"Now where is that house..."
After leaving the station, the new resident of Ponyville began to search the outer part of the town for his new home.
"I requested one on the outskirts of town and they said it would be somewhere around here...ah! There it is!"
The stallion sees it from a distance and heads for it. He also takes notice of another house; though not exactly a house.
A cottage? Hmm, didn't think there would be any ponies living nearby. They told me this house didn't have neighbors because the last occupant wanted to be alone and was to himself.
He shrugs at the thought. Oh well. No point in complaining. The resident might be nice. I'll try to say hi sometime...
He hesitates, before shaking his head, Maybe I shouldn't considering the last time I tried. I'll just stay my distance.
Just then he hears a sound to his right, pulling him from his thoughts. When he turns, he notices a gray pegasus flying right towards him.
"Look out please! I can't slow down fast enough!" She yells, flailing her arms, one wing flapping behind her while the other is strangely unmoving.
He merely frowns at that before he turns towards her and sits on his hindhooves. He opens his front hooves open to her, surprising the incoming mare.
"What are you doing!? Move before I hit you!" She says in slight panic getting closer to the ground.
The pegasus shakes his head and stays still, bracing for the impact. At that moment, the gray pegasus ends up ramming right into the stallion's chest, knocking him backwards. After a few yards they slow down, but not until his back collides into a tree did they fully stop. After a few seconds, the grey pegasus notices she isn't in any pain. She also notices that she’s being held by the stallion and gets up quickly.
"Oh gosh are you alright? I told you to move! Why didn't you listen?" The gray mare says in worry, thinking he might be hurt.
However, he merely hops up and dusts himself off as if nothing happened.
"I'm fine. Don't worry, I'm pretty sturdy. And I wasn't going to move while, you're..falling..."
He grows silent once he sees her up close. She sports a blonde mane and on her flank she has a cutie mark of bubbles. But there is one thing that he finds interesting. It is something he can't seem to keep his eyes off of: her eyes. They are a golden yellow color and are...askew. Something he’s never seen before.
"Um, hello?" The pegasus mare says quizzically.
At that he snaps out of his daze. "Oh! Sorry. I kinda zoned out there."
"I could tell!" she says while giggling. "I've never seen you around before. I'm Derpy Hooves! What's your name?"
He smiles at her. "Nice to meet you Derpy. I'm Dark Sapphire, or Saph for short."
Derpy nods happily. "Nice to meet you Saph! So, what brings you out here?" She asks while waving around the area.
"Just trying to get away and ended up here. Seems like a nice place." Sapphire replies while looking around. Derpy suddenly hops in front of him, drawing his attention to her.
"It is! I love it here! Have you been around town yet?"
Sapphire smiles at the giddy mare and shakes his head. "Not yet. I was heading to my new house up the hill over there." He points to said house on top of a small hill. "I was planning to clean up and unpack first, but then I saw you. You looked to be in a bit of trouble so I decided to help you out."
She smiles warmly. "Well, thanks for softening my fall! That would have hurt if I had hit the ground." Derpy says as she rubs her head.
Sapphire waves a hoof dismissively. "I'm glad I could help. But, if you don't mind me asking, why were you falling? You should have been able to at least adjust yourself or slow down so you wouldn't hurt yourself."
Derpy blushes and rubs her head sheepishly. "Oh! Uh...you see, I look up to my awesome friend Rainbow Dash and wanted to try to fly as fast as her, but when I pushed myself too hard, I got a large cramp in one of my wings and I can't move it too well."
Sapphire looks at her right wing and notices it slightly twitching.
Sapphire has a small idea and speaks up. "If you want, I can help you with that." He offers.
Derpy looks at him in surprise. "Really? How?”
"Can you stretch them out it for a second?" He asks while pointing to her wing.
Derpy nods and turns before slowly spreading her wings. He notices a specific part of her wing is angled incorrectly.
Hmm, it's not that bad. Maybe I could fix it quick without her noticing...
"Is it bad?" Derpy questions, breaking his train of thought.
Sapphire shakes his head at that. "Not at all. Though, can you do me a favor and not look back?" he asks.
"Oh...okay." Derpy replies hesitantly before looking straight ahead.
All of a sudden she hears a low pop sound and a small pain makes her flinch slightly. Then, the pain suddenly leaves as fast as it came.
"There we go. How does it feel?" Sapphire asks after walking in front of her.
Derpy starts to flap her wings and is happy to not feel anything. "Wow! It doesn't hurt at all! Thanks a lot!" Derpy says in excitement. "How did you do that?"
Sapphire hesitates, but quickly waves a hoof nonchalantly. "It was just a bone out of place. I popped it back in, but I recommend you be careful with how you fly. And don't push yourself too hard."
Derpy giggles. "You sound like my friends! They always say stuff like that." she says while nudging him.
"Oh. Well, it seems you have some good friends..." Sapphire replies rather solemnly.
Derpy takes notice of him looking down and kind of sad. "Saph? Are you okay?"
Sapphire looks up quickly and smiles. "Oh, I'm fine it's just...well...actually, can I ask you for a favor?"
Derpy nods quickly. "Sure! You just helped me out, the least I can do is return it. What's the favor?"
Sapphire hesitates but continues, "Well....would you like to..." Sapphire trails off. He doesn't know if he should ask. Come on! Just ask! The worst she can say is no!
Derpy looks puzzled. "Um, something wrong?"
Sapphire takes a deep breath and exhales, steeling himself. "I was wondering if you would.....maybe...show me around town?" His head drops after asking, expecting the worst.
"Sure!"
Hearing that surprises him and he turns to look at Derpy. "Really?"
She nods happily. "Of course! Oh, but first I have to deliver one final letter. It's actually to the cottage right there near your house!" she exclaims while pointing to the cottage he noticed earlier.
Sapphire nods but grows curious. "By the way, if you don't mind me asking, who lives there?"
Derpy perks up. "Oh! She is a really nice pony! She's very timid and shy, but nice. And she lives with animals of all kinds!"
"Lives with animals? Like pets?" he asks in confusion.
Derpy looks up in thought. "Well, yeah but she has wild animals there too. She takes care of them when they get injured and lets them go when they are all better. Her name is Fluttershy."
Fluttershy huh? She sounds nice. Maybe she wouldn't mind if I say hi...
As if reading his mind Derpy asks, "Wanna come see her with me?"
Sapphire shakes his head quickly. "Oh, no thanks. I'll maybe go another time. I want to put up my bags and check out my house. Want to meet me at my house after you're done?"
"Sure!" Derpy says happily.
Sapphire smiles at the enthusiastic mare. "Great! And thanks a lot for agreeing to show me around."
Derpy wraps a hoof around him. "Don't mention it! That's what friends are for!"
Hearing that statement surprises Sapphire. "F-Friends? We're...friends?"
Derpy looks at him confusion. "Well, I thought so. Why? You don't want to be?"
"I do!” Sapphire says quickly. “It's just...Well, I don't really have friends..."
Derpy giggles. "That's silly! Everypony has friends."
Sapphire looks down slightly. "Well, not everypony considering I don't..."
Derpy frowns at that. He seems like a nice pony. Why wouldn't he have friends? He should at least have a few if not more. Well I can change that!
"Well you do now! I'll be your first friend!" Derpy exclaims, smiling.
Sapphire's head jerks up and his eyes glow in excitement. "Really? That's awesome, Thanks Derpy!" He says and wraps her in a hug. Derpy is surprised at first, but then happily returns the hug. It lasts quite a while before Sapphire realizes he’s holding her too long and jerks away blushing. "Uh...sorry about that.."
Derpy, also blushing, turns away. "Oh, it's okay." After a moment they turn back to each other. "Well, I'm going to give the letter to Fluttershy. I'll see you soon okay?"
"Okay," Sapphire nods while smiling.
He watches as Derpy takes flight to the direction of Fluttershy's house. Her flying is quite...awkward to say the least. Chuckling to himself, he decides to head over to his home. Once close enough he takes a look at his new home from the outside. It’s a brownish-green colored house two stories high with an attic. It looks old, but is made to be quite sturdy. It is also fairly close to the Everfree forest.
Yeesh, definitely going to change the color of this house... He thinks to himself. After a few more seconds of looking, he heads inside. As he pulls out his key, he suddenly hears a rustling noise in a bush nearby. He turns to the noise quickly.
"Uh...someone there?" He calls out.
No answer.
He looks for a moment, but then shrugs. "Might have just been the wind." he lies aloud. He knows someone or something is there but just dismisses it.
As long as it doesn't bother me, I don't mind. He thinks while inserting the key, opening the door, and trotting in.
As soon as he enters, he immediately notices that the house looks surprisingly bigger on the inside. The first room he enters is a rather large living room. He is surprised to see the house completely furnished. In the main room there’s a couch and a lamp on two different end tables. Across from them is a sofa with a hoofstool in front, all new. The room also has a fireplace that looks brand new.
I will be using that for the winter times.
To his left is a kitchen with an overlook into the living room. There is a fridge, stove, and all kinds of other appliances with utensils in the kitchen. Again, they all look new.
"Wow. I wonder if this came with the purchase. They never said it did though. Plus all this stuff compared to how much I had paid for the house doesn't make sense..." Sapphire shrugs. "Oh well. I'd be lying if I said I didn't like this."
To the right, there are stairs that curve upwards over the kitchen. At the top of the stairs is a closet. A window that looks out towards the Everfree forest is to the right. To the left is a hallway that branches to three doors. The first door contains a small room with a bed with covers and desk with a chair and a lamp. He looks into the second room and there is a restroom with a large tub that can fit two ponies comfortably. He smiles at the large tub before he heads towards the final room which is the master bedroom. There is a dresser, a lamp and night table, and a huge bed! Upon seeing this king size bed, Sapphire immediately hops on it, enjoying the softness of the mattress.
"Wow, I'm loving this bed! I'm tempted to take a nap right now!” He exclaims but pauses. ”Though Derpy did promise to give me a tour around the town.."
After that he notices something: He didn't see a way to the attic.
"I wonder where the entrance to the attic is...I could have sworn I saw a window in the front that proves that this house has one..."
He hops out of bed and decides to look around. Nothing in his bedroom. He checks the other room. Nothing. He heads back to the hallway and frowns.
"There has to be another stairway somewhere...hm? What's this for?"
He notices a button on the wall opposite of the rooms and next to the window that looks out to the front of the house. Curiously, he pushes it and immediately hears a click behind him. He turns quickly and sees the wall in between the small room and the restroom crack open. He pushes it open and Inside are stairs to the attic.
"That's a pretty neat trick."
He heads upstairs to the attic to look inside. The attic is the whole length of the house! The ceiling is quite high up too. There is a window on both sides to see either side of the house outside. In one corner there seems to be a hand-made bar of some sort.
It looks like the previous owner probably made his own bar here. I wonder why when they said he was mostly to himself?
After seeing the attic, he decides to head back downstairs. "Well, I guess I can start unpacking and wait for Derpy now that I've seen everything."
It only takes 5 minutes for Sapphire to unpack and put everything away. Afterwards, he merely sits on the couch with a saddle pack and relaxes.
"I thought Derpy would be done by now. I wonder what's taking so long..."
As if on cue, there is a knock at the door. Upon opening it he sees Derpy smiling. She has some sticks protruding from her rather tousled mane.
"Hey Saph! Sorry it took so long. Lost track of time talking to Fluttershy!" She says excitedly. "Ready to go?"
"Sure, but, you have some twigs in your mane Derpy..." Sapphire says while pointing to her mane.
"Oh, really? It must have been from the tree I ran into earlier." She says, making him frown slightly. She starts removing them forgetting one sticking straight up in her mane. "Did I get them all?"
Sapphire couldn't help but laugh at the mare while she looks at him in confusion.
After a few seconds he calms down and reaches for the last twig. "Here, let me get that for you." he offers as he pulls it out.
"Thanks Saph!" She beams with a warm smile.
Sapphire can't help but admire her smile. It's a cute smile and her eyes end up pulling him into a slight trance. After a moment she notices him staring quite intensely.
"Saph?" She calls out. That quickly snaps him out of his trance.
"Huh? Oh...uh..s-sorry." He replies sheepishly.
"You seem to like looking at my eyes don't you?" She jokes.
Sapphire quickly turns his head while blushing. “Uh...well I-”
"I'm joking Saph!" Sapphire looks at her and notices her giggling. He sighs and smiles at her. "C'mon let's go!"
"Alright." Sapphire nods and they both take flight, heading towards Ponyville. As they are flying away, Saph notices something black moving in a nearby bush but shrugs and pays no mind to it, too excited about seeing the town with his new friend.
Upon getting right to the entrance of the town they decide to land and walk around. Sapphire notices Derpy's flying and realizes it might be best considering she almost hit two trees. Once they enter they reach an area that has lots of stands where ponies are selling a vast selection of produce.
"This here is the market! Ponies sell all kinds of fruits and stuff!" Derpy explains happily.
"I will need to come by here later for shopping." Sapphire mumbles aloud, while making a mental note to revisit.
"Yup, this is the best place to shop!"
As they are walking, a pony calls out to Derpy.
"Howdy there Derpy!" Sapphire turns and sees an orange coated earth pony with a yellow mane and tail, both tied: one on the end of her mane and the other at the end of her tail. On top of her head she sports a Stetson. He also notices her cutie mark are a few apples.
"Hey Applejack!" Derpy yells before running towards the mare. Sapphire pauses slightly, thinking she looks rather familiar before he dismisses it and starts after her. Just as they were getting close, Derpy trips on her own hooves and is sent tumbling towards Applejack's stand. Sapphire notices this and starts sprinting ahead of her and quickly catches the clumsy pegasus before she crashes into the stand only 2 feet away.
"That was close..." Sapphire says with a sigh. "You gotta be more careful Derpy."
"Sorry." Derpy replies sorrowfully. Sapphire offers her a hoof and she cheers up immediately, happily accepting it as he helps her up.
They both turn to the earth pony who is smiling at the black pegasus. "Thank ya fer stoppin' her from hittin' mah stand. It would have been a hassle getting everythin' cleaned up."
"Don't mention it. It seems she is quite the klutz." Sapphire says while rubbing the back of his mane and looking at Derpy. She is busy dusting herself off from the tumble.
"Ah never seen you around before...nor have Ah seen a pony wit’ a black coat. Ya new round these parts?" Applejack asks while examining the pegasus.
"Yeah. The names Dark Sapphire or Saph for short. I got here today and ran into Derpy...well...she ran into me." Sapphire says with a chuckle.
Applejack returns it. "Yea that sounds like her. The names Applejack by the way. Nice ta meet ya Saph."
"Nice to meet you too Applejack." Sapphire replies while smiling. He then takes notice of the apples she’s selling. "Those apples sure do look good."
Applejack tilts her hat slightly in pride. "They sure are. Best apples y'all ever taste that's fer sure. Tell ya what, Ah'll give ya one free ta try since ya did keep mah stand from topplin' over."
"Really? Thanks!" He says in excitement before taking the apple from Applejack. He then tosses it up in the air and it falls right into his mouth and he chomps it. The apple tastes amazing. Better than any apple he has tasted like she said.
"Wow, that is delicious!" Sapphire exclaims out louder than he wants and lowers his head once he notices others staring. "Heh my bad. Too loud."
Applejack and Derpy are holding back their laughter from his outburst. "Well thank ya fer the kind words. Ah take pride in the apples we harvest. Best apples out there ah can guarantee that." Applejack brags with a grin.
"No doubt! I haven't tasted any nearly as great as these, and I've been places."
She smirks. "Well if ya like em so much why don't ya buy some?"
Sapphire nods. "Sure! I'd like half a dozen."
"No prob. Here ya go." Applejack places 6 apples in a basket and gives it to him. "That will be 12 bits."
Sapphire hoofs over the bits and takes the basket in his mouth. He tosses the basket in the air, making the apples fly high in the sky. Each one falls into the saddle on his back as he catches the basket with his mouth before placing it back on the stand.
He takes notice that the two mares are staring at him with wide eyes and their mouths slightly open. Others are staring too from a distance. Applejack says something first.
"Why, that was some pretty talented skills ya got there."
Spike smiles sheepishly. "Thanks. It took lots of practice. I can only do around eight things tops before I have trouble."
Applejack raises a brow at that. "Only eight? That's pretty high up there. Ah don't even know if Ah could do five."
Sapphire smiles. "Well, I think you could if you practice too."
Applejack nods. “Maybe so.”
"Well, we're gonna head out now. Still got more of the town to see." Derpy says after she snaps out of the trance.
Applejack nods. "No prob. If ya ever in the neighborhood, stop by Sweet Apple Acres. Y'all can find me there later. Ah can then show ya all the ways we can make the apples taste much better."
Sapphire grows slightly excited at that. "That would be awesome! I'll try to stop by later today."
She smiles. "Ah will keep ah eye out for ya. See ya later Derpy....uh...Derpy?"
They both look at her. She is staring into space with a small grin on her face.
Sapphire waves a hoof in front of her. "Derpy? You in there? It's time to get moving."
Derpy blinks. "Huh? Oh! Okay! See ya Applejack!" She says and they both leave the earth pony.
"Sometimes Ah just don't get that pony." Applejack says, shaking her head.
After leaving the market Derpy starts to show him more places more quickly. They passed the residential area, the school house, and the town hall. One specific place they stop at looks rather fancy.
"This here is the Carousel Boutique! Rarity works here and she makes lots of dresses and stuff! They are all so pretty...let's go in!"
"Okay!" Sapphire agrees while proceeding to open the door. There is a bell that rings once the door opens. "After you, Miss Derpy." He ushers with a slight bow.
She smiles with a slight blush as she walks in. "Thanks Saph!"
Once they are both inside, Sapphire takes a look around. The place is really fancy; a place that would be a better fit for Canterlot than Ponyville. He also takes notice of music playing in the boutique that he knew well. However what really interests him is all the outfits and dresses. He looks in awe at the stylish dresses worn by some ponnequins.
"Wow, these dresses are really nice." Sapphire says while admiring them.
"Why, thank you darling!" Replies an angelic voice.
Sapphire and Derpy look around for the pony the voice belongs to, but don't see anyone at first.
"Uh...hello?" Sapphire says aloud, still looking around.
"Be right there!" The voice replies again.
Not many seconds later, a pony comes around a corner. When Sapphire sees he, he pauses in awe. She has a pure white coat with a purple mane and tail that are curled rather elegantly. Her eyes are azure blue and she wears eyeshadow that matches. She also has a pair of thin framed red glasses on. He notices her cutie mark are three gems.
She is absolutely stunning! She seems to sparkle even as she comes close. He couldn't look away the whole time she is approaching them.
"Welcome Derpy! How have you been dear? And who is your friend?" The pony says eyeing Sapphire.
Sapphire doesn't reply.
"Hello Rarity! I'm great and this is Dark Sapphire or Saph for short. He just came to Ponyville today!"
Sapphire still says nothing, still stuck in a small stupor.
"Well, it's very nice to meet you Sapphire and I must say I simply adore your coat! I've never quite seen a pony with your color. If you don't mind me asking, where are you from dear?"
Luckily, at this time Sapphire snaps out of his trance. "Huh? My coat? Oh, yeah most ponies are surprised when they see me around. And I'm not from anywhere specific; If I had to pick a place I'd stayed the longest, it'd have to be Canterlot." Rarity's eyes show a slight spark when he mentions that. "But I have to say, your dresses are amazing! I've seen clothing lines before and they pale in comparison to these dresses."
Sapphire notices a slight blush on her face upon hearing that statement. "Why thank you! I do take pride in the dresses I make. Would you like to see more?"
Derpy cuts in at this time. "We would love to Rarity but I have to show him the rest of the town. I want him to have an idea of the town before it gets dark."
"Oh, well that's fine dear. Maybe another time then Sapphire?" She asks with a smile.
Sapphire nods quickly. "Of course! I'd be happy to come back some other time."
"Great! And maybe I could make some outfits that might work for you. A black coat is one I've never experimented on. It would be a new experience! Ooh, I can't wait!" Rarity cheers with glee.
Sapphire chuckles at her giddiness. "Okay, then we will see you later Rarity."
"Yeah! Bye Rarity!" Derpy says exiting the boutique with Sapphire.
"Ta-ta! See you soon!" Rarity waves as the door closes.
"Wow. Rarity is quite something." Sapphire voices happily.
Derpy looks at him and frowns slightly. "So you like mares like that?"
Upon hearing that statement, Sapphire hesitates and looks towards Derpy. He notices her frowning at him. "W-What? I was talking about her dresses. I don't like her like that."
Derpy moves closer to him. "Are you sure? Cause you were staring pretty hard at her."
Sapphire blushes and turns his head away, mumbling, "If that's the case then it would be same with you..."
Derpy’s ears twitch slightly. "What was that?"
Sapphire snaps back up and starts to walk a little faster. "Nothing! Nothing at all."
Derpy glares at him, but he keeps his head turned to avoid her gaze. "Ok then. I have one more stop to show you before I have to go and this is one of the bestest places here!"
Just then Sapphire hears something coming from behind him, and it’s coming fast. Right before it gets to him he side-steps to the right and out of the way. Derpy wasn't so lucky and gets hit by what seems to be a cyan pegasus. They both start rolling before going to a complete stop. Sapphire rushes over to help them out but the cyan pegasus merely hops up and suddenly starts laughing at Derpy.
"Hah! Got ya good Derpy! Betcha didn't see that one comin huh?" Says the cyan pegasus. Upon closer inspection the mare has cerise eyes and a cloud with a lightning bolt as her cutie mark. But her mane and tail surprises him. She has quite a few streaks of colors like a light brilliant red, a light brilliant vermilion, a light gold, sap green, a cornflower blue, and a violet. She practically has a rainbow for a mane.
"Yeah, you got me good Rainbow Dash!" Derpy replies while getting up and dusting herself off.
Sapphire remembers Derpy speaking about her. She turns to him and smirks. "Nice dodge. Didn't think you could evade my sneak attack."
Sapphire shrugs. "Well, I sensed you coming, so I had time to evade. You were moving pretty fast though.”
She nods. “Ya new here?”
“I am. I'm Dark Sapphire or Saph for short. I assume you are Rainbow Dash?"
She puffs her chest out proudly. "Sure am! Fastest pony in Equestria, and the coolest!”
Sapphire raises a brow. "Fastest and the coolest huh?"
She smirks. "What, you don't believe me? Ask anypony and they will tell ya! I've never lost a race and I don't plan to!"
Sapphire merely shakes his head in amusement and decides to keep quiet.
Derpy speaks up. "So, what ya doin Dash?"
She stretches slightly. "Nothin. I was just relaxing on a cloud and saw you guys walking. I have to admit I've never seen a pony with a black coat. Is that your natural color?"
"Are those colors in your mane your natural colors? Cuz I've never seen a rainbow mane." Sapphire says while wearing a grin.
"Touché," Rainbow Dash says with a smirk. "So where ya headed?"
Sapphire shrugs. "Beats me. Derpy's showing me around.
Derpy chimes in. "We're going to Sugarcube Corner! Wanna come?"
She waves a hoof. "Nah, I just left there. Besides, I'm long overdue for a nap. I'll catch you guys later!"
"Later!" Says Derpy, waving.
"Don't sleep too long." Sapphire adds.
"Don't worry I will!" She says jokingly as she heads toward a lone cloud.
"She seems pretty lazy.." Sapphire thinks aloud.
"She is sometimes! She takes naps all the time!" Derpy says while giggling. "Anyways on to the next stop! The building right there!" Derpy points.
Sapphire turns to look and is astonished. There is a large building up ahead that looks like it's made of sweets. Even the sign looks edible. The sign says Sugarcube Corner only making him more convinced it is indeed made of sweets, but he isn't one for testing that theory out.
They walk inside and once in, Sapphire is attacked by so many sweet aromas that he feels he could develop a toothache.
"Wow! I smell a lot of sweets in here."
"Yup! This is the best place to get any kind of treat you want plus treats you've never heard of!" She says happily.
"Well, I have to say I'm very impr-"
Sapphire stops suddenly. Something peculiar catches his eye. In a seat not too far away is a purple and green dragon with emerald eyes merely sitting there. The dragon looks rather young and seems to be waiting for something, or someone.
"Uh...is that a dragon?" Sapphire asks aloud, while thinking he is probably imagining it.
Derpy looks and sees the dragon as well. "Yup! Hey Spike!" Derpy says while waving to the dragon and walking over. Sapphire follows closely in surprise.
The dragon turns and notices them. "Hey Derpy! Who is your friend? Never seen him before."
Sapphire is quite surprised at this dragon. Most dragons he encountered before disliked ponies extensively and didn't want to be around them, let alone live with them. Yet here one is, relaxing, in a pony establishment. This piques Sapphire's interest.
"Hello, my name is Dark Sapphire or Saph for short." The black pegasus says cordially while extending a hoof.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Spike!" Greets the dragon reaching out with his claw and shaking.
"Sorry if I sound too forward but...I don't know how to put this..." Sapphire pauses as he fumbles with his words.
"Let me guess...you are wondering how a dragon came to live with ponies correct?" Spike says flatly.
Sapphire's eyebrows raise. "Yeah! How did you know?"
Spike shrugs. "I get that a lot from ponies that come here. It's nothing new."
He nods. "Oh, that makes sense. So, care to answer that question if you don't mind? I'm quite excited to know!"
Now it is Spike who is surprised. No one was as eager to know this information before, except Pinkie- but that's how she usually is- and Fluttershy- but that's because she found him very adorable- and that makes the dragon smile slightly at his demeanor.
"I was actually hatched by a pony." Spike starts.
Hearing that floors him. "What! How did that happen?" Sapphire asks dumbfounded.
"Well, a unicorn used her magic and I hatched."
He elaborates.
"Wow! And who may I ask is this unicorn?" Sapphire asks getting slightly closer.
"Her name is Twilight Sparkle. Me and her live in the Golden Oaks Library just a little ways away from here."
Sapphire perks up at hearing a certain word from that statement. "There is a library here?!? Where? Is it big? Does it have a lot of different kinds of books? More than the Canterlot Bookstores?"
Spike rolls his eyes. "Oh great! Another bookworm."
Sapphire flinches at that statement. "Hey, I am not a bookworm!"
"You did get super excited when Spike said they live in a library and then ran on about books..." Derpy points out.
He blushes in embarrassment. "Uh...well...that's because I'm looking for some information and most libraries don't have it. I wanted to know if this library has the books I'm looking for." He says while looking away.
"What kind of books?" Spike asks curiously.
"Books like magic spells, dragons, maps of the areas around here and other things that might require exploring." Sapphire says with a hint of excitement.
"Still sounds like a bookworm to me. And besides, why do you want to study magic? You're a pegasus." Spike points out.
Sapphire hesitates and looks away. "I'm just curious is all.."
Spike is still skeptical but lets it slide. "Well, we don't have any books on dragons. I wish we did. Then I'd be able to know about myself more and if I get wings..." Spike says with a hint of disdain in his voice.
Sapphire is surprised by that statement. "You don't know what kind of dragon you are? Your hatcher didn't tell you?"
"She doesn't know. She couldn't find anything about my species." Spike replies, still a little down.
Sapphire nods thoughtfully. "Well, that is understandable considering you are quite a rare kind of dragon..."
Spike pauses at that, but then jumps up at him. "Wait, you know what kind of dragon I am?!"
Sapphire lifts a hoof. "I have an idea. You could be one of two dragons which are both rare. One much more than the other. I can't quite figure out which one based only of your appearance though. But just to be sure that you could be one of the two dragons I can make one observation. Do you by chance produce an emerald colored flame?
"Yes! I do!" Spike replies excitedly.
Sapphire tries to say something else when out of nowhere a pink pony hops over Sapphire's head and lands next to Spike surprising the three of them. She is holding a cupcake that has Sapphires in it.
"Here ya go Spikey! One Sapphire cupcake! Hi Derpy! Hi-"
The pink pony stops and stares at the black pegasus. After a few seconds of being stared at, Sapphire feels slightly uncomfortable so he speaks up.
"Um, hi there. My name is Dark Sapphire or Saph for short. Nice to meet you."
The pink pony says nothing for a few seconds. Then she gasps and smiles widely.
"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! You must be the new Pony that's moving here! Where are you from? Are you living in that house on the outskirts? I hope you like the decor! They told me it was a guy that was moving in so I made it as manly as I can! And since you are living here I have to throw you a party! It will be lots of fun! We'll have games and sweets and balloons and-"
Spike silences the ecstatic pony with his claw to her muzzle. "Forgive Pinkie. She gets excited whenever someone new comes here."
This might be that pony the two mares warned me about. And she was the one that put the furniture there? That's rather nice of her." Sapphire thinks, but then he smiles. "It's fine. So, I'm guessing you work here Pinkie?"
Spike removes his claw and she nods rapidly. "Yup I sure do! Did ya want something?"
Sapphire looks at the menu on Spike's table for a moment. "If you don't mind, could I have half a dozen brownies?"
"Sure!" She then turns to Derpy. "Did you want something too Derpy?"
Derpy smiles. "Can I have six blueberry muffins please?"
"Okay! That will be twelve bits each!"
Derpy tries to look for her bit pouch, but Sapphire stops her.
"I got it Derpy don't worry." He says while giving Pinkie twenty four bits. Pinkie smiles and hops away.
Derpy is surprised. "Are you sure? I don't mind paying."
"It's cool. Consider it my thanks for showing me around." He says smiling warmly.
"Gee thanks Saph!" She says while bringing him into a hug. Sapphire blushes slightly but returns the gesture.
"You two dating?" Spike asks simply.
The two pegasi pull away from each other immediately, blushing hard at the question. Sapphire speaks up first. "N-no! We are just friends! We barely met today!"
Then Derpy chimes in. "Y-yeah! And besides, he likes Applejack anyways."
"Yeah, and you shou- What?!" Sapphire nearly trips over himself after hearing that statement. He quickly turns to Derpy with his blush growing more intensely. "I-I do not! I just met her at the market and we talked! That's all!"
"But you were looking at her a lot and complimenting her." Derpy says while pouting.
"I was just saying the apples were good!” He retorts, but then mumbles, “and it isn't my fault she is kinda cute..."
Derpy misses the last part and continues. "And what about Rarity? You were practically drooling over her."
Sapphire blushes even more. But before he could say anything, Spike speaks up.
"Hey! Rarity is mine!"
Both pegasi turn towards the dragon. Spike, just realizing what he had said rather loudly, starts blushing as well.
"You are dating Rarity?" Derpy asks.
"N-no...well...not yet..." Spike mumbles while fiddling with his claws.
Sapphire becomes curious. "You like Rarity? Didn't expect that."
"What, you don't think I have a chance since I'm a dragon?" Spike says a little irritated.
Sapphire is surprised to hear that. "No. I don't think that at all. Why do you say that?"
Spike looks down. "Well, it's obvious. A pony and a dragon can't be together."
Sapphire asks, "Do you think that's true?"
Spike shrugs. "I don't. I think it could happen."
Sapphire nods. "That’s good." Spike becomes confused with that response but he continues.
"You shouldn't care what others think. All that matters is that you don't give up on what you want. I honestly think it would be pretty cool to see a dragon and a pony together." Sapphire says while nodding.
Spike perks up at hearing this. "Finally! Somepony that understands! So you think I have a chance?"
Sapphire rubs his head. "Honestly, I don't know. I don't know either of you that well. But I think you deserve as much of a chance as a stallion."
Spike smiles widely at hearing this. "Thanks Saph! I won't give up then!"
After he says this, Pinkie appears with Sapphire and Derpy's sweets surprising Sapphire slightly.
"Here ya go! Six brownies and six muffins! Hope you like them! Well of course you will! Cause I made them!"
Derpy smiles and grabs her bag of muffins. "Thanks Pinkie! And thanks for paying for mine Sapphire!"
"Anything for a friend." Sapphire replies happily.
"Oooh! We have a gentlecolt in here! Trying to woo Derpy are we?" Pinkie cooes while nudging Sapphire.
Once again he starts blushing a dark shade of crimson. "N-no! I was just thanking her for giving me a tour of the town."
"Suuuurrrreeee!" Pinkie says sarcastically, while rolling her eyes playfully.
"You guys sure like to embarrass others..." Sapphire mumbles and then looks at Derpy. Her head is facing down, a faint blush on her face as well.
"Anyways," Spike cuts in, "do you want to come to the library and see if any books are there that you want? Plus you could talk to the other bookworm in the town."
"I am not a..." Sapphire sighs. "Whatever. Sure we can go. Wanna come Derpy?"
Sapphire looks over to Derpy. She is daydreaming while looking up with a smile.
"Uh...Derpy?"
This time she snaps out of it.
"Huh? Wha?"
"I asked if you wanted to come to the library with us?" Sapphire repeats.
"Oh!” She smiles but pauses, “I'd love to but I gotta go. It'd be great if I could see you tomorrow though!" She says while smiling.
Sapphire was a little disappointed to hear that but smiles. "Oh. Of course. You know where to find me."
"Okay! Have a good time at the library!"
Derpy gives him one quick hug and then quickly leaves the shop, but not without first crashing into a table. "Oops! My bad!" She says sheepishly.
Sapphire just shakes his head and smiles. "She is one clumsy pony. It's one of her good traits."
Spike rolls his eyes. "Yeah if you consider her destruction good."
Sapphire merely watches until she leaves the store. Then he turns to Spike. "Anyways, ready to go? I can also tell you some good things about what kind of dragon you are on the way."
"Awesome! I been wanting to know for like forever! Anything special about me?" Spike asks as he quickly gets up and they walk out of the store, treats in claw and saddle.
"There are quite a few things that are special about your kind but first I want to know some things."
Spike shrugs. "Sure. what ya wanna know?"
"How old are you in pony years?" He questions.
"I'm 17. Why?"
Sapphire seems to go into thought at that. "I figured you were....also do you prefer to be small?"
Spike is surprised. "What? Of course not!"
Sapphire raises a brow. "Then why do you have a growth restriction spell on you?"
"WHAT?!? I DO?!?" Spike shouts in surprise.
"Well, yeah. You see..." Sapphire starts to explain but is cut off by three ponies, two of which ends up tackling Spike.
"Hiya Spike!" Says the unicorn that didn't attack the dragon. Sapphire notices she has a offset white coat with a mixed light pink and light purple mane. She also has light green eyes.
The dragon quickly removes the other two ponies and dusts himself off. "You two need to watch where you're going. And hey Sweetie Belle."
"Heh, sorry ‘bout that Spike." Says an earth pony as she looks at him. This mare looks like Applejack slightly. Sounds like her too. She has a pale yellow coat with an offset red mane and tail. Her eyes are a lively mixture of orange and yellow...kind of like a sunset. Very pretty in Sapphire’s opinion.
"It wasn't on purpose. We just couldn't slow down in time." Says the pegasus as she dusts herself off and relaxes. This mare has an orange coat with a cerise mane and tail. Her eyes are a grayish purple.
"It's fine." Spike says merely waving it off.
"Who is your friend Spike?" Asks the unicorn.
The three begin staring at Sapphire, which makes him slightly nervous.
"Uh, hi. My name is Dark Sapphire, or Saph for short."
"Hiya! I'm Sweetie Belle!" says the unicorn with a warm smile waving her hoof happily.
"Nice to meet ya Saph. Ah'm Apple Bloom." Says the earth pony with a wave.
"And I'm Scootaloo! Coolest pony in Ponyville...second only to Rainbow Dash of course." Says the pegasus with a smug expression resembling the mare from earlier.
The other two ponies and Spike roll their eyes at this statement.
"Well, I met the two coolest ponies in Ponyville today. I must be getting lucky all of a sudden." Sapphire jokes.
"You saw Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo asks excitedly.
Sapphire nods. "Yeah, she flew off a little while ago to take a nap."
Scootaloo looks down after hearing that. "Aww man I missed her. Was hoping she could help us get our cutie marks."
Sapphire didn't notice it at first, but none of the three had their cutie marks. It did rather surprise him since they looked like they should have had them by now. "Cutie marks huh? Sounds like you three are trying hard to get them."
"Of course! Everyone our age in town has theirs! We are the only ones who don't!" Sweetie Belle fumes, but then frowns sadly.
"I don't have mine and I think I'm about your age. Probably older." Sapphire says simply.
All three ponies look and gasp. Sapphire and Spike wonder how they didn't notice earlier.
"Whoa, you don't have one either! How old are you?" Scootaloo asks getting close to Sapphire.
He hesitates. "I'm 17..."
"Whoa y'all older den us but still don't have yours?" Apple Bloom questions.
He shakes his head. "Nope."
"Wow it must have sucked to be the only one in class without one. Bullies must have been a pain. Luckily we have each other." Sweetie Belle says and smiles at the other two mares. They smile back as well.
Sapphire turns his head at that. "Honestly, I didn't really have to worry about bullies and stuff like that."
All three ponies are surprised. "Ya didn't get teased in school at all?" Apple Bloom asks curiously.
Sapphire looks down. "To tell the truth...I didn't go to school."
The three ponies and Spike gasp, not expecting that response.
"Wait...why not? Didn't you have to go to school?" Spike asks.
“Yeah, your mom and dad made sure you went, right?” Sweetie Belle asks.
Sapphire takes a deep breath and sighs before replying. "My parents...they died when I was six..."
The ponies and dragon are speechless. None of them knew what to say. After a few moments Sweetie Belle speaks up.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know."
Sapphire didn't want them to feel sorry for him so he tried his best to put on a smile. "It's fine, really. Don't worry about it. Everything turned out okay now so that's all that matters. Even without school I still became smart by going to libraries and reading up on everything I could...well, I guess that does make me a bookworm in a way." Sapphire chuckles lightly at the realization and rubs his mane.
Everyone perks up at his sentiment. "Well if you are a bookworm then you would become great friends with our town bookworm!" Scootaloo says jokingly.
"Yeah! Ya should head over to the library!" Apple Bloom adds.
"We were heading there before you two tackled me." Spike says in mock irritation.
"We said we were sorry Spike." Scootaloo replies quickly with a frown.
Spike nudges Scootaloo. "I'm just kidding. Besides what are you three doing anyway?"
Sweetie Belle answers. "We had nothing planned; we were just walking and talking. Is it okay if we join you two to the library?"
Spike looks at Sapphire and he shrugs and nods. Spike shrugs as well. "Sure. Why not? Sapphire was gonna tell me some stuff about what kind of dragon I am along the way if you three wanna hear too."
The three ponies gasp. "He knows!?! Wow! Even Twilight didn't know." Scootaloo says excitedly. "So what kind of dragon is he?"
Sapphire rubs his head. "Well, I haven't exactly found that out yet. I do know he is one of two dragons. I was going to find out once we see this Twilight mare."
"Why do you need to see her?" Spike asks confused.
"I will explain that when we get there. But until then, I can tell you a very special thing about your fire." Sapphire says with a smile.
"Let me guess.. I can send letters through my flames?"
Sapphire is surprised by his response. "Wow, seems you know a little already."
Spike sighs. "Yeah, I always send letters from Twilight to Celestia."
Sapphire's eyes grow wide. "Celestia? As in Princess Celestia??"
"Yeah! Twilight is her faithful student and Spike is her assistant!" Sweetie Belle says happily.
That was something Sapphire didn't expect to hear. "Well, that's....pretty cool. But before we change topics, is that all you can do? Send letters?"
Spike looks at him in confusion. "Yeah, why? Don't tell me.."
Sapphire smiles, happy that he can at least tell him something new. "Before I tell you anything else let me tell you what exactly is so special about your fire. It's magical, and is called Spellbreathing."
Spike's eyes grow wide. "Spellbreathing? So I can use magic with my fire?"
Sapphire nods sagely making Spike chuckle. "You are correct. The spell you use for the letters I assume is a basic teleportation spell, one of the..smaller spells you can use. I believe you already know how it works so I'd say you mastered that spell especially since teleportation to long distances is extremely difficult from what I know. If you want, I could tell you a few more that you could perform right now, I'm sure."
"Whoa! Really? Yes! Tell me!" The dragon says happily while hopping up and down eager to learn new spells for his flame.
The other ponies are surprised as well. They never guessed that Spike can use magic. They also become excited to see what he can learn.
Sapphire nods and gets to explaining. He also starts to look around. "Okay then. First, I can tell you that your fire can become three types of flame hues. There is the destructive type, healing type, and teleportation type. Since you know teleportation, and I'm pretty sure you know the basic fire breath, let's teach you the basic healing spell.”
Sapphire notices a tree nearby. “That tree there. Follow me."
The three ponies and dragon follow Sapphire and once they get there, he turns to them.
"Okay, before I tell you how to perform the spell, I want...to...show.."
All of a sudden Sapphire grows quiet and merely stares past them in awe.
"Uh, Saph?" Spike looks at the stock-still pegasus.
Sapphire says nothing. He merely stays still staring behind them.
The group curiously turns around to see what or who he is staring at. Not too far from them they see a pegasus mare trotting along humming a tune. The mare has a yellow coat with a light pink mane and tail. She had the cutest happy cyan eyes. Sapphire can't see her cutie mark from the distance but the others knew it: three butterflies.
Sapphire is awestruck. She is the most beautiful mare he has ever seen. He thought Rarity is stunning but this mare has a natural beauty; the calm atmosphere around her highlights this and only makes her even more radiant. He can't pull his eyes away and he really wanted to know who that mare was.
"Hey Fluttershy!" Spike says while waving toward the pegasus.
“Fluttershy? That's Fluttershy? She is the one that lives nearby me! Wow, how lucky am I to be living nearby such a beautiful mare..." he says aloud absentmindedly.
"Beautiful huh?" Sweetie Belle says while eyeing Sapphire.
Sapphire blushes as red as Apple Bloom's mane. "Oh crud! You heard that? Um...d-don't tell her I said that.."
By then Fluttershy is in front of Spike who had walked a few feet ahead of the others. "Hello Spike. How are you today?"
"I'm doing great. How about you Shy?"
"Oh, I'm doing wonderful. And it's such a nice day!"
Spike nods. "Yeah it is. Hey, I want to introduce you to someone."
Fluttershy hesitates. "Introduce?” She notices another pony nearby and backs up slightly. “Oh. um...I don't know..."
Spike wraps an arm around her. "Come on Shy. He's a really nice guy."
"Well..." Fluttershy sighs. "Okay. If you say so Spike."
Spike and Fluttershy then walk up to where the four ponies are, Fluttershy slightly dragging behind before they reach them.
"Hey Saph. This is Fluttershy."
Sapphire looks at the mare and blushes slightly at her shy demeanor. "H-Hello Fluttershy. My name is Dark Sapphire or Saph for short. Nice to meet you."
The timid looking pegasus lets out a small squeak and then tries to hide her face behind her mane. Seeing this display makes his heart race slightly.
That has got to be the cutest thing I have ever seen!
"Hey Saph why don't ya tell her what you just said before she got here?" Apple Bloom teases.
Sapphire blushes immensely at the question. "I-I don't know what you're talking about!" He says and looks away. Fluttershy notices his rather red face and grows slightly curious.
"Are you sure? Because I could have sworn that when you were staring lovingly at her you were saying how bea-"
“Hey girls can I by chance talk to you three for a second?” He says cutting her off and starts to pull the three away before they could say anything. When he is far enough, he starts whispering.
"I'll give you each five bits if you act like that never happened."
"Make it ten and we got a deal." Scootaloo says with a smirk.
"Seven." Sapphire bargains still whispering.
"Nine!" Sweetie Belle raises.
"Eight!" Sapphire persists.
The three looked at each other before nodding. "Deal."
"You mares are some good smugglers. You know that?" Sapphire says while hoofing them the bits.
"Proud of it!" Scootaloo says with a smirk.
They then turn back to the confused dragon and mare.
Spike speaks up. "What were you guys talking about?"
"Oh nothing, just a little bet that we won." Sweetie Belle says happily.
Spike raises a brow but doesn't care to press further. "Okay. So anyways, Fluttershy do you want to chill with us for a bit? Saph here is gonna teach me how to use my fire! Turns out I can use magic!"
Fluttershy grows interested. "Oh, that's a surprise. Well, I'm not really busy at the moment. I guess I can stay and watch...that is, if you don't mind.." She says quietly while looking at Sapphire.
Sapphire could have melted from her words. "O-Of course you can stay! I'd be happy if you did."
"Oh, okay." She says with a warm smile.
It takes every bit of strength Sapphire has to keep from admiring her more as he begins. "Okay so where was I...oh yeah! I want to show you the differences of your flame when using different Spellbreathing. So, to start off we will do the magic externally since it's easier that way without a book. Spike you think you can make a fireball in your claws?"
Spike raises a brow. "Huh. Uh...I never really tried. How would I do that?"
Sapphire taps on his chin. "Hmm. Well to put it simply, it's like spitting except you use your fire. Can you try that?"
Spike nods. "Alright, I'll give it a try."
Spike holds out one of his hands and takes a breath. On the first attempt he makes a fireball land in his hand, surprising the group. It merely floats there like a large flame similar to one in a lantern.
Sapphire looks at the flame closely. "Okay that's good. Now even though the fire is outside your body you can still control it. Now I want you to focus and try to make the flame disappear. Just imagine it going away."
Spike merely nods. He closes his eyes, focuses and in a few seconds the fire flickers before going out. "Cool! I did it!"
Sapphire smiles. "That would be a useful trick when you accidentally burn something and want to put it out. I'll give you another example. Sweetie Belle? Can you hold that large branch straight up with your magic?" Sapphire says while pointing to a broken branch nearby a tree.
"Sure!" she complies while happily floating the branch in position all the while thinking, maybe I might get a 'helping a dragon learn Spellbreathing' cutie mark! Although, I have no idea what that might even look like..
When Sweetie Belle has it in place, Sapphire speaks up. "Now I want you to make another fireball and toss it on the branch. Now keep in mind that you can also control the spread of the fire and make it only sustain in one area, preventing anything near or connecting to the object to get burned. As an example try to make a specific design on the branch. Maybe a ‘S’ for Spike?”
"Okay! let's see. First make a fireball..." Spike quickly shoots out a fireball. Then he tosses the ember onto the branch and tries to focus. The fire stands at the top of the branch, only burning that portion of the wood. "Hey! I'm doing it!"
Sapphire smiles at him. "Great job for a first try. Now try making an 'S'."
"Okay here goes..." The dragon starts focusing and the flame starts moving along the bark, slowly making the letter. The others are staring in awe. It’s sloppy, but it’s an 'S'.
"Wow! Nice job Spike!" Fluttershy cheers.
"That looks more like a backwards two than an 'S'." Apple Bloom criticizes with a smirk.
"Hey! It's Spike's first time! Cut the dragon some slack!" Scootaloo says defending Spike.
"I think it was a good first try." Sweetie belle says while looking at it.
"Thanks guys. I'll get better with it over time." Spike says happily admiring his first time using his flame this way.
Sapphire speaks up as the flame soon disappears from the branch. "Alright now I'll teach you the basic healing flame. After that let's go to the library. Is it far?"
"Not at all. Actually, it's right behind you." Spike says pointing behind Sapphire.
He turns around and all he sees is a large tree. Then after a second he notices something strange on the tree: it has a window.
"That tree is the library? Heh, that's funny." Sapphire chuckles. "Anyways let's get this done so we can head over. We will need an example." He looks and notices a sharp rock nearby. He picks it up and proceeds to cut himself quickly, drawing blood. Everyone gasps in shock at him doing that.
"W-What are you doing? Don't hurt yourself!" Fluttershy shrieks with panic.
Hearing her show concern for him surprises him slightly. "It's fine Fluttershy. It's just a scratch." He says waving his arm.
Hearing Sapphire say that doesn't ease her concern, but she notices that Sapphire is smiling and doesn't seem to mind it. She calms down and decides to see what happens.
"Now, Spike make another fireball. After you do, focus on trying to make it heal someone." He explains.
"Okay, I'll give it a try." He proceeds to make another fireball and then focuses. After a moment, the dark green flame becomes lighter; a more lime colored green.
"There! Now I want you to throw that flame at me." Sapphire says, pointing to himself.
"Huh? You want me to throw this flame at you? Won't you get burned?" Spike asks confused.
"Just trust me I'll be fine. Come on." He says extending his hoof.
"Well, okay." He then throws the flame towards Sapphire.
When the flame gets close, Sapphire puts his injured hoof up to meet the flame. After it touches Sapphire, it engulfs the whole scar. Shortly after, the scratch heals and disappears. They all stare, eyes wide at his uninjured arm.
"That...was...awesome! Spike could totally be a doctor and heal everypony!" Scootaloo says excitedly.
"Actually, I don't think that would be the best idea. He has to be careful with his healing magic. It takes more than three times more magic than the others." Sapphire says while nodding to him.
Scootaloo looks over and sees Spike panting before he speaks up. "Yeah I can tell. That took a bit outta me."
Sapphire taps him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, it won't be as tiring when you get used to it. Oh, and by the way, you can also do all the magic internally before you breathe the fire. However, that is much more difficult and requires practice."
Spike nods at him, but then a thought comes to mind. "Say, how do you know all this stuff? And why have this info? Seems useless for a pony to have." Spike says quizzically.
Sapphire frowns but then shakes his head. "Well trust me when I say this; learning these things was far from useless. I've seen and fought plenty of dragons to prove that."
They all gasp, looking at him incredulously. "Y-you fought a d-d-dragon!?" Fluttershy stutters in shock.
"More than one honestly." Sapphire says while looking up and imagining all the dragons he has came across.
Everyone's eyes widen. "But...but you're alive! How did you live?" Sweetie Belle says in shock.
Sapphire raises a brow. "Well, by beating the dragons of course. They are one of the toughest things I've ever fought, but they aren’t impossible to beat. You just have to outsmart them. Fortunately I have the knowledge to do so. But, I did have a lot of close calls and had to escape a few situations as well.” He says while rubbing his mane.
"Wait..." Spike starts. "How many dragons have you came across?"
Sapphire looks up to the sky in thought. "Huh, I never really counted how many I've seen. But if I had to guess, over fifty."
All of their jaws drop at hearing this. "You fought fifty dragons?!?" They all say in shock.
Now it is Sapphire that is surprised. "What? No, no. I only fought like twelve of them. And three of those I had to run away from because they were too strong.” He corrects.
"So you still fought nine dragons and won?" Spike says still in shock at this proclamation.
Sapphire notices the surprised looks of each of them. "Well, yeah. I traveled a lot and saw all kinds. So, I read up on them more to survive. It's not that big of a deal."
“I think it is.” Sweetie Belle says with a smile.
“Ah agree. Ah’d be too afraid to fight one mah self.” Apple Bloom adds.
"I have to say that's pretty cool that you can beat one." Scootaloo admits.
Sapphire blushes slightly at the praise. "Thanks. It's rather surprising to hear the second coolest pony in Ponyville call me cool. I must really be having a lucky day." Sapphire says with a smile.
"Don't get used to it." replies Scootaloo with a smirk.
"Anyways let's head to the library. Twilight might send out a search party if I come back any later." Spike says with a serious tone.
Sapphire looks at him in confusion. "Are you serious?"
Fluttershy chimes in. "Oh yes. He is quite serious. Twilight can be a bit...overprotective. She almost went mad at a restaurant when she didn't see him go to the restroom."
"Yeah and now I have to announce it whenever I do, ugh." Spike says while rolling his eyes.
The other mares and Sapphire try their best to stifle their laughs. The three mares fail and fall on their backs laughing. After a few seconds of laughter and Spike saying "it's not that funny", they all head towards the library. From the back it looks mostly like a tree, but from the front it’s a different story: Windows are everywhere.
Spike walks up to the door and opens it. "Twi, I'm home!"
Out of nowhere a purple unicorn appears in front of them making them cover their eyes from the flash of the teleportation. Once he can see again he takes a good look at the mare responsible. She has a dark blue mane and tail with a strip of pink rose and violet in it. Her eyes are a dark violet and her cutie mark is a star with small sparkles around it.
"Spike! You're late! I was about to call up a search party for you!" The unicorn says angrily.
Spike turns and looks at Sapphire with an 'I told ya so' look before responding to the mare. "Sorry Twi. When I was out I met Fluttershy, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and somepony new that just came into town today. I wanted to bring him over to introduce you."
She turns and sees everyone and looks in surprise like she didn't even know they were there. "Oh, hey girls didn't see you there." The mares frown at that.
She then notices Sapphire and walks towards the black pegasus. "Hello there. I'm Twilight Sparkle."
"Hello Twilight. I'm Dark Sapphire or Saph for short." He greets with a smile.
"Nice to meet you Sapphire." She then quickly turns to Spike. "So did you do all the errands?" Sapphire is surprised at her quick change of topics.
"Yup. But forget about that! There is some cool stuff I have to tell you!" Spike says excitedly.
Twilight looks at him curiously. "Oh really? Like what?"
"Saph here might know what kind of dragon I am!" Spike says pointing to him.
Twilight ears perk up at this and she looks at Sapphire. "What? You do? What kind do you think he is?"
Sapphire pauses in thought. "Well, he is one of two dragons but I'm not exactly sure yet. Have you heard of a Grand Dragon?" He asks the mare.
The mare sighs before replying. "Yes, I have however, Spike couldn't be that type. He should have grown taller by now and had his wings grown in..."
Sapphire is surprised at this. It seems she doesn’t realize either. Before he could say something, Spike speaks again.
"Sapphire said the reason I haven't grown is because I have a growth restriction spell on me."
Twilight eyes grow wide. "What!? How? Since when?"
"Well, from the looks of it, since birth." Sapphire replies.
Twilight thinks aloud for a moment. "Maybe when I used a spell to hatch him, I might have mistakenly used another spell simultaneously." Then Twilight realizes something. "Wait, how do you know this Sapphire? You're a pegasus. You can't use magic."
Sapphire hesitates. "Oh, well...that's because...I read a lot! Yeah! About dragons and that seems like the best reason."
Twilight eyes him, but decides to let him slide with that explanation. After all, he seems to know about dragons that she could learn at this time.
"So if I reset that spell then he should go to his supposed height?" Twilight asks.
"I'd suppose so. Never actually seen it happen." Sapphire says while rubbing his mane.
"Well it wouldn't hurt to try." Spike says. "Let's give it a try Twi."
"Alright then. Now hold still." Twilight starts to focus and her horn begins to glow. An aura of purple magic envelops Spike, but then the purple aura leaves him and goes toward Twilight's horn and disappears. "Done. Turns out I did use the spell a long time ago. How do you feel Spike?"
Spike looks at himself. "Hmm. I feel the same. Do I look any different?"
"Ya look the same ta me." Apple Bloom says.
"Hmm. Well maybe-Ugh!"
All of a sudden Spike feels lots of pain and starts to change. His arms and legs start extending, bringing him taller than Twilight and about the same as Celestia. His chest becomes broader and his scales grow longer and slightly sharper. Two small horns sprout on top of his head and angle backwards.
Everyone stares at the not so little dragon as he slowly stands up again. "Ugh, what happened?"
"Whoa! Nice new look Spike!" Scootaloo says happily.
Spike is surprised to hear that. "Really? I need to see this!"
Twilight snaps out of her stupor and levitates a mirror to Spike. "You really do look nice Spike."
Spike examines himself and definitely likes what he sees. "Wow! I look great! This is awesome!"
Sapphire speaks up. "Not only do you look different but you are your supposed height and your Spellbreathing should be stronger."
Twilight looks at Sapphire surprised. "Wait, Spike can Spellbreathe?!?"
Sapphire looks at Twilight in confusion. "You didn't know? You make him Spellbreathe all the time from what I heard. With teleporting letters and all."
She shakes her head. "I didn't know that was Spellbreathing. I don't know much about it except that it's when dragons use magic."
"Oh, well if you want, I can give you two my book on dragons if you want it.."
Twilight beams at this offer. "Really? That would be great! I've been wanting to learn about the dragon Spike is!"
Sapphire frowns. "To tell the truth...I don't have the book that talks about the kind of dragon Spike is...."
Twilight and Spike become surprised and confused. "Wait, I thought you said you just did?"
He shakes his head. "No, I have the book that talks about Spellbreathing and the one that talks about Grand Dragons."
Twilight pauses. "Well, Isn't he a Grand Dragon?"
"No, he isn't. Look at Spike again."
She turns and looks at Spike. She examines him closely and realizes something major.
"No wings..."
Spike was too excited about his new look to notice either. "Aww man. Wait, if I'm not a Grand Dragon, then what am I?" He asks.
"You're a Harmony Dragon." Sapphire says with a smile.
Twilight gasps loudly with her eyes wide. "H-Harmony Dragon?!? He can't be!!"
Spike looks at her in confusion. "What's a Harmony Dragon?"
Twilight turns her head quickly to Spike. "Harmony Dragons are mythical dragons. They are so rare that there is little to no info about them. The last Harmony Dragon died before Celestia became the sun riser!"
Everyone present are shocked to hear this. To know that the dragon they know now is a legendary one is unexpected to say the least. Twilight turns back to Sapphire.
"How do you know for sure that he is a Harmony Dragon? How much do you know of them? Where did you get information that even Celestia herself does not have??" With each question she gets closer to Sapphire, making him nervous.
"Whoa, calm down." Sapphire says trying to calm the frantic pony. After a moment she starts to calm down. Then Sapphire speaks up.
"For one simple reason I know he is a Harmony Dragon is by his horns. They are the only dragons that have two horns angled backwards besides the Feral dragons, but those dragons only come in black and blow amber flame. There is also another way I can prove it...in a way I'm sure Spike here would enjoy very much."
Spike becomes intrigued. "How so?"
Sapphire smiles. "Give me one second." He then takes off his saddle and hops in it. Everyone's eyes grow wide wondering how in the world he did that. A few seconds later he hops right back out with a box. Before he can say anything however, Fluttershy speaks up.
"Um...I was wondering...if you don't mind...how did you do that?"
Sapphire is confused. "Huh? Do what?"
"Well, you um...jumped in your saddle and disappeared."
Sapphire hesitates. Crap! I forgot about that! I don't want them to find out my secret...I have to think of something! He thought.
"Oh! That's because....I uh...got it from a merchant! A unicorn merchant! He made the bag deeper magically. It cost a lot too."
Fluttershy smiles. "Oh, okay. That makes sense."
"So what is in the box?" Spike asks looking at it curiously.
Sapphire walks up to him and presents it to him. "It's a gem. I wanna give it to you."
Spike is surprised. "A gem? Gee, Thanks! What kind?" he asks while taking the box.
"It's a surprise and I'm sure you will be. Open it." Sapphire urges.
Spike did just that and opens it. As soon as he sees it, he gasps with his eyes wide. From the angle, no one else can see the gem, so Twilight speaks up.
"Spike? What kind of gem is it? I want to see before you eat it."
Spike snaps out of his trance and picks up the gem for everyone to see. Once they see it, they go in the same kind of trance he did a few seconds ago. The item is, in fact, a gem, but it’s no gem they've ever seen. It’s a perfectly round gem but the thing that made it so strange is the color, or colors. It has a multitude of colors; Just like a rainbow. After a few seconds Twilight snaps out the trance and turns to Sapphire.
"What kind of gem is that?"
Sapphire smiles. "It's a very rare gem. So rare that less than three are made every fifty years. It's called a Harmony Crystal. Dragons say it's the tastiest gem they have ever eaten."
At that, Spike smiles wide. "Wow! Thanks a lot Saph! But, I don't think I should accept this. If it's that rare, I wouldn't feel right taking it from you. After all, all the other ones might be eaten by other dragons and this might be the last one left for another fifty years."
Sapphire waves his concern off. "Don't worry about that. I gave it to you cause I consider you a friend." Spike smiles at that. "Besides, there are three good things that will come out of you eating that."
Spike grows curious. "Really? What are they?"
"I suggest you eat it and find out." He prods.
"Okay. Don't mind if I do!" The dragon then proceeds to chomp down on the gem crushing it with his teeth. The flavor for the dragon is indescribable. Better than anything he has ever eaten. He then takes the rest and devours it until there is nothing left.
"Wow! That tasted amazing! Thanks a lot Saph! Man I hope...huh?"
All of a sudden a white aura surrounds Spike. But before anyone could say anything about it, it disappears and leaves two noticeable changes on him. One, he looks more toned and stronger. His chest and tail are more noticeable than the other parts of his body. The other change is on his back. Twilight spoke up about this change.
"Spike! You have wings!"
Spike quickly turns to look back and he indeed sees a pair of wings. "What! Where did these come from?"
"It's from the Harmony crystal. It's made to bring a Harmony dragon their true strength and their wings."
Sapphire points out.
"So, that crystal is mainly made for Harmony dragons?" Sweetie Belle asks.
Sapphire shrugs. "I'd suppose so, the knowledge I have doesn't tell me how or when they were created. I'm still trying to find that out."
"So that means, Spike really is a Harmony Dragon..." Twilight mumbles, still slightly in shock about the information.
"Whoa. You sure do know a lot. You could probably rival Twilight in being a bookworm." Scootaloo says impressed.
Sapphire and Twilight both turn to Scootaloo, "I am not a bookworm!"
Everyone erupts in laughter while the two ponies sat there in annoyance waiting for them to finish. After a few more seconds they calm down. Spike speaks up first.
"But seriously though you are pretty smart. How did you have time to learn so much in a short time?"
Sapphire shakes his head. "I've had plenty of time to learn these things. Over ten years of mostly learning everything myself and traveling makes you smart in order to live."
Twilight raises a brow. "10 years? Yourself? If I didn't know any better I'd say you didn't care much about school or what you parents did to help you out throughout your life."
Sapphire frowns and looks down. Spike and the trio glare at the oblivious mare.
Twilight looks at them in confusion. "What? Did I say something wrong?"
Sapphire takes a deep breath before speaking. "Well, my parents died when I was six so I never had a chance to really enjoy school. Honestly, I didn't even finish one year."
At hearing this both Twilight and Fluttershy stare at him in horror. Their ears droop down, as with their heads. "Oh...I'm so sorry."
He didn't like seeing them down about hearing that. "Thanks, but it's not your fault. I found out in life that you have to accept things how they are and just move on. I don't mind talking about it, really."
Fluttershy speaks up this time. "Well, If you don't mind...can I ask how they...you know..."
He nods. "Have you ever heard of a town called Hoofton?" Everyone shakes their head no. "Of course you don't...well, have you heard about the Flame Massacre?"
Twilight ears perk up at this. "I've heard about that. There was a major massacre of an entire town and that town was burned to the ground by the attacker. It didn't say what town it was though."
Sapphire clicks his tongue. "Figures they wouldn't say the town in the news. But yeah that town was called Hoofton."
Twilight is still confused. "So where are you going with this?"
Sapphire’s gaze hits the ground. The others notice anger etched in his face. "That town is where I was born...my entire family was killed there. I was the only survivor of that town..."
Everyone gasps. "What?! That's horrible! But wait, how did you survive? I'm not saying that I'm not glad you are okay but why didn't the attacker come after you?" Twilight asks.
Sapphire sighs. Might as well tell the truth. They would have found out anyways... He thought before speaking up. "He did...I was stabbed four times."
"WHAT!?!" They all yell.
Sapphire flinches at their outburst, but continues. "Honestly I thought I was going to die too, but-"
*RING RING*
Before he could finish there is an alarm sound coming from outside the library.
Twilight knows that alarm. It only sounds when something is wrong with the town. "Oh no! Something is wrong!" Twilight says before running to the door. She opens it and looks around. She hears voices above her and looks up.
"Everypony please stay in your homes and lock all doors and windows! We are under attack by strange creatures! Protect yourselves and stay hidden!"
"Oh no! It's just like in Canterlot!" Twilight says while turning to the others.
Sapphire is confused. "Wait what's going on?"
Twilight rushes over to Sapphire. "We are under attack by changelings!"
Everyone gasps except Sapphire. He doesn't know what a changeling is.
"What! Why are they coming here?" Spike asks in slight panic.
"I don't know but we have to stop them! Are you up to help Spike?" Twilight asks the now rather large dragon.
"Of course! I can handle these guys no problem now!" Spike says confidently.
"We will help too!" Chimes the trio of ponies.
"I'll come too...though I don't know if I will be much help..." Fluttershy adds shyly.
"Good we will need all the help we can get. You think you can help Sapphire?"
"I'll try my best." Sapphire says with a nod.
"Great. Then let's move out!" Twilight says with a determined look before they exit the library.