Latios was wrong. This place was louder.
Much louder.
The pink pony, after introducing herself as Pinkie Pie, quickly dashed off somewhere. Before Latios got a chance to do more that glance of surprise at the three females, she returned, grabbed him, and carried him off to a house that looked like some sort of cake. Inside there were many other ponies in which they were here, apparently, to celebrate him coming to Ponyville... and very loud music that played in the party.
So now he was, nodding politely to every pony that trotted over to him and said hi to Latios, trying out some of the food (which was quite delicious, to say at least) as well as funny tasting drinks. While at times, grabbing his head from time to time, due to the headache caused by the music; which he was pretty sure was much louder that a flock of Murkrows could ever hope to be, and starting to feel a bit claustrophobic.
Latios was about to start considering leaving, when the one responsible for this appeared in front of him.
“Are you having fun?” Pinkie Pie asked him loudly, and without waiting for an answer, which would be the only quiet thing in this place, she went on talking quicker and quicker. “Were you surprised? I mean, of course you were, since you are new here, and don’t know me, this is what I do! Throwing parties, I mean! And with the Cakes taking the babies for a vacation onthebeach,IcouldthrowyouthispartyhereinSugarcubeCorner,sothat’swhatIdid,andnowwearehavingthisparty,sodoyoulike...”
“Pinkie, stop pesterin’ him.” some other pony said, and Latios turned his head to regard his saviour. It was an orange female with a hat. Latios realized that he saw her selling apples on the market. Beside her stood a cyan pegasus with a rainbow-colored mane, who he often saw flying around the town past week, clearing the skies from clouds or, much more often, sleep on them. “Sorry if our friend was a wee bit bothersome.”
Latios shook his head and smiled (forcefully) to Pinkie.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying your party!” the pink pony replied happily, and bounced away.
“Don’t cha ya worry, partner, ya’ll get used to her.” the orange earth pony chuckled. “Ah’m Applejack, by the way.”
“And I am Rainbow Dash.” the other female introduced herself, taking a good look at Latios. “So, you can’t talk at all, huh?”
He nodded in response, while Applejack shoots her friend a glare.
“What?!?” Rainbow asked her, annoyed. “Can’t the pony ask?”
Latios chuckled - or rather, tried to, but instead his throat gave out a strange grunt - amused by this pony's bluntness.
“Wow, that’s disturbing.” the cyan pegasus murmured, probably meaning his laugh. “So anyway, tell me:” Applejack frowned at her again, “are those wings of yours any good, or just for show?”
He almost thought in panic that she figured out he wasn’t really a pony, but calmed himself. Latios glanced at his wings, stretched them, and then folded them back. He turned back to the two mares and tilted his head, confused by what Rainbow meant.
“I meant if you’re good at flying.” she explained, rolling her eyes.
“Am I good in flying…?” Latios thought, amused, before he nodded.
“Oh yeah?” Rainbow Dash asked with a smirk. “How about a quick race then? It’s always the easiest way to get to know other pegasus.”
“Rainbow,” Applejack said sternly, punching her friend lightly in her shoulder, “this pony just came into Ponyville, Ah’m sure he’s tired and doesn’t want to...”
As one of the two was lecturing the other, Latios pondered an idea of having a race with Rainbow Dash. From what he has seen past week, she was quite fast flier. While he had no doubt he would have easily proved the better, this form’s wings were quite different. Not enough to make him slow, but still, enough to make him wonder if he could lose. And he disliked the idea of losing.
“Which, considering what happen last time, is not surprising...” he mused, but then shrugged. “Then again, this would get me away from this awfully loud noise.”
With that thought in mind, he waved to interrupt the two friends’ argument, and nodded to Rainbow Dash.
“Great!” the cyan female exclaimed, barely hiding a smirk; Latios assumed she just wanted to stroke her ego with this race, instead of getting to know him, as she said earlier, and was not aware that Latios know just how fast she was. “Let’s go outside and I will tell you where we will be racing.”
Latios nodded and trotted after her, stopping only for a brief moment to nod his head to Applejack for good bye. On their way to the door, however, they both stopped again, when Twilight and Fluttershy approached them.
“Hi again.” Twilight greeted Latios, and then glanced at Rainbow. “We are you two going?”
“Out for a little race.” the cyan female responded, smirking. “Be back in a moment... well, in my case, at least.”
Having said that, Rainbow Dash had left Sugarcube Corner, in the while chuckling at her own joke. Latios was about to follow her, when he felt poking on his side. He turned his head and saw it was Fluttershy that was trying to get his attention.
“Um, excuse me for bothering you...” she started, “... but Rainbow is really fast, so don’t feel bad when you lose. Uh, I meant, if you lose, I don’t assume you’re going to, but...”
“That’s so kind of her, to be worried about someone she just met.” Latios thought as he touched her gently with a hoof to make her stop. “I think I like her.”
Latios smiled at Fluttershy, causing her fur to turn red somehow, and followed after Rainbow.
She was waiting for him in front of the Sugarcube Corner, stretching her wings.
“Okay, so:” Rainbow Dash started as he approached her: “we’re flying in straight line to the border of the Everfree Forest - it’s that way - and back. Here,” she stopped and drew a line in front of them with the same hoof she used to point the direction where the forest’s border was, “is the start and finish line. Got all of that?”
Latios nodded and crouched in front the line, along with Rainbow, both of them reading for flight.
“On three.” the cyan mare said. “Ready? Onetwothreego!”
Latios started dumbfounded at the flying off pegasus for a second, before he himself took into the air and chased after her.
“I wonder if that stallion knows what he has gotten himself into.” Twilight said as she and Fluttershy were joined by Applejack. “I mean, Rainbow Dash will make him eat her dust.”
“Ah recon he was just lookin’ for an excuse to leave the party.” Applejack replied in a hushed voice; you could never know when Pinkie was nearby. “Saw him few times rubbin’ his head. Not a fan of loud music, Ah guess.”
“Still, to race with Rainbow... Do you think he’s a good flier?” Twilight asked, shifting her eyes between her two friends. “And also, his cutie mark that is a red triangle, what could it possibly mean? That pony is plain weird. Not to mention that it’s ridiculous for a pony who doesn’t know how to read and write, especially if he’s mute.”
“He doesn’t know how to write an’ read?!” Applejack exclaimed, surprised. “Where in tarnation did that pony came from?!?”
“Are we talking about this poor stallion who can’t talk?” Rarity asked as she trotted over to join them.
“We were wondering who he could be.” Twilight answered the white unicorn. “It’s not often to see a pony that is either mute or illiterate, and even less often to see one that is both. He’s not telling us something.” the lavender unicorn noticed the glances her friends were giving her, and gave an annoyed grunt: “You know what I mean.”
“Maybe.” Fluttershy said, taking part in the discussion. “But he seems like a nice pony, so perhaps we should let him be, and not pry into his business?”
Twilight sighed again, not sure how should she feel about this strange pegasus.
“Oh well, if he gets me up on the offer of teaching him writing and reading, maybe then we will get to know him better.” she finally said.
Rainbow Dash couldn’t believe it.
“How can he be faster than me?!” she thought angrily as she tried to flap her wings harder.
The strange mute pegasus flew few meters ahead from her, and occasionally, he did a half-barrel and glanced at her. Rainbow hated that. He wasn’t looking at her with a smirk or a glee or any form of that kind of facial expression. She hated that because he looked at her with calmness, despite the speed with which were they now flying, and that he appeared to be actually surprised that SHE could keep up with him. But most of all, she hated that he flew without any sign of being tired, when she could already feel sweat on her body and aching in her wings.
“I will not let some random pony outfly me!” Rainbow thought with rage as she tried to fly even faster.
“She’s really fast.” Latios commented in his mind as he saw the cyan female speed up again. “And doesn’t seem happy that she can’t outfly me.”
He frowned at that as he turned around in the air and concentrated on flying to the forest’s border. He was actually as much surprised as Rainbow that he could fly this fast. He assumed that the different body build would prove too much of an obstacle in flying, which made sense considering that when he shape-shifted, he couldn’t use any of the abilities he possessed in his true form.
Then again, this was the first time he shape-shifted into something that had wings.
What made him frown however wasn’t this; In fact, he was quite happy that he could at least fly in this form almost like in his real body. What made him frown was Rainbow attitude.
“I wanted to make some friends, not enemies.” Latios thought as he reached the border, and flew upward, did a barrel, and began flying back to Ponyville, passing Rainbow.
“Should I let her win?” he thought as she noticed the anger in her gaze. “Or would that make things actually worse? Making friends is hard.” the Eon Dragon shook his head in confusion. “Perhaps- wait a moment, what is that?!”
Rainbow Dash grabbed the bark of the tree and slide around it to get better momentum.
“I will not let you win this easily!” she thought, but then frowned as she spotted the mute pegasus. “Where is he flying off to?” she asked in her mind as she glanced at the direction where he was heading. “We’re in the middle of the... Oh, horse apples!”
-e-
“I wonder where they are.” Twilight said as they glanced through the window of Sugarcube Corner. “At least Rainbow should be back by now.”
“You think something happened to them?!?” Fluttershy asked alarmingly, worried not only for her friend, but also for this kind, poor pony she met only an hour ago.
“Nah, Rainbow can take care of herself.” Applejack dismissed her fear.
“But what about the...” Twilight started, but then facehoofed herself. “Uh, we really need to find a way to figure out his name.”
“Oh.” Applejack realized. The cowpony looked at the other mares. “Ya think we should go look for them?”
Before anypony got a chance to respond, Pinkie started screeching:
“Look, they’re here!”
The four other ponies looked at the direction Pinkie Pie was pointing out, and saw Rainbow Dash and the other pegasus flying over to them. But there was something wrong, which they realized as they came closer, as well as that they weren’t alone...
“Angel!” Fluttershy screamed as she flew to meet them half way. “What happened?” she asked her pet bunny as well as the two pegasi, as Angel jumped of Rainbow’s back and into Fluttershy’s hooves. “Why are you with them? Why... IS THIS BLOOD?!”
She looked terrified at Angel, who had few red spots on his pure white coat. Fluttershy searched frantically through her little friend’s body for any wound, only to stop a second later when she noticed that the bunny was pointing at one of the two pegasi.
Confused, she quickly landed next to the mute pony and gasped. There was three (thank Celestia, shallow) cuts on his body, starting at his chest and going over his right shoulder and stopping by his wing.
“What happened to you two?!” Twilight asked, as the rest gathered by them, all seeing the nonlife-threatening (Fluttershy could tell thanks to her years of tending animals), but nonetheless terrifying, wound. “Are you okay?! We should get you to the hospital!”
To surprise of everypony, the blue pegasus shook his head and shrugged, as if saying it’s nothing. The ponies spared a moment to stare at him, and then glanced at Rainbow, indicating that she should explain.
“We just reached the border of the Everfree Forest and were racing back, when suddenly I saw... err...” she looked at the mute pony, half-embarrassed, half- annoyed. “You know, we should really find a way for you to tell us your name.”
As the other pegasus gave Rainbow amused look in response, Fluttershy wondered how he could just stand like that so calmly. True those wounds weren’t serious at all, they seemed more like grazes than cuts, but still, he was bleeding. She hugged Angel tighter when she imagined how painful this must be.
“Anyway,” Rainbow carried on, ”I saw him flying of the left very quickly, and when I look where he was heading, I saw a manticore chasing something small and white from within the forest.” she finished pointing her hoof at the bunny in Fluttershy’s forelegs.
“Angel!” the timid pony exclaimed, gazing at him. “What were you doing in that awful place?!? Haven’t I told you to never go into there?!?”
Angel looked at her very apologetically.
“So, what happen?” Applejack asked.
“Oh you should have seen it!” Rainbow exclaimed, beaming up. “It was awesome! He just charged straight at the manticore when it was about to take a swipe at Angel! He slammed it in the chest with his head and made it hit the tree! But...” the pegasus added, growing more serious as she pointed at the mute pony. ”... he got grazed by the manticore’s claws in the process.”
Everypony glanced at the pony, who just risked his live to save an animal he couldn’t possible knew that it belong to somepony, got wounded and seemed to be unfazed by it.
Well, everypony... besides Fluttershy.
“Oh, thank you so much!” she exclaimed, hugging the surprised pegasus very tightly, not minding that she would got the blood on her coat as well. ”You saved Angel! I just don’t know how to thank you!”
“Maybe you could start by not crushing him?” Twilight chuckled, followed by every pony else, and when Fluttershy looked up, she saw that the mute pony looked back at her, slightly out of breath.
“Oh, sorry.” Fluttershy said, embarrassed, and let go of him.
“Well, that was a close one.” Latios thought as Fluttershy moved away.
It was a good thing he spend over a week observing those ponies behaviour, otherwise, he would have responded instinctively to the display of friendly affection by licking her cheek, which was something he seen only mates do here.
“I swear they are just like humans.” the Eon Dragon thought as he glanced once again at those scratches.
They weren’t serious at all, if he was a split second faster, he wouldn’t even have them, but he paid it no mind. It was literally nothing compared to what those two human females put him through, and besides once he would assume his real form, this injury would heal quicker. Now, he only needed to find some excuse to leave, and...
“Oh my goodness, we should take care of those injuries.” Fluttershy words pulled him away from his plans. “Follow me; I can bandage them in my cottage.”
Latios was taken aback, but quickly recovered and tried to make her understand that there was no need, but it didn’t work.
“This won’t be a problem; it’s the least I can do to repay you for saving Angel.” Fluttershy replied, incorrectly understanding his shrugs and shakes. “Maybe Rainbow Dash didn’t tell you, but this bunny belongs to me, and I can’t imagine what I would do if something had happened to him.”
He actually knew that this small white creature was of some significance to her before he rushed to save it. When Latios spotted that ‘manticore’, and what it was chasing, he quickly recalled the same creature following Fluttershy the first time he saw her, despite not paying much attention to this Angel back then.
“Although, I didn’t expect her to be this grateful...” Latios thought as he sighed, resigned, and let the pegasus pony to drag him to her den.