//------------------------------// // Chapter 10: What A Generous Soul // Story: The Flame Chronicles // by FlameBrony1625 //------------------------------// [Castle of Friendship Library] "Spike, wait up!" Twilight watched as the alien dragon exited the library and out the front door while he was struggling to keep his saddlebags on his back. While still staring in that general direction, the alicorn princess couldn't help but giggle at the dragon's silly antics, even if it wasn't intentional. Even though she's only known Alex for a couple hours, she can instantly tell that he will be great company, with his outgoing and goofball personality being an excellent addition to her friend group. However, there was something on her mind that she still couldn't shake away. "Althea's Comet." She rubs a hoof on her chin, thinking about what exactly this comet could be, and why there's very little information about it, even for the princesses. "That's it!" She suddenly perked up. "Even if there's little to no information about Althea's Comet, the princesses have to know something, still." She trotted to the table where she had her interview with Alex, grabbed a piece of paper and ink quill with her magic, and started writing on it. Dear Princess Celestia I just got done getting acquainted with Alex. He really is an interesting dragon, but I know he'll be great company. I still have more questions about his world, but I know he still has a lot on his mind, so I'm going to give him some space. There's something about him that really grabbed my curiosity, and that would be how he got here. He said it was because of something called Althea's Comet. I tried looking through some of my books to see if I could find any information on it, but Alex told me that even you and Luna knew very little about it. If there's absolutely anything at all that you do know about it, it would be very helpful to me, and I can help Alex in any way I can. Always, Twilight Sparkle After she set aside the quill, she rolled up the piece of paper. "Spike, can you send this to..." As she turned around, she realized that she was all alone in the library. "Oh... right." She sighed, then levitated the letter, and put it in her saddlebags. "All well. I guess it's nothing too urgent. I'll send it when they get back." She then trotted out of the library to do her own thing. [AF] "I swear these saddlebags are gonna be the bane of my existence," I said right after I finally managed to put these damn bags of torture on my back. "You'll get used to it. I'd suggest a satchel, but that probably wouldn't be that much better for you." Spike was hovering next to me. He had a satchel draped from his right shoulder to his left foot. It was a bit big for someone of his size, but he was in the air, so I guess it really didn't matter. "Yeah I don't really have the proper body structure for that anymore. It'd just slide on the ground the entire time, which'll get annoying really fast. Spike flew to my side and flicked one of my wings. "Well it's a good thing you got these bad boys, right?" "Yeah but I can barely work these things. I only know how to get myself off the ground and fly forward, nothing else." Spike flew away from me. "I'm sure you'll get the hang of it. Besides, it's really not as hard as ya think. I've only had my wings for a few months." I widened my eyes at that. "Wait, really?! You didn't get them immediately after you hatched?" He shook his head. "Dragons go through a phase when they reach adolescence. It's called the Molt. It's painful and annoying, but it's worth it in the end, cuz I got these babies." He points back to his wings to emphasize his point. "It didn't take me very long to get used to 'em, so it shouldn't be hard for you. Besides, lucky for you, you don't have to go through the Molt, since you already came here with fully working wings, so that's pretty convenient." "Oh yeah, super convenient," I said in a deadpan matter. "Yeah, I mean sure, I was taken from my home, but hey, at least I got functioning wings in the process." Spike rubbed the back of his head while sheepishly chuckling. He probably realized what he just said, but I know it wasn't meant to hurt my feelings. "Hehe, sorry. That sounded a little better in my head." I waved it off. "Nah, I knew you didn't mean anything by it. Anyway, since ya got used to your wings pretty quickly, think you could gimme some pointers?" He shrugged. "I mean I could, but I'm not exactly the best teacher. All I know is that at the tip of each wing, there's a muscle that allows you to bend it, and it gives you better movement when you're in the air." I raised an eyebrow at that. "Huh." I decided to flick open one of my wings. I put whatever force of muscular contraction I could into my wing, but nothing happened. Literally all I'm doing is just straining my body, and it's doing nothing for me but giving me another headache. I gave up, panting at how much effort I was trying to put into something so useless. Spike flew to me and patted my head. "Easy there, big guy. Don't hurt yourself. Besides, I bet if you asked Rainbow Dash, she could help you out." I was able to catch my breath, and looked back up at Spike, feeling a little uneasy when he brought up Rainbow Dash. "Yeah, I'm pretty convinced that she doesn't trust me. I'm sure you saw the way she looked at me." "Don't worry, she always acts like that around new visitors." Yeah, I don't buy that one bit. "And by 'new visitors', you mean aliens from another dimension?" "Yeah, pretty much." He said in a nonchalant way. "Just give her a little time. I'm sure you two would actually hit it off pretty well." The only thing I could do to respond to that was sigh. "Oh, by the way, I almost forgot to give this to ya." I looked back up at Spike, who was rummaging through his satchel, curiosity building up in me. "Whaddya got for me?" He pulls out a rolled up piece of paper. "Princess Celestia wrote back to you. I would've given it to you sooner, but you were napping, and I didn't wanna wake you up. Anyway, here ya go." He hands me the letter, and I rolled it open, reading Celestia's reply: Dear Alex, I apologize for not writing back sooner. Luna and I have been trying to find whatever information we could on Althea's Comet and its 'connection' with you, as well as any potential ways to reconnect you with your world, but so far with no success. I'm pleased to hear that you have arrived to Ponyville safely. I apologize for those two. They take their jobs way too seriously. If I'm going to be honest, I wish some of the guards would act like Flash. At least he makes the place more lively. I'm glad you're already getting along with Twilight and her friends. As I said before, you'll never find any friends more kind and loyal than them. I have the utmost confidence they will be the light in the dark tunnel you are currently walking through. I can assure you, everything will get better. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to let me know. Yours truly, Princess Celestia "Wow," I said as I rolled up the letter. "What?" Spike asked. I suppressed a little chortle. "It's just that even what they said would be impossible, they're still tryna find a way to get me back home." Spike crossed his arms. "I dunno what's so surprising about that. They are the princesses, after all. Dontcha wanna go home?" What kind of a question was that? Home is the only thing I've been thinking about since I've been here. While I really do appreciate the princesses' help, they said it's next to impossible to take me back. I sat down on the dirt path, sighing as I felt myself slowly becoming depressed every time someone mentions home. "More than anything." He flew at my side and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Like the princess said, everything's gonna turn out ok for you in the end." I wasn't entirely sure if I believed him fully, but I appreciated his reassurance, so I gave him a smile to let him know that. "Now c'mon. Rarity's isn't too far from here." Now that I really think about it, every time someone mentions Rarity in front of him, his mood becomes a lot more... excessive. "Just what about her makes you so crazy about her, exactly?" He suddenly looked at me as if I just asked the stupidest question anyone could have ever asked. Then in a split second, he zooms right up to my face, and grabs my cheeks while I could only stare into his green eyes. "Are you serious?!" I placed my hand on his face and pushed him away from me. "Boundaries, dude." He pushes my hand away from his face. "I mean come on! The real question is what doesn't make me so crazy about her?" His eyes suddenly grew wider as if he got shot by cupid's arrow. "She has the most beautiful white coat." He suddenly lays on top of my head, rummaging my hair. "The most elegant purple mane. Everything about her is just perfect!" Honestly, the entire time I was listening to him boast about Rarity, it kind of reminded me of how I felt around Megan. Granted I wasn't this crazy about her... at least I hope I wasn't, especially from her point of view. I really wanted to at least try to make something work between the two of us, but if the princesses can't find a way to bring me back, then I guess I'll never get the chance. "-and don't even get me started on her eyes." Spike's continuous love-talk snapped me out of my thoughts. "If the ocean were in the form of eyes, they'd be Rarity's." What the hell does that even mean? "I could go on all day talking about her!" Before he could list out anything else that's perfect about her, I grabbed his head, pulled him off my head, and made him face me. "Yeah, yeah, okay Casanova." I let him go, but he quickly flapped his wings, keeping him in the air. "I get it, she's the total package. Now we goin' to her place or not?" "Yep! Her boutique isn't far. Let's go!" Spike moved on while I shook my head while chuckling at this kid's obsession with a unicorn. Before I could take a step forward, I suddenly heard a slight gust of wind above me. I looked up to find the beautiful blue sky. There were a good amount of clouds up there, but it didn't change the pretty view. However, I saw a rather... snack-sized cloud, and on top of that, it was maybe only about 30 feet away from the ground. I looked around to see if there were any others like it, but nope, it's the only one. I don't know why, but for some reason it looks a little suspicious. "Yo!" I turned around and saw Spike a good distance away from me, but I could tell he was a little impatient. "Ya comin' or not!?" I looked back up at the cloud for a little bit, then finally decided it's probably nothing and I'm thinking about it too much. I sprouted out my wings, gave them a few good flaps, and found myself off the ground. I looked back to check on my saddlebags, and saw them actually in place for once. "Heh. Now you decided to cooperate, eh?" And with that, I flew toward Spike as we made our trip to Rarity's. "Phew, that was close. I nearly gave myself away." Rainbow Dash stood up on her cloud after being in a prone position, hiding from Ponyville's newest guest. She watched as the alien dragon joined Spike, and they both flew off to wherever they were going. An expression formed on her face, a mix of suspicion and resentment. "You may put on a friendly face, but nopony has me fooled. I'm gonna make sure you don't cause any trouble in my home, or else you're gonna have to deal with me." With that, she grabs her cloud from the bottom, and flies away to catch up with the two dragons. [AF] The trip only took a few minutes, obviously thanks to me and Spike having wings, and we arrived at what definitely looked like a boutique. "Here we are! The Carousel Boutique!" Spike said in his best tour guide voice. "Owned by only the most beautiful pony in all of Equestria." I observed the tall building in front of me. Like it's name, it had the look of a merry-go-round one would find at a fair or something. It was primarily cylindirical in shape, with decorative pillars and pony sculptures taking up the upper and lower portion of the building. I whistled. "Pretty impressive, if not just a little over the top. We goin' in?" "Yep! Right this way." He lands in front of the door and pushed it open, then walks in nonchalantly. I followed suit, and got a good look at what I walked in to. It looked like a workroom, and it's pretty much stocked with materials and supplies used in the fashion business, such as decorative mirrors, dress formed mannequins, sewing machines, etc. There was even a small display stage in a corner of the room near the front door. "Rarity?!" Spike suddenly yelled out. "It's us!" "Just a minute~!" I heard Rarity yell out from upstairs in a high-pitched, sing-song voice. "Oh, hey Spike!" A high-pitched, squeaky voice chimed in. I looked to my left and saw a white unicorn filly walk up to Spike, and good grief is she freaking adorable! "How's it goin'?" "Hey there, Sweets! Just paying your sister a visit." She gave Spike a snarky grin. "Oh yeah? That's nothing new." He laughs sarcastically and booped her on the nose. "You're hilarious." She giggles adorably, then right after, she looks in my direction, noticing my presence. Unsurprisingly, there was shock in her expression, but at the same time she seemed a bit curious. She slowly makes her way toward me, and finds herself only a few feet away from me, still holding the same expression on her face. I blinked twice, then cleared my throat. "Uhh... hey there." She kept staring at me with the same expression. Then at that very second, she suddenly looked confused. "You're a weird looking dragon." I frowned at that, and I heard Spike snickering behind her. I gave him the stink-eye for that. "Sweetie Belle! That's no way to speak to our guest." I looked at the staircase and saw Rarity walking down, scolding who I'm going to guess is her sister. "Now run along. Besides, it's your turn to feed Opalescence." The filly known as Sweetie Belle lets out an exasperated groan. "Fiiiine. See ya later Spike." Yeah sure, don't pay any mind to me. Still having a pouty face, she walks upstairs to do what her sister told her to. "Do forgive my sister for her rudeness, darling." Rarity spoke as she walked up to me. I waved her off. "Nah, it's really no big deal. I got a little cousin who's like that." She smiled lightly. "Hmmm... anyway, thank you ever so much for coming by, Alex." "Ummm, I'm here too." Spike said, sounding offended as if we forgot he was in the room. Knowing this is a perfect opportunity to mess with him, a devious smile crept on my face. "Uh oh. Careful, Rare. I think someone's feelin' a little left out." And as expected, he looked like he wanted to murder me, but that didn't change my attitude. Rarity then walked up to Spike. "Oh I would never forget my favorite dragon." Was that a hint of teasing in her voice? Now that's a surprise coming from a pony of such class, but I welcome it nonetheless. "Now do me a favor and go help Sweetie with Opal? Pretty please?" She ended the question by rapidly blinking, fluttering her eyelashes. "Yes ma'am." He saluted, then in the blink of an eye, he flew right up to my face, and that actually did make me lean back in shock. He was giving me the stink eye, and then gave me the classic 'I'm watching you' gesture. And with that, he flew upstairs. I looked back at Rarity, who was still looking in the direction where Spike went. "You were playin' along, weren't ya?", I couldn't help but ask with a small grin. She turned to face me while giggling. "Oh, but of course!", she responded rather ecstatically. "I love Spike to the end, but what kind of friend would I be if there wasn't just a tad bit of teasing involved." "Heh. Not to sound rude or anything, but I didn't take you for the teasin' type." "Oh, pish-posh. Yes, I may be a mare of class and elegance..." She emphasized that by flipping her curly mane and posing in a lady-like way. "... But I like to let loose every now and then. Besides, if you've known the others as long as I have, they rub off on you in the best way possible. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be the pony I've become." "Hmm..." I simply responded. I get that on a spiritual level. if it wasn't for the people I've met along the way through my school years, I wouldn't be who I am now. I sighed, my homesickness returning. That's gonna be a daily routine for me, isn't it? "Is something wrong, darling?" I looked back at Rarity, who looked concerned. I sighed again, sitting on the ground while letting my saddlebags slide off my back. "No, it's just... I get what you're sayin'." Rarity walked up and sat next to me, ready to listen to what I'm about to say. "Back home, I was a pretty awkward kid in my younger years and through the first half of high school. It probably wasn't until I was about 17 when I finally came out of my shell, and it was thanks to all the people I've met along the way. So when I left for college, I was confident enough to finally be myself without caring about anyone judgin' me for it." I stroked my hair a little bit, trying to get these depressing thoughts out. "I'd do anything to see my family and friends again." "I..." I turned my head to Rarity, who never looked away while I was reminiscing. She then placed a hoof on my back"... I can only imagine what you must be going through, darling. My friends and I have been through a lot, but to be taken from my home and away from everypony I loved... that scares me more than anything." "Heh, well it definitely ain't a walk in the park, that's for sure", I quipped, trying to lighten the mood. She laughed softly while still keeping a somber expression. "Well, in any case, everything will get better for you. I'm sure of it." I smiled softly. "Thanks, Rare. I appreciate that." She rubbed my back like a mother would, then stood up. "Well, now that that's out of the way, time to get to business," she said as she walked away from me. "Wait right there for me." I stood back up as well, then remembered what it was that I came here for. "Oh yeah. You said you needed help somethin'?" "Indeed. It won't take long, so give me just a moment." She walked to a knitting station and a chest across the room, leaving me standing in the center of the shop. I looked around the place once again, and my attention was caught by the mirror. Now that I think about it, it's been a minute since I looked at myself and got a good look at my new body. I walked up on the display stage, stood in front of the mirror, and saw what was in front of me. I still can't believe out of all things I got turned into a dragon. I turned my body to the side to get a full view of it. As I was checking out this scaly vessel, I realized I look similar to something. I'm basically like a bootleg version of Spyro, but with obvious changes. Instead of purple, my body's a darker shade of blue. Instead of horns, I have green hair for some reason. I also had pointy ears, but they were pointing backwards, and I can't seem to move them. My wings looked the same, but like the rest of my body it was dark blue, and the membranes between the bone were green. My body structure was more similar to a pony sort of, except I had clawed hands and feet instead of hooves, and a solid tail. My snout was about as short and thin as a pony's as well, if not just a tad thicker. "I still haven't even figured out if I can breathe fire or not." I decided to say out loud. "I should probably ask Sp-ACHH!" I was interrupted when I felt a sudden force of pressure on my neck, but then it went away after a couple seconds. I turned around and saw Rarity with glasses on, and looking at tape measure she was levitating with her blue magic. "The hell was that for?!" "Oh don't be such a grouch. I'm just taking your measurements. Could you lift your right arm, please?" I didn't appreciate her choking me while I was thinking out loud, however I still obliged. "Well a heads up would've been nice. So why're you doin' this, again?" "Oh, I'm just taking you're measurements for when I make you formal attire when the time comes." She wrapped the tape measure around my arm, then removed it quickly. "Other arm, please." I did as she told me, and she took the measurements. Suddenly, a clipboard and quill hovered next to her. She was scribbling down on it, obviously writing down my measurements. "Well, you're certainly skinnier than a normal dragon would be." "Well I ain't a normal dragon." I said in a deadpan manner. "Hell, I don't think I should even call myself one. I barely know how to work this body." "I suppose I can't argue with that logic." She stated as she removed her glasses. "Well that's all I needed from you." I was actually kinda surprised to hear that. "Wait, really? You just needed my measurements? You don't need me to help tidy up or move some stuff around?" She put her materials away, and put the measurements in a file, probably to save it for later. She then turned to face me. "That's very sweet of you darling, but no. That's why I have Sweetie Belle. All I needed was your measurements." "Oh..." I honestly didn't know what to do now. "Well I'm... glad I could be of assistance?" She giggled. "Besides, I want to make you something before the April decour becomes unavailable." Excuse me, what?! "Hold up!" That actually made Rarity jump. "Did you just say it was April?!" "Y-yes, I did", she responded uneasily because of my sudden burst, but then looked like she eased up. "Whatever is the matter darling." I exhaled sharply while rubbing my head out of pure disbelief. "Well back at home, it was late November. Winter was just around the corner! And my birthday was last month too!" That caught her attention. "Are you serious?! How could that be?" "I dunno. I'm not an expert on interdimensional time zones." She rubbed a hoof on her chin. "Hmm, that really is strange. Unfortunately, I don't have an answer for that. I'm not a genius like Twilight." I couldn't really respond to that, since I was so dumbfounded by this information. "Well, either way, I want to thank you for your patience, Alex. When the time comes I'll make you something fit for a gentlecolt." I snapped out of my bewilderment, and actually felt a little uneasy about what she said. "Uhhh, once again, not to sound rude but..." I looked at the mannequins that were donning very stylish and... expensive looking dresses. "... Everything looks way out of my budget." She waved that off with a hoof. "Oh don't be silly, darling. First purchase is on me. No trouble." "Wait, really?!" I don't know if I should thank her or try to convince her to let me pay for it. "I mean I don't wanna inconvenience you since you're running a business and all." "Alex..." She said as she walked up to me and placed a hoof on my shoulder. "From what you've been through, it's the least I could do. You're my friend now, so think nothing of it." I'm absolutely baffled by the generosity of this pony. She would just give someone she just met a couple hours ago and give me probably a really expensive outfit? "Wow... that's... really generous of you, Rare... Thank you so much." She smiled heartily. "Of course, dear." Out of nowhere, we started hearing a lot of noises upstairs, like things being toppled over, and I'm pretty sure I just heard a cat screech. "What in the world are those kids doing?" Rarity asked herself. "Would you keep her still?!" I heard a high pitched voice coming from upstairs. It sounded like Rarity's sister. "You're letting her get away!" "Me?!" That's obviously Spike. "She's your cat, not mine! "You got wings dontcha?! Use em!" "Speak for yourself, Ms. Magic Pants!" Me and Rarity just looked at each other in disbelief. Suddenly, I felt the urge to laugh at whatever was going, and she laughed along with. I looked back at the stairs, and my laughing immediately died when I suddenly saw a big ball of fur zooming at my face, and then struck me down. "WOAH, HEY! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" I kept swinging my arms and moving around sporadically trying to get this fluffy monster off of my head. I think it's scratching off some of my scales. "YO, RARE! A LITTLE HELP WOULD BE NICE!" "Opalescence, stop that this instant!" Suddenly I felt weight lifted off my head and the scratching stopped. I was laying on the ground, panting heavily as I felt like my life was about to end. As I stood back up, I looked at what she was lifting with her magic, and it was a very fluffy and pimped up cat. She was lashing around in the air trying to get out of Rarity's magical grip. The aura around suddenly disappeared, and the cat dropped to the ground and landed on it's feet. The cat looked up at me, hissing and fur standing up. Without even thinking about it, I decided to growl back. Then in a split second, the cat just zoomed out of our sight, probably anywhere it could hide around here. "Now you've done it, Spike." We both looked up and saw Spike and Sweetie Belle walking down the stairs, and they both were covered in cat fur. "What?! It's not my fault you don't know how to train a cat!" Spike fired back as they both faced each other with glares. "Well if you just kept her still, then none of this woulda happened!" "I didn't know it was my responsibility to take care of your cat!" Suddenly they were both nose to nose and having an intense staring contest. "Both of you, that's enough!" Rarity yelled out, much to my surprise. Both kids snapped out of the staring contest and looked at Rarity, who trotted intensely to them. "I don't care who is at fault, but I know that both of you were involved in whatever mess you made upstairs. Now you're going to go back up there and clean up. I don't care how long it takes as long as everything is put back where they belong. Am I clear?" Both kids looked at each other, then both sighed, calming down from their bickering. "Yes, ma'am," they both said in unison quietly. "Good, now march on upstairs you two." They both did what they were told, and slowly made their way back upstairs silently. Not gonna lie, that little interaction garnered a chuckle out of me. Reminds me of the simpler times when I would get in trouble from my parents. Rarity turned back to me, her mood softened up. "I sincerely apologize for that, Alex. Are you hurt?" "Nah, I'll be fine." I responded honestly. "It was just a shock factor. Never had a cat attack me like that before, hehe." "Hmm... Well, I don't know how long it will take to clean up whatever disaster they've made up there, but it might take some time." She suddenly perked up about something." Oh! Why don't you and I have a cup of tea to pass the time?" "Been a while since I've had a nice cup of tea. Sure! Lead the way, m'lady." I gave her a hand gesture for said phrase. "Why thank you, my kind sir." We both walked to the kitchen while laughing, and I was ready to enjoy a tasty beverage with my new friend.