I was running away in fear, trying to run away from them.
"GET BACK HERE!" I kept running and running, ignoring the voices calling me.
"YOU CAN'T GET AWAY FROM US!"
"YOU'RE GONNA GET IT, KID!"
Suddenly, I skidded on a halt in the middle of a bridge and saw a group of people at the end of the bridge, I tried going back but the other group of people that were chasing me blocked the exit as well.
"Why are you doing this?!" I asked getting scared of them.
"You know why!" An old man said angrily.
"You think you were chosen for it makes you think you're better than all of us!?" A man in his early 20s said.
"N-no, I never say that-"
"Well too bad, why is it that you get to live but we don't?!" A woman in her late 40s asked.
"I-I'm sorry everyone, b-b-but you must understand, even I don't think the plan they made is not good, I don't want to leave my family behind!" I exclaimed letting out some tears.
"Well too bad, get him everybody!" Soon enough, the crowd started to get closer and closer towards me, and there was nowhere to go. I'm trapped...all alone...with no one to help me.
Suddenly, a bright flash circled around the area, causing me to black out.
"GAH!" I woke up in an instant as I looked around and saw that I was back in my own home. Oh, another nightmare, but what does these nightmares be? Could it be related to any of my lost memories? Oh well, I guess I'll about that later, right now, I gotta go and show Twilight and the others that little 'thing' I found in my closet. I quickly got out of bed, and did the usual.
Put on my clothes, grabbed my fully charged Hacking Gun, cook and ate breakfast, which consisted of delicious pancakes since I can't eat meat in this world because...well you know...and finally, I got the suitcase and took out the special surprise into a single strap red backpack I found last night as well.
I quickly got out of my home and ran straight towards Ponyville. Once I arrived, I saw everypony minding their own business and such until I came across Ponyville Park, huh, strange. Why didn't I notice this place before? Oh well, I'll think about it later. Anyway, as I entered the place and saw a dodge ball and a rainbow streak intercepting it, and I know anypony with a rainbow streak like that.
"Don't be such a scaredy-pony, it's just me!" Rainbow Dash said as she bounced the ball of her head and rump. "Future Equestria ball-bouncing record holder. 346, 347..." Looks like she's trying to break some record of some kind, I'll ask later.
"This calls for a celebration!" I overheard Pinkie shouting.
"Hey guys!" I called, gaining both of the mares attention.
"Oh hey Ren, what are you doing here?" Rainbow asked still bumping the ball on her head.
"And what's in that pack of yours?!" Pinkie asked pointing at my backpack in my hands.
"Oh, this is a very special surprise that I gotta show you guys." I said as I unzipped my bag. "I found it last night right before I went to bed."
"Oh, what is it?! A stun gun? A mysterious key that can unlock anything? Oatmeal?" I raised a brow and gave Pinkie a 'are you crazy' look.
"Oatmeal? Why oatmeal?" I asked.
"Duh! It's because it taste so delicious!" Pinkie answered. I shook my head at her, yep, she's crazy alright.
"Whatever! So what's in the pack, Ren?" Rainbow asked as she focused on the ball still.
"Oh, you'll see..because here it is!" I showed them what was inside the backpack, but much to their confusion, they didn't seem too enthusiastic about it. It was a board.
"It's just a board, so what?" Rainbow asked shrugging her shoulders.
"It may look like a board, but..." I picked up the board and turn a small red button that was underneath the board. Once so, I let it go and it didn't fall down, it was still standing up, its just floating in the air, much to their shock.
"WHAT?!" Rainbow asked in shock, immediately dropping her ball.
"Wowie zowie, how do you do that Ren? Did you use magic?!" Pinkie asked in excitement.
"No Pinkie, its a hoverboard. A board similar to a skateboard, but using a magnetic means of levitation." I said happily liking it already. Yep that's right, once I found it, I test it out last night and became extrememly happy to get this. Whoever gave this to me, I'll let you slide, you may somehow kidnapped me and brought me to that sleeping chamber inside a spaceship and somehow transported me to another world, but wow, you just gave me the most best gift in the world.
Anyway, I know how to use a hoverboard after playing Sonic Riders a long time ago. It was one of my favorite Sonic games and since then, it was a real fun and experience game for me. I wonder if its still back at the spaceship with the others. Anyway, Rainbow and Pinkie became extremely excited to see it.
"That...is...AWESOME!" Rainbow exclaimed before getting close to my face. "You gotta ride on it now, think about the many races I could have with you, my speed against yours!" I gave off a smirk at her, thinking about that possibility.
"Okay, challenge accepted." I said until I notice that she stopped bouncing her ball. "Hey Dash, weren't you suppose to break some record of yours?" I reminded her, which caused her to widen her eyes in shock.
"Dang it! Now I have to start over!" Rainbow exclaimed as we laugh nervously at her disappointment, guess I may have distract her from that. Anyway, I guess I should show this to Twilight and the others, and they'll be surprised as well. I grabbed my board and put it back in my bwas about to get on my board until I heard a voice.
"T-There's smoke!" Huh? I turned around to see Fluttershy alerting everypony but nobody was listening.
"Hey, isn't that Fluttershy over there?" I asked noticing her.
"Yeah, wonder what's she doing here?" Rainbow asked in confusion. Suddenly, the skies turn dark as we looked up to see a lot of smoke blocking the sky, completely. What the heck is going on?
"ATTENTION, EVERYPONY!" Soon, we all heard a loud voice calling out as we turned to see Twilight and Spike, alerting everypony and listening to what she says. "Listen up! Smoke is spreading all over Equestria!" Twilight yelled.
All the ponies began to exclaim and panic to hear this.
"But don't worry..." Twilight continued. "I've just received a letter from Princess Celestia informing me that its not coming from a fire." Everypony, including Fluttershy, let out a sigh of relief until Twilight said "Its coming from a dragon!" Everypony let out a gasp and began to panic again. Well, so much for trying to calm the crowd down.
"A dragon?!" Pinkie and Dash exclaimed in shock.
"Well this day turn fast..." I muttered as I blink in surprise, and just when I was about to surprise Twilight and the other mares about this hoverboard I've found. Oh well, I'll show it to them back at the library. However, I noticed Fluttershy feeling scared, wonder what's up with her?
Not too long later, me and my equestrian friends were gathered at the Golden Oaks Library, where we were discussing our plan of action.
"What in the name of things cinnamon-swirled is a full grown dragon doing here in Equestria?" Applejack asked.
"Sleeping." Twilight said, causing us to look at her like she was crazy.
"Huh?" We all asked.
"According to Princess Celestia, he's taking a nap. His snoring is what's causing all this smoke." Twilight explained as she was finishing packing books into a saddle. I'm guessing she'll need them for the problem we're dealing with.
"He should really see a doctor!" Pinkie Pie said. "That doesn't sound healthy at all!"
"Um, Pinkie, dragons are supposed to breath fire and smoke." I said, which made her realized her error.
"Oh, okay!" Pinkie said happily.
"Well..." Rarity spoke up. "At least he's not snoring fire! What are WE meant to do about it?"
"I'll tell you what we're meant to do!" Rainbow Dash announced, flying mid-air. "Give him the boot. Take that!" She kicked a small statue Twilight had, but luckily, Twilight used her magic to keep it from falling. "And that!" Rainbow flew towards the statue again, but Twilight moved it away, causing Dash to miss and crash into a pile of books.
"Um...I don't think that would be easy Dash." I said which made her come out of the fallen books and glared at me.
"Oh really? And why's that?" She asked crossing her hooves.
"Well, judging how much smoke it poured out to cover the entire skies of Ponyville, or possibly Equestria, I say this dragon might be ginormous, more bigger than....Spike." I said which caused Spike glare at me.
Rainbow Dash let out a huff and whispered "W-whatever." Hey, I'm trying to raise a good point, don't go and blame me for trying to ruin the mood.
"Ren is right, Rainbow Dash. We need to encourage him to take a nap somewhere else." Thank you Twilight for backing me up. "Princess Celestia has given us this mission, and we must not fail. If we do, Equestria will be covered in smoke for the next 100 years!"
This caused me to widen my eyes in shock and Fluttershy to gasp in shock. You mean we'll be covered in that smoke for the next 100 years?! That's crazy! And another reason why need to stop this madness!
"Talk about getting your beauty sleep." Rarity added.
"Alright everypony, I need you to gather supplies quickly. We've got a long journey ahead of us. Let's meet back here in less than an hour." Twilight said as she placed the saddle around her back,
"Okay, girls, you heard her. The fate of Equestria is in our hooves. Do we have what it takes?" Rainbow Dash asked.
We all agreed cheerfully as Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, and Dash headed out of the door, but then I noticed Fluttershy all alone, looking quite sad. Maybe I should talk to her.
"Hey Fluttershy.." I called out to her, which caused her to shriek in fear, but then realize it was me.
"O-oh, hey R-Ren." Fluttershy said as she waved slowly at me.
"You okay? You've been feeling less down once Twilight told us about the mission we're about to take." Fluttershy turned away from me and felt sad again.
"I-it's nothing, I'm f-fine." Fluttershy muttered sadly.
"Come on Fluttershy, I'm your friend, I'll understand." I said smiling softly towards her. Fluttershy looked at me for a while as she let out a sigh and started talking.
"Okay, it's just that...I'm afraid..of..." Fluttershy hesitate to speak the last word, as I raised a brow at her, what is she afraid of?
"I'm sorry, but I have to go!" Fluttershy said quickly as she zoomed out of the library, much to my bewilderment. Something is wrong with her and I just know it.
"What just happened with Fluttershy?" Twilight asked coming downstairs.
"I don't know, I guess maybe she's afraid of climbing up that mountain." I said shrugging my shoulders.
Twilight let out a sigh and said "Well even so, we need her to confront that dragon, and what's that board you have in your hands?" Twilight asked noticing the board in my hands, what? She just noticed it?
"Oh right, it was something I was gonna show you and the others earlier ago before that smoke blocked the sky, check it out!" I said pressing the red button and allowing it to hover in the air, much to Twilight's shock.
"D-did that board...using magnetism to lift itself in levitation?!" Twilight exclaimed in shock.
"Yeah...." I said feeling worried. She then turned to me slowly with an exciting grin.
"Okay, after the mission, you are gonna tell me about this board, where you found it, how it operates and other things about it!" Twilight exclaimed as she got close to my face, causing me to sweat nervously. Well, I wasn't expecting her to be that surprise.
Later
Not long after we finished packing our equipment, with Twilight handing me a spare pack full of equipment, including my hoverboard, as she told me to use it just in case of emergencies. Anyway, We came back to the Golden Oaks Library, fully equipped and ready.
"Alright everypony..." Twilight said as she gained our attention. "I'm mapping out the quickest route, but we've all gotta keep a good pace if we expect to make it up the mountain by nightfall." By nightfall? Well this journey will surely be a long hike and climb.
"M-m-mountain?" Fluttershy asked stuttering in fear.
"Yes, the dragon is in that cave at the very top." We looked at where Twilight was pointing at and much to my surprise, it was at the top, and I could see the smoke coming out of the cave, and I'm guessing that's where we'll find our dragon?
"Looks pretty cold up there." Applejack commented observing the mountaintop.
"You bet it is. The higher you go, the chillier it gets." Rainbow replied.
"Well then, it's a good thing I brought my scarf." Rarity said as she pulled it from her saddlebag, a scarf striped into two shades of pink, wow, she's good.
"Ooh, pretty." Pinkie complimented.
Rarity posed with it, causing me to grin at her. "Yeah, that'll keep you nice and cozy." I said.
I then noticed Fluttershy looking at the smoky mountain, and I could've sworn she let out a gulp. Is she that terrified? Fluttershy then walked over to Twilight, who was busy looking over a map.
"Um, Twilight? I realize you're busy but-"
"Uh-huh, well we could go this way." Twilight was so busy with that map that she didn't hear what Fluttershy was saying.
"But if I could just have a second..."
"Uh-huh. No, we want to avoid that." Twilight poked at the map, still not listening, I kinda feel bad for Fluttershy, having a soft voice so low that nobody can hear you.
"So, um, I was thinking that, um..." Fluttershy hesitate for a sec until she spoke again. "Maybe...I should just stay here in Ponyville."
"Uh-huh." Twilight muttered until she realized on what she'd just heard. "Wait!" She ran over to Fluttershy, who had just been in the process of leaving. "You have to come! Your way with wild animals will surely come in handy!" Twiligth said.
"B-but I don't think I-"
"Oh and don't worry about your little friends in the meadow. Spike's got it all covered while you're gone." Twilight said cutting Fluttershy off again. We looked to see Spike, accompanied by some of Fluttershy's animals.
"You can count on me!" Spike said confidently, but I kinda have my doubts.
"Are you sure you can handle that, Spike?" I asked raising a brow.
"Pfft! Of course Ren, how hard can it be?" Spike said as Angel kicked him in the head and every critter ran off. "Oooh! Hey! Hey! Wait!" Yep, thought so.
As Spike left to get the animals back, Fluttershy began to feel afraid again. "I-I'm not really sure he's quite up to the task. Maybe-" Unfortunately, Twilight wasn't listening as she walked away, ignoring her pleads. I let out a sigh and walked over to Fluttershy.
"Hey Fluttershy." I called out to her.
"Oh...hey Ren." Fluttershy waved slowly at me.
"Listen, I can understand that Twilight isn't listening right now, she kinda needs to work on that. Anyway, I understand if you're scared of climbing the mountain. But just remember, Me, Twilight, and the others believe in your skills as an animal caretaker, and I know you will do just great. Just keep believing in yourself and maybe you can conquer your fear." I said trying to encourage her. Fluttershy thought for a while until she let out a smile.
"O-okay, I'll try my best." Fluttershy said. Now that's more like it, but her courage was short-lived once she saw her shadow, causing her to jump into my arms.
"Um, Fluttershy...that was just your shadow." I said sweat-dropping.
"Oh...I-I knew t-that." Fluttershy said as she flew away. Okay, that was awkward, but I know she'll do fine.
Before long, we were making our way towards the mountain, and the closer we got, the louder the snores coming from atop became. Man, and I thought my dad was the loudest snorer back at home. The snores were so loud, it made the earth around us tremble like an earthquake.
"Whoa, and I thought Big Mac's snoring was a waker-upper!" Applejack said trying not to fall. After the trembling stopped, we continued our way, but I then noticed somepony behind me as I looked to see Fluttershy hiding behind me.
"I-it's so...high!" Fluttershy exclaimed fearfully.
"Well, it is a mountain. I'm going to fly up there and check it out!" Rainbow Dash said as she was about to take off, but luckily, I grab ahold of her tail.
"Wait, we need to stick together, think about what might happen if you went on alone, you might get crushed by rocks or something like that." I said sternly.
"Ren's right." Applejack agreed, and the others nodded in agreement as well. "Safety in numbers an all."
"Oh, alright." Rainbow pouted. Well sorry Dash, but it's best if we didn't split up, who knows how dangerous this mountain is, well besides the giant dragon.
After we were done with that conversation, we started to go back on climbing up the mountain. Rainbow was flapping aloft with the same bored pouty look due to us not allowing her to go up there. It's a good thing that she's loyal to her friends, not selfish as Trixie, well okay, maybe Dash is a little selfish but you get what I mean.
"I heard the only thing that sparkles more than a dragon's scales are the jewels they use to build their nests." Rarity said in awe. I became intrigued to hear that dragon loves to use jewelry.
"Wait, they make their nests out of jewels?" I asked.
"Well yes Ren." Twilight replied as she began her lecture on dragons. "Dragons have a love with diamonds and other jewelry, they use them for either making their homes, or eating them." They eat them as well?! I wonder if Spike eats jewels as well.
"That is exactly right!" Rarity said before saying "Ooh, if I play my cards right, I might convince him to part with a few." I looked her with a smirk because I know she would do anything to get those jewels.
"Oh! You mean like, 'Welcome to my cave, Rarity! Care for a diamond? Rargh'!" Pinkie said in a growly voice, which made all of us laughed at that little joke, well everyone except Twilight.
"Everypony focus! This is no laughing matter!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Oh relax Twilight, we're just trying to brighten up the mood, no need to kill it." I chuckled, which caused Twilight to glare at me and growled at what I said but she let out a sigh and softened her expression.
"Whatever, anyway, Fluttershy, since you're an expert on wild creatures. What do you think the dragon will be like?...Fluttershy?" We all looked back to see Fluttershy hiding behind a bush.
"Hey! What're you waiting for, an invitation?!" Rainbow asked already impatient on getting to the top.
"Ooh! I think I have one in my bag." Pinkie said as she open up her bag, and an explosion of confetti burst out once open, much to my surprise.
"Pinkie, that was a figure of speech." I said rolling my eyes.
"It's-It's so...steep." Fluttershy said shivering in fear.
"It is a cliff!" Rainbow said as she let out a sigh, already annoyed with Fluttershy's fears. "You could just, I dunno...fly up here already?"
"Come on, Fluttershy!" I called out to encourage her. "We're waiting for ya!" After I called her out, Fluttershy stepped out.
"O-okay..." She flapped her wings, rising several feet into the air, when a loud snore made her squeal. Her heart all but gave out as she instinctively closed up her wings and fell back into the bush. Oh well, at least she was almost brave enough to come back to us.
"Urgh!" Rainbow growl in anger.
"We don't have time for this!" Twilight said already getting tired of this, but then, Applejack grabbed the map from her bag and observed it on a nearby rock. "W-what are you doing?" Twilight asked.
"I'll need this if I'm going to take her around the mountain another way." Applejack replied, which caused Rainbow Dash to groan.
"Around the mountain? That's going to take us forever!" Rainbow exclaimed. Suddenly, the dragon started snoring again, causing Fluttershy to fall to the floor, paralyzed in fear. Jeez, this mare really is scared. I let out a sigh and decided to help her out.
"Don't worry guys, I'll talk to her." I said walking over to Fluttershy. "Fluttershy, are you alright?" I asked but I know she wasn't feeling okay.
"O-oh, hello Ren, y-yes I-I'm f-f-fine." Fluttershy stuttered. I shook my head and look at her with a serious expression.
"Fluttershy, I can understand if you're scared, but you have to come with us. With your ability to talk to animals, you're quite useful in the group, I mean, do you want Equestria to be covered in smoke for hundreds of years?" I asked.
Fluttershy thought for a while until she shook her head and said "N-no, I don't want that to happen."
"Then please, won't you come with us? You can walk next to me, that'll be alright?" I asked. Fluttershy thought for a while until she let out a nod.
"Y-yes, that would be okay." Fluttershy said. I smiled softly at her until Rainbow Dash interrupted the moment.
"COME ON! WE DON"T HAVE ALL DAY!" I let out a sigh and got back up, and help Fluttershy get back as well. We then walked back and met up with the others.
After that was done, we all began walking further into the mountain while I stayed by Fluttershy. We came to a point where we would have to jump across to another part of the mountain. The others jumped across, leaving me and Fluttershy to be the last ones.
"Don't worry Fluttershy, it's just a small jump." I said as I began to run and jumped across to the other end, but I thought I wouldn't make it, but luckily, I was able to grab the ledge, pulling myself up. I turned back to Fluttershy and shouted "See? You can do it!"
"B-b-but it's...so wide..." Fluttershy trembled, holding a rock. I let out a sigh and a sad look, this mare must've been traumatized if she's this scared.
"Come on, Fluttershy, we should be much farther along by now." Twilight said as she was trying to reason with her, but Fluttershy refused to listen.
"You could just leap on over." Applejack encouraged. Wait, can't she just fly over? Nah, that probably won't work.
Fluttershy looked at how wide it was as she began to feel afraid again. "I-"
Suddenly, the dragon started snoring again, causing Fluttershy back off and tremble more. "I don't know." Fluttershy said, which caused me to face-palm at this, even Twilight and Applejack shook their heads at this.
"There's nothing to be afraid of!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "It's just a hop, skip and a jump. See?" Pinkie Pie jumped across to where Fluttershy was and began singing. "It's not very far. Just move your little rump. You can make it if you try with a hop, skip and jump!" Okay, how in the world is she doing that? I need to remind myself to ask them about her.
"We don't have time for this!" Twilight said getting impatient.
"A hop, skip and jump. Just move your little rump. A hop, skip and jump. A hop, skip and jump A hop, skip and jump. A hop skip and jump, A hop skip and jump!"
As Pinkie Pie continued singing, I realized that she was trying to encourage Fluttershy to jump by continuously jumping over many times. Huh, that's...actually pretty nice of Pinkie to do.
"O-okay. Here I go. A hop." Fluttershy said as she started to hop..
Applejack, Twilight, and Rarity encouraged her to keep going and so did I.
"That's it."
"You've got it."
"Almost there."
"You got this Fluttershy!"
"A skip." Fluttershy skipped, beginning to come to us.
"Just don't look down." Twilight added. I widen my eyes in shock and turned to her.
"Twilight! Don't say that to her!" I exclaimed, much to her confusion.
"What? Why?" Twilight asked.
"Because if you do, that will happen!" I pointed at where Fluttershy was at, who obviously looked down and didn't pay attention, causing her to nearly fall, but luckily, her front legs caught the other end of the jump.
"Ugh." Rainbow Dash groaned. Well don't blame her, she looked down when she was told not to look down.
I walked over to Fluttershy and grabbed her front hooves, pulling her across.
"I guess I forgot to jump." Fluttershy said, releasing a smile. Yeah, sure you did.
After that, we were walking along a ledge. "Let's keep it down." Twilight whispered. "According to the map, we're in an avalanche zone. The slightest peep could set off a rockslide!"
I nodded and kept my mouth shut, but Fluttershy didn't get the message.
"An ava- ava-"
"Shh!" I shushed her. Everypony tiptoed along, not saying a word. But as Rainbow passed under the branch of a tree, a leaf flittered down, and as luck would've had it, it alighted onto Fluttershy's back.
"AVALA-"
Applejack covered her mouth, as we were tense with anticipation. Please don't be an avalanche, please, don't be an avalanche, please don't be an avalanche!
...
...
...
Nothing...nothing happened. We all let out sigh of reliefs. You know, for a second there I thought-
BRRRRRR!
And I spoke too soon. We all looked up to see many rocks falling down towards us.
"AVALANCHE!" Fluttershy screamed as we all ran off for cover, dodging huge boulders, zig-zagging through a stony storm, narrowly avoiding a close-call here or there. As we continued to run, I saw a big rock that's about to hit Fluttershy. I instantly grabbed my Hacking Gun and aimed for the fallen rock.
"Break!" I screamed, destroying the rock that was about to hit Fluttershy. Once we got out of the avalanche, it started to calm down, oh boy, that was a close one.
"Is everypony okay?" Applejack asked.
"Yeah, I think so." I said stretching my back.
"Ugh!" Rarity said as she shook herself of the dust that she's covered with.
"Yay! Let's do it again!" Pinkie exclaimed as she bounced around happily.
"PINKIE!" We all growled with a warning rise our tones. There is definitely something wrong with this mare if she thinks that was fun!
"Uh, we might have a problem." Applejack brought up as we saw a great pile of dirt and rocks covering the path.
"I'm sorry." Fluttershy said whimpering in sadness.
"It's alright sugarcube, we'll just have to climb it over." Applejack said comforting Fluttershy.
"Or maybe Ren can blow it away?" Rainbow suggested, but I had my doubts.
"That can't be simple Rainbow Dash, my Hacking Gun might caused another avalanche, so its best if we just climb over it, like Applejack said." I said, which the others nodded in agreement.
Rainbow fumed in anger as she cross her hooves and said "Whatever." Sorry, but I don't want to go through that again, and neither the others.
We all started climbing over the rocky pile as we continued to trek on the mountain. Going up, I noticed Rainbow was giving Fluttershy the stink-eye as she was brought up the rear. But as they made their way down the other side, Fluttershy was trying to be caregul on her way down, when she accidentally slipped. She crashed into me and Rarity, and we slid all the way down.
"OW!" I said as I got up and stretched my back again. Jesus, that hurts.
"Oh, my apologies." Rarity said as Rainbow helped us.
"Not your fault." Rainbow said as she glared at Fluttershy, which caused me to glare at her.
"Hey, it's not her fault that she screamed, she's just nervous about all this." I said sternly to Rainbow.
"Whatever, I don't understand why we brought her here in the first place if she's afraid of climbing this mountain." Rainbow said as she flew off to catch up with the others. I saw how sad Fluttershy was as I walked over to her and gave her a hug.
"It's okay, just don't listen to Rainbow Dash, she's just..."
"I know.." Fluttershy responded sadly, cutting me off. "I wish I could be brave like her..."
"I know you can Fluttershy." I assured with a smile on my face. "My dad always tells me that being brave doesn't mean being fearless. It means facing the challenge even if you're afraid but you don't let your fears stop you." I said.
"R-really?" Fluttershy said, amazed by the advice I told her. "But I always thought..."
"Everypony has something to be scare of, Fluttershy." I continued on with my explanation. "That's just the way we are. I mean, sometimes I'm afraid of horror movies, but I just know you can conquer your fears, if you just believe in yourself." I said confidently.
Fluttershy thought for a moment until she let out a soft smile. "Okay, I-I'll try my best, Ren." Fluttershy said happily.
"Guys, come on, we're here!" Twilight called for us. We ran towards Twilight and the others, where we were standing in front of a massive case, and the smoke was trailing out from the top ominously. Twilight looked over to Rainbow Dash.
"Rainbow Dash, you have to use your wings to clear the smoke."
"I'm on it!" Rainbow said with a salute and zoomed skyward.
"Rarity and Pinkie Pie, you'll create a distraction for the dragon in case the situation goes south in there." Pinkie responded by waving a rubber chicken around, causing me, Twilight, and Rarity to look at her in confusion. Where the heck did she even get that rubber chicken in the first place?
"Okay...Applejack, you're ready with the apples in case he decides to attack?"
Applejack kicked a few apples to a nearby tree to show her accuracy.
"Ren, in case anything doesn't work, you have to use your Hacking Gun, got it?" Twilight asked sternly.
"You got it, Twi!" I said holding up my Hacking Gun.
"Good! Now, it shouldn't come to that, because Fluttershy will do what she needs to do to wake him up, and between the two of us, we should be able to get him to understand why he needs to go. Is everypony ready?
We all nodded, much to Twilight's joy. "Okay then, we're going in!" Twilight said as she walked inside the cave alone. After a few seconds, she came back out, looking for Fluttershy.
We then noticed Fluttershy's face was buried into the ground.
"Come on!" Twilight grunted, grabbing Fluttershy's wings with her teeth and pulling her head out. "We have to do this!" Twilight released another grunt, pushing Fluttershy from behind. "Now!" Rainbow Dash began to help Twilight push. "Every - second longer that dragon—Rarity joined – sleeps is another – Applejack and I helped - acre of Equestria that's covered in—Twilight grunted –smoke." Pinkie Pie flew straight towards them. "Ooh!" Okay, this is just getting ridiculous.
"I-I-I can't go in the cave." Fluttershy admitted sadly.
We all kneeled over in frustration. "Oh great, now she's scared of caves?!"
"No..." I said, causing everypony to turned to me in confusion. "I don't think its the cave you guys, I think she's afraid of dragons." Twilight and the others became shock to hear this.
"R-ren is right, I'm scared of dragons." Fluttershy blurted out, as did a snore and plume of smoke from the cave, much to our chagrin. As it cleared, along with our throats from coughing, I noticed Fluttershy hiding behind me.
"But Fluttershy, you have a wonderful talent dealing with all kinds of animals!" Twilight reminded her.
"Yes, because they're not dragons." Fluttershy replied.
"Come on Flutters!" Rainbow said encouragingly. "What about the time you walked right up to a manticore? It didn't seem like such a big deal to you!"
"Yes, because he wasn't a dragon." Fluttershy said
"Spike's a dragon and you're not even scared of him." I reminded her.
"Yes, because he not a huge, gigantic, terrifying, enormous, teeth-gnashing, sharp-scale having, horn-wearing, smoke-snoring, could eat a pony in one bite, totally all grown-up dragon!"
The dragon's snore following her reason helped to emphasize Fluttershy's point, as she shivered fearfully. Now I understand why she was afraid, it wasn't the mountain, it was that dragon that got her afraid.
"But if you're so afraid of dragons, why didn't you say something before we came all the way up here?" Twilight asked.
"Because she was afraid too!" I exclaimed, causing Twilight and the others to turn to me. "She was trying to tell you guys but instead you all just ignore her, I was the only one who knew what was the problem!" I explained feeling a little stress. Twilight felt a little bad by that statement.
I then turned to Fluttershy and said "Fluttershy, I can understand if you're scared, I mean we're all scared of that dragon too!"
"I'm not!" Rainbow exclaimed, causing me to give her a flat look. "Anyway, we're all scared of that dragon too!"
"AH-HEM!"
I pointed towards my Hacking Gun and aimed it at Rainbow Dash, causing her to hide behind the group. Yeah, glad we're on the same page.
"What Ren is trying to say." Applejack stepped up, agreeing with me. "We're all scared of that dragon too, but we got a job to do. So get in there with Twilight, and show them what your made of!"
We all gave her encouraging looks to her, because we care about her and we think of her as family, but it seem Fluttershy didn't get the message.
"I-I-.....I'm sorry, I just can't...." Fluttershy stuttered as she let out a tear and began to leave.
"Fluttershy..." I muttered sadly as I watched my friend sulk away. I'm sorry, if I known you were actually scared of the dragon instead of the mountain, then we could have help you. I just hope she would conquer her fear in order to get that dragon out of the cave.
After Fluttershy was gone, we all went inside the cave, where we were consulting a plan to get the dragon out of the cave.
"Don't thing badly of Fluttershy, Twilight. Everypony has something they just aren't ready to face!" I said patting Twilight on the back.
"I know, but I thought we could encourage her to do her part." Twilight replied, feeling guilty about Fluttershy. "But...I suppose I should've been more sensitive to her feelings earlier. Even so, we have a job to do. Between the two of us, I'm sure we can...convince the dragon to move...right?"
"I guess." I shrugged. Okay, we just have to get that dragon out of here and go somewhere else to sleep. Shouldn't be a problem, right?
Luckily, it wasn't dark because we could see the light reflecting off a vast trove of gold and silver, diamonds and pearls, rubies and sapphires. Dang, just how much of this stuff does that dragon have?! We then notice something napping atop, it was a big, red, scary, smoke-snoring dragon. Finally seeing the beast up close, we felt quite nervous a little, okay, we felt a lot nervous. Oh well, let's see if this will work.
"Um, excuse me?" Twilight called nervously, the dragon only shifted on his back and scratching his belly. "Mister dragon?"
Finally, the big scary reptilian eyes opened, we were startled back from his intimidate. "Oh good, you're awake. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and this is my friend Ren-"
The dragon simply yawned, with a bad case of morning breath onto us. Oh god, has this dragon ever heard of personal hygiene? We were covering our noses until the bad breath was gone.
"Anyway, I'm Ren Loodan." I introduced myself waving the bad breath away. "We are residents here in Equestria, Ponyville to be exact."
"We've come here to ask you to find a different place to take your nap." Twilight explained. "For you see, as you snore you let out a constant plume of smoke."
The dragon huffed out more smoke at us, making us cough, but Twilight continued. "Equestria simple can't survive a hundred years in a dark haze, you understand don't you?"
The dragon growled as he stretched his arms and slumped down, again snorting smoke at them, and the message was as made loud and clear at us. We left the Dragon's den, coughing up some of the smoke.
"So much for persuading him!" Rainbow exclaimed. Tell me about it.
"Twilight..." I called her. "Between you and me, I prefer Spike over that dragon." I said coughing up some smoke.
"That, I agree." Twilight said coughing.
"Now what?" Applejack asked.
"Obviously." Rarity said as she stepped up and fluffed up her mane. "This situation calls for a little 'pony charm'. Allow me darlings." We watched her go in, waiting for her to see how she deals with the dragon.
I know she can do it, I believe in Rarity after all. Suddenly, it wasn't too long before Rarity ran out, shrieking in fear.
"I was this close to getting that diamond!" Rarity exclaimed angrily.
"You mean, getting rid of the dragon?" Twilight reminder her angrily.
"Oh! Yeah..." Rarity said trying to cover her true purpose to enter the cave. I face-palmed at her while Twilight narrowed her eyes at the fashionista pony. Well, so much of that. Suddenly, we heard a toot of a party favor as we turned around to see Pinkie covered in...what the actually heck?! Pinkie was wearing some weird outfit that almost makes her a clown.
"Darling, you look ridiculous!" Rarity exclaimed, shocked to see what Pinkie is wearing. Wait a minute, when did she have time to put on that outfit?
"Exactly!" Pinkie said as she waddled into the cave. "Sharing a laugh is a sure-fire way to get someone on your side!"
From inside we heard Pinkie shout out "Hi!" There was a loud crash, and she stumbled out, her suit all ruined and such. "Apparently, he diesn't like laughing, heh. Or sharing."
We all face-palmed at this.
"Alright, that's it!" Rainbow Dash yelled out angrily. "We tried persuasion, charm...whatever it is Pinkie tried – It’s time to stop wasting time, I’m going in!”
“Dash, NO!” I exclaimed but it was too late as Rainbow zoomed right up to the dragon, who raised his head at her sudden approach.
"Get...OUT!" She yelled, and I could've sworn I heard something crack in there. "Uh...sorry?" Oh boy, we're screwed.
Suddenly, Rainbow was sent hurtling at us, but luckily, I dodged it, but the others weren't as Rainbow crashed into our friends.
"What the heck?!" I exclaimed. Suddenly, the dragon came out, causing the mares to hug each other in fear. The dragon glared at us as he blew a powerful stream of smoke at us, sending us crashing against a boulder. I got up slowly and noticed the crackled boulder, revealing a hiding Fluttershy, much to her surprise.
"Ren, what's going on?!" Fluttershy asked.
"We were trying to persuade the dragon to leave, but he wouldn't so Rainbow Dash decided to take matters into her own hands-I mean hooves, and she might've kick the dragon on who knows where and before you know it, the dragon started to get angry and is trying to kill us!" I explained everything to her.
"Oh dear, what do we do?!" Fluttershy asked shivering in fear.
"Fluttershy, you have to talk to him!" I exclaimed, much to her surprise.
"W-what?! B-but I can't-"
"Fluttershy please, I know you can, and I believe in you!" I said gripping her shoulders and looked at her with a serious expression. "I know you can, remember what I said earlier ago? You can face your fears even when you're scared, I know you can do it, if you believe in yourself!"
Fluttershy thought for a while until suddenly, we turned to see the dragon roaring at our fallen friends. Okay, time to take out the trash!
I took off my backpack and brought out my board, and got on. Luckily, I put some goggles in there too as I put them on my forehead.
"Alright, stay here Fluttershy, I got this!" I said to her, which she nodded. I instantly flew off with the Megaphone Hacking Gun in my hands. "Hey!" I called out to the dragon, gaining his attention.
"Pick on someone your own size. Paralyze!" I said shooting 'Paralyze', but it had no affect on him. "W-what?" I asked myself. The dragon let out a roar but I stood up against it. Oh boy, I better make it out alive or else.
"Break!" I shot Break straight into the dragon's eyes, and boy, that'll hurt. This caused him to shoot out smoke from his nostrils, causing me to not see nor control the hoverboard, I was just flying aimlessly around the sky.
"Hey, I can't see anything!" I yelled as I looked around the sky, as it was covered in smoke. Suddenly, I was hit by something as I fell back down to the ground, dropping both my Hacking Gun and my board. I got up from the ground slowly as I felt my back was broken or something. Suddenly, I was grabbed by the dragon as it glared at me, causing me to go pale.
"Oh boy..." I muttered as the dragon roared at my face. Well, I've been scarred for life. He opened his mouth and was about to eat me, I tried to wiggle my way out of his grip, but it didn't work. As I was about to be eaten, a loud voice echo through the canyon.
"How dare you...HOW DARE YOU!"
I then saw Fluttershy zooming right up onto the dragon's snout, glaring right into his eye. "Listen here, mister! Just because you're big doesn't mean you get to be a bully! You may have huge teeth, and sharp scales, and snore smoke, and breathe fire. But you do not, I repeat, YOU DO NOT! HURT! OR! EAT! MY! FRIENDS! You got that?" Remind me to never get on Fluttershy's nerves.
I looked at her in shock to see how angry she was, and the others were as well. The dragon lowered his head submissively at her scolding.
"Well?!" Fluttershy asked angrily.
"But that rainbow one kicked me..." The dragon pointed out lamely, causing me to glare at Dash, who smiled sheepishly at the glares we were giving her. "...and that boy shot me in the eye." He pointed out to me. Hey, don't blame me, you tried to hurt us.
"And I'm very sorry about that." Fluttershy replied. "But you're bigger than they are, and you should know better!" Oh wow, go Fluttershy!
"You should also know better than to take a nap where your snoring can become a health hazard to other creatures." Fluttershy added.
"But I-"
"Don't you 'but I' me, mister!" Fluttershy scolded, her eyes narrowed disapprovingly. Jesus, this girl is good! "Now what do you have to say for yourself?"
The dragon didn't know what to say, he was so confused with guilt and shock of being scolded by a pony.
"I said...what do you have to say for yourself?!" Fluttershy demanded.
Finally, the dragon started to cry, and one of his tears hit me, getting me all wet. Man, and I just wash these clothes today.
"There, there, no need to cry." Fluttershy said soothingly, hugging him. "You're not a bad dragon, you just made a bad decision. Now go pack your things, you just need to find a different place to sleep."
The dragon wiped his tears and put me down as he went back inside his cave to pack up things. Fluttershy landed down as the girls cheered at us.
"You did it!" Twilight cheered.
"I knew you could do it!" I exclaimed happily, hugging her.
"Aw, it was nothing." Fluttershy said nervously, but as I let go of the hug, she was covered in dragon tears.
"Oh right...well I'm going to change once we get back." I muttered, causing everypony to laugh. I noticed my Hacking Gun and board on the ground as I walked over to pick them up, and not a scratch on them. Phew, that's good. Suddenly, we heard something flying through the air as we looked to see the dragon take flight, carrying a large satchel, presumably holding all his things, as he disappeared into the sky.
"Well girls, mission accomplished." Twilight said happily. We all cheered happily to see that we complete our finish, and not a moment too soon.
"Alright, let's head back to Ponyville!" Rainbow exclaimed as she flew back to town. We all rolled our eyes at her impatience as we walked down the road back to Ponyville. While walking, and me trying to get my clothes dry. Fluttershy walked next to me with a soft smile.
"Thank you so much for helping me conquer my fear Ren." Fluttershy said happily.
I shook my head and said "No Fluttershy, you did it yourself, all I did was just give you encouragement, and so did the others." I smiled softly at her.
"Well even so, I want to thank you still, though I'm surprise you understood how I felt." Fluttershy said.
"Well...back from where I'm from, my little sister was sometimes shy around others, but she and I were very close, she was sometimes energetic than....Pinkie Pie." I said shrugging my shoulders, which caused Fluttershy to giggled. "But sometimes, you remind of my little sister, and I kinda think of you as my little sister as well." I said, which made Fluttershy blushed.
"You...really think so?" Fluttershy asked, which I nodded happily. "Well, thank you Ren." Fluttershy said smiling softly at me. You know, besides fighting off that dragon, this adventure really was great.
"Hey Fluttershy, Ren, you guys coming or what?" Applejack called for us.
"We're coming!" I called back to her as I turned to Fluttershy and said "Come on, let's go!" I said as I turn on my board and soar through the air, heading back to Ponyville. Fluttershy and the others smiled happily to see me on my board, you know, this is actually pretty fun and I think I'm getting the hang of it.
Once we made it back home, we found all the pegasus of the Ponyville Weather Team clearing up the smoke. Upon arriving home, we saw Spike having trouble with Fluttershy's animals.
"Spike, take a letter." Twilight announced.
Spike sighed happily as he dropped Angel and said "With pleasure." He took a piece of paper from who knows where and began writing what Twilight was saying.
"Dear Princess Celestia, I am happy to report that the dragon has departed our fair country, and that it was my good friend, Fluttershy, who convinced him to go. This adventure has taught me to never lose faith in your friends. They can be an amazing source of strength, and can help you overcome even your greatest fears. Always your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle." Twilight said as Spike finished writing it down and blowing it away towards Princess Celestia.
I smirked at what Twilight said, you know, that was quite beautiful, I'll try to remember what she said, it might become useful sometime. Oh well, I guess it's time to practice some more on my hoverboard.
I got on it and started riding it through the Ponyville park, where I saw the others watching Rainbow Dash trying to her ball bouncing record thing or whatever. Hmm, time for some little payback.
"347, 348..." Rainbow Dash counted.
"ROAR!" I shouted, causing Dash to drop the ball and shout "Dragon!" as she fell to the floor and tried to duck cover.
We all laughed at her fear as Rainbow got up and glared at us. "Why're you laughing?! That awful dragon is back!" Rainbow exclaimed until she noticed me up behind her.
"Hey!" I said waving at her. Rainbow furrowed her eyes to realized it was me who roared at her.
"Ren! You scared m- I mean, you...broke my concentration!"
"Well serves you right for doubting Fluttershy back there." I said smirking at her.
"It's okay Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy said. "Not everypony can be as brave as me." Did I just sense a bit of boastfulness in that statement?
Rainbow gave her a look and blew a leaf up, and it landed on Fluttershy's back, making her startle and yelp, causing all of us to laugh at her as well. Oh well, she might have conquer her fear of dragons but she still has a long way to go, and so do I.
To Be Continued