//------------------------------// // Adria // Story: Another Sappy HiE Fic // by exsnaggerwes //------------------------------// “Damn wise-guy pegasi always havin' their heads in the sky and still knowing when to come back down to earth,” I grumbled to myself. I had made my way out of the bar after wrestling with Umbra over the tab. He eventually won, but all three of us had a chat with the bartender before we left. Her name was Adria, and she was as excited to meet a Lunar guard as I was to meet a dragon. Adria was one of Dash's old friends from flight school. She was actually one of the instructors while Dash was a filly, so Adria was much older than her appearance led on. She had a foreign accent that made her sound really cute when she talked because she was from the griffon country, which explained the name of the bar. She bought it herself, owned and operated it for over 30 years, along with coaching young pegasi and a few other odd jobs. This dragon rarely slept, although whether it was because of dragon physiology or her own personal choice was a mystery to me. She seemed fairly interested in me, as well, but only because I was an adult and blank. I never told her where I came from, or where I was staying, but she seemed confident we would meet again and we could both exchange stories about our strange lives. After we left the Dragon's Den, we all split up. Umbra wanted to go back to the castle for some reason, and Dash reluctantly went home after I convinced her I would be fine alone for the night. If anyone asked, she said she would just tell them that I would be coming back to Ponyville the next morning and leave it at that. I needed to think, so I wandered around on hoof for a while admiring the cloud district we landed on earlier. The Dragon's Den was across the freshly beaten path from what appeared to be the griffon embassy. There wasn't any print on the building, but the flags and busts made all clear. Not far down the road was a standard-looking cloud building with many windows and an extravagant entryway. I walked inside, hoping to confirm my suspicion, only to be greeted in a language I didn't understand. When the pony at the desk recognized my expression, she cleared her throat and spoke again in Equestrian. “Welcome to the Stray Sheep. Have you already booked a room with us?” I hesitated. Even though I was in my version of paradise, I was still incredibly shy in professional situations. I put on my poker face, and thought through what I was going to say carefully before speaking. “No, I haven't, but would it be a bother to ask if you have any rooms available?” “Not at all, sir. We have plenty of available rooms starting at four-hundred bits per night. Do you have a preferred floor or view?” “Er...” I remembered that I still had bits from working at the farm, but not nearly that much. “Sorry, I don't have the bits for that.” The mare just smiled and waved me off. “That's alright, we hope you can enjoy our accommodations some other time.” With that, she returned to the ledger on the desk. I was crazy to have wanted to sleep in a hotel that night anyway. For all I knew, the portal was closing the next night and my friends were out to get me. Sure, it would be difficult to find me, but that still wasn't any reason to waste what little means I had to get by on a place to sleep for the night when a nice cloud would do just fine. However, the air outside was chill and I was reluctant to go back out there and exhaust myself more by flying back to Ponyville. I took a seat in one of the plush chairs in the lobby, hoping not to be noticed by the mare working the desk. I didn't know where to go, what to do, or when to do it. I didn't even know what I wanted to do anymore. I was on the ropes from the night of flying and the drinks I had with my new friends. I still had some bits and my recently re-acquired cell phone in the coin bag strapped under my wing. Spike was a great help before when it came to holding things and telling me where to keep my belongings. A purse would have been too cumbersome, not to mention feminine and in this world, out of place. Pants were out of the question with them restricting my movement and crushing my tail, so I didn't have pockets. Under normal circumstances, I doubt a pony would tell me where they kept their bits. Spike reassured me that I was correct to ask only him. “If I don't ask them where they keep their bits, they don't ask me where I keep my quills,” he said right before he divulged his personal pocket dimension. “For now, just use this,” he told me when he gave me the bit pouch. I tugged at the string to loosen the opening and pulled out my phone. Laying it down on the table I read through the messages one last time. Most of them were from Kanon. I glanced at the picture of Luna at the end of the speech bubble and regretted not having taken any real pictures of my friend before leaving. I hadn't even hoped to see any of my old friends again, and yet there they would be soon, lecturing me on what is really important and how I shouldn't run away without telling my family. Two other messages were from Max's sister, Stef. Stef would normally be the adventurous one in this situation, and she was the most promising candidate for aiding in my escape. She probably would have even come with me if she had the chance, but she was working through the week and had been recently dealing with her own life spiraling out of control. She was always focused on her job and getting out of the house and state. If she could, she would even try to flee the country or even planet, just like me, but her job was looking promising and she was being considered for a promotion. If only her boss had better timing, she could have been the one coming after me instead of her older brother. The last message was from Max, sent not even twenty minutes after the first message Kanon sent. All it said was, “We're coming.” Max never screwed around when it came to typing messages to anyone. Unless he was being facetious, he would write in full sentences, punctuated, and with no inflection intended. He always said exactly what he meant, and was serious about every word. I could tell without a shadow of a doubt that he would be the first to find me out of anyone. He was the most intuitive friend I had, and the one who had always known me the best. Max was my best friend and I hadn't even said goodbye before just up and leaving him behind. I had no idea how I would respond to him when he found me, and he would find me. I didn't know who else was with him, but I hoped it was as few people as possible. I knew if I wanted to dodge them, it would be easy. They would have flanks as bare as mine, and it was likely that I would see them before they would see me, even if they had the same eyesight advantage I did. I would know my way around better and they would look like measly tourists wherever they went. I had almost two days over them, and they would be tied up for at least half a day with the royal welcome. I just had to think about where they would check first and stay as far away from that place as possible. Unfortunately, that place was probably Cloudsdale. I took a deep breath and held it for a moment, wanting to just be done with all of life's drama. I just wanted to be free, and as always, something had to follow me. Some part of my past always had to haunt me. “Well hello, stranger.” The voice broke my concentration and startled me out of my seat. Plumage flew in all directions as I flinched away from the dragon I met earlier. She sat calmly on her haunches, with her claws on the ground, having the appearance of a naturally quadrupedal dragon. She didn't even blink when I flinched away, and simply wore a warm smile until I answered. “You scared the lights out of me, Adria! Where did you come from?” “Where do you think?” she responded in a level tone. “Sorry, I was just startled, I didn't hear anyone come in.” I usually didn't have my back to the door either, but there I was. “I thought something was up. You looked like a lost puppy when we met in the bar, and all stray sheep end up wandering into one place or another. I'm surprised I found you at the first place I looked. You're very transparent, Wesley.” “I didn't say that was my name,” I retorted apprehensively. “You didn't say you were human either, but that doesn't mean I didn't know it. I've been to a few barbecues in my time. I haven't seen one of your kind in ages, so I have to wonder how you got here. And more importantly, why?” The room began spinning. There wasn't any way she could have known what she did without someone telling her, and I could bet my last bits it wasn't the party that accompanied me to the bar. Something about how she asked me made me want to tell the truth, though. I couldn't put my hoof on it, but I just felt like I could trust her completely. “I came from the portal to get away from my family.” I didn't explain any of the details, just the naked truth. I hadn't been that honest with anyone in eons. Adria was a statue while she continued her line of questioning. “Something happened, didn't it? Someone hurt you and they can't make up for it.” I nodded. “Well you should cheer up. I'm sure there's something they could do, and I doubt it's their fault. Why don't you tell me what happened?” “I don't want to cry.” “Fair enough.” The atmosphere melted around me and I felt calmer for some reason. I could think straight for the first time in weeks. I suddenly knew what I wanted and why. “I don't want to go back home, Adria. I know it's not as bad as I'm making it out to be, but I also know that I want my own life. Maybe I should go back. Maybe that's what's best for me, but things are different now. Even if it's difficult, even if I know it's not right for me, I want to make that decision for myself. I'm sorry that I hurt my family and friends, but I have to be on my own. I have to be my own person.” I didn't know why I was divulging everything to her, but it still felt right. I couldn't help it, it was almost as if she had some sort of charm about her that had a hypnotic effect. “Adria… why am I telling you all of this?” “I'm sorry, Wesley, but I have to do this or you won't listen to reason. I'm trying to help you. I promise.” I found myself wanting to obey. “Okay.” I noticed her green scales glisten in the dim light of the lobby. I began taking in more of her appearance. Resting on her haunches, she was as tall as an average human. Her body type was different than that of Spike and the teenage dragons from the show in that it was mostly quadrupedal like a pony's. Unlike a pony, the wings she tucked at her sides were each larger than her body, hanging below her hindquarters and dragging along the ground like her tail. All the way down her back, she had spines just like Spike, only hers were sharper. They were a dark brown color, and they led down to the tip of her spaded tail. She had two twisted horns on top of her head that matched her spines. Her eyes were a deep crimson, but soft and inviting in shape, like Fluttershy's. Everything about this dragon somehow screamed beautiful to me, and yet I also felt comfortable in her presence as if she was an old friend. “If I let your mind wander, would you still talk to me?” “Yes.” “Good,” she blinked, “now tell me more about yourself. Tell me about your home.” I no longer felt compelled to talk to her anymore, but I still felt comfortable with her. She had somehow charmed be before and I fell into a hypnotic state that made me more agreeable. It must be a hunting mechanism they have. “I,” I stuttered, “I'm from Earth. I lived with my family all my life and I've been wanting to get out for the longest time. I want to have a place to call my own so I don't have to follow them everywhere and live their life instead of mine.” “I gather that's the situation you were in when you came here, wasn't it? You had a place of your own, but it wasn't the same as you thought it would be?” “No, that's not exactly it. I actually only just moved out.” Adria tilted her head, “Then how did you come to the conclusion that it wasn't what you wanted? You strove for it for so long, and then just gave it up as soon as you had it? That seems a bit selfish to me.” “You're putting words into my mouth. I didn't say it wasn't what I wanted. I just had a small window of opportunity. I told you I came through the portal, so it was then or never. I got here as soon as it opened, and it closes tomorrow.” “So you're saying you had no choice then? You didn't find any other way to get where you wanted to go?” “I didn't. Wormholes aren't something that can be harnessed, especially not on Earth.” “Well no, I suppose not. All I'm saying is that you somehow gained knowledge of a mythical portal to another dimension and went straight for it, even if it was a calculated risk that shouldn't have been worth taking. That's very short-sighted.” “I know, but anything was better than staying in a world of people you don't understand. I don't belong there. I don't understand the way things are supposed to be there. Nobody trusts one another and everyone is so horrible to each other.” “I doubt it's all like that, and you wouldn't believe how well you're describing my home, too. You should know that Equestria isn't a paradise either.” “If everyone keeps saying that, I'm going to think you're hiding something bigger than political affairs and monsters.” That elicited a giggle from the dragon. “I'm just trying to let you know what you're getting yourself into. I'm not trying to talk you out of it either. You know, I would love to keep you around. You're pretty interesting.” She winked at me. “What would you do in my situation?” “You mean if a friend of mine died and I refused to just accept it?” My blood suddenly ran cold and my heart dropped to my intestines. “H-how did you know?” “Wes, you're talking to a dragon. I've lived your life twenty times over and I know how hard it is to deal with. I know what grief looks like and even though I'm more than ten times your age, I still have a hard time with it, too.” I could feel tears coming, but held them back. “Okay, but she wasn't actually my friend...” “Family is the same way, Wes. I know. You don't have to tell me the details, just understand that I've gone through the same thing. Sometimes you treat your family like friends and sometimes you treat your friends like family. I completely understand when they're both. You can't make anyone less or more important to you than they are, even if they're supposed to be something else. You don't need to run from your feelings, and you don't need to put on such a strong facade. It's okay to cry every once in a while.” It was then that the tears came. I don't know how she did it, but this dragon I had known for minutes pulled me apart piece by piece. She was obviously experienced in loss, and I couldn't deny that she knew what buttons to press. She wrapped her arms around me in an embrace, and I just sobbed into her chest. “It's alright, Wes. Let it out,” she comforted me.