I, Dragon

by Psychomaniac

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Rainbow Dash left a few minutes ago to retrieve my brother. He managed to find Ponyville, so she shouldn’t be long. I just finished breakfast, and now I’m waiting.

“You fool!”

Ah, that would be him now. He is in his pony form. A full grown stallion, his coat a few shades darker than my own, and a midnight blue mane. He lacks a cutie mark, but then, all dragons do. I stare at him impatiently. “Good morning, Brother. How was your trip?”

He snarls at me, baring his teeth. It might be more effective if he were to phase his snout, but, eh, it’s his choice. Our opinions always had us at odds. This will just be the latest in a very long series of fights. Or, it would be if I were to choose to engage him.

“I didn’t come here for your pleasure, Brother! You would do well to remember your place. Why are you in your true scales? Why do you not hide yourself?”

“Sparky? What’s going on?” asks Rainbow.

“Sparky? You let them name you? Are you their pet, then? Next you’ll tell me you’ve fallen for one of them,” my brother states, disgust on his face. I merely smile at him. Rainbow puts on a look of defiance.

“He’s not a pet! He’s our friend!” she shouts at him. She stands in front of him. My brother responds by shedding his form in favor of his true appearance. He rises to his full height, almost twice as large as I am.

Rainbow just grins up at him. “Eh, I’ve seen bigger.” She turns her back on him, much to his confusion. “You really wanted this guy to help you? I’m sure there’s somedragon else who could have fixed you up. Just say the word and I’ll get rid of ‘em for ya.” She turns back to my brother and looks up at him, still grinning. “Yeah, I could take him. Might take longer than 10 seconds, though.”

My brother stares down at her. “I would know your name, little pony.”

“Yours first,” she responds.

He continues to stare at her, then rears back and laughs. He brings his massive head down to her level, and states his name.

“Nice ta meetcha, Rawgrrrrgraaa Yeahthisisnthappening. The name’s Rainbow Dash. Fastest flyer in Equestria, future wonderbolt, yadda yadda yadda,” she states, obviously completely butchering his name and insulting him. I start to rise, but I stop when I see the look on my brother’s face. He is expressing pure amusement. Given that this is his first meeting with the ponies he claims to despise, it’s nothing short of incredible. He calmly steps over her and approaches me.

Rainbow flies out from under him and gets in his path. “We’re not finished!” she shouts to him.

“It’s okay, Rainbow Dash. He’s coming to do what he needs to do. I will be fine in a moment,” I tell her. She looks down at me, then nods and lands nearby. My brother reaches for my injured arm. He pulls, and I experience a sharp pain as he straightens the joint and completes the reduction. I roar in pain, but don’t move. He sets his sight on my leg. I gnash my teeth as he grips it and forces my leg straight. He inspect his work, and gives my leg another sharp pull. The joint finally complies and I feel the pain subside. He continues to stand over me.

“You are thinking of jam. Why?

I stand and struggle to get out from under him. He holds his place. I turn my head and glare up at him. “Remove yourself from my thoughts, Brother,” I demand.

“I didn’t enter them. You are shouting in your mind. I didn’t have to try to hear the echos. What is this jam that you are shouting about? Answer, Brother.”

“Leave him alone!” shouts Rainbow.

He turns to her. “You amused me by playing the part of the protector. I am tired of this game.”

Seeing him distracted by Rainbow, I shoot myself backwards and up, upsetting his balance and freeing myself. I turn and glare at my downed brother. He rights himself and stares back at me. “I can feel the greed in you, Brother. This jam is consuming you,” he states. He speaks the truth.

“I will not succomb to my base desires. I have long since mastered them.”

“Then speak the name of your demon,” he requests. I nod at him.

“Zap Apple Jam. It’s made from apples infused with our element. I tried some as a curiosity. A small amount empowered me for a large part of the day. Later, I consumed more. I was reluctant, but I agreed due to a friend in need. I was able to be there for her, but it came at a price. It overcharged my system, and caused me to crash from the sky. Until the full effects of the jam wear off, I am unable to use my abilities. This empowers me to rebuke my greed for it.”

My brother takes what I say in. He lies in front of me, polymorphing back to his unicorn form. “Tell me everything that’s happened since your arrival, Brother.”

I lie down and do so.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You’re a fool. You pointlessly made an enemy.”

A few hours have passed. Fluttershy has yet to emerge from her cottage, but Rainbow has kept us company while I brought my brother up to speed. I already know he disapproves of my being here, but ultimately it’s my decision. Still, I listen to what he says.

“It wasn’t my intention at the time. I already know I overreacted to the situation,” I respond.

He sighs. “I cannot say I would do any different if our roles were reversed. All we can do for now is move forward. So, only a limited number of ponies know of your being here?” he asks. If I know him, he will try to use this to bring me home. Sorry, big brother.

“I will be announcing my presence here in a few days. The local leaders of this town have already agreed that I will be a welcome part of this town for the duration of my stay. I will stand before them as I am now. The original plan called for me to not reveal my true appearance, but that choice was removed when I consumed that jam. Delaying the meeting is pointless, seeing as how I will probably be made aware of soon anyway. I doubt very much that stallion will keep silent for long.”

My brother takes a moment to think on this. He shakes his head, and says, “I fail to see how this will end in anything but disaster. Still, I have made my thoughts known.” He looks over at Rainbow, then back to me. “I suppose you have done well to turn one enemy into a friend.”

I nod and smile at him. Rainbow blushes lightly at the remark. “Watch it, I can still take you, Mr. Dragon,” she says. My brother chuckles.

He smiles at me as he informs me, “Don’t crash again. Next time, I won’t be so kind when I fix you up. I hadn’t planned to stay long, so I won’t. Farewell, Brother.”

Watching a unicorn fly away is quite amusing. My brother’s talent for flight allows him to stabilize himself without the use of wings. I suppose if I wanted to, I could achieve the same finesse in flight. But then, I’ve grown attached to the pegasus I turn into.

Rainbow and I walk over to Fluttershy’s cottage. She knocks on the door.

“Is… is he… gone?” I hear from inside. She cracks the door, and seeing me, slams it shut. I let out a laugh, and Rainbow knocks again.

“It’s just Sparky, Fluttershy. His brother just left. You can come out now.”

Fluttershy cracks the door open again, and looks at me. She confirms I’m not my terrible, horrible big brother, and ventures outside. I lower myself down and smile at her, keeping my mouth closed. I know she’s used to me, but there’s not point in trying to make her scared of me again. She smiles back and gives a quiet “Thank you, Sparky, but I’m fine now.”

“Just doing what I can for my most gracious host, Fluttershy. And you,” I begin, turning to Rainbow Dash, “thanks for protecting me from that beast of a brother.”

Rainbow grins at me, saying “You know I got your back, Big Guy. Anyway, I gotta jet. Later, guys.” She does that vertical take off that I so admire.

“You know, my brother wouldn’t have hurt you. You didn’t have to hide from him.”

“I know, Sparky. Still, I’m glad he was able to get you going again. How are you feeling?”

I move my limbs around, testing my mobility. “My legs are a bit stiff, but I can work that out. Actually, would you mind if I went for a swim? I kinda miss the water, and I’m a bit hungry. I can come back here if you like.”

“That’s fine, Sparky. Thank you for staying here for as long as you did. I know Twilight wanted to talk to you some more about the meeting. I can tell her to go to your lake, if you want.”

“That sounds great, Fluttershy. I’ll see you soon!” I say. With a flap of my wings, I take off and fly south over the Everfree Forest. I’m going to have to avoid flying directly over Ponyville for the time being.

I fly south for a little while, that angle west. My lake is now directly ahead. Off in the distance, I spot it, and Sweet Apple Acres a bit farther to the north. I play it safe and check the nearby area before descending. Nopony is swimming today, so I glide into the lake and dive under. The water feels wonderful after so long out of it.

It doesn’t take me long to catch my fill. The effects of the jam must be wearing off; I’m starting to feel hungry at appropriate times now. My appetite is still diminished from what it normally is, but that will fade. The thoughts of the stuff keep circulating in my mind. It’s easy enough to fend off, but for the time being, I decide to take a nap. Maybe later I will feel more like myself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s a wonderful experience, waking underwater again. I open my eyes, and see several fish nearby either dying or dead. I can’t tell what happened, but they don’t appear to be injured. My only theory is that I overcharged while sleeping. Sure enough, I can feel the tingling sensation through my veins again. At least I don’t have muscle spasms going through my abdomen this time.

Well, no sense in letting the fish go to waste. I find just over half a dozen fish of various sizes. A nice sized lunch. I finish eating and poke my head through the surface. On the distant shoreline I see Twilight and Pinkie. A nice, easy swim takes me to them.

“Sparky! Ohmygosh! I haven’t seen you in like, FOREVER! Twilight told me she was going to see you so I was like, ‘Can I come?’ and she was like, ‘Sure, Pinkie!’ only more like ‘Yeah, Pinkie, that’s fine,’ so we walked over to see you and now here we are! And Twilight told me you were hurt! Why were you hurt, Sparky?” She has been steadily moving closer to me as she speaks. Now she is snout to muzzle with me. “Don’t get hurt again, Sparky. I don’t like my friends to get hurt.” Her mane lets go of some of its fluffyness.

I smile at her, and get a big one in return. “I’m okay, Pinkie. I just had a disagreement with the ground. The ground won, but I got in a pretty good hit. I really think I can take him the next time.”

“You silly! The ground isn’t a him, it’s a her! Next time you decide to pick a fight with the ground, lemme know! Twilight is always saying even the ground couldn’t hold me down for long. Then she says I make her head hurt sometimes. Why is that, Twilight?”

Twilight has just been listening to our exchange with growing confusion. It takes her a moment to realised she has been asked a question. “Huh? Oh, it’s okay Pinkie. Why are you almost kissing Sparky? Actually, nevermind. I see your brother was able to get you going again. Is he still in the area?”

I turn to her and shake my head. “No, he told me he didn’t want to stay here long. He doesn’t outright hate ponies, but doesn’t like being around them either. A pity, really, I would have liked for you all to have met him, especially you, Pinkie. Rainbow Dash made quite the impression, though.”

Twilight keeps her expression neutral. “She didn’t… attack him, did she?”

I laugh and shake my head, saying, “No, no. She did try to stand between him and I, though. Squaring off against an ancient dragon. Pretty much, if you could do something wrong to a dragon, she did it. It was funny, really. My brother knew she meant well, though.”

Twilight’s left eye seems to be twitching. “It seems I have a pegasus to strangle later. For now, I’m just glad you’re okay. Will you be ready for the meeting?”

“I will have to attend ‘au naturel’, but I’m thinking that should be fine. My abilities are still on the fritz, so I’ll just make do and wing it. Look out Ponyville, here I come!”

Twilight just shakes her head. “If you say so. Just remember, individually, ponies can be very calm and collected. In large groups, however, if something sets us off, we can be set into a panic with something as simple as a doll and a spell,” Twilight says, shuddering at a memory. It must have been some spell.

“Got it. So, you two have any plans for today?” I ask. Pinkie is nodding so fast it appears her head is vibrating. “Party preparations, I assume?” The nodding somehow goes faster. Any more and she’ll look like she has two heads. Twilight looks at her in shock.

“Pinkie?” Twilight asks.

Pinkie stops nodding suddenly and turns to her. “Yes, Twilight?”

“Nothing. I’m sorry, what were you saying, Sparky?” she asks. Twilight seems to be distracted for some reason.

“I was saying, what’s going on? Tell me what’s on your mind, Twilight.”

She sighs, and look at Pinkie and myself. “I’m just thinking of all that can go wrong with this meeting. I know we have to do this, but this town has had a bad experience with a rampaging dragon before. The issue was resolved, and Spike apologized to everypony, but…”

“Spike?!” I ask in alarm. Twilight nods her head.

“He let his greed get the better of him. Before we knew it, he had grown into a mature adult. He even abducted Rarity. Fortunately, she was able to get him out of his greedy ways. I shudder to think what might have happened if he kept going. I just can’t predict how the townsponies will react to having you around, Sparky.”

Pinkie smiles up at me. “I think everypony will like him! He’s just the coolest, most awesome dragon we have aside from Spike!”

I manage to get a wounded look on my face. “I’m hurt, Pinkie!” I exclaim. Pinkie just keeps grinning up at me. Before too long, I’m grinning back, and so is Twilight.

“Thanks, Pinkie, I needed that. There’s something else, Sparky. It’s Scootaloo. I think I can isolate where her flight magic is severed, but fixing it will be something else entirely. Something like this has never been attempted before. What if we can’t…” she says, trailing off.

I shake my head, but Pinkie’s grin never fades. “Then I’ll throw her a ‘I’m-sorry-you-can’t-fly-but-your-still-awesome-in-your-own-way Party!’ She’ll be kinda sad again, but as long as she has Rainbow Dash, and you, Sparky, then she’ll be okay. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” she says, making the motions.

“Scootaloo’s strong, Twilight. No matter what it takes, she will either earn her place in the sky, or know she did everything she could to reach it,” I add. Twilight looks like she’s feeling a bit better now.

“Thanks, I needed that. My equipment’s at Applejack’s farm now, Sparky. She let me take over one of her barns. Think you can stop by for a few tests?”

“Oh, that was fast! You only told me yesterday you were moving. Yeah, Twilight, my pleasure. When do you want me?”

“I will be conducting another round of test on a few foals this afternoon after school. This might also be a good time to show you to a few of the children.”

“Yea, they bugged me about it when Miss Cheerilee and I did that impromptu class on dragons. They wanted to see me like this, but I wasn’t able to show them inside that tiny classroom. It never even occurred to me to gather them at the farm. Actually, come to think of it, there were only a few pegasi in class. Were you able to find more?”

“Rainbow Dash found a few through her weather team. They come from all over, really. Quite a few fly in from Cloudsdale to help with the weather here. Others, like Cloud Kicker, have younger siblings that live elsewhere with their parents. The whole Kicker Clan lives in Canterlot, minus a few exceptions.”

“So a lot of these foals won’t know about my being there. What about their parent or siblings?” I ask.

“I told them there may be an unexpected visitor, but I didn’t tell them who or what to expect. For all they know, the princesses are going to make an appearance.”

Pinkie lets out a loud gasp. “Twilight! Have you gone prankster on us? I mean, comeon! How are me and Dashie supposed to keep up with an alicorn princess?! Or maybe,” she gets a huge grin on her face, “maybe you wanna prank WITH me and Dashie?”

“Pinkie, I have more trouble keeping up with you and Rainbow Dash then you two will ever have with keeping up with me. It’s your wits, not any special ‘alicorn powers’, that make a pony, or dragon, a great prankster. And you,” Twilight says, bopping Pinkie on the nose, “have wits in spades.”

“No I don’t, I got em in my head!” she exclaims, laughing.

We all share a laugh. I get myself collected and turn to Twilight. “So, how many ponies are you expecting?”

“Seven pegasi, three unicorns, and five earth ponies, all of various ages. All three of the crusaders will be there as well. Oh, and two dragons, of course. Spike volunteered to be scanned as well. I suppose I could invite one of the princesses to get some alicorn magic into the mix, but there are just too few of us to get any kind of broad data. It also doesn’t help that there has never been an alicorn stallion in history. Still, I could make the offer.”

My eyes go wide at this information. “You’re testing the magic of all the pony races? My word! What are you calling this study?”

“The Scootaloo Project. It all started to help her. I have developed new designs for some testing equipment. It’s been a while since I tackled a project this huge. When I think of how this data will affect ponykind, it just boggles the mind. Turns out I managed to find a worthy place for that donation you were wanting to make. I hope you don’t mind.”

I grin at her. This is indeed just the thing for all that extra treasure I brought here from my hoard. “Twilight, it would be my privilege to fund The Scootaloo Project.”

Twilight smiles back at me. Pinkie smiles at both of us.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sweet Apple Acres is only a few minutes away by air, but I take the scenic route. Pinkie is on my back, whooping up a storm. Twilight went on ahead about half an hour ago to get everything ready, and everypony prepared for my arrival.

“Whoo Hoo! Higher, Sparky!” shouts Pinkie Pie. I locate a rising thermal and comply. Before too long, we’re three miles in the sky. The air is thin and crisp, but still breathable. Pinkie has the same giddy look she usually has. I start to angle us downward towards the Acres.

Before too much longer, I can see a small gathering of ponies near one of the barns. I get closer and start to make out the individual features of each pony. I find my favorite three off to the side, with their sisters nearby as well. By accident or design, they are in the clearest spot near the barn that I can land in. My landing point found, I descend and settle down.

The reaction is immediate. First, the fillies and colts from school rush towards me, including the Crusaders. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity all move towards me as well. Among the older ponies who don’t know me, a scream is heard. The children gathered around me are now climbing on me, trying to join Pinkie Pie on my back. A light grey pegasus colt lands on my head.

“Rumble! Get down from there!” shouts a much darker pegasus stallion. I smile at him, once again making sure to keep my mouth closed. Rumble closes his eyes and shakes his head.

“Sparky won’t hurt us, Thunderlane. I promise!” he calls down. I feel another foal climbing my neck. I can’t really turn my head and look, but I have a feeling I know who it is.

“Hold still, Sparky! Gah, I can’t wait till I can fly. Finally. Hey, Rumble,” says Scootaloo. She takes a place right behind Rumble on my head. I carefully look back and see the rest of my body is covered from the base of my neck to my tail in foals. A few of them are clinging to my wing joints as well, making flight impossible. The older ponies all still look worried about the dragon their younger charges are climbing.

I lower my head, much to the disappointment of the two foals who are perched upon it. Rumble is collected by Thunderlane, and Scoots hops down herself. She walks over to Rainbow Dash and grins up at her. Rainbow reflects the grin right back.

Twilight calls for everypony’s attention, “Alright, everypony. I know this is your first time seeing Sparky. We need to get started on the examinations. Sparky, would you mind bringing the children over to the barn?”

I nod and make my way over to the barn. The door is open, and Spike is already inside adjusting some of the equipment. He turns and see me, and runs over.

“Sparky!” he shouts. I grab him up and plop him on my back with the other children. Pinkie finally hops down and bounces over to Twilight.

The interior of the barn is a lot more spacious than the room this equipment was formerly housed in. Twilight walks over to me and directs me to lie down near the table. For obvious reasons, I’m not on the table itself. She uses her magic to attach the various leads for her machinery. I glance at the door and see the ponies from outside. They start to file in and gather around me. The foals make their way down and go to their respective families.

“Sparky, was it?” asks the dark pegasus. I nod to him. “My name’s Thunderlane. When Princess Twilight told us there would be a dragon joining us shortly, we all thought she was referring to her assistant.”

I chuckle softly. “That’s quite alright, Thunderlane. As you can see, I mean nopony any harm. At least the children are having fun.”

Sure enough, the children are all eagerly telling the tale of riding the dragon. Rainbow walks over and sits nearby. Soon, all the adults and children have gathered to watch my exam. Twilight finishes connecting me and begins the process.

“It’s entirely passive, so you don’t have to worry about any more excess currents running through you,” Twilight explains. “I did have to use a few extension wires to cover his increased size, of course, but I can easily adjust everything for the minor variances this might cause. Please extend your wings, Sparky.”

I do so, my wingtip almost reaching the ponies sitting nearest to me. I slowly raise and lower them as Twilight directs me to do so.

“As you can see, his wings are roughly proportional to a pegasus in terms of wingspan to body size,” Twilight informs them.

I decide to add a few points to this, “As we age, our wings don’t keep up with our size. Typically, the younger a dragon is, the better we are at flying. As juveniles, we can fly with the best of you. As I am now, I can manage in the air enough that it’s my preferred mode of travel aside from very short distances. I can fly very easily with riders, which Rarity, Pinkie, and three of the fillies here can attest to.”

The three fillies all call out in unison, “Cutie Mark Crusaders Dragon Riders, YAY!” This causes a few of the ponies present to cringe slightly. I just laugh as always.

Twilight begins again, “Anyway, wingspan does affect our abilities in the air somewhat, but overall its our magic that keeps us aloft. Everypony here knows Rainbow Dash, correct?”

“They better!” she exclaims. A round of nods and chuckles follows.

“She claims to be the fastest pegasus in Equestria,” Twilight continues. “I have no doubt whatsoever that it’s true. Rainbow, could you stand here and spread your wings, please?”

Rainbow Dash makes her way to the front of everypony. She unfurls her wings, and Twilight stands beside her and does the same. Twilight stands a bit taller than Rainbow, with a larger wingspan as well.

“Now, it’s hardly fair to compare a pegasus to an alicorn. As you can see, my wingspan is larger than Rainbow’s, however, she is still by far the better flier. Thanks, Rainbow,” Twilight says, nodding to her. Rainbow Dash just nods back, grinning. “Um, you can take your seat now.” Rainbow finally gets it and move back over to Scootaloo.

Behind Twilight, the machines start printing off their readouts. Twilight pauses just long enough to take a quick glance at them, then make a few adjustments. “As I was saying, wingspan isn’t everything. I have another guest here today. He will be a bit cranky, given his nocturnal hours, but he will be okay. Owlowiscious, would you mind coming down here for a moment?”

The owl silently glides down from the rafters overhead. He alights on Twilight’s back and looks at everypony. “Hooo!”

“You, you silly bird,” says Twilight, smiling at their little game. “Could you show the ponies your wings?”

Owlowiscious spreads his wingspan for all to see. His wings are almost as large as Scootaloo’s.

“My nocturnal assistant here flies without magic. His wings and muscles are all proportional to a filly or colt having the same wingspan as Princess Celestia. She, in turn, would need wings roughly the same size as Sparky here to stay aloft without magic. Of course, the muscles required to use them, well, that’s another story entirely.

“I am attempting to find just what it takes to keep a pegasus in the air. Your part in all this, as simple as it is, is to just lie on the table over here behind Sparky, and I will do the rest. If you like, I can provide a copy of the readings I get today for future reference. I will be keeping the originals at the castle and doing the analysis myself. The more data I can acquire, the better.” She turns back to me and starts removing the leads from my wings and body. “Looks like you’re good to go, Sparky. I may ask you here again, if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all, Princess.” I turn to the gathered ponies. “I will remain outside for the time being if you have any questions. There will be a general town meeting regarding my presence in Ponyville in a couple of days. I look forward to seeing you there if you decide to join us.”

Most everypony who are not actively being tested join me outside. Yeah, I like it here.

Comments

[KitsuneNoYomeiri]

You absolute tease! i.imgur.com/Bl7mmwP.png I'm all happy about finding out how your pegasi stay in the air, and then BOOM! Your answer is in another castle.

Why must you do this to me?

[Psychomaniac]

4713707
Data analysis takes time.

We wouldn't want Twilight to rush through everything, maybe missing some important fact, right?

Don't worry, The Scootaloo Project is far from over!

[Kenshinryuu]

Can I help fund the Scootaloo Project???? I can't wait to see what other data Twilight finds, this should be interesting. I do have to ask if Sparky might know of a magic item that will at least let Scootaloo fly for a bit so she can learn the basics from Rainbow and get used to flying??? Or just in case Twilight can't find what's wrong with Scootaloo and needs more time.
4713707 ROTFLMAO!!!!!!! And it's being kept by a PRINCESS!!!! Sorry folks, your data is in the Princess's other castle.

[Rotor576]

Please continue