//------------------------------// // Road to Ponyville // Story: Mairon's Redemption // by Ryukan //------------------------------// "Mairon eh? That's an odd name, to each their own I suppose. Now, what is your purpose here might I ask?" the strange being inquired as he wrote the name Mairon into a small notebook that appeared and vanished just as quickly. "What is it to you?" Mairon rebuked as he stood up. "Nothing really, I just was sent here by dear Celly to see what caused such a great disturbance in the magical plain. I told her that I was busy with cleaning my realm and that it required at least a week to do, but she insisted, so I told her-" Discord rambled on as he picked an acorn from one of the trees and began to yoyo it. Mairon stood there watching this strange creature and how casually it displayed such great feats of power. He chuckled at this strange creature who could perform such awesome feats of magic without as much as a thought. He then started laughing. "-well, that's what Luna tell me anyways... hey! Are you even listening?" asked the draconequus who had turned into an old pony sitting in a chair knitting. "I apologize, it's just you had just done something that many have tried to do and failed. It was kinda shocking." Mairon conceded. "What is that? I do enjoy being the first at anything," he said as he turned into a weird looking Pony with a rainbow tail standing atop a pedestal with an overly large trophy. "You made me laugh." "Really? That's it? You're telling me that you have not laughed ever!?! Geez man, have you come to the right place, there's a quaint town to the west of here where an odd pink pony dwells. I think a visit with her oughta remedy this problem you have," he said as he began to head in the direction that the cart-pony had gone, "Well, aren't you going to come with? These woods aren't the most pleasant to be in." Mairon stood there for a second and then began to follow the now floating draconequus, who then snapped his fingers and Mairon felt a strange pull as he suddenly found himself on the outskirts of a small but pleasant town. He looked around and could not see the strange creature anymore. His gaze settled back on the town. Aside from the towering Castle made from crystal, the town looked like a normal village. Aside from being populated by colorful ponies who could talk. "AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! IT'S A NEW PERSON!!!!" Mairon instantly kicked into fight or flight as he was suddenly assaulted by the most fearsome creature ever to have walked, a terrifying pink pony with a messy mane. "OHMMYGOSH OHMYGOSH OHMYGOSH!!! Hello! How do you do? I'm Pinkie Pie, who are you? You look funny, do you like cake? Of course you do, here!" Mairon suddenly found a piece of cake inside his mouth after the pony shot her hoof into his face. He chewed, and against his better judgement, found the cake to be quite delicious. "Thank you? You said your name was Pinkie Pie?" Mairon inquired as he swallowed. "Yes, I am Ponyville's Premiere party pony!” the talking pink horse proudly proclaimed, “What's your name?" "My name is Mairon,” He paused, “you wouldn't happen to know of the strange creature who bends reality do you? He kinda left me here at the edge of this town after he found me in the forest." "Oh, you must be talking about Discord, yeah, he's weird like that, but I like it!" she said. "Well, he said I should come here to talk to a pink pony who could solve my 'problem' of not smiling. I haven't smiled in centuries you see. Apparently it’s a prob-" "WHAAAAAAAAAAAA!?! How can you NOT have smiled in suuuuuuuuuuch a long time!?! No matter, I know just what to do to fix that. COME ON!" Mairon suddenly found himself being dragged on the ground at breakneck speed by the strange pony as she made her way through town. He could see the looks of mild surprise n the inhabitants of 'Ponyville' as he was dragged through what looked like a town square. The duo finally stopped outside a cheerfully pink-painted building. "Welcome to Sugarcube Corner! This is where I make happiness and make joy! Come on! You got to try my pastries, nobody, not even the Princess herself, can resist them!" Pinkie Pie dropped Mairon's leg and allowed him to stand up, then led him into the bakery. As he stepped inside the building, several smells assaulted his nose and he began to drool as the scent of cakes, cookies, and other sweets made him dizzy. "This smells like nothing I've ever known before," Mairon said as he looked around, his lips cracking into a small smile as he passed shelves full of sweets more savory looking than the last. "Glad you like it, take your pick, its on the house," Pinkie said as she took a seat at a booth. Mairon grabbed what looked like a wheel with frosting on it. He made his way to the booth and sat down across from the pink pony who was literally diving into her cake. Mairon took a bite of his food and nearly got knocked out of the chair by the flavor. "What is this!?! This would be worth a King's Ransom in my world," Mairon said as he took another bite, careful to savor it with care. "That's a Doughnut, and you mean Arda right? Fun place, elves, dwarves, hobbits, dragons,  but no ponies sadly." Pinkie said as nonchalantly as possible. Mairon just sat there staring at the pink pony. Pinkie took notice, "What?" "How do you-" "Best not to question it. Pinkie is strange and we earned long ago to never question it," a strange lavender colored pony said. This one had the horn of a unicorn, but the wings of a pegasus and seemed a bit taller than most ponies he'd seen. "My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I was told by my friend Discord that there'd be a human here at Sugarcube corner, and it seems he wasn't pranking me this time." "My name is Mairon, and may I ask, where I am? This place seem so much different from my old world,” Mairon asked as he finished his doughnut. "Well, I think this is a conversation best had at the castle, I have a library that we can use to maybe help you a bit," Twilight said as she turned to leave. "Wait!" He stood up and turned to Pinkie, "May I have another doughnut?" Pinkie laughed, "Sure thing, I'm glad you liked them." Mairon grabbed another and followed Twilight to the strange castle.