With all in agreement to Twilight’s plan, and with passing payment for his savory roll, Xarzith soon found himself being led from Sugarcube Corner by the three. The stallion trailing a few hooves behind as he listened to the various pointers Twilight was giving him… which he had in no way asked for, one might add.
What followed were a few minutes spent in idle walk-and-talk before ‘Ponyville Park’, as Twilight had pointed out, came creeping into view. It was a park as ordinary as one might’ve expected it to be upon exploration, with grass, a small pond, a few trees scattered about the place, and a path and a stream leading through the center of it.
The park itself came into view about the same time that the rest of Twilight’s apparent group of friends did… all two of them? Their definition became clearer as they approached, while Xarzith’s unease simultaneously increased as well. The first of the two was a cyan pegasus sporting a rainbow mane, as in a literal rainbow. She was, like nearly all of the very few pegasi that Xarzith had ever met, sleek and streamlined in her proportions. Though her toned muscles betrayed the undeniable fact that she was an exceptional athlete, even among the winged ponies.
The second pony, on the other hoof, was a stetson wearing earth pony with an amber coat and blond mane. She was stocky and well-built to say the absolute least, but if there was one thing that truly stood out about her to him, it was just how big her back legs were… as in ‘these could kick down a mountain’ big. Needless to say, getting into a fight with either would generally come across as being a rather bad idea.
Unfortunately, given the way that the cyan mare was presently looking at him, such a thing seemed rather close to being unavoidable. She actually looked about ready put a hoof through the side of his face. Such a thing would’ve been impossible, but the threat itself was what mattered.
"Hey Twi… who's the new guy?" The pegasus mare asked, giving Xarzith a questioning look as she flew over, while he gave her one back. It was all but clear she didn’t exactly trust him, though for reasons that were as of yet unexplained. “He like some random news hound reporter or something? Cause if he is I can scare him off.”
Twilight just waved her hoof dismissively. "He’s a new friend, Rainbow, so please try and be nice. Xarzith, this is Rainbow Dash, element of loyalty, winner of the best younger flyer competition, and Wonderbolt hopeful. Rainbow Dash, this is Xarzith."
Rainbow just huffed and gave him a sideways look. “I’m watching you.” She mouthed.
"Simmer down ther’, Rainbow," the earth pony cut in with a chuckle as she came trotting over, apparently finding her friend’s actions somewhat amusing. Rainbow just snorted and headed for Pinkie Pie and her picnic basket in response. “Sorry ‘bout her,” the amber mare chuckled as she tilted her hat upwards, apple green eyes meeting the stallion’s red ones as a reassuring hoof was extended. “Truth is that Rainbow’s a nice gal, she’s just gotta get used to ya first is all; I’m Applejack, but friends call me AJ.”
Xarzith, after a short moment of looking the mare over, smiled and shook it. “Xarzith,” he grinned. “And thanks; for a second there, I was sure that your friend was going to start throwing hooves my way.”
“Hehe, wish ah could say that she wouldn’t, but being the element of honesty an’ all means ah’m a pretty bad liar.” The two shared a laugh before joining the rest of the small group, Pinkie Pie having already laid down a picnic blanket, and the plates holding her various assorted confectionaries.
Exactly how she’d managed it all so fast was an utter mystery, though it was one Xarzith personally wouldn’t mind remaining a mystery.
He made an effort to stay close to Applejack and Twilight. The chances of Rainbow being able to properly hurt him were slim to none, and that fact on its own would’ve caused problems and raised questions. Questions that were probably best left unanswered for the time being.
What followed was an otherwise friendly few hours of various explanations of how their little group of friends functioned, the flow interrupted only by either a bout of friendly banter, or the dishing out of yet another snack. It was during these few hours that Xarzith truly came to understand who he’d just saddled himself with; the Elements of Harmony, and Spike, savior of the Crystal Empire.
There had been mentions of them floating around the north since the empire’s return, but to hear the stories from Twilight’s mouth, to hear the tale of how she’d gone from friendship student to princess of magic…It was something of a shock, to say the least.
“So who exactly are Rarity and Fluttershy then?”
“They’re both friends of ours who live here in Ponyville,” Twilight answered swiftly, a cupcake levitating beside her. “You’ll meet them both eventually. Under normal circumstances they would’ve been here today, but every week they have a get together at the local spa to ‘refresh and rejuvenate’, and this picnic happened to clash unfortunately.”
“Eh, I guess you’re all never too far away from each other, so it doesn’t really matter… you know. I’m actually kind of surprised you’d tell me all this.” He stated once Twilight had finished her explanation, wiping his mouth with the back of a white hoof. “You do realize you’ve only just met me, right?”
“Hehe, well, if Pinkie Pie says you’re okay, then I’m pretty sure ya’ll are.” Applejack replied, with Spike, Twilight, and Pinkie nodding in apparent agreement.
“I still don’t completely trust him,” Rainbow muttered from nearby, now munching on a slice of chocolate cake while she continued to watch him. “No offense of anything here dude, but Twi’s princess status has its way of attracting hangers on.” At that particular statement, Xarzith noted that Twilight suddenly blanched and shuddered. Exactly what or who Dash was referring to, the stallion wasn’t sure he wanted to know.
“Stop being a grumpy mcgrump grump, Dashie,” Pinkie Pie chided in her usual, all-too-happy voice, effortlessly bouncing over her lazing cyan friend like there were springs in her legs.
“Xarzy’s a nice pony.”
"Yeah, it’s okay Rainbow, Ice here’s pretty alright.”
Xarzith just chuckled and rolled his eyes, "Heh, I think you deserve another gem for that Spike,” Xarzith said with a smile, rubbing Spike's head. His bag quickly opened and Spike was soon hoofed his reward, much to the drake’s chagrin. Looking up though, he found Applejack’s face now tilted a little and her eyebrows arched, her state of confusion clear for all of Equestria to see, while Rainbow Dash’s ears had swiftly perked up in equal interest.
“If ya’ll don’t mind me asking, why’d Spike call ya Ice just now?” Applejack asked, an edge of suspicion creeping into her voice.
Xarzith just shrugged and rolled his eyes; some things never did change. "Because Xarzith Ixen happens to be draconic for Ice Fire, and no, this isn’t some kind of joke, I speak the tongue fluently," the stallion replied simply, nodding to where Twilight and Pinkie Pie were sitting. “We had quite the discussion about it earlier… I’ll tell you both at a later date. Nothing personal, but saying the same thing over and over again gets tedious.”
“He isn’t lying either,” Spike offered, licking one of his claws clean of diamond dust. “Just about gave Twi a brain-attack earlier,” The mare in question snorted indignantly. As one could’ve expected, Applejack’s eyes widened ever so slightly in response, while Rainbow Dash actually sat up.
"Tch… well… heh, ah’ll be darned if that ain’t a first."
“Yeah. That’s… kinda cool, actually,” Dash put in, now looking a little more curious, and a little less wary. “How’d you end up with a dragon name? And where in the hay did you learn to speak dragon?”
“Uh, short answers; my parents gave it to me, and my parents taught me.”
Both mares shared a confused look for a moment, before facing him yet again. “Your parents gave you a dragon name and taught you to speak dragon?” Rainbow asked, both of her eyebrows rising as she spoke. “Are you trying to pull somepony’s leg here?”
“A dragon saved my dad’s life once,” Xarzith groaned. Why did everypony have to ask that question? “She let him take shelter in her cave when a blizzard came blowing through, and he decided that giving me a dragon name would be a way of honoring her.”
Rainbow Dash, once again, blinked in surprise, though this time it didn’t so much of ‘yeah right’ kind of blink. “Wow… now that’s pretty cool.” She murmured.
Applejack, however, didn’t seem to share her awing reaction. Her front hoof was now rubbing her chin while her apple green eyes scrutinized him, her unyielding gaze causing the stallion to fidget ever so slightly. Thankfully, before the amber mare could venture anywhere further down that path with her curiosity, Xarzith’s prior charity toward Spike seemed to render karma on his side, for once.
“You? Saying something’s cool that doesn’t involve either yourself or flying?” Spike asked in mock amazement, a scaly claw pointing at the pegasus pony. “Who are you and where’s Rainbow Dash?” Dash blushed, and appeared to mutter a few words under her breath, as her other three friends promptly burst out in a round of laughter at the dragon’s part-joke-part-tease. As proud as she seemed to be, Rainbow did appear to have a few soft spots.
“Well, I’d actually be really surprised at that if we, hehe, didn’t live in Ponyville.” The cyan mare snickered, sticking her tongue out in her friend’s direction. She then turned to the stallion. “You’re gonna want to keep your head screwed on around here; Ponyville is the biggest weirdness magnet in all of Equestria… hehe, no offense or anything, but I guess you’re kind of an example of that.”
Xarzith just grinned and tapped his curved horn. “I guess so.”
“If I’m stuck between being feared and being an oddity, I’ll be the oddball any day.”
“Ya know,” Applejack started, removing her hat and laying it on the grass beside her, revealing more of her long blonde locks. “I feel a might foalish for not askin’ earlier, but what does bring ya here to Ponyville anyway? Travel? Personal business?”
Xarzith shook his head. “I’m actually in the process of moving here,” he answered, a response which drew yet another surprised look from the orange cowpony. “Again, long story short, I’ve ‘bought’ a vacant block of land in Ponyville, kinda waiting for the paperwork to be processed, and in the next few days I’m hoping to start building a house for myself.”
“I did mention you knew a thing or two about construction, AJ” Twilight confessed, sheepishly looking away from her friends.
Applejack just chuckled and face-hoofed at the embarrassed alicorn, while everypony else shared a chuckle. It seemed that her prior suspicions had been suppressed, for now.
“Should’ a known you’d say somethin’ like that, Twi,” she muttered warmly, before turning her attention to the stallion in question. “Ah’ll be honest and say we Apples ain’t exactly trained builders, but we can give ya a hoof with putting building frames up and that sorta thing.”
“I made Twilight promise that you wouldn’t be lifting a hoof,” Xarzith smirked with a shake of his head. “I just want some advice, maybe a second opinion, that ‘sorta thing’, if ya’ll get me.”
Even Xarzith would admit that he did an utterly terrible Mild West accent, but it still drew an amused fluster from Applejack, as well as a few more chuckles from everypony else. Rainbow now seemed a little more at ease with him; the stallion quietly thanked Celestia’s alabaster flank for that.
As it was, Rainbow was also the first to recover from her giggles. “You know, for a stallion who’s just about the strangest pony to come through this town, you’re kinda alright,” she smirked. “So I guess we can let you stay for a little while,” then her eyes widened. “Actually, where the hay are you staying anyway? If you’re, like, building a house and all, where are you living between now and then?”
Xarzith just turned his head, and motioned in the direction of the Everfree. “Well, my initial plan was to make camp on the outskirts of the forest…”
Of all possible reactions the stallion could have provoked, he didn’t expect to be suddenly slapped across the face with a cyan hoof.
“Are you out of your feathering mind?!” Rainbow snorted as she hovered above him, her friends all sharing the same concerned look as she glared at him like an angry manticore. “Do you not have a brain between those ears? You go anywhere near the Everfree alone after dark, and there’s a high chance that nopony will hear from you ever again.”
“Eesh, take it down a few notches.” Xarzith huffed and rubbed his stinging cheek; it was officially true, Ponyville was the Equestria capital of crazy; even the mares were crazy! “I can take care of myself pretty well.” Rainbow Dash visibly fumed at the response, and looked about ready to gift him with another slap.
“And we ain’t sayin’ otherwise, partner,” Applejack explained gently, replacing her hat. “But the Everfree Forest ain’t a place you wanna be chancing at the best ah’ times, and especially not after dark… uh, tell ya what, we got a spare room or two back at the farm; ya can bunk there until ya place gets built. Ah’m not sayin it’s free, you’ll have to do a few things around the farm to earn yer stay, that’s the Apple family way, but it’ll be a roof over that head’a yers.”
"Thanks for the offer AJ, but I've been on the road enough that I'm used to sleeping on the ground. Besides, I enjoy the night sky. Kind of reminds me of home."
Applejack just gave him a look and shook her head. "I can respect that, but ah’m not gonna have no friend of mine get taken by that there forest. Ya can sleep under our trees if it tickles ya fancy that much, but by Tartarus ya’ll sure as hay ain’t sleeping out here.”
“You might just wanna say yes, Ice,” Spike cautioned from beside the stallion. “AJ’s the most stubborn pony in Ponyville. You’d have more luck trying to convince a brick wall to fall over. Twilight will second that notion.” To emphasize his point, the little dragon glanced over at the alicorn; Twilight huffed and nodded in silent reply.
The stallion ran a hoof through his blue mane. Truth be told, being caught between a rock and a hard place was nothing new to him, but Xarzith couldn’t help but feel… a bit more conflicted this time round. Applejack seemed to be a nice enough pony, and clearly seemed to have what she believed to be his best interests in mind. Which was a welcome change, but she was inadvertently venturing into territory that could very well end up causing problems. And then there was her sudden turnaround of attitude, which was still plaguing the back of his mind with questions. One moment she’d seemed unsure if not suspicious, and the next she was offering him a place to stay. Just what was going with this mare?
He mentally face-hoofed at the thought. “Now I’m just being paranoid.”
“Alright, I accept, but only because I don’t want to offend you.” He answered, taking not of the smirk and nod he received in reply. Why did this mare rub him all the wrong way?
…………………………………………………………………………………………
“Well ya’ll sure are talkative all of a sudden, now ain’t ya?”
“Just thinking to myself,” Xarzith huffed, red eyes tracing the darkening horizon through the trees. The sunset back in the mountains had always been more beautiful. Perhaps it was the height. “Just thinking about home and my family is all, kinda wondering how they’re doing.”
That statement was only partly true. There was no doubt in Xarzith’s mind that things hadn’t changed in the north, hay, virtually nothing had changed even after the Crystal Empire had returned… well, the blizzards had let up some, which was kind of nice.
Still, he knew not that much would’ve changed in regards to family life, which rarely did in that part of Equestria. Every day would’ve brought with it a challenge of some sort, more gems to be dug from the deep caves, a small hill’s worth snow to be cleared from the homes entrances, or maybe an ice wolf pack or two to be moved on.
Xarzith huffed. “Now I remember why I left.” The afternoon sun brought a pleasant warmth to the stallion’s back as the two ponies walked, a pleasant far cry to the cold that settled in the North’s dusk.
Having decided to accompany Applejack back to her farm, simply out of having nothing more too really do in town, Xarzith had since stored his cloak in his bag and then proceeded to follow her. Neither had really said much since leaving Twilight and Applejack’s other friends, the occasional comment perhaps, but nothing of any real substance. Still, he could sense the mare was uneasy about something.
Applejack like out a quiet chuckle. “Listenin’ to how ya’ll are sounding, I’m guessing that ya miss em’ all a lot.”
“When you’re a bit different, like I am,” he replied with a sideways grin, gesturing to his curved horn with a hoof. “You’re family love you no matter what, but others… well, that’s something I’d rather not think about.” Applejack nodded, but said nothing.
For a long moment, the two once again walked in a state of silence as the world passed around them, each seemingly lost in their own thoughts. Eventually though, the amber mare let out a long sigh and spoke again, though her question caught Xarzith completely by surprise.
“So how’d you actually come to get ya’self a dragon name, anyhow?” she asked with looking at him. There was no venom in her voice, but it didn’t across as gentle either. “Now before ya go an’ ask, no, ah can’t just tell when somepony’s lying, even being the element ah’ honesty… but I can tell when somepony’s trying to sidestep a question like ya did with Dash’s.”
“You noticed that, huh?”
Applejack nodded. “Kinda hard to miss, partner.”
Despite the slight jolt of unease, and a tightening of his chest, Xarzith kept his words polite and controlled when he answered. It was a question he’d been faced with before, only ever a few rare times perhaps, but a few times nonetheless. Most of those reactions had been of shock, or, if the asker saw themselves as part of the Equestrian ‘Upper Crust’, distaste. Celestia forbid what would happen if he told them the actual truth.
“What I told you wasn’t a lie. A dragon saved my dad, and my parents gave me my name… but what I didn’t say is my parents ended up making their home pretty close to that dragon. The mountains in the north where we live aren’t much better than the Everfree, so living near a dragon has its… well, perks. Uh, anyway, after my dad’s ‘incident’, they also became friends… of sorts… so that dragoness had a lot of influence on my dad.”
Applejack, much to his surprise, snickered. “If I was ya ma, I’d be wondering exactly which gal he was he likin’ more.” Her smirk died when she noticed the cold glare he was giving her. “Sorry,” she winced, looking away as they continued walking. “Look… ya don’t come across as havin’ any bad intentions, and ya seem like a nice enough pony… and I guess I just wanted to make sure that what I thought was right.”
The stallion snorted into the air. “I take that was part of the whole ‘come stay at my place’ logic?” he asked, tail giving an agitated flick. “Wanted to keep an eye on me huh?”
“Now don’t go bein’ like that,” Applejack retorted sternly. “Sure, ah’ had my qualms with ya’ll, but that don’t mean I don’t like ya as a friend. Yer’ a nice enough pony, and I really did want to keep ya safe from that forest… ah… ah just care a lot about my friends’ well bein’ is all.”
The stallion stiffened, and momentarily stopped walking, as the words struck an all too familiar cord. “You lost somepony close,” He said. Both ponies knew it wasn’t a question.
The Earth pony huffed and nodded, though not bothering to slow her own pace. “My Ma and Pa. Long time ago ah’ll admit, but still… kinda made me change the way I hold those close to me.” She seemed a little surprised when a white hoof found its way onto her shoulder, and even more so when her head turned back, and she found the stallion smiling at her. It was perhaps only a small and simple action, but it was reassuring nonetheless.
“I can understand that, and trust me, I have no intention of raising a hoof against your friends,” Xarzith chuckled, removing himself. “But look AJ, if I do the same, I’d prefer that you keep what I told you to yourself. It’s caused me a bit more grief than I’d like in the past.”
Applejack stood in silence for a moment, before, much to Xarzith’s relief, she smiled and nodded.
“Alright, ah’ think I can do that,” she grinned, gifting him with a friendly shove in the shoulder. “Now let’s get that flank o’ yer’s movin’, my dinner’s probably getting cold by now.” They both just chuckled and continued walking.