There were a few things Sweetie could stand. Occasional pangs of pain? Manageable. Working out what to do for that Loop? Well, as long as she had her list...But a Dragon telling her exactly what he hated about ponies for an hour straight? Well, there was only so much patience she had.
“Could you shut up!” Sweetie gave Garble one of the most glaringest glares she could muster, watching him blink, and look to her glowing horn. Gulping, he looked away, and mumbled a quick apology. Sighing, Sweetie finally enjoyed the silence, watching the Crystal Empire from her tent as midnight finally ticked over. Stepping out, she began packing it up, casting the spell to make her bags bigger, and increasing her size slightly to match normal adult pony size.
“Here we are, without having caused mass panic too.” Smiling, Sweetie trotted toward the town, Garble slinking after her with a grumble. Looking around, Sweetie saw that while most of the city was asleep, a few places were still awake. If Sweetie had to guess, those were night clubs. She shuddered for some reason, and continued toward the only inn open at this time. Opening the door with her magic, she waited for Garble to get inside, and approached the Stallion who was reading a book behind the counter. Approaching it, she took out the money for the room. The Stallion looked between them, doing a double take on Garble.
“And here’s a little extra to cover my friend.” Smiling sweetly, Sweetie put a few extra bits on the table. The Stallion smiled, knowing the language of money well. Writing down their reservation, he held out a key, and escorted them to their room. Opening the door, Sweetie waved goodbye to the Stallion, and closed the door behind Garble. Sitting down on the bed, she yawned.
“You weren’t kidding about this place being mostly Crystal.” Garble was looking out the window with narrowed eyes. the glowing structures glittered in the moonlight. Smiling, Sweetie levitated out a gem for Garble, who took it and munched on it as he looked out. On his back was a saddlebag hanging off his wings. They were both filled to the brim with gems.
“I’m gonna get some sleep, wake me up when the sun is higher than the houses.” Lifting up the blanket, Sweetie slipped into her bed, nodding once to Garble. Glancing to her, Garble gave a nod, returning to watching the city. He seemed almost entranced by it. Closing her eyes, Sweetie focused on getting some sleep.
“Hey, wake up.” As she was shaken awake, Garble’s voice rang through. Groaning, she sat up and saw the sun was where she had asked him to wake her at. Stretching, a few of her joints cracked, and she smiled, unpacking her bag of most of her belongings to leave room for her to shop.
“Thanks Garble, what do you want to see first?” Locking the door behind them, Sweetie noticed Garble hadn’t unpacked his bags, and shrugged mentally. The Dragon seemed to eat a lot regardless, Sweetie wasn’t sure that they would last the week with that amount.
“I don’t know, you said you have some sort of book?” Looking to the Pony, Garble watched as she fished out a tourist guide book. Flicking through it as they headed for the desk, he frowned. Pulling out some bits, Sweetie paid for the remaining week, and turned to watch Garble as he stopped on a page, and turned it toward Sweetie.
“You want to see the tiny sheep? Well okay, you know you can’t eat them right?” Raising an eyebrow, Sweetie met Garble's glare of annoyance, and shrugged, leading them outside of the inn. As they walked, Sweetie looked at the various Crystal ponies, admiring their appearance as Garble and her walked.
“Wow, a Dragon.” Soon enough, ponies began to notice Garble, and he looked to Sweetie. Musing for a moment, she simply smiled, and stood tall and proud as they walked. Garble watched this for a moment, and then looked toward the small petting Zoo they were heading towards.
“Oh wow, look at them, they’re so cuuute.” Fawning over the multicolored sheep, Sweetie patted a bright pink one, giggling as it baa’ed at her. Garble watched this, and smirked.
“Look at them, so stupid, how could you find something so weak cute? I could kill one of these without breaking a sweat.” Smirking, Garble laughs as he picked one up, watching it baa in fright. Blowing fire slightly, he lit a tiny bit of the wool alight, causing it to smoke.
“Garble!” Glaring at the Dragon, Sweetie snatched the poor sheep, dousing the smoking wool with a small bit of water. Glaring at the Dragon, she watched as he looked toward the horrified expressions of the ponies, and rubbed his hands together. As they saw this, they screamed, and scattered.
Garble said nothing as he once more looked to Sweetie, who rolled her eyes and sighed, placing the poor sheep down and watching all remaining run away. Pulling out the tourist book, she flipped through it, and looked for something to do with no animals or flammable materials. Pausing on a page about a sprinting event they practiced for, Sweetie looked to Garble, showing it to him.
“Sounds like fun,” he smirked. Turning, they began to walk toward the large open area near the Stadium. Looking at it, Garble’s wings twinged for a moment, and he grabbed a gem out to munch on. Walking over to a Stallion with blue hair and a white body, Sweetie politely asked about the sprinting event.
“Oh hey, yeah if you want I can grab a few guards to race you. If you win, we give you a grand tour of the Palace. You in?” Smiling, he winked at Garble, who bristled under the challenge, and smirked, giving a nod. The Stallion whistled, calling forth five Stallions in armor. Saluting him, the Stallion grinned and turned toward the Dragon.
“Alright, a few ground rules. No flying, and stay on the track. Sound alright to you?” Winking, The Stallion once more watched as Garble removed the saddlebags being carried on his wings, and marched onto the track. The five guards took their places, and the Stallion thought of a final point.
“Oh! And no knocking out the other competitors, this is a nice, fair game. Got it?” Once more, The Stallion watched Garble, who nodded, preparing for the run. chuckling, the Stallion winked at Sweetie, who finally got a good look at his Cutie Mark. It was a shield with the same pattern as Twilight’s Mark.
“On your marks, get set, go!” Garble rocketed forward, running as fast as he could. Blinking in surprise, he watched as the ponies easily outpaced him, and he frowned, putting all his energy on running. Sadly, even while he got second place, he didn’t win the race. Growling, he leered at the first place soldier. Glancing to his commander, the guard used all of his training to stay in place.
“Rotten luck, you can try again if you want.” The Stallion smiled warmly at Garble, who turned his attention on him, clenching his fist as smoke left his nostrils. Sweetie stepped between them, narrowing her eyes at the Stallion.
“Are you by any chance related to Twilight?” As Sweetie watched, the Stallion's eyes widened, she knew she was right on the money. Thinking back to her faint memory of Cadance's wedding, her mind clicked, and she remembered the name. Smiling, she realised she should have recognised him earlier.
“You’re Shining Armor! I remember now. I’m Sweetie Belle, Rarity’s sister.” Giving a warm smile, Sweetie saw Shining do the same, giving a chuckle as they both reconciled. Sure, they hadn’t really spent much time knowing the other, but it was amusing to realise they had forgotten the other.
“Well in that case, let me give you a tour of the Castle regardless, Cadance will be thrilled to see you, I’m sure.” Shining smiled, and then frowned, looking Sweetie over.
“Why are you...older than I remember?” Frowning, he watched as Sweetie concentrated, shrinking to her old age. Blinking away the magic, he turned, and began leading them to the Castle. Garble followed, glaring at the both of them.
“Sweetie Belle, it is so nice to see you again. And you’ve got your Cutie Mark, congratulations!” Cadance smiled at Sweetie, who stayed small for the purposes of the visit. Giving each a beaming smile, she looked to Garble, noticing him trying to sneak looks at the rooms.
“Mind if we get a tour?” Giving a smile, Sweetie watched as the two adults jumped to action. As they were escorted around, Sweetie was interested, hearing about the various history, even on how it came to be. Garble listened to this quietly, a permanent frown on his face.
“And we’re back at the entrance, which brings me to a question, if you don’t mind Sweetie. Why are you here alone?” Cadance frowned, and Sweetie begrudgingly gave Cadance her Looping note. Returning to an adult size, Sweetie waited as the two read it, and blushed deeply. Folding the note back up, they coughed as Sweetie retrieved the note.
“Well, you have fun exploring The Crystal Empire...Sweetie.” Giving an embarrassed farewell, Sweetie followed Garble back to the inn just as it become dinnertime. Dropping by a fast food place, Sweetie grabbed herself a meal, and followed Garble up to the room, where they ate quietly.
“Garble, can I ask you a question?” Raising her head, Sweetie looked to Garble, who gave a nod.
“Why do you insist that you hate Ponies?” Looking him honestly in the eyes, she watched him visibly cringe, dropping various gems on the floor. Glaring at her, he growled.
“Garble,” she said simply, no opinion in her voice. Pausing, Garble growled once more, picking up the gems quietly. After finishing that, he walked over to the window, and looked out it.
“Because I’m the oldest Dragon of the hatchlings. They expect me to hate them.” After speaking, Garble sat back down on the bed, continuing to eat. Sweetie did the same, silence between them.
“What do you really think?” Their eyes met, and Sweetie simply looked at Garble. Giving another sigh, he looked to the window.
“I think you are interesting creatures, capable of so much, and yet so weak. How can something so weak create an Empire as strong as you have? Just don’t repeat this, okay?” Looking toward Sweetie, Garble blinked as she gave a smile, and nodded. Taking a bite of their food, the silence turned into a warmer atmosphere, and the two decided to enjoy the week, and nothing more.
“You’re still namby pamby though,” he commented, and Sweetie snorted, covering her amusement with another bite of her food.