Chapter 2: In Which We Continued to Follow this Spoiled Brat Through His Miserable Life
Dudley always slept in on Saturdays no matter what.
When he woke up he had an early lunch and went back up to his room.
I'm not going crazy. But the show can't be that good.
He sat down at his computer again and managed to find the first few episodes online.
He watched through a few... and then a few more... and then a few more.
Every now and then however, he would pause the video and look over his shoulder to make sure no one was watching him. He felt very subconscious of himself, watching this stuff.
The third time he checked over his shoulder he saw Potter standing in the hallway looking at him.
Dudley swiftly closed his browser and turned around.
"Potter!" he said, gesturing for Harry to come over.
Harry came slowly towards Dudley.
"You tell one soul about this," said Dudley, waving his fist under Harry's nose, "And I'll hit you so hard that there won't be enough left over for your magic friends to clean up. Got it?"
Harry nodded and stepped out of the room. He had seen Dudley doing stuff he shouldn't have before and kept his mouth shut. But this was probably the weirdest he had seen yet.
He won't tell anyone. 'Specially not my parents.
Dudley spun around in his chair and turned the show back on. He was kind of, maybe, sort of... starting to enjoy it.
It had been a week now and Dudley was well into the second season of My Little Pony. He hadn't told any of his friends and both his parents were completely in the dark.
After he had finished the first season Dudley had decided that he definitely liked the show. But he was too ashamed to tell anyone, even the new girl at school.
She'd probably just tell everyone and then I'd be a laughing stock.
Harry had kept his mouth shut and, once he left for that school of his, Dudley had really started to get into the show.
It was bright, cheerful, upbeat and, whether he knew it or not, had some very nice lessons weaved into the story. It was very unlike his life.
Slowly his disposition began to change.
One morning, after Harry left for school, Dudley came down to breakfast with his parents.
"How did you sleep dearest?" asked his mother, her overprotective nature ever-present regardless of Harry's absence.
At first Dudley wanted to say Fine as he usually did. But then it was almost as if Applejack, walked into the kitchen, stepped up behind him and whacked him on the back of the head.
"You talk straight ta' yer elders now young 'un, ya' hear?"
"It could have been better," said Dudley, unconsciously rubbing the back of his head.
His mother looked worriedly at him, "I have noticed that you seem more tired in the morning."
"He's fine dear," said Vernon, picking up his cup of coffee, "We don't always get the sleep we should when we're that age. He'll grow out of it."
As Dudley sat down however, his father put down his paper and said, "So what are your plans today my boy?"
Dudley thought about it and came to the conclusion that he'd study a little after school and then come home. Ever since he had started watching the show his grades had been improving. This was because Dudley, with the help of Twilight Sparkle, was taking a little more pride in his own intelligence.
He told them this, after he had finished chewing, and then asked to be excused.
"But Dudley you've barely finished your meal," said his mother in shock.
"Thanks Mum," he said, "It was delicious but I wasn't really that hungry."
He left his mother standing in the kitchen with the half empty plate of food and worried look on her face.
As Dudley boarded the bus, he found himself easing into a chair nearer the middle of the bus rather than the back with his old buddies.
They're really loud. He thought to himself, And they kind of remind me of Diamond Tiara.
Dudley kept quiet while the bus picked up some more students. He was thinking.
Lately Dudley had been doing more of this. However he didn't actually notice it, that's why it was having such a profound effect on him. If he knew what was happening to him, Dudley just might have tried to put a stop to it.
"Can I sit here?"
He looked up to see the girl. She wasn't wearing her Pinkie Pie shirt, which Dudley now thought was kind of cool, this time. Instead, she was wearing a blue shirt with the word Allons-y! written on it.
Now that he understood more about what this girl liked, Dudley almost felt like saying yes. However just then one of his old friends cracked a joke and they all broke out laughing.
Dudley's eyes nervously darted towards the back of the bus, then he shook his head stiffly.
"OK then, see you later."
The girl sat down in a seat a little ways in front of Dudley and he breathed a sigh of relief and... disappointment?
From the empty seat next to him, AJ's gaze flicked between Dudley and the girl. AJ's sigh was barely audible over the screech of the breaks as the bus started moving again.
After class was over Dudley went to the library to study. He could see Twilight, who could barely contain her excitement, dancing nervously in front of the door, waiting for him to open it.
A while later he was sitting at a table reading his history text book. He was so engrossed that he failed to notice three of his friends sneaking up behind him.
"What are you doing man?" asked one, prodding Dudley in the shoulder.
Dudley jumped and spun around in his chair.
"I was read-"
"Shhhhh," said someone at the other end of the table.
"I was just reading," continued Dudley, quieter now that he realized it was just his friends.
"Yeah but that looks like the text book for your algebra class," said the second picking his book up, sideways in one hand, "Whoops, my bad. Old dead people."
Dudley spun around and grabbed the book from his friend's hands.
"I was reading that!" He retorted, angry that they had lost his place.
"Shhhh," came the voice from the end of the table.
"Yeah we know," said the first in a harsh whisper, "What I wanna know is, why're you read'n it?"
Dudley probed his mind for some kind of excuse. Then he felt Twilight's hoof touch his knee as she to, took hold of the book, protecting it with him, and he said the first thing that came to mind.
"I was just trying to get a little studying in so that I won't be as worried on the next test."
At first, it sounded to him like a perfectly reasonable excuse.
"Since when have you ever worried about a test?" asked the third.
Oops. I've never worried about tests before. Thought Dudley, realizing his mistake, This is weird.
He wanted to tell them that his parents were forcing him to, however AJ was leaning against the table, tapping her hoof on the floor and, even though he couldn't see her, he could feel her eyes drilling into him.
My parents are making me- He could hear the words in his head. It would be so easy.
So then why couldn't he?
This is getting really weird.
"I just decided I should pull my grades up a little," said Dudley, "It's for my parents."
Not entirely a lie. My parents would certainly be happy if I came home with better grades.
Silence hung in the air as they stared at him. It was making Dudley uncomfortable. Out of habit he adopted a sneer and let his eyes drift aimlessly over the three. As quickly as the tension appeared, it vanished and Dudley could feel the door to the group opening to let him back in.
"OK fine, whatever. Just so long as you don't miss the big game tonight."
Dudley's face blanked.
"What game?"
"Hello," said the first one, tapping Dudley on the head, "Tonight's the night we waste all the guys on that US server."
"Actually," said Dudley, who wanted to catch some more MLP episodes tonight, "I had some other plans."
"Come on!" said the second, "We need you, no one handles a rocket launcher like you. You #$@& those %*$%s!"
Dudley could have sworn he heard Fluttershy 'eep' at his friend's language. It made him kind of uneasy and the more he thought about it the more his friends definitely reminded him of Tiara. The door to their 'friendship' stood open before him, all he had to do was forget ponies for the night and go back to how things used to be.
For just one night... Just one short-
Time froze around him as Dudley felt the sudden urge to look down take hold of him. He stared at the waiting expressions of his three friends like a deer in the headlights as his head started drooping towards the magnetic force that he knew, if he looked at it, would completely annihilate his internal argument.
He could feel each interminable moment pass by, almost like he was suffocating. As his head drooped lower he could feel the tension return, and then surpass itself.
At last he gave in and dropped his gaze.
Right into the aquamarine orbs below him.
"Sorry guys," he said, turning back around to his book, "I'm busy tonight."
He never had a chance.
After his friends left and Dudley had finished studying, he pulled out his phone, turned his seat around so his back was to the wall, plugged in a set of earbuds and started watching an episode.
This one was about Rainbow Dash and how she had hurt her wing.
As Dudley watched he found himself being drawn into the story and rooting for Daring Doo, but also for Rainbow. Ironically, he thought that part where she was embarrassed by her new love of reading was hysterical. He had to keep himself from bursting out laughing in the library.
Just then he felt someone tap him on the shoulder and he jumped, hit the power button on on his phone and sent it spinning into the air to land on the ground.
It was the girl.
"You don't even know her name?!" came the indignant voice of Pinkie Pie from his left.
"Sorry," she said, stepping back a little, "I just noticed what you were watching and..."
"Please don't say anything," said Dudley, pleadingly.
"It's OK," she said, "I won't tell a soul, Pinkie Promise. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!"
She carefully executed the movements and gave him a strange look.
"Why did you start watching it anyway? I thought you said it was 'stupid'," as she said this she made quotation marks with her fingers.
The Dudley of several weeks ago who had just lost his friends due to ponies (mostly Fluttershy), opened his mouth to retort and...
"Stuuu-pid, stEEEWWWW-pid. That's a funny word. Stu-pEEED-"
Dudley's angry reply morphed into a chuckle which he quickly converted into a cough. Then shook his head and shrugged, "Don't really know. I watched Pinkie's Smile song and after that I watched some more. Next day I decided to give the show a shot. By the way what's your name?"
"Sara."
"Nice to meet you," said Dudley, holding out his hand, "I'm Dudley Dursley."
Sara grabbed his hand and started shaking it vigorously.
"Well howdy do Mr. Dursley we here at you know where sure do like making new friends..."
Dudley smiled and said, "Friends? Actually I-"
"Now what can I do you fer?"
She let go of Dudley's hand but he kept shaking it in the air a few times.
They laughed.
Dudley couldn't ever remember laughing with someone like this before in his life. It was pleasant, it was enjoyable, it was...
Super-duper funtastimazing!, came the voice behind him and he fully agreed.
It had been several months now and Dudley had become a fan of not only the show but also the fan works as well.
Sara had introduced him to the world of fanfiction as well as some of the better Brony music and Dudley would be lying if he said he hadn't shed a single tear during My Little Dashie.
Dudley had also begun, through Brony music and art, to appreciate some different styles. He learned that he actually liked some of the orchestral stuff, and piano arrangements. He even became more appreciative of classical artwork because of the ponies.
He tried to watch most of the stuff when his parents were out of the house but when Harry got back his parents stayed home more often.
Harry never mentioned anything about Dudley's secret to either his parents or any of his friends and slowly, almost infinitesimally, Dudley began to treat Harry differently. At first he just lowered his voice when he talked to him, then he started being more polite. Then one day... he actually called Harry by his first name.
That got his parents attention.
"We've noticed dear," said his mother as they sat in the living room, "That you seem different over the last month or so and I was just wondering if you feel alright?"
"Different in what way?" asked Dudley, munching on a carrot instead of his usual cookie.
His mother looked at his father and then back at Dudley.
"You haven't been eating well, you seem to be getting very little sleep and you're not acting like yourself."
Dudley chewed a little and sat down in the armchair.
"I feel fine. Honestly I think I've been eating healthier over the past month, and I know I could probably use more sleep but I'm doing fine, my grades are OK and I'm not falling asleep in class or anything. Besides I kind of like how I've been acting. Is it bothering you?"
"Well I wouldn't say bothering-" started his mother.
"Whatever happened to the tough little blighter I thought I raised?" asked his father, cutting in, "You thanked Harry this morning when he brought you your tea!"
"I was just being polite," said Dudley, "A little common courtesy never hurt anyone. In fact most of my teachers say they like how polite I've become over the past few weeks."
His father gave him a hard stare and said, "Ok, but don't you forget, Potter's just your aunt's son. He's barely our responsibility, an' he's lucky we're taking care of him at all. If anybody should be polite it should be him, not you. Remember that."
Dudley nodded his head and his father dropped the matter and left the room. His mother seemed a little more at ease with her son's explanation and over the next few days even tried some new recipes with Dudley.