Neltharion found himself once again lost in the throes of nightmares as he slept that evening. This time he watched from behind the foggy veil in his mind, as his body assumed the form of a human noble. Now from this removed perspective he could see the delicate strings that made him dance to some sickening tune, flattering the nobles of Lordaeron and slowly consolidating power. It was a chain, he realized, as the old gods manipulated him, into manipulating others, never was anyone more than a simple tool to be used.
It rebelled against every instinct to see himself cavort about at parties, taking to the delicacy of royal and political intrigue like a bird to the air. The humans found him attractive, friendly, even humorous. The mask he wore in those days had long since burned away, and he felt no loss at the death of the persona. The personality of the human was as foreign to him as the face it wore.
"I am Lord Daval Prestor." The human turned, to look down upon him. "I am Neltharion."
"You are not me, and never were. You were merely a construct, a shape I was twisted into, to play a role in some crooked scheme." The dragon growled back.
"But oh how they loved me. The popularity, the respect, the prestige I gained simply because I did not run from it. You know the kind of social creature we can be, you could have the ponies bending to your every will, not by threat of destruction but by love and adoration." The handsome man grinned.
"And even still they will be merely tools, to be used when they are useful, and cast aside when they are not. You are a symptom of my illness Prestor, and I will suffer neither your presence nor advice." Neltharion rumbled, snorting smoke in his anger.
He awoke then, finding himself once more within the comforting hollow of a cave beneath a cottage. He stretched out, and began his routine of picking gems from his steadily growing pile to eat for breakfast. Absently he wondered what he would do today. He had worked hard the day before, perhaps he should relax. It wasn't like he felt his gift was very well appreciated.
He shook himself from those thoughts. He had made an effort to pay her back, she said the debt was nonexistent, he was done. There was no need to give her anything else. "Nelly!" Came a shout from the mouth of the cave, which echoed horribly. "Are you awake in there?"
With a growl he pulled himself up the incline to the surface, blinking against the light as he came face to face with the pink pony from the other day. "What?" He growled, doing his best to intimidate the source of his auditory discomfort. Predictably it failed.
"I just wanted to see if you were awake silly, it's hard to tell since the cave is so dark, and Flutters said you don't like ponies going in there." She said rapidly, still talking far too loudly for his tastes.
"Must you be so noisy about it?" He grumbled, moving past her into the open air.
"Oh don't be so grumpy-wumpy, you remind me of Cranky Doodle. He was really well... Cranky too, it took me ages to get him to be my friend." She yammered on, following him as he walked around the house. "I tried absolutely everything, but nothing worked, he just got more and more upset with me."
"I can only imagine why." The dragon growled in irritation.
"Oh but then I found him a mare-friend, or a donkey-friend, what is the word for that?" she paused.
"Mate? Consort? I don't know." Neltharion supplied, wincing at the fact that he inadvertently encouraged her.
"Right well, anyways, I found his old lover, and reunited them, and they are both so not cranky anymore." Pinkie said smiling.
"That's wonderful." The dragon said, obviously not impressed by the story.
"Oh but listen to me getting side tracked, I'm here to invite you to a picnic!" She said, suddenly in his face once again.
"I dislike parties." He replied evenly.
"It's not a party silly, it's a picnic." Pinkie said, getting only a blink in response. "See a picnic is when a bunch of friends get together outside and set up a blanket to lay on, and have lunch and snacks and play games and just enjoy the great outdoors."
"That sounds like a party." Neltharion said, pushing past her again.
"Fluttershy will be there." Pinkie said grinning.
"You say that as if it will somehow change my mind." he called over his shoulder. "I dislike social events of all sorts, I prefer to keep to myself, or at the very most, one or two others."
"Well what about six? Or seven since Spike is coming. Seven isn't that much right?" Pinkie pleaded.
Neltharion paused, considering his options. The nightmare still hung fresh in his mind, a reminder of how twisted he was before, even when he wasn't overcome with megalomania. The very idea that some part of him was still corrupt terrified him. He feared he would one day he would wake up and hear those voices again, and he'd end up manipulating those around him or worse.
The 'run away' approach wasn't merely because of his sudden lack of power. He feared himself more than anything in this entire peaceful world. Running from the party was more from an effort of avoiding incinerating ponies left and right for invading his personal space. After all it's better to be known as a coward, than to be known as a mass murdering psychopath.
Still, the fact that he was aware of the problem was a boon, he could monitor all of his actions and reactions, trying to ensure he didn't cross a line along the way. A single minor party didn't seem dangerous, and if it were outdoors, there would be plenty of space, and likely plenty of quiet. He wondered a moment if they had chosen a picnic knowing his bad reaction to the previous surprise party.
"Alright, fine." He relented, seeing a massive grin appear on Pinkie's face. "Lead the way."
She did so, quickly pulling him along the path towards town. The deviated before they hit the main streets, skirting around the edge of town and winding towards a hill near Sweet Apple Acres, where the others who would be attending were already setting up blankets and food.
The group gave him kind greetings as he approached, and Pinkie Pie rushed ahead to help set up. Not knowing what to do he moved off to one side and watched the proceedings. Spike was chasing after Rarity, a common occurrence judging by the many eye-rolls it brought about.
Eventually Twilight broke from the crowd and approached him, giving a gentle smile as she did. "Glad you could make it, I know Pinkie can be a little overwhelming."
He gave a small snort in response, a single trail of smoke letting the pony know her statement was understated.
"So uh, I heard about the hot spring you built for Fluttershy." she began. "Rarity told me." She added seeing his inquiring look.
"I felt she'd be more comfortable if she didn't have to go into town to visit the spa." He admitted.
"Ah, that certainly is more convenient, and less expensive. Still, she does enjoy going into town to visit her friends." The unicorn said.
"As she has informed me. I don't particularly understand it myself, she seems only marginally more comfortable with crowds than I do, this way her friends can visit her if she wants to see them." He grumbled, turning to look over the orchards.
"It does worlds of good to sometimes step outside of your comfort zone, like you are doing today." Twilight added. "I was quite the recluse when I still lived in Canterlot, I didn't have any friends at all and I was content with it. Now I wouldn't trade them for the world."
"Still, if you want Fluttershy to like you, merely spending time with her is enough. I hear you help with her animals, that's a good start." She smiled at the dragon.
"I don't care if I'm ever anything more than Neutral with her, she merely owns the land I'm staying on, I wanted to... pay rent." He said dismissively, as the unicorn moved back towards the others.
Applejack came over next, casually walking over to sit next to the dragon as he stared over the fields. "A real thing of beauty ain't they?" She asked.
He gave a small snort in response. "Your southern orchard has less than optimal levels of nitrogen."
The orange mare was caught off guard for a moment. "Well we were having rather low harvests from that field for a while. I guess I'll get Big Mac to help me mulch it this weekend, thanks."
"It was just a casual observation." He replied.
"You're not one for conversation are you?" She asked.
"I enjoy peace and quiet." He said simply.
"So I've heard, rumor has it you built quite the extravagant gift for Fluttershy." She probed.
The dragon gave a low growl in response, not willing to repeat the conversation.
"Well we're all planning on putting it to good use this evening." She continued.
"I'm sure you'll enjoy it. I even abstained from adding sulfur to the water source, despite the health benefits." He said, missing the point once again.
"You aren't upset that we might be the first to enjoy it, rather than Fluttershy?" She asked.
"I built it for her to use as she sees fit, including sharing it with her friends. Why would this be a problem?" He countered.
The earth pony merely shrugged and returned to the festivities.
Eventually he was dragged forward, and forced to join in with some of their games. He failed miserably at charades, getting some odd looks when he guessed Pinkie was pretending to be a 'Murloc'. He didn't quite understand the purpose of flying a kite, nor did he really appreciate Rainbow Dash's stunt flying. Although hearing her claim to be '20% faster' than some other fliers lead to her forever becoming known as 'the Paladin' in his mind.
He spent a short amount of time teaching Spike how to better distinguish between gems for eating, and gems for hoarding, and the two got onto the subject of gold.
"Dragons are naturally lured by beautiful shiny things." Neltharion said, getting Spike's full attention. "We tend to go after anything we decide we covet with all of our rather potent amount of force, which can get us into trouble."
"I know better than to steal, I got carried away with that once, and nearly wrecked the village because of my greed." Spike replied.
"It's a good thing you snapped out of it. Adult dragons usually break the whelps of this habit young, as whelps usually have many siblings that they fight with. Regardless, gold is something of a vice for dragons. Where gems are a food source, stacks of gold are how you generally boast to others about how big and mean you are." He said, noticing he had drawn the attention of a few ponies as well.
"Why is that though? Why is gold such a status symbol among dragons?" Rarity asked, quite interested.
"Most species covet gold, yes?" Seeing nods of agreement from Rarity and Twilight. "Unlike gems that lose their magic as a dragon sleeps on them, gold doesn't get worn away. When you steal from a dragon, most of the profit comes from its gold. A dragon generally gets to keep only what gold it's strong and smart enough to hold on to. If they acquire more than they can keep, it's stolen, either by adventurers or other dragons. So having a big hoard of gold is like saying 'Come at me, I can take you.'"
"That seems rather... competitive..." Fluttershy commented, getting appreciative nods from her friends.
"So if you don't have any gold, does that mean you aren't very mean?" Rainbow Dash joked.
"I suppose I could take gold from Ponyville, but I'm trying to be nice." He sneered at the cyan pony.
"You aren't doing a good job of it." The chromatic pegasus muttered.
"Rainbow!" Twilight scolded her friend.
O~O~O~O~O
Eventually the picnic ended, and those present split up after agreeing to meet at Fluttershy's cottage for a dip in her new hot spring.
The yellow pegasus found herself wandering the marketplace of Ponyville, looking for fresh produce for dinner. Her mind wandered to her guest. Angel bunny didn't seem to like him, although they had a rough start, and Angel wasn't the nicest of animals.
Her friends seemed more understanding, Twilight was the most patient with him, likely understanding his predicament. It seemed obvious to everypony that the dragon was used to isolation, much like the unicorn once was. That and he appeared to be a wellspring of information on dragon behavior, which even Fluttershy had to admit to finding fascinating.
Rarity seemed to enjoy discussion on gems and minerals with him, although she could tell he bothered the pony with his lack of cultural knowledge.
Applejacks seemed neutral, as did Pinkie, who never let attitude stop her from making friends.
Rainbow Dash appeared to be the only one who refused to look past the rough exterior of the black dragon, but Fluttershy had to admit she found the cyan pegasus rather abrasive at times herself.
He would likely be the topic of conversation that night, in the hot springs among the mares, so Fluttershy felt she needed to prepare a response. But what was her opinion on the new dragon in Ponyville.
A part of him terrified her, like a full grown adult dragon would, especially seeing his teeth and claws. Looking at him, despite his size, she felt he was positively ancient. He likely was old, Twilight said he was a 'drake' and reaching that stage physically took hundreds of years. That fact made her heart go out to him though, fearing he had lived alone for all of those hundreds of years. She wondered where he had come from, he had said he was chased out of 'dragon mountain', but where did he live before that?
Despite the heartless exterior he wore, she was certain there existed kindness within him, almost as if her element called to her from within a very thick shell. It shone through with his sweet, albeit misguided, gesture of giving her a gift.
She came out of her musings before a rather unusual stall in the market, selling antique odds and ends. As she passed the afternoon sunlight gleamed off of an object and made her stop to investigate. It was perfect, she thought, as a gift for the displaced dragon. She cringed when she noticed the price tag, it would take up a lot of her budget for this evening's meal, but one night of hay and what remained in her pantry wouldn't hurt.
Smiling she made her purchase, hoping the gesture would help kindle whatever kindness existed in the dragon.
O~O~O~O~O
It was dark by the time the six friends had all gathered at Fluttershy's cottage, chatting excitedly as they walked the stone path to the hot spring. Fluttershy had gone ahead earlier and lit the torches, which now attracted fireflies and added to the ambiance. Crickets chirped happily as the six mares each entered the warm water with a sigh, agreeing that this was by far the best gift any of them had received in a while.
"I can't believe he built you this so you'd stop going into town, what a jerk." Dash remarked, floating about on her back.
"He knew going into town made me anxious, he was trying to help." Fluttershy defended.
"So he's not a jerk, just a coward, that thinks you fix problems by avoiding them." Dash amended.
"He really doesn't get social convention does he?" Rarity pondered out loud. "But given what he told us of dragon culture, it's rather expected he be... beastly."
"Ah c'mon girls, you know males in general can be rather dense, I wouldn't pin this on him just being a dragon." Pinkie laughed, getting chuckles of agreement from the others.
"Could you imagine Big Mac trying to come up with a gift for a mare?" Applejack added, causing the giggles to grow in volume.
"Where do you suppose he came from? Before dragon mountain I mean." Twilight asked the group.
"Oh! What if he's from a whole other world!" Pinkie suggested, getting eye rolls from the others.
"I don't know, but I can easily imagine him moving around a lot." Fluttershy said.
"Because he's always running away." Dash added.
The conversation eventually branched into other topics, and soon enough the evening drew to a close, with six very relaxed mares returning home.
Fluttershy found herself in her kitchen, looking at the gift she had gotten for Nel. He hadn't returned from wherever he was, and she didn't want to leave it outside of his cave. She pondered waiting for tomorrow to give it to him, but on a whim she decided to venture into his cave, and leave it near his hoard. Rising from the table she left through the back door and went over to her former cellar.
A soft "Nel?" got no response from the pitch black cave before her. She listened closely but heard no gentle snoring either. Taking a deep breath, and stealing herself, she ventured inside, down into the depths of the hardened clay cavern. It really did feel like a cave, from the inside, and she could almost imagine the sound of steady 'drip drip drip's in the background.
Finally she reached the now rather sizable pile of gems at the back of the cave which he used as a bed. She gave a small smile and placed her gift in front of it, and turned to leave. She had to bite back a shriek as she came face to face with two glowing red eyes in the darkness.
"What are you doing in my cave?" Came a rather frightening rumble that echoed through the darkness.
"I-I was j-just-" She stuttered, unable to find her resolve.
"I don't like having intruders in my cave!" He raised his voice, causing her to tremble even more.
"I-I..." She broke off, unable to even speak.
"Get... Out..." He growled, and the yellow pegasus took off at a gallop, leaving the dragon alone in the dark.
Neltharion collapsed on his gem pile and breathed deep. Exhaling he let a gout of fire wash upon the clay floor before him. It had taken every scrap of willpower to remain in control, when he found an intruder within his cave. Every instinct, every muscle, even his very magic had screamed at him to attack immediately. Having waited to see who the culprit was, he was glad for his decision not to.
Still, he had likely traumatized the pony, who had in all fairness been foolish enough to wander into his cave. They would need to have a talk... in the morning, when things had calmed down. He made to fall asleep when a small glint in front of his hoard caught his eye in the dying firelight. A small metal pony, made out of gold.
She had been bringing him a gift.
They would need to have a talk... in the morning.