//------------------------------//
// Black Heart 
// Story: Black Dragon 
// by MercilessKing 
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Chapter 6
Black Heart



Days like this were quite nice and quiet. They were the days that made the days of Discord seem like a distant memory. It was days like this that made Twilight cherish her ability as the sixth element. Arranging the bookshelves, she let the calm feel of the day wash over her. …That is, until the library door swung open and slammed shut soon there after. “Huh? Hello?” Looking around, she was nearly taken off of her hooves when a familiar feline face darted to her.
“Twilight, please help me!” he begged, his large green eyes shimmering with worry. “I need to hide and my camo's not doing it today!” He looked back, peering out a window and spotting a unicorn, a pegasus and an earth pony hot on his trail! “And we have to hurry!”
Never one to turn down a friend’s requests, Twilight’s mind went into overdrive as she tried to find a way to help him out of his trouble. …Whatever it was. “You can hide down in the lab,” she said, directing him to the stairwell. What was it that had him so worried?
In a flash of green magic, a unicorn with a white coat appeared in the library. “Hah! I-I’m first,” she panted, but her victory was short lived as the others barged in and ran her over.
Making an entrance as grand as ever, the Cutie Mark Crusaders collapsed over one another into a pathetic heap on the library floor.
“Hello, girls,” Twilight giggled, “What’s going on?” Though she kept a grin on her face, it was hard not to question what they were doing. Was this why Nel needed her to hide him?
“I-it’s nothin’ Twilight,” Apple Bloom panted, struggling to catch her breath, “We’re just trin’ to find Nel!”
“Have you seen him?” Scootaloo was the first to jump up after her question. She was second only to Apple Bloom in stamina and, today, she was winning the competition.
“Well, yes, but why are you looking for him? Did he do something to you?” She couldn’t think of the little dragon doing anything intentionally malicious to them. He was a prankster, but he’d never hurt them. As a matter of fact, she was almost certain that they were some of his favorite ponies! Why were they hunting the hunter with such gusto?
The three young ponies smiled at her. “Tomorrow’s Hearts and Hooves Day,” they cheered in unison.
That made sense! …And yet it still raised a few more questions. The holiday was meant for lovers of all kinds. Whether it was a simple crush or a married couple’s date night, Hearts and Hooves Day was their time to shine! …So, did that mean that the three fillies were after the same dragon?
“But, if you saw Nel, then where did he go?” Sweetie Bell inquired. She and her fellow blank flanks searched around the library’s main hall for a moment, but found neither hide nor hair of the dragon. “Is he still here or did he leave already?”
“O-oh… I don’t know… He stopped by, but he left soon after,” the lavender unicorn said quickly. She never was good at keeping secrets.
“Which way did he go!?” Three pairs of expectant eyes stared innocently into Twilight, waiting for her response.
If not for the fact that she was lying, Twilight really did have a reason to be nervous now. “Um, he was headed toward Sugar Cube Corner…”
“Thanks, Twilight,” they said in unison before charging out the door, making a miniature stampede toward the confectionary store.
Once she was sure they were gone, Twilight went to the cellar. Now she could understand why Nel wanted to hide from them. “Nel? It’s safe. They left…” That was odd. She looked around, but couldn’t find him. Going on a hunch, she even checked the ceiling, but he was nowhere to be seen.
“Thanks,” the kitten called, making her jump. His scales laid flat as he relaxed his camouflage. Even his green eyes showed up again. Though he didn’t know much practical magic, he was still an expert at invisibility spells, making his disappearing act a true art. He stood, letting out a short sigh as he shook his scales back to their normal positioning. When he did, the camouflage reacted, making a rainbow wave over his body before returning to the original black. “Sorry to have bothered you with this… I just couldn’t get rid of them!”
“Why were they chasing you like that?” she inquired, leading the dragon back to the library’s main floor. “Did they all really want you for Hearts and Hooves Day?”
“Yes…” he grumbled, hanging his head, “It’s not that I don’t want to go… I just don’t know which one I want to go with…”
Twilight let a smile cross her face. It was nice to see the wyvern taking such an interest in ponies. “Don’t worry,” she requested, placing a reassuring hoof on his shoulder, “You’ll figure it out soon. And, if you need some advice, you can always come to your friends.” Or at least he could get help from the friends that weren’t trying to attack him.
“But, I’ve already been to every pony I know!” He’d already hid under Fluttershy’s little bridge, in the kitchen with Mr. Cake, under a dress Rarity was making, in an apple tree at the orchard, in the cloud Rainbow Dash lounged on, and now in the cellar of the library! There weren’t many other places he could go that they couldn’t follow.
“Well, if your magic and camouflage aren’t working, then I’m not sure where else you can hide… But, you shouldn’t head to Sugar Cube Corner,” she said with a small smirk.
He let out a short sigh. “Right, thanks…” He headed to the door. “Hopefully I’m still on one piece by tomorrow…” Cautiously, he headed out again. The kitten could hold his own against the three fillies, but he didn’t really want to. …And he definitely didn’t want to have the two of them angry with him for not choosing them for Hearts and Hooves Day. Darting from hiding place to hiding place, he made sure to keep himself out of sight from most any pony on the streets. Looking around from a hiding place, he spotted the three fillies back on the streets. “Already?” he questioned aloud. He’d have to be extra careful now.
Sweetie Belle would be able to sense him if he used magic.
Apple Bloom could keep up with him in a foot race and she had more stamina anyway.
Scootaloo couldn’t land very well, but she could still fly faster than the adolescent dragon.
Either way, Nel was in quite the hard place. His only option was to hide and put his excellent stealth to work. Carefully, he scaled a wall and went over a house, going to a road farther away from the three fillies. He looked back, making sure the three didn’t see him before dismounting. …And having a chance encounter with another filly. “Ah!” He came crashing to the ground after landing on a filly’s back. Immediately, he was back on his feet, trying to help the filly as well. “Oh, my gosh—I’m so sorry!”
The filly let out a groan, pulling herself up onto her hooves. “Ow! Watch where you’re going!” she ordered. Her azure eyes had a hard look to them with the glare she was firing at him and she was busy brushing dirt off of her magenta coat. She didn’t even seem to notice the stray scale the dragon had unintentionally left in her violet and white streaked mane.
Nel barely managed to keep down a chuckle. “Sorry,” he meowed, gently plucking his scale from her mane. The longer he looked at her, the more he questioned who she was. She looked familiar but it was hard to tell. Something was missing. Taking a step back, one of his paws found what was missing.
There was a silver tiara tipped with diamonds on the ground. It had clearly fallen off thanks to the wyvern’s unceremonious landing.
“Hm?” He picked it up, examining the silver metal work. It was a very pretty piece of work. …And it was clear as to whom it belonged to. “Uh, sorry again, I wasn’t paying attention…” He handed her the tiara back.
The filly immediately snatched it from him, readjusting it atop her head. “You should be sorry!” she snarled, turning her nose up at him.
There weren’t many cases of it, but Nel was honestly confused now. Why was she being so snotty? He could understand if he’d done something to earn her ire, but he’d been nothing but kind and apologetic to her. For once, he returned her glare. “You really are a supercilious little brat, huh?”
That was unexpected! She stared at the wyvern for a moment before shooting a hard glare at him again. “What did you call me?”
The dragon leaned in, standing nearly an inch from her face. “You’re a supercilious brat,” he snarled. His oval shaped pupils narrowed to slits, adding to his intimidating posture. “There’s no need to be such a jerk. It was a simple accident.” He turned to leave. “Now I know why Apple Bloom hates you so much…” He didn’t give her a chance to reply before heading off again.
The filly was… Shocked to say the least. She never expected such a change. Maybe that was what Narga were really like. He had the nerve to call her a brat? Who did he think he was?! …And why did he have such an interesting face.


“Darn it!” Apple Bloom grumbled, “Where’d he go?” She could understand his nervousness—she really could—but that didn’t mean he should just run away like that! It was just a question. Why did he run off like that?
“I dunno,” Scootaloo grumbled. She leaned over the edge of the fountain in the middle of town, trying to cool down after such an intense search. “I knew he was fast, but I didn’t think he was this fast!”
“Well, we can’t just give up! We’ll have to keep looking until we find him!” Sweetie Belle tried to stand, but the lactic acid in her legs put her back on the ground. “After we rest for a bit…” Even if they did have better stamina, they were all just as tired.
“Man he can move!” Scootaloo looked around again. “I didn’t think he could move that fast!” And that was after seeing him fight! Searching for the tell tale black of Nel’s scales, she looked over the crowd of ponies. …Up until she saw something much more colorful approaching. “Uh-oh… Diamond Tiara’s coming this way…”
“What?!” The three of them moved together, making a stand against the bully. …Or at least they were until the realized the filly was alone and had a much more pensive look than a malicious one.
Diamond Tiara headed directly for them. …More specifically, she headed toward Apple Bloom. She glared for a moment, but swallowed her pride and simply spoke in as civil a manner as possible. “Apple Bloom,” she began in a much too controlled tone, “You know that dragon running around town, right?”
That was different. The three young ponies looked at one another, exchanging silent messages. “Uh… Yeah, I do,” the earth pony said hesitantly, “Why? Do you know where he went?”
“Tch, no,” she grumbled, averting her eyes and expressing her anger in a very unique way. It was very strange for her not to take out her anger on them. “The little gecko ran off somewhere…” She quickly turned her eyes back to them. “I wanted to know who he is. …And if I can talk to him…”
There weren’t enough words in the Equestrian dictionary to express how strange this was. Their overactive imaginations questioned if they’d somehow run into a parallel universe where Diamond Tiara knew how to be civil, but that was too hard to pass off. “Uh… W-well, we don’t know where he is,” Scootaloo said hesitantly, “We’ll, uh, tell him where to find you when we do find him…”
She rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Yeah, right…” She turned to leave, but hesitated. With a sigh, she turned with a blank look on her face. “Uh… Thanks, I guess…” Without any further hesitation, she trotted off, leaving them in a state of confusion they’d never been in before.
“Did… Did Diamond Tiara just… Say thanks to us?” Sweetie Belle wondered aloud.
“I dunno,” Apple Bloom muttered, “But, uh, if we’re gonna help, then we gotta find Nel for more than one reason.”
The three of them looked at one another before heading off to find the dragon.


This was a very miserable day. Nel laid on a large tree limb he’d been known to nap on, trying to relax a bit after his ordeal. It was one of few places he could go to nap in peace. …But he couldn’t get to sleep! He’d laid there for almost an hour, feeling tired, but failing to fall asleep. Maybe he was still too tense. He was known to sleep here in this large tree. Maybe his predatory instinct was keeping him awake in preparation to flee from the Crusaders again. With a groan, he got up and decided on flying around to tire himself out. If Scootaloo saw him, so be it. He took off, taking a few leaves with him. It wasn’t very long before he was above the clouds once more.
The skies over Ponyville were oddly clear today. It was understandable for a clear day on Hearts and Hooves Day, but that was a different story.
The wyvern soared high in the sky, trying to find something to relax his nerves and to tire himself out. After a shot round of flight, he swooped down, making sure that the only pegasi that saw him worked for the weather patrol. He made a swift landing in a tree, leaving the leaves and branches mostly undisturbed. He sighed heavily as he plopped down, laying on the branch. “Ugh… Sweet sleep, why do you elude me?” He closed his eyes, letting his mind wander a little as he used all his senses aside from sight.
The birds chirping in a nearby branch sang a lovely melody today. There was no doubt that Fluttershy had taught them that. The air was warm and there was a gentle, grass-scented breeze blowing through town, invoking a sense of calm that the kitten hadn’t noticed before.
Maybe it was because he wasn’t in his usual place, or maybe because this tree wasn’t as predictable as the large tree he always used, but Nel was finally able to relax here. A small grin crossed his face as sleep finally started to creep up on him.
“Hey!”
Nel flinched at the sudden noise, nearly falling out of the tree. He dug his claws into the bark to stay upright before looking for the source of the noise. “Oh, you’re kidding,” he grumbled as he found a familiar and not so welcomed face below his perch.
The tiara wearing earth pony was underneath the dragon’s branch. She didn’t look very happy to see him.
He let out a short sigh as he regained his composure, laying back on his branch to lounge some more. “What?” he groaned, “If you haven’t noticed, Narga aren’t very friendly during the day. We usually sleep the whole thing away.” He yawned loudly, trying to keep his annoyed demeanor. It was actually more work than he thought it’d be. “Now, if you would be so kind, go away.”
“What did you say!?” she growled.
“I’m only treating you the way you treated me. You were a jerk, so I’m being a jerk.” He stuck his blue tongue out at her in an incredibly childish display.
The filly glared at him, but she flinched a bit when he shot a glare back. His was much more potent than any other pony she’d met. Aside from the incident with Cerberus, Nel was the only apex predator she’d seen. She shook off her fearful grimace, trying to take back an air of supremacy. “Will you just get your scaly butt down here? I wanted to—” She stopped immediately as one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders pulled her away.
“Ya can’t do that to Nel,” Apple Bloom said, following the magenta filly as Scootaloo led her away, “If you’re mean to him, he’ll be mean to you!” She hadn’t expected to give Diamond Tiara any advice on talking to the kitten they’d all wanted for the most romantic holiday of the year.
Reflexively, Nel sat up before hanging upside down from his perch, looking at the four fillies. “How did you three find me?” he asked in a more expected tone of voice.
Sweetie Belle smiled cheerfully as her horn sparked with green magic. “Twilight taught me a new tracking spell,” she chimed happily, “With that scale you left on Diamond Tiara’s coat, it was really easy to find you.”
He deflated a little. “Oh, magic, you’ve failed me again…” He made a quick dismount, landing on his feet. “Alright, look, I just haven’t been able to decide which filly I wanted to—”
“I need to talk to you,” Diamond Tiara blurted. She didn’t even show any type of remorse for interrupting their conversation in such a way!
The four Crusaders didn’t say anything immediately. With such a random comment, it was a little hard to recuperate and get a reasonable remark across. It was Nel that made the first move. “Alright, group huddle,” he called, moving away from Diamond Tiara.
They didn’t need any other signals. They’d learned from experience to follow Nel’s orders however few there were. “What’s up?” Scootaloo asked.
“I may not always be the best cat to judge character, but if she’s always like this, then I don’t want to talk to her.” He looked back, getting a mostly neutral look from her.
“Well, she is like this a lot…” Sweetie Bell honestly couldn’t think of a time when Diamond Tiara wasn’t catty and snobbish toward them. Unlike them, she hadn’t grown up much over the years.
“But, we promised to help her and she’s been acting different today,” Apple Bloom persisted. As compared to the way the other earth pony was normally, they were really getting it good with her newfound interest in Nel.
“She was a jerk to me,” he grumbled defiantly. Even if she was acting differently, he still wanted nothing to do with a pony like her. One of his own animalistic talents was to sense the emotions of other creatures. He liked to say he could sense their auras, but it was probably simpler than that. With what he could sense from Diamond Tiara, he really didn’t want to be around her for too long.
“Tiara’s a jerk to every pony,” the orange pegasus stated quickly, “But, she’s being nicer to us today.” She poked Nel’s side with her wing. “C’mon! Give her a chance. …And then you get to be a jerk back to her…”
“Sounds legit,” he crooned with a wide grin that made him look oddly like the Cheshire cat. He looked at her again. “...Stay close… I’d hate to acquire a taste for pony…” He let out a short sigh as they went back to Diamond Tiara. “Alright! I’ll admit that I’ve never really received an award for my patience, but I’ll hear you out. What is it that you wanted to talk about?”
Tiara didn’t answer immediately. She looked at Nel and then at the three fillies she went to school with. She was weighing her options and trying to figure the best way to say this. It wasn’t every day that she got to talk so casually to a dragon. Glancing at the other ponies, she wondered if they were close enough to hear what she was going to say. After a moment, she finally looked him in his glowing eyes. “…Would you be my special some pony for Hearts and Hooves Day?”
Three jaws fell agape as they took the pony’s question in. Neliel Valshte stared for a moment. If there was any one answer he hadn’t thought up, it was definitely that one. “Uh… Well…” He averted his eyes, trying to find an answer for her.
“Did she just…? T-to…” Sweetie Belle struggled to put the thought together, asking her friends in a low whisper if she’d really heard that.
“She did!” Scootaloo whispered back. She could feel her blood start to boil at the very thought of it! They were Nel’s friends! They had first dibs!
Apple Bloom didn’t say a word. She bit her lip, waiting for his answer. On one hand, she did want to help Diamond Tiara in hopes that it would lead to a normal friendship between them instead of their usual rivalry. …But, at the same time, she hoped desperately that they could get their chance at Nel again.
Diamond Tiara may have kept a neutral expression—staring with the intent of snatching his answer whether an insult or the nectar of life—but, in reality, she was having a serious meltdown. She couldn’t believe she’d actually asked him! This seemed like a brilliant idea earlier, but now it seemed worse than trailing Apple Bloom to that odd stretch of the Everfree forest that smelled like charred filth. What was he going to say? Would he shoot her down or agree? Was he going to be nice about it or was he going to swat her like she would have to any other colt? Was he going to agree readily or hesitantly? Why was he taking so long to answer?!
The adolescent dragon swallowed dryly, weighing his options. It wasn’t as though he liked her or anything and she was quite the jerk to him the last time they spoke. …But, this did give him a few opportunities. For one, he could get out of trouble with the Crusaders. He wouldn’t hurt any of their feelings if he didn’t pick a favorite. He could also get down to the dirty details as to why Diamond Tiara was such a canker toward his friends. “U-um… Sure, w-why not?” He put on a grin, but his stomach churned with the thought of his friends’ reactions. They were probably going to be quite upset with him.
Tiara felt her heart seize with his answer. In the end, she couldn’t get herself to react at all past the shocked silence that filled the air. “W-w-well good!” she stammered, trying and failing at a confident smile. Her heart was pounding at the mere premise of going on a date with him.
“Oh my gosh!” Those three simple words spilled out of Sweetie Belle’s lips. It was a nervous gesture that had started only a few years ago. Struggling to make sense of it all, she started rambling, muttering incessantly.
“No way!” Scootaloo’s wings flared as she got ready to charge. She wasn’t going to let this just slide by!
“No!!” Apple Bloom quickly caught her pegasus friend’s tail in her teeth, holding her back the same as her sister would to Rainbow Dash. “Don’t do it!”
“What?! Why not?!” Scootaloo didn’t have the wing power to pull her friends along quite yet. She eagerly pulled against the earth pony, trying to get to Tiara and Nel.
“We can’t!” she said, pulling Scootaloo back down to the ground. Much like her sister would have, she kept a level head, trying to keep the group grounded. “I mean, Nel’s gotta have a good reason for agreein’, right?” She glanced at the dragon as he and Diamond Tiara made their plans for the next day. “We’ll just ask him what he’s doin’…”
The dragon waved as the suddenly nervous pony trotted off. He was actually a little surprised with how skittish she was. …Or rather with how quickly her confidence had shriveled. It was strange seeing a pony with such confidence crumble like that.
“Nel!!”
The dragon flinched, jumping almost a foot into the air. He knew they’d be upset, but this was worse than he thought. “U-uh… Is something wrong?” he asked, trying to smile at them.
“Why did you agree to that?!” Scootaloo asked, making the dragon shrivel as she encroached on his personal space. “You know Diamond Tiara’s a jerk, so why do you want to go out with her?!” She let out a short squawk when she was suddenly pulled out of the way by an odd magical grip.
“Come on, Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle requested, “Nel’s probably got a good reason for why he chose her instead of one of us.” She turned her green eyes to meet his. “…Don’t you?”
“I’m a little afraid to say so now…” He stood straight once more and cleared his throat. “I’m sure curiosity’s going to kill me one day… I wanted to know about her since everyone always complains about her. Sure she’s a jerk, but everyone—dragons and all—act differently when they’re looking for possible mates—er, uh, g-going on dates…” He wasn’t very sure of what the term was actually.
“We could have told you about her!” Scootaloo complained. She would have gone through all of the ways they hated Diamond Tiara herself, but she really didn’t know all the words to describe her.
“I believe you, but that’s not the only reason.” He looked back as if looking for the magenta pony. “If she’s really that much of a jerk then maybe a little bit of attention can get her to agree with us a little more. …And possibly get her to stop teasing ponies without Cutie Marks.”
They all paused when they heard that part. He could definitely be onto something with that, but would that really help them with her?
“Oh… W-well, I guess that does make sense…” Suddenly, Scootaloo felt incredibly foolish for getting so angry with him.
“That’s what I thought,” he purred, “So, I’m going to go out on a limb with this. Worst-case scenario: she falls madly in love with me and I have to give her the bad news that I like ponies much nicer than her.” The hunter started through town at a comfortable stroll with the ponies trotting behind him. 
“What are you two going to do on your, uh… Date?” In reference to Diamond Tiara, that word just left a bad taste in the unicorn’s mouth.
“There’s a fireworks show tomorrow for Hearts and Hooves Day,” he stated, “She agreed to a picnic.”
“You got Diamond Tiara to agree to a picnic?” Apple Bloom had always imagined that Tiara was much too refined to do anything like that. She could almost imagine the bratty pony complaining throughout a picnic.
“You’d be surprised what please and pouting can do for you,” he said, poking the farm pony in the side with one of his wings.
Scootaloo let out a groan. She took to the air, hovering in front of the group to face Nel. “Why are you acting so casual about this? You’re going on a date with Diamond Tiara! The same Diamond Tiara that made school suck just that much worse for us!”
Nel let out a short sigh, blowing smoke from his nostrils. “I understand you’re, uh, caution, I guess, with this, but the decision’s made and the plan’s already in action.” He quickly went past Scootaloo. “If it bothers you all that much, then you can stay somewhere hidden and supervise. I’m sure I can hold Tiara’s attention while you three are skulking around.”
That idea didn’t sound bad. Actually, it sounded as great as any of the dragon’s other plans! Even still, the Crusaders weren’t as gung-ho as they normally would have been. Even if he didn’t acknowledge it, Nel was quite the charmer. If he somehow coaxed a kiss out of the detestable earth pony, there was no guarantee he’d be able to get away from their wrath.
“I guess it’s alright,” Apple Bloom said quickly, vouching for the trio of blank flanks.
“Just don’t do anything you wouldn’t want us to see,” Sweetie Belle warned.
“Now when have I ever done that?” he asked with a wide, toothy grin, “I’ll see you all tomorrow. …Even if you don’t want me to…” He quickly opened his wings and took flight.
The Crusaders watched as he headed farther into town. They didn’t have to say anything to get their point across to one another. They were all thinking the exact same thing anyway.
Their date was going to be a disaster.


“Now, don’t you look handsome!” Rarity was always the first to call for help, but, when Nel came to her with his request, she wasn’t sure if she could pull it off alone. Now that she looked at her work, she felt proud of herself.
The adolescent dragon was really dressed for his date. His scales and claws had been shined at the salon with Rarity and Fluttershy, the plume of hair on his feline skull was neatly styled for the occasion, and, with a little coaching, even his posture was unintimidating! Much like his guardian and the most refined unicorn in Ponyville, Nel was the image of composure. …And his disgust showed. “Is all of this really necessary?” he asked as Rarity straightened his tie.
“Quite,” she chirped, “If you want to win that little filly’s heart, you have to look your absolute best!”
Nel waggled his tail, pulling the green bows on his quill-covered tail into his line of sight. “Clearly, but this is taking it a bit far…” To say that the hunter was unused to being so well groomed was an understatement.
“You look like Opal after her weekly bath.” The orange pegasus couldn’t help but make jokes. With Nel unable to exact revenge, she had a clear target to aim for with her teasing.
“I look better than you do when you try to land,” he retorted, getting laughs from all three ponies, “Also, this is Diamond Tiara we’re talking about… I’m not so sure I want to win her heart…”
“Speaking of Tiara, where is she?” Rarity unconsciously shined Nel’s black scales. Diamond Tiara had asked her for a dress the day before, but failed to come and pick it up. …Or even to have someone pick it up for her.
“Probably getting all of her mean out before our date,” Nel chuckled. He could just imagine Tiara going around and getting all of her insults out before their get together. She knew he wouldn’t allow it at all.
“Nah,” Scootaloo sighed, “She was on her way to the clubhouse when I was flying here. I saw her trotting through the orchard.”
“What? Why?” Nel knew all too well that Diamond Tiara didn’t like the Crusaders. She was far too spiteful to allude to anything else. He couldn’t imagine very many constructive reasons for her going to the clubhouse.
“Beats me,” Scootaloo said, “But she was asking about you a lot yesterday. She probably went to ask about you.”
“Oh, that’s so sweet!” Rarity gushed energetically. She was excited to see Nel taking such an interest in ponies his age. She’d only ever seen him so very interested in older mares and stallions like her and Pinkie Pie.
“I never thought that you would be such a lady killer, Nel,” Fluttershy cooed. She tipped his chin upward, helping his posture a bit more. She’d be the first that Nel had a very cute face, but his feline nature was only so charming.
“I don’t think lady killer’s the right term for it…”
“Pig tamer sounds better,” Scootaloo muttered under her breath.
Nel’s enhanced hearing picked up on the insult, even if Fluttershy and Rarity didn’t. It put a grin on his face. He didn’t think she was that bad, but he’d been wrong before. He let his mind wander as the two mares squabbled over his looks. What if he had made the wrong decision? What if the Crusaders were right and Tiara was going to be a horrible mate? It worried him slightly. He didn’t want to get into this for nothing.
As the mares talked about Nel’s outfit, Scootaloo went over to the dragon. “You okay?” she inquired. Seeing him in a pensive mood always worried her. He was a little scary when he overthought things.
“Yeah,” he sighed, “I was just thinking about this date.” He looked at Rarity as she gave her friend the pick of a small collection of ties for him. “Ever feel like a sure bet is going to put you in over your head?”
“All the time,” she said. Her mind went back to the when she’d broken her leg during a stunt. Those precious few milliseconds in the air had given her that exact feeling. “Are you getting nervous or something?”
He looked out the window, spotting a few clouds in the sky. After a second of thought, he nodded. “Yeah, just a little bit,” he lied. Unlike fear signals, Nel could easily hide his nervousness. He was really starting to regret this now. How would this all turn out? Maybe he’d be able to decide on his way to see Diamond Tiara. Hopefully, by then, he’d have his thoughts together.