//------------------------------// // Breakfast with Ponies... How Quaint. (Chapter Eight) // Story: On Black Wings Unfurled, A Half-Dragon's Roar to be Heard // by Coal //------------------------------// Chapter Eight Breakfast with Ponies... How Quaint. I've always found sitting at a large table to be just a bit awkward. Heck, it even felt weird siting at the school lunch tables. However, there is no awkward like being given the evil eye by a half a dozen or so equines. I sat at the far end of a long table, which in my opinion was too long to actually be practical but who cares what I think, and most of the others at the table evidently didn't like me very much. Sitting next to one another at the other end of the table were my two favorite Princesses. Celestia on the right, and Luna on the left. On the right hand side sitting in the seat closest to Celestia is a pompous looking Unicorn who was announced as Prince Blueblood. I thought I had a pretty decent understanding of how their governmental system worked with the two Princesses running the shebang but I have no freaking idea where Blueblood fits in. I'm not entirely focused on that however as the mare sitting on Luna's side of the table throws me for an even bigger loop. She has frigging bat wings... In my mind from this point forward she will be the Batmare. And while I can't see them right now I know there are two guardponies stationed at the door behind me. At the moment, Celestia is the only one who isn't trying to murder me with their eyes. Normally this wouldn't be all that unnerving, but seeing as some of them are unicorns they might actually be able to pull it off. "Sister, you mean to tell us that the Palace was thrown in an uproar for a game?" Luna asks her fellow Alicorn with undisguised annoyance in her voice. "Yes Luna, Coal suggested it and I agreed." Celestia replies evenly. "Then why did you not tell us!? The entire guard and I thought we were under attack by some unknown creature!" "I had planned to, but our guest decided to start the game before I was able to." I sheepishly hold up my hand and say, "In my defense she had a distinct advantage in the game, seeing as she basically had an army. I was just trying to even things out a bit." "Creature, do not speak to royalty in such an offhoofed manner!" Blueblood says in the most annoying tone of voice I have ever had the displeasure of hearing. Can we murder him please? No. Oh come on why not? I know you want to. It'd be poor table manners, that's why. "Blueblood," Celestia addresses him in a soothing voice, "Coal has a name, and you should not treat a guest that way." "Of course Princess, I apologize." He says bowing his head so low I thought he'd stab the table with his horn. Heh... He's horny. Grow up. "Yeah, the Princess was the one who was so offended." I say as I lean my head on my claw, while twirling my fork in the fancy looking grass on my plate. Apparently, that is not how the high and mighty Blueblood likes to be treated as he gives me another glare, but this time he doesn't say anything. To which I respond by giving him a one fingered salute with my claw, and the best part about that is from the look on his face he has no idea what it means. Oh I am going to have so much fun with this. "Oh, and by the by Celestia, I don't eat grass." I inform her as I hold up a forkful of it to accentuate my point. "I did specifically ask for gems you know." "I apologize... when I informed the cooks to prepare breakfast for a guest I don't think they realized it wasn't for a pony. And ever since Spike, a baby dragon, left with my student to live in Ponyvile the Palace hasn't restocked on gems." "Fair enough I guess, it's just that I'm an omnivore so I can eat quite a few things, but grass is not one of them." "I... see. I'm sure the chef can come up with something to suit your palette." Celestia replies, apparently omnivores aren't too welcome among herbivores seeing as the glares intensify across the room. "Thanks, I'd appreciate it. Heck, I'd settle for a couple of apples at this point." I take a slow look around the room and don't find too many friendly eyes. "So... This is awkward huh?" "You come here in the middle of the night and throw the castle into an uproar, and you expect to be welcomed with a smile?" The Batmare speaks up for the first time. "Yeah, kinda. I thought that was entailed with the deal I made with Celly." Holy fuck, wrong move. Every single pony in the room, excluding Celly of course, looks like they want to beat me to death with my own skull. "Oookay... Um, sorry? I don't exactly have a concept of 'royalty' where I'm from. So I'm not used to the whole 'Princess' and 'Your majesty' thing." "I assure you, I am not offended Coal." Celly says, seeming to ignore the death glares I'm still getting. "Although I am interested in what you mentioned. If you do not have a Monarchy, what government system do your people employ?" "So, trying to find out more about me despite having lost our game are we? Alright I'll go with it for now, even if I still haven't gotten my breakfast." She actually has the gall to give an innocent smile. "Well, believe it or not my race is the only sapient one, as far as I know, living on our planet. I know, crazy right? Seeing as we don't have other races to focus our collective ire at like you do we have a lot of different countries. The one I was born and raised in is considered a constitutional republic and representative democracy." "To be a bit more specific as to the not much respect for royalty thing, my country originally started as a series of colonies by a country whose ruling body was a parliamentary monarchy. The colonies were set up several thousand miles across an ocean so they weren't exactly able to communicate all that much. One thing led to another and after being oppressed by said mother country the colonists revolted and won their freedom. Long story short, royalty isn't exactly held in high regard where I'm from." "Ah, I see, your race sounds very interesting." "Yeah, I guess if anything you could call them that." I take a moment to look at the other ponies at the table and add, "Although I don't think the others here have the same opinion." "Honestly, I cannot see why you tolerate him your highness." The Batmare says to Celestia. Okay, we can just ignore what I said. That's cool I guess. "I do not tolerate him Captain Nightshroud, I enjoy his company, if I disliked him I would not have agreed to provide him breakfast at the Palace." "Aww Celly, you're a sweet talker. I still want my food though." "Sister, how do you enjoy his company? I mean... not even taking into account what he did earlier during your 'game' his manner of acting is extremely uncouth." "Luna, he is more than he at first appears." "She's right, I can cook a damn good souffle." "For starters he has a sense of humor." Celestia says with a light chuckle in her voice. I look towards the ceiling and muse out loud, "Ya know, the ironic thing about all of this is that I had expected to get along better with the Princess of the night. I've always been a night owl after all, but I guess the universe has a sense of humor huh?" Luna looks a bit surprised by my statement and I add, "Heck, the night sky was the first thing I saw when I got here. It was a sight to behold, a night sky that was not my own spanning before me." "You... enjoy my night sky?" "Yeah, why wouldn't I? I mean, the night sky has always been something I've enjoyed." "I... see." She says as she pauses and a thoughtful look comes to her face. "And besides, it was pretty sexy when you yelled at the top of your lungs and tried to tackle me." Huh, I wouldn't have thought her blue coat could get that red... In fact, how do you blush through hair like that anyway? "Y-You uncouth creature! You have no respect for royalty, if it were up to me I would call the guard and have you thrown in the dungeon!" Blueblood says in obvious indignation. "You know, if I was really as 'uncouth' as you claim me to be I would probably point out that the guard wasn't exactly able to catch me the first time." Truth be told, I might be having a bit too much fun jerking this guy's chain than I should. What can I say? His voice is really getting to me, and I'm a petty person sometimes. "Blueblood, that was uncalled for." Cele- Wait a second, for once it isn't Celestia defending me, Luna is! "He is a guest, and my sister gave her word that he would be welcome in the Palace." Luna says to Blueblood with a bit of anger in her voice. "B-but Princess, he has been nothing but rude and barbaric since he arrived. Why are you defending him?" Blueblood says, the look on his face changing from one of anger to one of confusion comically fast. "Because, I have realized something, and that is I have been extremely unfair to him." Wait what? What, is this chick bipolar? "Unfair?" I ask, just as surprised as everyone else in the room. "Yes, before we came to the table my sister told me of what happened with your arrival. You have been more than generous with us, if I were to be attacked by a a species I have never met before I would likely not be as forgiving as you have been. Not only have you not sought any revenge for what occurred, you have even tried to befriend my sister and I." looking away from me and shifting her gaze to Blueblood she adds, "If anything, I have only not liked him because he bested me during the chase." Wait, I've been doing that? I've just been trying to mess with them... Well, not like I'm about to correct her. "Well... Thank you Luna, I appreciate the understanding." I say with genuine gratitude in my voice. I've been getting tired of being on the receiving end of glares. "... You are right Princess, now that you point it out, I have been a bit put out at how he was managing to outfly me earlier as well." The Batmare speaks up. I know her name is Nightshroud, but still gonna call her the Batmare in my mind. "Wait a second, I think I would have remembered if I was being chased by a pegasus with bat wings earlier." I say, trying to remember if I had seen her at some point. "Yes, actually I don't normally have bat wings." "What, are they clip-ons or something?" "No, I'm not entirely sure what 'clip-ons' are, but for formal or public matters, members of the night guard have an illusion spell cast on them to give them a more fearsome appearance." "Why exactly? It seems kind of pointless." "Well, having bat wings and dark armor makes you quite a bit more intimidating." She says in a deadpan tone. "Fair enough I suppose." I say as I look around my breakfast companions, evidently having enjoyed their fancy grass. The overall mood of the table, besides Blueblood, seems to have improved as well. What can I say, I'm a charming guy. However, as I'm reminded of the fact I haven't been able to actually eat anything my stomach lets out a growl to remind me. Looking to Celestia I ask, "So... about me getting something edible, how's that going exactly?" She's about to answer me, probably with a 'it's on it's way', when I hear the door burst open behind me. "Princess, are you alright! What happened!?" Who in the fuck? I turn my body to look around behind me and I see a purple unicorn mare drenched in sweat an out of breath. The two guards at the door seem to be surprised by her sudden entrance. Something I notice however is that she has some kind of tattoo... on her... flank? It looks like a series of stars sparkling. Oookay? Her gaze first seems to go towards Celestia and Luna, before she seems to notice the hairless and winged monkey sitting in a chair and looking at her. "Y-you! What're you doing here, in the Palace, eating breakfast with the Princesses!?" She apparently recognizes me and seems to be having some sort of conniption trying to figure out what's going on. Being the smart ass that I am I of course respond with, "Well, technically I'm not eating. Fancy grass might be appetizing to you but it doesn't exactly suit me as much." "What!?" She yells at the top of her lungs before her coherent thought seems to disintegrate as she begins babbling. This is fun to watch. "Twilight." Celestia's calm voice caries across the room, and the effect on the unicorn is almost instantaneous. the unicorn seems to get snapped out of her hysterics and looks to Celestia with undivided attention, "Twilight, this is Coal, he is a guest at the Palace. Now then, what exactly are you doing in Canterlot?" "Well Princess, it was early morning and nopony was awake yet, well besides the apple family, when we heard a dragon roar coming from Canterlot. When you didn't respond to my letter I was worried, and with the roar I thought something terrible had happened!" Awhoops, my bad. "Twilight, while I appreciate your concern there is no dragon threatening Canterlot." "Yeah... That was me actually, I kind of got carried away." I admit as I rub the back of my head. "What, you? That doesn't make sense, how could you make a roar that loud. Only a fully grown dragon can roar like that." She says, disbelief evident in her voice. "Yeah, it surprised even me a little bit. Although, if you could hear it from all the way out of the city I can't help but feel a bit of pride. I mean, little old me, roaring loud enough to be heard clear across the countryside? That's impressive." "Yes, I would have to agree, it was quite fearsome." Celestia intones, and Luna nods in agreement. "In truth, I was about to give chase, but I was so surprised by it I paused mid-flight." Luna admits, if a bit reluctantly. "Princess Celestia, Princess Luna! How are you so calm about this, there's a strange creature sitting at the table and you're complimenting it on how well it can roar!?" She says, as she seems to begin having another episode. "I'm a 'he' by the way, just sayin'." I add, but I'm evidently ignored as Twilight begins to take another breath to continue speaking. However, just as she is about to do so I hear the sound of galloping hooves coming from the open doorway. "Twilight, hold up fer just a second!" I hear a distinctly southern accent call out to Twilight from the direction of the galloping hooves. Soon after, five more mares of varying races and appearance appear next to Twilight. The one who had evidently been speaking is an earth pony with an orange coat, blonde mane, and is wearing a stetson hat. She also seems to have some kind of picture of three apples on her flank. Wait a second, the hat is awesome, but what is with these ass tattoos? My gaze shifts toward the others and my gaze falls upon a cyan pegasus with a rainbow colored mane and a picture of a cloud with a blot of rainbow lightning shooting from it. The next one down the line is a bright pink coated earth pony whose mane seems to be made out of cotton candy, she has some kind of picture of balloons on her flank. After her there is a unicorn with a white coat and stylized purple mane who seems to have a set of three diamonds on her flank. Okay, what the hell is with these pictures. Do like, all of them have them? If so, how the hell am I just noticing this now... Wait a second, there were five, where's the last one? Craning my head a bit I see a pink tail peeking out from behind the orange pony with the stetson hat. "Now Twilight, we were tryin' ta tell ya that the city looks fine. If somethin' was wrong everypony wouldn't be goin' 'bout their business like they are." The stetson apple pony says. "Yes darling, and besides I doubt any old dragon could just waltz into Canterlot and attack the Palace." The Diamond pony says in an elegant voice. ... Oh my god, I so want to make a Borderlands joke about this. "Yeah, I mean and besides, even if there were a dragon I'm sure he'd be happy if we just threw him a party! Oh, wait! What if it's a lady dragon, if it was then we'd have to throw a party for a lady dragon instead! In fact, I don't think I've ever met a lady dragon before. Oooh, I wonder if they're like Rarity, lady dragons I mean, not the guy dragons. That'd be silly!" The Pink one says in such a flurry, that I think that her mouth shouldn't be physically able to keep up. Holy sugar rush batman, maybe her mane really is made of cotton candy. She seems hyper enough for it. "And besides, if some big ol' dragon decided to attack Canterlot I'd just soar in and show it who's boss." The rainbow maned pegasus says, her voice dripping with confidence. Oh yeah? Wanna test that biatch!? Brain, shut it. "So then ladies, care to take a seat? I'm sure we have a lot to talk about." I say in my best evil villain voice. All of them seem to take notice of me for the first time, their attention having been focused on Twilight. They all turn their heads to look at me and they all share a look of surprise as they notice my black wings reaching around the back of the chair. I have an awesome evil voice if I do say so myself. --- As Coal the Half-Dragon sat there at the table with two ancient Alicorn Princesses within a Palace on a world not his own. He has found secrets that have been unknown for millennium, and has had many encounters with many beings not of his own kind. Most people at this point at time would find themselves trying to wrap their minds around all that has happened to them over the course of just a few days. He however found his thoughts drawn to one very important question. What the hell is with these damn tattoos!?