My Little Koopalings: Friendship is Obnoxious

by LordSiravant

Settling In

Chapter Two: Settling In

Ludwig followed his new roommate through the town over to a house with a well-kept lawn. Octavia opened the door and walked in, ushering the Koopaling inside. "Welcome to my humble abode, Ludwig," she said. "Just so you know, you are not my only roommate here."

Ludwig quirked an eyebrow. "Oh? And who is this other roommate?"

"My cousin, Vinyl Scratch," Octavia answered. "She's a DJ."

"A…DJ?" Ludwig asked in confusion. "I'm not quite sure what that is."

"Until she moved in with me, neither did I," Octavia admitted. "It's better to let her explain tonight during the party."

"Party?" Ludwig asked. "What party?"

Octavia smiled. "Why, yours, of course."

Ludwig did a double-take. "But…it's not even any of our birthdays."

Octavia shook her head. "That wouldn't matter to somepony like Pinkie Pie. She'll find any reason whatsoever to throw a party, especially for new people that move into town. So naturally, she plans to throw one for you and your siblings tonight. Vinyl is going to DJ there. She'll be the one with the strange glasses operating the music equipment."

"Is the music loud?"

"Obnoxiously."

"I might have to pass then. I have rather sensitive ears. I used to be partially deaf, after all."

"I would advise against that. Not going to a Pinkie Party will make Miss Pie very sad, and making her sad is like punting a kitten. You just can't do it in good conscience."

Ludwig frowned as he got the uncomfortable image of himself kicking a poor Blitty across the room in his head. "Please don't make such a comparison."

Octavia shrugged. "It's the truth. Vinyl and Pinkie are also very good friends, and she might take offense to you refusing to attend Pinkie's party."

Ludwig sighed. "Well, that's something I definitely don't need."

Octavia smirked. "My solution? Earmuffs. I have a few pairs up in my room."

Ludwig's face lit up as he knelt, picked up Octavia's hoof and kissed it. "Octavia, you are a gift from the Stars!"

Octavia's face blushed a deep crimson at the gesture, causing her to fumble for words. "Ah…y-yes, well…it was no trouble."

Ludwig nodded with a smile as he stood up. "So what is it you ponies eat around here? I'd rather not be forced to munch on grass."

Octavia laughed. "Aha, we normally eat other things. Grass is more of an on-the-go food, since it's practically everywhere. Since you don't seem like the kind to eat flower sandwiches, I suggest fruits, vegetables, and the various sweets that Sweet Apple Acres and Sugarcube Corner have to offer."

Ludwig shrugged. "Better than nothing. I don't expect we'll find any meat here?"

Octavia looked slightly uncomfortable at the implications, but brushed it off and replied, "Most of the animals here are sentient, but if you can brave the Everfree Forest, there are various monsters that can be hunted. Each of them is dangerous in their own way, though. Cockatrices can turn you to stone if you look directly into their eyes, and most of the others are large enough to swallow you in one bite."

Ludwig fished his wand out of his shell and showed it to Octavia. "As long as they aren't magic-resistant, we'll be fine."

Ludwig deposited his wand back in his shell. "So…lunch?"

Octavia laughed as she realized she had forgotten the reason for the impromptu discussion on hunting. "Ah, right. I'll cook us something right away. Since Vinyl's off readying her dubstep equipment for the party, she won't be joining us. Anyways, the dining room is right down this hall."

"Thank you. Um…if it's no trouble, do you have some parchment and a pen I could use? I usually spend my free time composing new symphonies."

"Oh, certainly!" Octavia exclaimed. "There should be some in that dresser in the living room by the radio, and I believe I left a pen on the dresser too."

"Ah! Found it. Thank you."

"I'd be very interested to see what you have so far after lunch, if that doesn't bother you."

Ludwig grinned. "Are you kidding me? I've always wanted to be able to discuss my projects with another like-minded individual!"

Octavia smiled as she prepared lunch for them both. She was going to get along with this one just fine.

XXXXXX

As Lemmy followed Derpy towards her house, he took in the sights around him. This town really had a sort of rustic charm to it. "We're here!" Derpy cheerfully declared, catching Lemmy's attention.

Derpy's house looked just like the others, though the yard wasn't as well-kept as some others. A couple of toys were scattered around the yard. Noticing this, Lemmy looked up at Derpy. "Do you have kids?" he asked.

Derpy nodded. "Her name's Dinky. She's my special muffin."

Lemmy smiled. "I like kids. I can't wait to meet her!"

"She's still at school. We got another hour before I have to go pick her up, so we got time for lunch!"

Lemmy's stomach abruptly growled in anticipation, causing Derpy to laugh. Lemmy's cheeks blushed a rosy pink in embarrassment. "So, what's for lunch?" Lemmy asked.

"Daisy sandwiches and muffins!" Derpy declared.

Lemmy blinked. "Daisy sandwiches? You mean you guys eat flowers?"

"Well, yeah! Don't you too?"

"Uh…no."

"…Oh. Well at least there's muffins!"

"Yay! Muffins!"

Derpy went into the kitchen and immediately set to work on lunch, starting with mixing the ingredients for her signature muffins together. As Derpy busied herself with lunch, humming a cheerful tune to herself, Lemmy began to investigate the house. As he passed through the living room, investigating the furniture, he noticed a number of pictures hanging on the wall. Almost all of the pictures were of Derpy and a small unicorn filly with a light purple coat and a blonde mane and tail.

"That must be Dinky," Lemmy mused to himself. "She seems cute."

The Koopaling glanced at the other pictures on the wall and noticed that a few of the pictures had another pony in them, this one a dark pink unicorn with a mane and tail that was two shades of purple. The design on her rump was three pentagonal diamonds arranged in a triangle. "I wonder who that is," Lemmy muttered. "Maybe her sister? She looks too old to be another daughter…"

"Yep! That's my sister, Amethyst Star!"

"YAAAH!" Lemmy yelped, jumping at least a foot in the air at the unexpected voice before he turned around to see Derpy struggling not to laugh at his outburst. "S-sorry to scare you."

Lemmy put a hand on his chest to calm his pounding heart. "Jeez! Don't do that! Roy's snuck up on me like that more times than I can count!"

Derpy's smile fell at the mention of Roy. "Was that the one who…?"

Lemmy sighed. "Yeah, that's the one with the sunglasses that was making fun of me."

Derpy scrunched up her face. "He's a real bully, isn't he?"

Lemmy scoffed. "Yeah, he's always been a jerk. I just can't understand why, though. I mean, we're his siblings! Even Junior treats me better than that, and he's a spoiled brat! And everybody except Ludwig and Junior's too scared to push back because he punches you in the face if you point out that he's pink. Luddy's older, so he's not impressed, and Junior's King Dad's favorite, so you can bet he'd do something if Junior tattled. Everyone else is fair game, though."

"That doesn't sound like very good parenting," Derpy commented with a mild scowl.

Lemmy sighed again. "Yeah, he's not exactly Father of the Year. I mean, how can you be when you're also supposed to be a megalomaniacal tyrant who specializes in kidnapping princesses?"

Lemmy took one look at Derpy's utterly bewildered expression and broke into a fit of hysterical laughter. The grey pegasus blushed at this and said, "What's so funny?"

Lemmy managed to compose himself enough to say, "That look on your face was just too hysterical! I'm sorry; I wasn't laughing at you."

"But why is it so funny though?" Derpy asked again, this time with a more serious expression. "He's not acting like a daddy should! I hate it when mommies and daddies don't treat their foals right!"

Lemmy was taken aback by how upset Derpy looked. "Whoa, hey, sorry! I-I didn't mean to set you off like that!"

Derpy sighed and rubbed her forehead. "No, no, it's okay. It's just…that kind of thing's a really sore spot with me."

"Um…I'll try to remember that," Lemmy said.

Before Derpy could reply, a ding went off in the kitchen, and the pony brightened up immediately. "Oh! The muffins are ready!"

Derpy flew into the kitchen, after which a terrible crashing noise rang in Lemmy's ears. "Derpy?!" he cried, running into the kitchen.

"I'm okay!" Derpy cheerfully called out, a pot that had been hanging up by the window to dry firmly planted over her head. "Just got distracted!"

"I can see that," Lemmy chuckled as Derpy stood up and put the pot back where it was before getting the muffins out of the oven and setting them out to cool off, grinning sheepishly all the while. "It's okay; I can be pretty dang clumsy too." Then Lemmy's smile fell. "Roy keeps telling me that's why I'll never get into a circus. I'm too much of a klutz. And he's right, too; I'm the weakest out of all the Koopalings, despite me being the second oldest. So whenever Mario beats us and saves Princess Peach from King Dad, all the blame gets pinned on me, because I'm the weakest. Koopalings aren't supposed to be weak. Roy really lays it on thick, but that I can usually take. But Dad…when he bellows that in my face, that hurts…always. I know King Dad loves us, but…he just has a really short temper."

"Does…" Derpy wasn't exactly sure how to word this. "Does your dad…does he hit you?"

Lemmy blanched. "Sweet Stars, no! Yeah, he yells a lot, but he's never raised a claw against any of us!"

Derpy looked guilty. "Sorry I asked."

To her surprise, Lemmy wrapped her up in a hug, which she then returned with a warm smile. "No, it's okay. Now c'mon, we've got muffins to eat!"

Derpy's smile widened. Muffins always made her feel better.

XXXXXX

Roy was silent as the grave the entire trek to Fluttershy's cottage, the bully glancing nervously at the pegasus he was following. Those eyes…they had been burned into the back of his mind for all of eternity. Finally they reached their destination, and after taking in the sight, Roy finally broke the silence. "I just felt my masculinity die a little."

The yellow pegasus landed on her front porch and sent a nervous, apologetic glance his way, nothing like the glare she had given him earlier. It was almost like this was a different pony entirely. "Oh, I'm sorry," Fluttershy almost mumbled. "I, um…I-I didn't mean to be so rude…"

Roy nearly reeled from the whiplash. "The heck?! What happened to your…" Roy trailed off, realizing he was probably better off not bringing out this pony's less-gentle side again.

Speaking of which…

"Hey, ya never told me your name!" Roy said, folding his arms and trying to look tough. "Ya obviously know mine, so I think ya oughta show da same courtesy."

"Um…I'm Fluttershy," she said weakly, opening her door and stepping aside to let him enter.

As Roy brushed past her, he contemplated the pony he had been forced to bunk with. Maybe…maybe that whole thing of hers earlier was just a fluke, he thought to himself. Guess this is how she normally is. Heh, I can handle her easy then, as long as she don't drop the whole wallflower shtick again.

Shaking his head to clear away his thoughts, he focused on the interior of the cottage. It was quaint, well-ordered, and everything else under the sun that Roy deemed "unmanly". Fluttershy timidly came up to his side. "Um…are you hungry? Do you want anything to eat?" she quietly asked.

Roy grinned. "Yeah, make me a sandwich! Grilled cheese, cut diagonally in half, no crust!"

Fluttershy didn't move.

Roy looked at her over the rim of his sunglasses. "What's da matter, ya deaf?"

"You didn't say please."

"…what?"

"You didn't say please," Fluttershy repeated a little more firmly. "I want you to ask nicely."

Roy glared at her. "Sweet Stars, you're as bad as Kamek! Koopa Princes don't hafta say please!"

The timidness vanished in an instant, replaced by another stern look that was slowly starting to morph into…It. "Well then, Koopa Princes really need to learn how to act like real princes, because saying please is the nice and polite thing to do."

"Are you gonna make that sandwich or not?" Roy snapped, tapping his foot impatiently.

Fluttershy gaped at Roy's blunt rudeness, trying to regain her voice. Suddenly Roy noticed something from the corner of his eye and turned around to see a white rabbit regarding him with a suspicious glare. Roy grinned. "Ya know what? Nevermind. I got lunch covered."

Fluttershy's growing anger fizzled out in favor of curiosity and concern. "What do you mean?"

She then noticed her pet bunny, Angel, in time to see him bolt as smoke began billowing out of Roy's mouth as he took in a deep breath. Realizing what he was about to do, something in Fluttershy snapped. Gritting her teeth, she flew up in Roy's face, just as she had earlier. Roy's fire died in his throat as he looked into those eyes again. Before Roy could even utter a gulp, Fluttershy spoke.

Her voice was quiet and even, terrifyingly so. But there was no mistaking the fury she was trying very hard to keep bottled down. "Roy Koopa, I am going to say this once, and I am not going to say it again. All of the animals that live here are my friends. You will treat them with the same respect you will show me. They are not to be eaten. Am I clear?"

Roy whimpered as he nodded. "And furthermore," Fluttershy continued, "your bullying ways are going to stop immediately, and you're going to learn how to be a nicer…um…Koopa."

Roy didn't bother to correct her, for he was transfixed by the glare in her eyes. "And to start your lessons, you are going to ask nicely for that sandwich," Fluttershy finished.

Roy squeaked out an unintelligible response, having not yet recovered from the effects of Fluttershy's Stare.

"Goodness, Fluttershy! I think you gave him a heart attack! Who'd have thought you had it in you?"

Fluttershy jumped nearly three feet in the air at the unexpected voice from behind, breaking the spell. Fluttershy and Roy looked over to see a strange creature that looked like a haphazard conglomeration of animal body parts that had been hastily stitched together floating in the air, regarding them with an amused smirk. "So, when were you going to tell me about your newest guest, dear Fluttershy?" the creature asked.

"…What the shell are you?" Roy finally spoke in confusion.

While she had not heard that terminology before, Fluttershy was certain it was probably inappropriate. "Roy, watch your language!" she reprimanded.

Roy nervously saluted. "Eep! Y-yes, ma'am!"

"Roy Koopa, this is…"

"Ah, ah, ah!" Discord interrupted, waggling his eagle talon in Fluttershy's face. "I like to do my own introductions!"

"Discord…" Fluttershy warned.

Ignoring her, Discord grinned and spread his arms out, causing fireworks and confetti to explode behind him, though luckily none of Fluttershy's things caught fire or broke. "Greetings, Roy Koopa! Discord, Master of Chaos, Disharmony, and Chocolate Rain, at your service! Total cooperation not pertaining to chaos not guaranteed," he muttered off to the side.

Roy just stared slack-jawed at him over the rim of his sunglasses. "…what."

Discord rolled his eyes and slithered over to the Koopa Prince. "What, are you deaf?" he asked, pulling out a foghorn and blowing on it into Roy's ear, causing the sound of a duck quacking to ring in his eardrums. "Because my whole intro was tragically wasted if that's the case!"

Roy swatted the foghorn out of Discord's hand with a growl and rubbed at his ringing ear. "What the shell, man?! Blow that thing in my ear again, and I might just go deaf if I don't pound ya first!"

Discord put on his best puppy-dog look and got right in Roy's face. "How could you possibly pound this face?" he asked in a mock-whimpering tone.

Roy flatly glared at him. "I've kicked kittens before. That crap don't work on me."

To his surprise, Discord stopped grinning, glancing worriedly over at Fluttershy. Roy realized his mistake too late. "Y-you…you what?" Fluttershy spoke in a quivering voice.

Roy looked over at her, expecting that horrible Stare, but instead saw something else entirely. Fluttershy looked like she was about to burst out crying. Realizing he had already dug himself into a hole, Roy just went with it, though for some odd reason, he felt funny for doing so. "Yeah, I mean…we Koopa Princes gotta be tough as nails, ya know? We can't be weak. We gotta be able to withstand cuteness and stomp it into the dirt, otherwise…what kinda Koopas are we?"

That did it. Fluttershy burst into tears, turning tail and running out of the room. Roy stood there thunder-struck, unable to understand the slew of emotions that ran through him. Discord abruptly snapped him out of it by saying, "I'm gonna level with you, buddy. Fluttershy's the only friend I've got, and I don't really take it kindly when morons like you hurt her feelings with stupid lies you spout off to make yourself look tougher."

"H-hey!"

"Don't try to contradict me," Discord interrupted. "You're better off holding a conversation with a rock. I know you haven't actually kicked any kittens, and don't even have the guts to."

"And how do ya know that, chump?!" Roy demanded in a challenging tone.

"I read your mind, chump," Discord replied, tapping his forehead. "Now you're going to go up there and apologize to her about spouting off stupid stuff like that."

Roy puffed out his chest. "And what makes ya think I will?"

Discord glared at him. "Because you don't wanna tick off a chaos god who can turn you inside-out and split you apart atom by atom with a snap of my fingers, that's why."

Roy gulped at that. "But then again," Discord cheerfully stated, "that's not really my style!" Roy breathed a sigh of relief. "I tend to do much worse."

Roy's eyes widened in fear. "L-like w-w-what?"

Discord shrugged. "Dunno, haven't thought of it yet. I'm not much of a planning-ahead kind of guy. I like being creative on the spot."

Quickly deciding that it would be unwise to give Discord a reason to contemplate such terrifying prospects, Roy went after Fluttershy. Discord couldn't help but smirk as the Koopaling scurried away. He always loved scaring the pants off of people like that.

Roy eventually found a room with its door hanging ajar, and crying coming from inside. Roy leaned in and listened in for a moment before heaving his shoulders in a sigh. "Ah, jeez," he muttered to himself. "What the heck am I doing?"

Roy then hesitantly pushed the door open and gingerly stepped inside. He looked over to see Fluttershy crying on her bed, cuddling a pair of kittens close to her. Roy just stood there for a few moments, unsure of what to say as he twiddled his thumbs. Finally the Koopaling hesitantly cleared his throat. "Um…Fluttershy?" he said.

Fluttershy gasped and looked up at his voice. When she saw who was speaking to her, she gasped again and held the kittens against her chest as though she were afraid he would try to rip them right out of her arms. As he saw this, Roy finally recognized that strange feeling roiling inside his chest.

Guilt.

He felt guilty about making her cry, and he hated it. He hated it just as much as he hated seeing that fearful, heartbroken face. The kittens mewled in her arms, looking up at him with large, innocent eyes. Roy stood there silently for almost a minute, having difficulty spitting out something he had sworn to his father he would never do.

"I'm sorry," Roy finally spluttered.

For a moment, the terrified look in Fluttershy's eyes melted away into a look of surprise, but she didn't yet look like she believed it. Roy decided to continue, fumbling over his words as he did so. "Um…Listen, what I said…I've never actually kicked a kitten before. I don't…I'm not that mean, really. I just said dat to sound cool, and I'm sorry."

Fluttershy looked up at him, as if weighing his words in her mind. The kittens struggled out of her arms and padded across the bed, meowing at Roy. Roy sighed as he approached the bed. The last mewl did it. Roy reached out with one claw and began scratching under the kitten's chin, which immediately began rubbing its face all over his hand as cats tend to do. The other kitten looked up at him imploringly, which Roy began petting with his other hand. Fluttershy watched him the whole time, a smile slowly creeping up her face as Roy totally fell in love with the two kittens.

Roy looked up at her and smiled awkwardly. "Ya mind just keepin' dis between us? If my brothers and sister ever found out, I'd never hear da end of it, and I'd hafta knock a few heads around, and I'd rather not cause a scene."

Fluttershy nodded her head in understanding, her smile widening further.

XXXXXX

Rarity opened the door to Carousel Boutique, allowing entry for her guest. "Welcome to my humble abode," Rarity said, gesturing grandly around the interior. "Carousel Boutique, where every garment is chic, unique, and magnifique!"

Wendy looked around and let out a whistle. "Wow, I'm digging this place already! You live where you work?"

Rarity nodded cheerfully, stepping inside and shutting the door. "I do indeed, dear! Cuts down on needless commuting."

Wendy giddily clapped her hands. "Oh, man, I can't believe I get to live in a fashion store!"

Rarity chuckled. "Well, it is only a temporary arrangement until you find a way to return home, but I hope you'll feel comfortable during your stay."

Wendy whipped around and grinned at her. "Are you kidding?! I've always wanted to work at a fashion store, working on dresses and other stuff! Daddy hates it, though; keeps saying that royal Koopas don't do "frilly frou-frou crap"."

Rarity chuckled awkwardly. "You have an…interesting father."

Wendy rolled her eyes. "Interesting? More like a total weirdo. Seriously, the guy has an obsession with kidnapping princesses and defeating a short fat plumber with an eating disorder who can jump higher than other people. Not to mention he's totally obsessed with being the epitome of manliness and 'bad-dude-edness'." Rarity raised an eyebrow at that. "Dad refused to get an education," Wendy finished explaining.

Rarity huffed. "My word, what a brute!"

Wendy laughed. "I know, right?! Still, we all love him to bits, and he loves us too, though he tries not to show it to keep up his bad guy image."

Rarity shook her head in disbelief. "The dynamics of your family leave much to be desired."

Wendy shrugged in reply. "Yeah, but being a princess means you pretty much got more gold coins than you'll ever need, so I get by."

Rarity chuckled before looking over at her clock. "I've got some time to kill before I pick up my sister from school. So tell me, dear. What kind of fashions are the norm in your world?"

"Well, actually, not a lot of people in Darkland wear clothes," Wendy replied. "I mean, we Koopas already have our shells, Goombas are just basically, like, mushrooms with feet…" She struggled not to laugh at Rarity's disgusted reaction, and failed miserably. "Anyways, so Goombas don't wear anything except the occasional hat or helmet, Boos are ghosts, so they don't wear much either, and there's no point in Bob-ombs wearing clothes, since they're living bombs that explode and reform themselves often. Honestly, dresses and stuff are just a special thing for, like, dances and stuff. Usually we just go with hats and bows and stuff. Y'know, accessories."

"That's…interesting," Rarity managed to say after a while. "You live in a very interesting world."

Wendy quirked an eyebrow. "The fact that most of us don't wear clothes doesn't, like, bug you or anything?"

Rarity smirked. "Honey, do you see me wearing any clothes right now?"

"Oh…good point."

"Nevertheless, it would be lovely to have a little extra help around here," Rarity said. "Spike is such a darling, but he can't be here all the time, since Twilight usually needs him to keep the library tidy while she studies."

"Who's Spike?" Wendy asked, a smirk adorning her features. "Your boyfriend?"

Rarity laughed nervously as she blushed slightly. "Ahaha, no, just a young dragon that likes to help out here every so often. It's no secret that he's completely infatuated with me, though."

Wendy giggled conspiratorially as she winked. "Oooh, schoolboy crush, huh?"

Rarity's blush deepened slightly as she shook her head. "Not necessarily. He may be considered a baby for his species, but he's just a few years younger than Twilight, and almost as mature."

"Soooo…when's the wedding?" Wendy teased.

Rarity gasped. "Wendy, d-don't talk such nonsense! Spike and I are only friends!"

Wendy giggled and winked again. "Your blushing's telling me a whole 'nother story, babe."

Rarity scrunched her face indignantly. "You are most certainly imagining things! I am not blushing!"

Wendy reached into her shell, took out out a little black box, and opened it as she held it up to Rarity, revealing a mirror that showed that Rarity was clearly blushing. Rarity narrowed her eyes at her guest. "You are terrible," she whispered.

"Honey, I'm a Koopaling," Wendy replied with a knowing smirk. "Being terrible's kinda what we do. But you might wanna keep an eye on him."

"Whatever for?" Rarity asked as she began fanning herself to rid herself of the blush.

"You said he's a dragon, right?"

"Yes, I did…"

"And that he lives in the library with that Twilight chick, right?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because he's now sharing his living space with a mad scientist who may or may not try to experiment on him."

The resulting images born from that statement made Rarity fall over into a dead faint.

XXXXXX

"Aaand, here we have my lab!" Twilight Sparkle said, allowing Iggy entry into her basement.

The tall, lanky Koopaling took in his surroundings with a scrutinizing eye, studying all the various equipment, test tubes, chemicals, and other things that could be find in a well-stocked laboratory. It wasn't quite as big or as well-stocked as Iggy's lab back in Darkland Castle, but it was more than enough to continue working on his experiments.

"What do you think?" Twilight asked.

Iggy looked at her and grinned, a mad scientist look in his eye. "Not quite as good as my old lab, but it'll do." He looked over the place one more time. "Yes, it'll do just fine."

Then he felt his stomach rumbling and sighed. "Ah, but it seems this will all have to wait for the time being. I require sustenance."

Twilight laughed as they returned to the first floor of the library. "I think that makes two of us. Let's go get something to eat."

"Fair warning, though," Iggy pointed out. "We Koopalings are not vegetarians, nor do we eat grass."

Twilight chuckled nervously. "Yeah, your unusually large teeth kind of give it away. And we're technically omnivores too, since we can and do eat eggs and use them for baking. In fact, grass is something we rarely eat nowadays except when we're on the road and we want to make our provisions last. We just don't eat meat, since most animals in this world are sentient beings like us."

Iggy adjusted his glasses as he frowned. "Hmm…that could complicate matters. For the sake of my experiments, I have occasionally put aside my moral compass, but to eat beings that are confirmed to be just as sentient as I is a rather unhappy thought. But we require meat to survive, as it contains necessary proteins that cannot be found in vegetation. Hmm, how to rectify this…"

Iggy began pacing, and Twilight could almost hear the gears whirling in the Koopa scientist's head as he contemplated possible solutions to this problem, pacing about the room while scratching his chin. Twilight respected an analytical thinker like her, and decided to help out by adding in her native knowledge. "Well, the Griffons who live in the kingdom northeast of Equestria raise some lesser sentient creatures for their meat, such as parasprites and pigs. Perhaps Princess Celestia could negotiate with them and commission one of their butchers to provide you with their products."

Iggy whirled around and spread his arms out. "Wonderful! You're a diamond, my dear!"

Twilight blushed slightly and giggled. "Always happy to help out a fellow scientist."

"Hey, Twilight, who's down there?" came a voice from above.

"Oh!" Twilight exclaimed. "Come on down, Spike! There's someone I want you to meet!"

"Okay, be down in a minute!"

Twilight thumped her forehead. "I can't believe I forgot to introduce you to Spike!"

Iggy said nothing and simply waited for this "Spike" to appear. Finally a purple-scaled, bipedal lizard with green spinal ridges and emerald eyes came down the stairs. Upon seeing him, Iggy broke out into a manic grin as he realized he was looking at a dragon. Oh, the experiments I could run on this one, Iggy thought excitedly to himself.

Spike saw who Twilight's guest and instinctively shivered. "Um, Twilight? Whoever that is, I don't like the way he's looking at me…"

"Huh?" Twilight said, looking over to see Iggy's grin and realizing what was running through his mind. She roughly nudged Iggy out of his reverie. "Don't even think about running any kind of experiments on Spike, mister!"

Iggy looked over at her in disappointment. "I suppose I can refrain from dissecting him."

"WHOA! Dissecting?!" Spike yelped, clutching his stomach in dread.

Twilight glared at the Koopa mad scientist. "Great going, now you've got him all worked up."

"I apologize," Iggy answered. "It is not every day a scientist like me sees a live dragon. Such specimens are extremely hard to come by in my world, and I've wanted to study them for a very long time. Forgive my behavior; I simply got a little over-excited."

Spike uncertainly glanced over at him. "Um…I-it's okay. I understand."

Iggy nodded. "My name is Ignatius Koopa. You can just call me Iggy, though. I will be staying here at the library for the duration of our stay here."

Spike suddenly blinked in realization. "Wait a minute. Twilight, is this one of the guys that came from another world? The, uh…uh…what did you guys call yourselves again?"

"Koopalings," Iggy answered. "It would seem you've heard about us already."

Spike nodded. "Yeah, something about a witch. I only caught little snippets of the story, since I was busy cleaning up the library, as usual."

Iggy glanced over at Twilight. "So he is an assistant of yours?"

"Yep! My Number One Assistant!" Twilight replied, beaming.

Spike smiled in reply, but Iggy could tell it was a little forced. Obviously he wasn't completely satisfied with his lot in life.

"Now, you said you've been wanting to study dragons for a while?" Twilight suddenly asked.

"That's correct," Iggy answered.

"Well, if it helps, I have conducted some research on them, mostly through Spike, since I came to live here. I can give you my notes, if you want."

Iggy grinned. "That would be excellent, thank you. It's certainly better than nothing."

"So, what other things have you experimented with?" Twilight questioned, eager to see if she could learn something from this otherworldly fellow genius.

Before Iggy even began to reply, Spike knew this conversation was going to go completely over his head, just as Twilight's lectures normally did. "I take my leave," he grunted, heading back up the stairs. "You guys can go geek out without me."

Naturally they ignored him, already deep into conversation.

XXXXXX

"This is the biggest farm I've ever seen," Larry commented as he followed Applejack over to Sweet Apple Acres. "Then again, it's the only farm I've ever seen, so I guess that isn't really saying much."

"Our farm's pretty decent," Applejack explained. "Some'a our folks have bigger farms, but our farm's got the best apples in all of Equestria!"

"Best apples, huh?" Larry said, looking up at one of the apple trees. "I'll be the judge of that."

"Go right ahead, pardner," Applejack replied, holding out an apple towards the Koopaling. Larry eyed it suspiciously before taking it out of her hooves and eating the whole thing in one bite. "A 'yer welcome' woulda been nice," Applejack muttered.

Larry couldn't hear her over the crunching of the apple, savoring and judging the taste. Finally he swallowed and said, "Okay, that was good. Right balance of flavor, moisture, and firmness. You guys are good at what you do."

Applejack beamed. "Glad ya agree. Now, let's git'cha settled in so you can meet the family. This here's our house." Applejack gestured at the building they were about to enter. "Over there's the barn where we store all our goods 'n supplies, that there's our water tower, and over there's where our cows live."

Larry raised an eyebrow. "You herd cows?"

"No, they actually live here 'n pay rent," Applejack replied, shaking her head.

She chuckled at Larry's flabbergasted look. "Wow, haha, you almost had me there," Larry laughed.

Applejack looked at him strangely, never breaking eye contact. Larry stopped laughing and held her gaze for a moment. "You're…not kidding, are you?"

"Nope," Applejack replied. "In fact, their rent's due tomorrow. You'll be helpin' me with that."

Larry grinned at the idea of handling money again, immediately thinking of how he could manage to con some extra for himself. This did not go unnoticed by Applejack, who smirked in reply. She decided not to mention that their form of payment didn't involve money. No, he would find that out for himself in the morning. Still, the realization made her worry a little. There was definitely a dishonest glint in that one's eye. She would have to be extra careful to not leave any of the family's money alone with him.

But that was only if she couldn't knock that silliness out of his head first, which she was certain she would succeed at. After all, she was the Element of Honesty, darn near a living lie detector. No point in lying if the one you're lying to can always tell when you are, right?

Still, she hoped a little hard work would get force that out of his system and make him a productive member of society. "Alright, pardner," she spoke up, opening the door. "Let's go inside 'n show ya where you're gonna stay for the time bein'."

As they walked into the living room, they noticed an elderly mare with a faded green coat and grey-white mane and tail tied up in buns fast asleep in a rocking chair, snoring away. "That's mah Granny Smith," Applejack whispered. "She's a firecracker, that one. Ah'll wake her up in a while when we start workin' on dinner so ya can meet everypony else."

"And, ah…how many family members do you have?" Larry asked.

Applejack smiled. "Hundreds. But just mah sister Applebloom and mah big brother Big Macintosh live here with us."

Larry blinked in surprise. "Wow…and I thought my family was huge."

"Y'all have no idea. The Apple family pretty much has a monopoly on the whole farmin' business. Ain't no town or city in Equestria where there ain't no Apple farmer. Now follow me up here, Ah'll show ya yer room."

Larry trudged up the stairs after his host, who showed him a room at the far end of the hall that had a spare bed in it. "This here's our guest bedroom. You'll be sleepin' here."

"Cool," Larry offhandedly replied. "So, uh…when do I meet the rest of your family?"

"Applebloom's still at school, but Ah'll be bringin' her home in about an hour, and Big Mac's still out in the fields right now. He'll be back 'round dinnertime."

"Okay…so, uh…what am I gonna do in the meantime?" Larry asked awkwardly, hoping that he wasn't already going to be put to work.

Applejack headed back down the stairs. "Why don't ya join me in the kitchen 'n tell me all about your family?"

Larry rolled his eyes as he followed her into the kitchen and pulled up a chair as Applejack did the same. "I don't think there's much to tell, really," he said. "I mean, Ludwig's a ponce, Lemmy's a dunce, Iggy's a nerd, Junior's a brat, Wendy's a diva, Morton's a motor-mouth, and Roy's a thug. Not much to them. Oh, and King Dad, well…he's…Dad."

Applejack frowned. "Those really ain't nice things to say 'bout your family."

"We're a family of bad guys," Larry flatly replied. "Y'know, villains? Princess-kidnapping hooligans? Dad's done his best to make sure we ain't a nice family."

An astonished look creased Applejack's features. "What're ya talkin' about? Y'all been kidnapping princesses?!"

Larry held up his hands defensively. "Hey! For what it's worth, Dad's been doing that since before any of us were born! We all just kinda got roped into it! I mean, yeah, it was fun at first, turning kings into animals and stealing Yoshi eggs, but after we kept getting our butts kicked by that Mario jerk, it stopped being fun. But Dad kept us going. Kept saying we'd get him next time, while we were all sitting in the hospital wing, licking our wounds and recovering from concussions for the umpteenth time. We'd get him next time. Next time, he'd roast him good! That got old…but we didn't get a say in it, did we? No, we kept having to go back out there with our troops, hoping beyond hope that our newest gimmicks would be enough to put a stop to that damn plumber! But he got past them! Always. Got. Past. Them. No matter how we tried, we always ended up disappointing King Dad, even though he never did any better! Did he never consider that, maybe, just maybe, we wanted to be something other than Daddy's little villains?! Did he ever consider how badly I wanted to become a professional game designer and tennis player instead of royal thug number seven?! No; he was too busy thinking about what was under Princess Peach's dress and how we were gonna help him finally score with her! So yeah, there ain't much to my family at all!"

Larry's eyes widened when he finished, realizing that he had unwittingly went into a rant in front of a total stranger. The Koopaling buried his face in his hands in embarrassment. He didn't want to see the look on her face; he must have looked like a complete idiot there.

Applejack just gaped at him in shock. The idea of such a dysfunctional family was just mind-boggling to her. How could someone treat their own children like minions in a stereotypical fantasy tale? The thought made her sick. She realized how such a family situation could breed something like a dishonest streak in this kid; his parents hadn't taught him about common decency, and had seemingly even encouraged the exact opposite. She had her work cut out for her here, but nevertheless, she decided then and there that she would be the parental figure this kid never had.

"Ah'm mighty sorry t'hear that, sugarcube," Applejack said softly.

Larry looked up at her. "I don't want your pity!" he snapped. "Pity's for weaklings, Dad always said! I just…I just wish he'd understand…"

Applejack smiled warmly, her motherly instincts taking over. "Ah'm sure one day he will, Larry. One day he will."

XXXXXX

"Ho, man, I've never planned a whole party before!" Morton exclaimed as he helped put up decorations in the library for the party. "I mean, we always had servants for that, and they always did a crummy job, you know? The streamers were always hung up weird and the food always tasted like crap. I should do this more often!"

"You totally should!" Pinkie Pie cried excitedly from the other side of the room, firing her party cannon at the wall and covering it with decorations. "I've never had somepony help me decorate for a party before! I always did it myself with my trusty party cannon, but it's really fun to have somepony help out sometimes!"

"Yeah! 'Specially when they're somebody who's just like you and can relate with! I mean, I never had anybody like that back at home! They're always like, 'Morton, shut up'! 'Morton, your commentary's not necessary'! 'Morton, go talk someone else's ears off'! Morton, your shell goes on your back, not your front'!"

"What was that last one?" Pinkie asked.

"I forget!" Morton immediately replied.

"Okay!"

And all the while, Iggy and Twilight talked about the nature of science and magic, totally oblivious to everything around them like the huge nerds they were.

Comments

[ZeroChill]

Oh my, this is a fantastic surprise here. I love the reference to the Game Books you made with Ludwig where he used to be partially deaf. He also used to be lousy based off of his siblings' reactions to his music. Roy shall rethink his bad attitude now that Fluttershy is conditioning him. Lemmy is adorable and I smell a toyship with Dinky. Wendy is a loveable unpleasant female that Rarity can relate to. I definitely like Iggy, Morton's funny, but Larry made me feel the most with his story. Yes, the others told their stories and Lemmy got 2nd place in the Feels category, but with Larry it felt as if his life really was being ruined.

[SuperPinkBrony12]

4741100 Yeah. He's probably the one Koopaling that would rather do anything other than be a bad guy. All the others would probably stay simply because they wouldn't want to disappoint their father.

[Me Myself and J]

I loved this whole thing. Every bit of it. Every sentence. AND THERE'S STILL ANOTHER CHAPTER