• Published 20th Jul 2018
  • 4,799 Views, 131 Comments

Familiar - Cookies



Upon her return and when confronted by the new Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, Nightmare Moon decides to summon the foulest creature to ever exist (at least she thinks so).

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Going Around

It wasn't hard to find the Carousel Boutique with Fluttershy's instructions.

I knocked on the door and waited for an answer. It didn't take long before Rarity opened the door.

"Anon darling! What are you doing here?"

I pointed to the stain on my shoulder. She gasped.

"I already forgot about that. Please come inside." She moved out of the way so I could enter.

There were many mannequins inside. Wait no. They were pony shaped. Are they called ponyquins?

"Fluttershy mentionned you made clothes." I said looking around. There were dresses more or less extravagant here and there.

"Darling, I do not make clothes. I make art." She paused for dramatic effect. "Or at least I try to."

She walks toward a cabinet and levitate a mesuring tape.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Well I'm about to measure your sizes. You did come here to get a new shirt, am I right?"

"What? No, no. I just thought you had something to get rid of the stain." I said, putting my hands in a dismissive manner.

"Nonsense. You can't possibly wear that anymore."

"Watch me." I squinted at her, carefully stepping back.

"Do not be silly Anon. I'll craft a much better shirt than the... thing you have on."

"Even if I wanted a new shirt, I still can't pay you."

"Darling. I already intended to make it as a thanking gift. I only had a glimpse of human fashion but I'm already having so much new ideas!" she exclaimed. "Just let me do this as thanks."

She seemed really passionate about doing this. I sighed.

"I wouldn't say this..." I motion to my clothes. "...represent human fashion though."

She looked at me with a pout.

...

Frick.

"Fine. Just recreate the same plain shirt with your skills then. I can't go out with something as flashy as your dresses."

She beamed and let out an excited "Perfect!"

"So, what do we do?" I asked, unsure.

"Just remove your shirt, darling."

And so I did, but not without voicing my doubts about the whole thing. "Are you sure about making a whole new shirt? I can still wear this one after it's been cleaned."

"Yes, I am quite sure." She replied, lifting the cloth by focusing her magic on a tiny part. Kind of like she was holding trash honestly.

She puts some glasses on and examine the cloth. She rubs it with her hoof. "The fabric is mediocre at best." Then she looks all around it. "The sewing was done quickly, there was no effort to hide it." Finally, she flips it inside-out. "And the technique is horrid! Darling, I don't know who made this but they probably ripped you off!"

"It was relatively cheap." I shrugged, but it seemed she didn't heard me.

"I'll get to work immediatly. I can not let this outrage to fashion stand." She said with determination.

...Outrage? "Just remember, I want it to look relatively the same, please."

"Yes yes, darling. Now let's see about the measures. Stand straight, lift your arms and do not move." She ordered.

"You won't be able to use magic around me Rarity. I kind of absorb magic."

She pauses. "Well that's unheard of. What did the Princesses say?"

They liked it. "I went out before the doctor told them."

"But.. Isn't it dangerous?"

"As long as I don't get subjected to magic, it'll be fine."

"I see, well hold this part of the tape, if you please." She presses the end of it against my side with a hoof. I put my hand on it to hold it and she retracts her hoof, going all around me and noting the result.

We do the same thing three more times, at the chest, hips, and neck.

She looks at the results and nods. "Good, i'll get on it right away. It shouldn't take long, please stay here and do not touch anything." She says and goes up the stairs.

...

It wasn't long before I got up and looked at the dresses more closely.

...

I had absolutely no eye for fashion. They all looked absurdly complicated to me.

Though something shiny got my attention. It looked like there were gems incrusted into some dresses.

They must be fake. They're enormous. I told myself.

I went back to sit on a chair and just waited for Rarity to come back. Like she said, it didn't take long, 5 minutes top.

"And voilà mon cher Monsieur." She said, carefully floating a brand new shirt to me.

I was about to take it but the way she talked just shocked me. "Did you just speak French?"

Now she was the one to be shocked. "How do you know about it?" She asked.

"I live there." I replied.

"Impossible! France was a city-state in the frozen north. It was known as the city of love and romance. It was then renamed multiple times and ended up being called Prance before it disappeared in the ice more than a thousand years ago."

"Love and romance sounds like Paris, but not the frozen part. Do you know something else?"

"Well, it was also known for its fashion, and the ponies' coat had a crystal shine."

"There's no ponies like that in my world." I said. "And France is a whole country, not a city. Would it just be a coincidence..?"

"That's certainly intriguing... But I suppose it is possible."

"That's crazy..."

We both fell silent, left to our thoughts.

...

"Can you speak French?" She asked.

"Well, it's my first language."

"Would you speak French for me?"

I raised a brow. "What's the reason behind this question?"

She fidgeted with her hooves. "French is a dead language. There are almost nopony left that knows it. Even I know only a few words."

"Fair point. I guess I'll indulge you then." She looks at me with stars in her eyes. "But what should I say?"

"Oh! I have the perfect idea. Put your new shirt on, and give me your feedback in French."

I think for a second, then nod. "Good thinking."

She practically threw the shirt at me in her haste. "Don't make a lady wait, darling!"

"Fine fine. Just let me put it on."

I could already tell it felt nice just by touching it. I opened the buttons and slid my arms in the appropriate locations, then rebuttoned the thing.

"Okay, c'est beaucoup plus doux que ce à quoi je m'attendais."
Okay, it's much softer than what I thought it'd be.

I heard a high pitched noise. I think Rarity just squee'd.

"Et je crois aussi qu'il est plus léger? En tout cas le ressenti sur la peau est juste parfait."
And I think it's lighter too? In any case, it feels just perfect on me.

She kept staring at me with a big grin.

Does she even understand what I'm saying..?

...

"Je vais sortir les poubelles."
I'm going to take out the trash.

She gasps. Ah frick. She does understand.

"I just heard my name!" she exclaims.

...

I put my hand in front of my mouth and turned away. It took all of my will to not let myself just burst out laughing. I bit down my hand until the chest-spasms died out.

I slowly turned back, still having my hand in front of my mouth to hide the smile i had on.

"E-excuse me. What is your name?" I asked shakily.

"Why, it's Belle of course." she said innocently. "I didn't realize you were trying to compliment me."

...I took multiple deep breaths to try and calm myself, not trusting myself to talk without laughing.

She looked at me with worry. "Are you alright dear?"

I nodded weakly. "Are you getting embarrassed perhaps?" she said.

I hid my face behind my hands, I was getting teary-eyed. "You can use the bathroom if you need to calm down." she said, pointing at the other side of the room. "It's right next to the stairs."

I quickly got up and walked to it, shutting the door behind me. I ran some cold water and splashed my face with it.

I kept taking deep breaths, until I finally calmed down a few minutes later.

I can't ever tell her the truth. She'd kill me.

...

I splashed my face another time, then took my time to get out.

"I didn't take you as the shy gentlestallion type." Rarity said.

I bit my tongue to avoid getting back to square one. "Of course, can we change subject please?"

"Oh, yes. Forgive me, I didn't want to embarrass you." She said with a small bow of her head.

I waved my hand. "It's fine. Anyway, the shirt is perfect."

"It was my first attempt at human clothes, but I am glad you like it. I'm pretty sure I can make it even better after a few more attempts."

"It already feels perfect Rarity. But if you think you still have room for improvement..." I shrug.

"There is always room for improvement, Anon." She says and floats a box towards me. I take it, but I didn't expect how heavy it'd be. Around 10 kilos i'd say.

"What is this?" I asked.

"I made a silly request for you to speak French. Just consider it a thanking gift."

I open the box slowly. There was a bundle of big colorful crystals in it.

"Thanks Rarity, but I honestly don't know what i'd do with some crystals."

"Crystals? Don't be silly, darling. I only put gems on my dresses."

I blinked.

"Gems?"

"Yes. They make beautiful add-ons on my work."

I was holding a box filled with dozens of big gems.

I shakily took an emerald out. The thing was as long and thick as two fingers held together.

"But... aren't they mighty expensive..?" I looked back at her, my visage pale.

"Why would they be? Equestria's ground is filled with them."

I held myself by leaning on a nearby ponyquin.

"Darling, are you feeling alright? Do you feel sick?"

"N-no. It's just that gems are somewhat prized in my world, so the tiniest speck is already expensive. Now imagine how expensive gems of this size would be."

Her eyes went wide.

"Your land is a gold mine, Rarity."

"Actually, gold is pretty common too. Our money is made with pure gold."

"What?"

She produced a thick gold coin from a bag nearby. "They're called bits."

I put my hand against my forehead. They're literally bitcoins.

"In my world, one kilo of gold is worth thirty thousands bits. Assuming one bit is one unit of my money."

She gasped. "T-thirty thousands..?"

I nodded.

"And gems are more expensive than gold?"

"I think. Not quite sure though. I only know diamonds are the most expensive gems, and they cost much more than gold."

She faints on a newly placed sofa. The same that appeared in the plains the day before. (Technically it was earlier this day, but the time difference was confusing)

Okay, how does she do that? She's like Pinkie.

"Anon, this is life changing!"

"I know! I could be rich with this!" I stop myself and wince slightly. "Well, assuming you'd accept that I sell your gift. It's generally looked down upon."

"By all means, darling! If you have the chance to live a better life, then do it."

She thinks for a second. "On one condition though, be generous. Whether it's with your family, friends or to humans that need it."

"I wouldn't even know what to do with a fifth of it all. Of course I'm going to share it." I said, baffled at her demand.

She nods. "Good. Then I accept. And..." She opens the box with her magic, replacing a few gems with diamond ones. "...to make sure you'll have enough."

...

I'm normally not to keen on physical contact, but this time I got on my knees and hugged Rarity. It was just too much.

"Thank you..."

She returned the hug. "Well, it's not done yet. You still have to go home for that."

I separated myself from her and stood up again. "That's true. I should get going though. I'd like to see the others before the sun sets."

"You should go to Twilight's library then. It's along the way to the fountain. Plus you can ask her if she has a book about Prance."

"Smart. I'll go there, and then I'll check on Applejack."

"Applejack? She has a farm on the other side of the town."

"Ah, thanks for the indications. And thanks again for the gems, Rarity." I turned toward the door, but she interupted me.

"Wait a second, darling! You can't possibly be thinking to lift that thing around everywhere!"

I looked down at the box. She was right, it'd be pretty tiring to haul it around.

"Just let me keep it for now. I'll give it back to you when it'll be time for you to go." she says. I nodded and just put the box down on the nearest furniture so she can put it away.

"Oh, and I almost forgot something." She says, giving me a small pouch.

"Would you please give it to Twilight when you see her? Tell her it's for Spike."

"Sure, I don't mind." I said, taking the bag.

I was starting to feel like a postman though.

"Take care." She said, leading me to the door.

I waved my hand at her and went on my way to the library.

~ ~ ~

I had to ask a pony where the library was because I had no idea where the fountain was. Thankfully she was quite nice, she said her name was Roseluck.

I casually chatted with her. Asked what was her job --she was a florist-- and other stuff. I hoped that if I showed myself as friendly, ponies would stop looking at me like I was about to eat them.

I would rather leave with a good reputation rather than a bad one.

I carefully followed the directions Roseluck told me and soon I found myself in front of a tree. A big tree. A house tree thing that also acted as a the town's library.

...A treebrary?

It was only when I approached the door that I spotted a guard waiting there, staring straight ahead.

He looked awfully similar to the one I 'talked' with just before leaving the hospital.

"Hey dude, I need to see Twilight, can I go in?" I said.

He turned his head toward me. "The library is currently closed. The citizen known as Twilight Sparkle was summoned by the Princesses to aid them for a research leading to returning you back to your world."

They only asked for Twilight?

I scratched my chin. "Huh. I supposed Celestia already knew of a way to send me back. I hope they don't take too long, I was supposed to deliver something to Twilight."

"You have something for Twilight?" I heard from behind me. I turned and looked down. There was a small purple and green scaled creature at my feet.

...

"Well aren't you a big lizard."

"Get it right, I'm not a lizard, I'm 100% dragon." he said, with a roll of his eyes.

Him? A dragon? "You're joking."

He breathed a small green flame toward my face, there was no way it was going to hit me but the surprise made me nearly stumble backwards.

"Hey, what was that for?!"

He shrugged. "I had to give you some kind of proof, right?"

"But you're so small!"

"Dude, I'm still a baby dragon. Give me some time."

I groaned, just wanting to move on. "So you know Twilight?"

He gave me a smug grin. "I'm her number one assistant."

"Then I assume you're Spike?"

"Uh huh. Did she talk about me?"

"Twilight and Rarity only mentionned you. I didn't expect that you were a dragon."

"Yeah, I have this effect on ponies. So what did you want to give to Twilight?"

I gave him the small pouch. "Actually it's something for you. It's from Rarity."

"Why would she..." He opens the bag and looks inside, his eyes goes wide as he pulls out a gem. I heard him mumbling something about Rarity but I didn't understand what he said.

I think he liked his gift though. "Well that was really kind of her to give yo--"

crunch

I saw him bite clean through the gem and chew it. I was shook.

He looked at me as he was about to take a second bite.

...

Aaaand he slowly placed the gem back in the bag.

"Yeah, I'll just eat that later. Thanks dude." he says, heading to the door. The guard let him pass.

Even baby dragons are scary... I looked at the door of the library closing behind the guard and sighed.

Guess it's time to see the cowboy pony.

~ ~ ~

I backtracked to where I saw Roseluck earlier, hoping she was still there so she could show me where AJ's farm was.

Sadly, she wasn't here anymore, but I met a grey pegasus with a blonde mane.

Well, she's the one that met me when she crashed in my back, sending both of us to the ground.

I first thought the impact made her eyes go cross-eyed, but she assured me they were already like that.

We talked for a bit, she was kind enough to point me toward the acres, but I think her aim was off because I didn't find a road to Applejack's house. I only got to a wall of apple trees.

After a few minutes of following the fence leading back to Ponyville, I finally got on the road to the house.

Figures the walk was as long as going to Fluttershy's cottage. My feet were starting to ache, and I was getting tired quicker because of my lack of proper sleep.

I finally spotted the red barn after the long walk. I pushed myself to walk a little faster to end this quickly.

Though when I was closing in, I saw one big red pony also approaching the house from another road. He was pulling a cart full of apples.

He stared silently at me as he was passing by.

"Hello?"

He replied with a simple "Hello." in a deep voice, continuing on his way.

I followed after him. "Do you need help?"

There was a brief silence as he looked me up and down.

"...Nnnope."

Thanks for the confidence boost, big guy.

"I'm looking for Applejack. Have you seen her?"

"She's down the orchard. Follow the road where Ah came from." he answered simply and continued walking toward the barn.

"Well thanks." I said, only earning a small motion of his head in response.

He's not very talkative...

I followed the dirt road until I spotted big wooden buckets near a part of the fence.

I heard a heavy thud sound, followed with multiple things falling behind some trees. I decided to go over the fence and follow the sounds.

What I saw was pretty amazing actually. Applejack just kicked a tree with enough force that all the apples on it fell down in the wooden buckets. Every. Single. One. Fell. Down.

I need to remember to never anger her. I noted to myself.

"Hey Applejack." I said when she was about to kick another tree.

"Huh?" She turned to look at me. "Howdy Anon. What are you doin' here?"

"Just taking some time clear my head by walking around. Today was full of surprises." I said, flipping one of the empty buckets upside down to sit on it.

"Ah feel like it was for everypony." She says, kicking another tree. It'd be fricking impressive if she did that all afternoon.

"From what I understood, Celestia was the only ruler of Equestria?"

She nods. "And now Princess Luna will take back her place as co-ruler."

I raised a brow. "Aren't you afraid that she'll go back to full evil mode?"

She shaked her head. "We hit her with the Elements of Harmony. Ah believe she's not evil anymore."

"What are these 'Elements' anyway? You keep talking about them."

"Just the strongest artifacts in Equestria."

"So... Magic?"

"Magic."

"It sure is handy."

"Can't say I disagree with ya." She kicks another tree, filling another group of buckets with apples.

There was another silence after that. I just watched her do her work for a couple minutes before she eventually caught me staring.

"Want to help?" She asked while removing the sweat from her forehead with a hoof.

"Not sure I'm strong enough for that." I replied, pointing at a random tree. She just chuckled.

"Probably not, but you can still bring back the filled buckets to the road. Mac probably left us the cart so we can round them back to the barn."

I shrugged. "I got nothing better to do."

I got up and tried to lift a bucket. The darn thing was heavy, but I still managed to do it. I didn't remember where I came from, so I just followed the 'empty' trees to get back to the road, and sure enough there was a wooden cart waiting there.

I made a few round-trips before Applejack started bringing the buckets to the road too. I gave her an impressed nod when I saw she was balancing the bucket on her back.

It took us a few minutes to load the whole cart, then she attached herself at the front and pulled the whole thing forward.

"You do this everyday?"

"Yup. Big Mac and 'Ah have to take care of the farm. Granny takes care of the cookin' and bakin' and Ah sell the sweets at the market in the mornin'."

"Seems like a good schedule."

The both of us spotted three little ponies running away from the barn as we approached it. It didn't seem like they saw me though.

"Should we be concerned about that?" I asked Applejack, which just sighed.

"That's mah sister and her friends. Ah just hope they'll not get into trouble this time."

"Eh, siblings. Gotta love them, even when they're doing some shenanigans."

She nods. "Family is sacred."

She stops next to the barn and removes the bindings around her midsection. I moved behind the cart to take a bucket. "So where do we put these?"

"Don't worry about it, Mac will take care of it after dinner." She says, heading for the door. "Wanna join us?"

I blinked at her. "Are you sure it'll be alright?"

She flicks her tail. "You worry too much Anon."

...

"Alrig--" As I was about to give my response, we got interupted by a royal guard flying over us.

"Are you Anon?" The guard said.

"Yes?" I said, mildly confused as to why a guard was visibly searching for me.

"By the Princesses orders, you are assigned to stay in the town's library. Please follow me."

I tried to plead with the guard. "Can't it wait after dinner..?"

He shakes his head. "Orders are effective immediatly."

I sighed and looked at Applejack. "Sorry, have to go."

"Can't go against the Princesses orders. Ah'll try to bring you something later."

"You're too kind. I'll see you later then."

I waved at her and followed the guard back to the library.

~ ~ ~

It was a long silent walk back to the library. I attempted to chat with the guard but he completely ignored me.

When we approached the library, the guard saluted the one protecting the door. He told the other that he was taking the shift. They bumped each other's hoof and I finally got to enter.

They really looked like each other. Twins maybe?

It seemed like the library was carved directly inside the massive tree, which was pretty impressive, but also ironic in a way.

I wonder if the paper in these books were made from the wood of this tree...

"Oh hey... Uh i didn't actually ask your name earlier." I hear Spike say from a distance. It seems like he was in the kitchen.

"Call me Anon." I say, looking around. There were some stairs on the side, heading to a bed above the kitchen room.

"That's a neat place Twilight got here."

"Princess Celestia offered it to her. She loves books, so a library was the perfect place she could get."

I blinked. "That's a really amazing gift."

"I know right? Anyway, I was told you were supposed to sleep here for the night, so I prepared dinner for the both of us." He comes with two plates, with sandwiches on them.

Did... Did he really make a gem sandwich?!

"I didn't know what was you favorite flower so I just settled on dandelions. I hope you like it." He says, putting both plates on the table in the center of the room.

"Flower?" I squinted at the sandwich, lifting the top piece of bread. "I... don't eat flowers."

"Oh." He gets up and head toward the kitchen. "Wait here, i'll make you a gem sandwich too then."

"Wait wait. I also don't eat gems." I say, going in the kitchen with him.

He stops and look at me, confused. "What do you eat then?"

"A lot of stuff, just not really hard things like gems, or flowers. I can eat salads though, but I'd prefer if you had meat, or pasta?"

He gasps. "Meat?! Are you some sort of griffin or something?"

"No? And aren't dragons supposed to be carnivores?"

"What?! I'd never eat meat! Twilight always told me good dragons wouldn't eat meat!"

"Okay okay, I get it. Don't be mad at me." I said defensively. "Do you have any fruits?"

He took a second to calm himself. "Sure, check in the kitchen. I think I'll just eat my sammich and go to sleep."

"Sorry if I angered you little bud." I go around the table and pat him on the head. The touch heated up my hand, making me pull back in surprise. I saw Spike fall forward on the ground, not moving.

OHFRICKOHFRICKOHFRICK

I removed my shirt and wrapped my hands with it, then I carefully flipped him on his back.

He snored loudly. I sighed with relief, he was just sleeping.

I didn't think it'd have an effect on dragons too... That could've been dangerous.

I wrapped my shirt around him and lifted him, bringing him upstairs. I laid him in the bed and got back the shirt. He'll probably wake up soon.

After making sure he'd be okay, I went to the kitchen to take whatever fruit was there. Turns out like they had the same fruits we can find in our world. Both reassuring and disappointing.

I ate some grapes and a couple apples while watching some ponies talking with each other or heading somewhere. I don't know how they do it, but the food here is much tastier than our food.

I wondered why there were some pegasus lighting the public night lamps while the Sun was still high in the sky. I got my answer a few seconds later when the Sun suddenly dropped in mere seconds under the horizon and the Moon took its place.

I dropped my apple. I was pretty sure something as big as the Sun moving this quick would cause some sort of problem, but no pony was panicking.

Is this normal?!

I rubbed my face with both of my hands. How far will this world go to surprise me?

Fate decided to answer me by lighting up the lamps in the house with a soft orange glow. They literally lit up by themselves.

...

I picked up the apple on the ground and threw it in the trash, then I went back to the main room.

Fricking magic... But I guess now would be a good time to read up on some of Equestria's history. I thought.

I took one book at random and started reading it's title.

...

It was written in strange glyphs, but what was most surprising is that I could still understand them.

Is this a side effect from Luna's spell?

It was strange, knowing a language without learning it. It feels like I always knew this language despite only gaining knowledge of it today.

The book's name was "Flowers and Plants of the South". It wouldn't help me so I put it back on its shelf.

I spent around half an hour checking every book's name and putting aside those that could help me.

I briefly checked the time when i was finished.

8:26 pm.

I had a few hours to spare. Good.

I spent these hours just looking around the books, learning about some random events, as well as the holidays (which strangely resembled ours), and the current relations of the ponies with the others species.

Who would've thought Celestia would use the Sun itself in the negociation with the dragons so that they'd stop attacking the ponies for food?

Just knowing that Celestia could move the Sun itself was amazing. And Luna, by her name, should be able to move the Moon.

Sadly there was no mentions of her anywhere.

I wonder if only her evil side was remembered by the ponies. The only trace I read on her was about Nightmare Night.

I yawned.

...

I checked on the clock again. It was past midnight.

I slowly piled up the books on the table, then I went upstairs to go to sleep.

I nearly forgot I put the little guy in the bed, so I was a bit in trouble to find somewhere to sleep.

After looking around silently, I spotted some blankets being stored in a shelf near the bed. I took them and went back downstairs, away from the snoring dragon.

I put them all on the ground and laid there. It was a bit sturdy, but it would do for a single night.

I closed my eyes, and waited for my mind to drift to sleep.

Author's Note:

As always, thank you for reading if you're still there.

I rushed a little bit to get the chapter out so if you spot some gramatical error, please point them out.

I have no estimate for the next chapter. It might get published next weekend. We'll see.