am willing to sacrifice my life in order to guarantee no more of my friends get hurt. Do you understand?"

Twilight looked at him carefully, sighed and let him go. "Fine. But at least let me ask one request of you, as payment for using the library at closed hours."

"What is it, Miss?"

"First, enough of the formalities, I never liked it. Just call me Twilight Sparkle."

"Okay, Twilight. What do you want?"

"I want... to help you."

Field grinned. "Clever."

Twilight Smiled back. She slowly charged up a spell and aimed it at Field, catching him off guard. "This spell will offer you some protection as well a an increased healing ability. I know you will probably be alone most of the time, but I want you to promise me that you will try to find someone to help you on each new journey. Also, I want you to report to me every time you complete a new research. Got it?"

"Got it." Field got up and brushed himself off. "And thanks... Twilight."

Twilight nodded. "Good luck on your quest." She waved at Field.

Quest? Thought Field work as he turned and left. Heh, yeah I guess this is like a quest. Looks like it's all up to me now.

Comments

[goaway]

5233080

Abusing the Character Map for fun and profit.

[Purple Smart]

5235270
You think that's abusing the character map?
.

Ţ̠͇̠͎̹̠̟͎̥̫̉̋̓ͨ̑̀͜͞H̴̍̈̃ͤ́̓̈͊̅ͧ́ͨͬͧͭ̾̓̄̿Iͯ͛̏͌̐̂̀ͤ̔S̴̻̯͍͕̜̦̬ͫ̔ͧ͌̆̎̀ͥ͑ͥ̑͌ͤ̄̃̈́̍͊ͩ͟͢ ̶̴̞̱͉̘̖͎̓ͥͦͮͬ͌ͤ͌́̎̈̂̑̽̄͂ͣ̊̿͘I̵̧̢̧͓͉̪̟̦̬̠̲ͨ̈̍͌ͭ̔̏̈ͣ́ͨͭ̒̊ͯͩ̓̽̚͟S̴̢̢͈̫̥̩̯͈̹̺͙̟̏́̓͌ͣ̑̀ͭ̈́͑̈́ͨͥ ̨̡̮̝̰̝͓̉̾̉͗̏ͯ͒̀̓ͮ̍̐̆̂̉ͪͨĄ̸̤̟̯̲̒̔ͥ̋́̈̑̕B̶̗̫͙͓̲͖̮͉ͦ̈̓͑ͮͥ̌̿͘͟U͔͎͇͍̻̱͇̯͔̳̱ͥ͌͒̍ͫ̔ͭ̍ͥͯ̏͂ͪ̆͞S̆̽̊̽̐ͨ͂ͣ̿̀I̵̶̡̘̼̺͙̜͕͇͕͚͈͍ͪͮ͒̚̕N̟͕͓͙̩͔̣̣͍̞̦̗̳̥̯̺̹͌̐ͬͮ͛̔̔͌̔̓̑̃̓̇͒ͬ̉́ͅͅG̨̡͓̱̯̟̈́̎̿ͤͥ̊̀ͦ͂̊̒̓ͯ͐͌̀̚ Ţ̸̥̖̲̥̰͙ͦͮͯ̍̓̓̓͑͆ͤͯ̃̈͢͡ͅͅH̨̡̻̠̬̞͙͖̪͓̎̊̋̊̿̏̉͋͋̉̍ͤ͟͝͡E̶̸̡̡̬̥̠̜ͮ̒͗ͦ̆̉͛́ ̛̯̤̹͂ͥͪ̎ͬ̓̽̽̀͜͢͡C̠̙̜̗͕͓͙̲̬͓̺̣̻̈́̉ͤ̈͂̀͜Ḧ̙͙̞̟̥̬̼̯̳̰͇̤̻̣̘̦̞͇̹̉ͪ̎̀̾ͩ̊̈́̈́̑͆̔̽͆ͯͪ̏̎͠A̸̶̷͖̳̱͍̣̯̮̠͚̥̦̮̐̿̇̆ͩ͛ͩ͋ͯͦ̉̋͟R̵̎ͥ͛ͣ̒̆͋̑ͣ̀̀̄ͮ̀̉̚͏̘̜͔̱̤̮̜A̢̰̙̣̻̦͓͎̓̆ͩ̏̔ͭ͛̍̅̉̔͛́Ĉ̶̵̨̢̮̪͚̩͍͙͇͕̪̗͕̠̲͕̘̏̍̈́͌ͥ̆̾̍͢ͅT͛̀̒̍͐͊ͥͯ̌̔̊̆ͣ̈E̷̯͔̗͔̺͔̭̻̙̯̋ͩͧ͊͒͐̊̂̍͗ͬ̅̇ͭͣ͋͠ͅR̵̼̳̗͓̣̭̝͔̩̥̺̋̾ͯͦ̾ͦ̃̾ͮͧ̽͛̃̒̎ͨͥ̚͡ͅ ̊̍ͦ̿̏҉̦̰̬̘͔̭́ͅM̡̥̪̤̪̩̝̪̜̰̻̪̣͕̝͆̾͂ͤͤ͌̓ͅA̫͙͎̼͚͈͎̣̙͓̜̐̋ͧͨͯ̏̚͢͢Pͭ̋͑ͥ̀͐̅͌ͮ̇͆ͨͥ̚͏̵̨̡̞̣͉̘̠̘̮̕!̶̞̞̤̹͊̀̓ͯ͒̂ͥͯ̆̍̉ͣ̕͘ ̨̱͕̭̣͔̘̥̬̺̋̿͊͗ͤ̚͘͡ͅ H̡̫̥͈̫͖̰͇̗̠̘͖̯̱̐͒̌́́̕͝A̡ͭ̓ͫ̆̔̾̾ͬͨ̔̇̉̄ͩ̊̿ͥͮͫ͜H̷͓̜̙͙̤̜̄͋ͪ̽͐̓͛ͧ̾̄ͬͬͤ̐̃͂̀͢͞ͅĄ̸̡̦̹̺̥̠͈̹̮͖̠̥̦̞ͦͨ̊ͮ̾͠ͅH̸̶̴̖͚͙̖̭͇̲͍͚̟͎͚̭ͥ̎̿͒ͦ̈̃ͨ́͂́̉ͦ͆̾͞A͉̠̠̹̟͖̲͖͉͍͙͚̩͖̿ͤ̃͋͌͆͆̿̍̌̈́̑̆͌́̀͝ͅḨ͇̝͖̪̯̠̣̥̗͉̻̜̹͆͋ͤ̿̀͆̕͝ͅA͑͆̈́̃͐ͩ̉̔̉͞͏̘̯̤͖̠͔̜̬͖̥H̷̷̡̬̩̪͈̼̣͍͔̜̤̗̯͈̟͉̯̠͂̑̋̍ͣͫͧ̓͌͆́̋ͩ̇ͬͦ͌ͭ̚͞A̴̢̡͚͓̠̣̙͓̘̥̘̼̔ͭ̓̿ͭ͛̕͜!̸̝̹͚̯̖͇̩ͩ̓͆͑̅ͭͬ͠͠͝

[goaway]

5237787

I feel like I'm having a flashback to my last Maths exam.

[tsaukpaetra]

Rocky start, but it seems you're finally getting a plot. We almost expected him to get his Cutie Mark right there, but I guess he already has it?
Keep going! ;)