Land Once Forsaken

by DracoPony

Prologue Pt.2

I'm awoken by rapid knocking at my door, did something happen? Is there an update from Celestia? Jumping out of bed as fast as I can without hurting myself yet again, I rush downstairs expecting Spike with another letter, but something seems off. Opening the door I see two figures of black as my eyes adjust to the sunlight. The first figured is somepony I've never seen before. Those stripes on her body remind me of zebras back on my own world. The second figure is Apple Bloom, what is she doing bringing this pony here to my house?!

“Mornin' Ashton!”

“Apple Bloom what are you doing?! You're not supposed to tell anypony about me let alone bring them here...” Apple Bloom must have had a good reason but still this could cause so many problems.

“I know I ain't supposed to tell nopony, but Zecora here knows things that other ponies might not know and after I, um, 'overheard' yer conversation with Applejack last night, I just had to help, honest.”

“You cannot blame little Apple Bloom, she was trying to remove from you from the cloud of gloom. I see why the Princess is worried about fear, it's not often we see ponies like you dear.”

If Zecora can help me figure out something, anything about this situation then it'll be better than sitting in this house never knowing. “Come in, before we attract attention.”

Walking into the living room I had almost forgotten what it's like to have visitors, nopony has came to see or talk to me in weeks. I wonder if she knows why I look so different than other ponies and even what magic brought me here. Zecora is walking around me inspecting my wings, using her magic to pull them out for a closer look.

“Is something wro...” A sharp pain erupts from the fold of my left wing. “Ow! What was that for?!” Looking to my left I see Zecora has pulled something off my wing. I wish I knew what was going on right now.

“I cannot believe what I spy, these are dragon scales I see with my eyes!”

“Dragon... what?!” Did I just hear her right? She said dragon scales... on my wings... Why has nopony noticed or is that why the have shut me inside this house? I'm not sure if I should feel confused or betrayed that nopony told me until now...

“I see why Celestia keeps you here, to keep the whole town from running in fear.”

Did Celestia really know all this? Does that mean Luna knew as well? Why didn't she tell me, does she think I can't handle it? “What does that mean? I don't even know what is going on... You're telling me I'm part dragon?”

Saying that now makes me realize why Celestia and Luna never told me in the first place. I didn't understand the world of ponies how can I understand being... whatever I am, but it still upsets me that I was lied to. Zecora opens her bags pulling a book out titles 'Pony Races of Ancient Equestrian' using her magic to flip pages under one sticks out. On the page before me is a series of pictures of ponies with different body parts from different animals, one sticking out more than the others.

“That pony has a dragon tail!”

Zecora flips the page once more to reveal text explaining the half-breed races. “Even though you are not from this world, the form you have taken is a race made by Discord.”

Reading the page further tells of the chaos Discord caused to amuse himself for a millennium. How can I take the form of a race that has been long since disappeared from pony history? “What does all this mean?”

Zecora closes the book, leaving it on the table. I'm not sure what to make of this, I mean it's a little much to take in. The fact I look like this is because of Discord, some powerful magic using entity from a thousand years ago?

“Discord was defeated by your six friends in the not so distant past, but Discord's magic will forever last. Chaos is a natural part of life because everypony has happiness and strife.”

“So... I'm a magical accident? Brought to a world I know nothing about, forced to stay inside because of a magic born of chaos itself?” I'm not sure how to feel except frustrated that I'm being toyed with by forces I cannot control. Magic brought me here, magic made me look like this. The more I think about it the more angry I get from the thoughts. “I didn't want any of this! Why did this have to happen to me?”

Zecora moves towards the door with Apple Bloom at her flank. “Why you were brought here I do not know but nopony can tell your life which way to go. Do what your heart commands of it and you may yet drag yourself out of this pit.”

I am unable to say anything, there's nothing I could say and if I did nothing would change. I'm a magically rearranged freak locked inside a house unable to go outside because ponies can't handle what I am, heck I can barely accept what I am. I can't help but feel betrayed by Luna and Celestia, if Zecora knew about this surely they did too. Why couldn't they just tell me, no matter how hard it is for me to understand all this I still wanted to know.

Zecora and Apple Bloom walk out the door, shutting it behind them. The first visit I've had in weeks and this is how it ends? I can't stay in this house right now I have to leave. I'm so mad right now that my wings move on their own and before I can even second guess my thought about leaving the house, I'm in the air flying. This should be the happiest moment of my time here in Equestria, but instead I'm so angry I can barely keep it inside. This anger is the only thing giving me strength to stay in the air this high this long. Zipping past a small cloud a familiar voice appears beside me, I guess I flew past Rainbow Dash at some point.

“What are you doing?! What if somepony sees you?”

I'm too angry to answer her.

“See if you can land on that cloud.”

Again I ignore her.

“Okay, we'll do this the hard way.” She tackles me midair forcing me onto a nearby cloud. Why can’t she just leave me alone? Landing on the soft cloud Rainbow Dash pins me down keeping me from flying off.

“Well that answers the question if you can walk on clouds... What the hay is your problem?!”

I have so much anger right now I can't help but snap at Rainbow Dash. “Zecora told me everything! She told me why ponies fear me, why I look like this, what magic brought me here... everything! The Princesses must have known but nopony told me anything! I have to stay locked in a house while you all work your flanks off supporting me just because of this magical accident.”

Rainbow Dash looks stunned, she's probably just as confused as I am and I don't blame her. She doesn't have to live like this so how would she know what it's like? Flapping my wings as hard as I can I take off and just fly as fast as I can as far as I can away. Rainbow Dash must hate me after saying all that, and I don't blame her, I probably made her feel like crap. I'm starting to calm down as the sun is setting in the distance, the orange glow of the light reflecting off the clouds is a serene white ocean of colors. I'm so tired... How long have I been flying for? I lost track of time once I had that fight with her... Is it already this late? The park clearing I learned to fly catches my eye from the sky, that would as good a spot as any to land and rest. Sitting there watching the grass blow in the wind I just can't seem to shake the vision of yelling at her. If I didn't feel bad about it then, I sure do now. She never deserved that, she probably didn't know about any of this either. I can't believe I did that... I can feel the tears streaming down my face, I deserve to be alone after treating a friend like that. They all helped me stay here with little effort from me.

Rustling of the grass behind me gives away that somepony is behind me. “There you are, we've been looking everywhere for you!” Twilight’s voice is echoed by each of the girls sighs of relief.

I just don't have the heart to face them. Should I just fly off again so I don't hurt anypony else? I try to take off as fast as I can to avoid hurting somepony again but I'm stopped very abruptly, unable to fly as if something has a hold of me. “Oh no, you're not getting away again!”

The minute I stop flapping my wings I find myself hanging upside down staring at Twilight holding me up with her magic. “Okay, okay... I won't run, but for the record this isn't fair.” Twilight lets me down slowly making sure not to drop me, when I sit up I notice that they are glaring at me. I can't look them in the eyes, diverting my stare to the ground. “Rainbow Dash... I... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have taken my emotions out on you. I don't blame any of you if you hate me.”

There's a silence that falls over the park. I'm a terrible friend, all I do is ask for more while they are working hard to help me live a secret life in Ponyville. I almost wish I was never brought here after tonight.

“Darling, nopony hates you. You have to live a life we couldn't imagine, being locked up like that all day just has to be THE... WORST...” The other girls are glaring at Rarity now, is there something going on I don't know about? “Oh fine, you explain it then Applejack.”

“Mighty kind of ya, Rarity. Sugarcube, if we hated you why would we be out lookin' for ya? There's a lot about yer situation we don't right now anything about.”

“How did you all know where to find me though? It's not like I have any favorite places to spend time at since I'm in the house all the time.”

I was waiting for an answer from one of the girls, but I heard flapping from behind me. “When Twilight wrote to me about you flying off, my sister Luna thought you might be here after hearing how special this spot is to you.”

Turning around I see Celestia and Luna landing softly in the grass just behind me, but instead of feeling relieved I somehow feel my anger coming back. Celestia and Luna never told me anything about this. Why are they here? I can’t hold my frustration at the princesses in any longer. Standing up to face them I have very harsh words on my mind. “I have waited weeks, TWO... WEEKS... for any information on the magic that brought me here and made me look like this and I had to learn it from Zecora and Apple Bloom. You can't make me believe that you two didn't know.”

“Didn't know... what, sugarcube?”

“That I was brought here and transformed into a half-breed created by Discord a millennium ago by chaos magic. I'm... a Dragon Pony and the Princesses never told me!”

A stillness falls onto the clearing. It's as if the silence is eating any sound that may be being made, and the Princesses have a lot to answer for. Celestia closes her eyes and bows her head, this is the first time I've ever seen her look like this. “We... No... I, kept the truth from you. Luna had nothing to do with it, so if you blame anypony, blame me.”

Why would she do this? Questions flood my head so fast I can't voice them fast enough. The frustration of not knowing has finally broken me. Why was it I was kept in the dark, just because I don't fully understand this land?

“I'd ask why you lied to me, but at this point I don't care anymore. I spent weeks locked inside a house unable to go outside, unable to do anything for myself because I might cause a panic. I don't expect anypony to understand the sheer loneliness in that solitude always knowing you're different and you can't do anything about it.”

The shear amount of anger I have right now is stirring something inside me, I don't know what is going on but I feel a heat rising in my throat.

“Ashton, I...”

I take a defensive stance facing Celestia bracing myself for the words about to leave my mouth. “I don't want to hear it Celestia!”

The heat rising in my throat now proves what Celestia must have feared... Blue flames burst forth as the words leave my mouth. I hear the gasp of the six behind me as the fire lights up the darkening clearing. The shock I have is shared amongst everyone present except Celestia. “There's no denying it now, we can't exactly hide the truth anymore. Will you listen to what we have to say?”

“I guess that depends on what you have to say...” I guess there's no harm on hearing them out. Celestia takes a seat, motioning the rest do the same. The silence is deafening right now. If anything happened anywhere in Ponyville you'd be able to hear it.

“We found out that you being here wasn't because you made that wish so much as it was Luna making her wish to our comet passing by. She wished for a real friend more than anything in the world and saw you falling from the sky not too long after...”

Luna steps forward interrupting Celestia. “I never meant for it to rip you away from your world and bring you here... I...”

“Stop... just stop... I'm not mad that I was brought here through your wish or mine, I am however very upset that I was lied to and secrets were kept from me. This affected me every... single... day! I wasn't allowed to go outside especially now that I can without getting sick. I hated having my parents do everything for me and you make Rarity, Applejack, Twilight, Dash, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Spike take care of me. Instead of helping me fit in to my new life you hid me away from the world, what kind of friend does that?!”

“Sugarcube... She meant well...”

“Applejack, I didn't say I didn't appreciate the help, but I am able to make my own decisions and my own choices. I don't need to be babied just because I'm new here. Instead of doing it for me you all could have showed me how.”

Clearly I have struck a chord with everypony here. Maybe I should just find somewhere else to live... Flying off into the sky as fast as possible with nowhere to go and no idea what to do. I didn't know that my heart could break so viciously, the pain vibrates through my body and I don't know if I can bear this. The combination of the time I've spent flying and pain in my heart is sapping my strength I have to land on a cloud and rest if I want to keep going, wherever it even is I'm going. Even through my pain and my anger, the night sky is still beautiful and brings me some calm as I close my eyes.

A loud roar nearby wakes me, the darkness of the night conceals whatever it might be. As I sit up another loud roar pierces the sky, but this time much closer. A large gust almost knocks me off the cloud as something rather large flies past leaving my cloud spinning from the force. This area isn’t safe, finding a better place to rest would be better but in this darkness I have no idea which way I’m going. Flying off in an unknown direction, I’m unsure of how long or far I’ve traveled from the cloud I just left. Whatever that creature was it was huge and something I wanted to avoid. The sun begins to rise over the far hills, I’m completely exhausted from flying I need to find a cloud to rest on. As I land on a cloud near a rock face the entire lack of sleep saps all the energy from my body and I can’t keep my eyes open. Deciding to rest a while longer I lay down and close my eyes.

The light of the morning sun shines on my face, waking me from what little sleep I could have. Images of the night I confronted Celestia raced through my dreams refusing to let me sleep peacefully. Why couldn't they just tell me? I don't have a home here and now I'm unable to go back to my real home, if one can even call it that... I had a chance to have a normal life even if I am this... thing. The pain still envelops my heart even on this sunny morning.

“Ashton! Where ya hidin'?” That voice startles me, I wasn't expecting anypony to come find me. Peering over the edge of the cloud I see Apple Bloom wondering around the rock strew grass below. What is she doing out here? Gliding down to the ground I expect an ear full of complaints and she has every right to, I abandoned her sister when they spent time looking for me. “There ya are! What are ya doin' way out 'ere?” I don't even know where here is... All I wanted to do was go away but I don’t remember seeing any of this around Ponyville, how far did I fly? “GIRLS, I FOUND 'IM!” Chills travel up my spine at the thought of who she was talking to but to my surprise one by one Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Zecora appear from around a large boulder. I feel somewhat relieved but at the same time I feel like I can’t even face them. I’m glad it’s not Twilight and her friends though, I can’t face them... Not after that night.

Scootaloo charges at me with an angry look on her face, I don't blame her I would be mad too if someone yelled at my friends. She runs right up to my left side and bucks me right in the ribs. A sharp rushes through my left side from flank to shoulder. “What the hay do you think you're doing?! We've been searching for you for three days!”

“I...”

Three days?! I've been gone that long?

Sweetie Belle looks even more upset than Scootaloo, I did hurt her sister so I deserve this. No matter what I wanted to accomplish all I did was hurt everypony. These fillies are all the way out here, do they know why I ran away, do they even want to know?

“I... just can't take being locked up for something that I wanted nothing to do with. I don't want to be locked up all day forcing other people to take care of me. If it's going to be like that I'd rather just run away or go back to my world.” These fillies may be too young to understand, heck maybe nopony in this world can understand. This world almost seems too perfect and it's like I'm breaking the rules of 'Harmony' as Celestia called it.

“Nopony deserves to be treated like you did but Rarity and the girls never wanted to make you feel like that either. It’s not their fault but you didn’t need to be so rude with them.”

Applebloom runs between Sweetie Belle and I with a very concerned look on her face. Something has her shaken. “Girls, I hate t' interrupt y'all but we have a bigger problem than this.”

“What do you mean? What’s wrong?”

The girls seem shaken at my question, what in the world happened that has them this scared?

“An ancient dragon of crystal has attacked Ponyville, putting all your friends' lives in great peril. The source of chaos it came looking for destroying Ponyville as it soared. Twilight and her friends tried to use the Elements of Harmony to no avail without some help surely they will fail.”

That creature that flew past me last night, was that the dragon? I’m in complete shock that the Elements of Harmony that defeated Discord and Nightmare Moon failed to defeat the dragon. The pain I have been feeling just flipped over inside my heart, what is this uneasy feeling inside my heart? I have a very bad feeling about all of this. If only I didn’t leave maybe I could have been there. “Where's the dragon now?”

“It's in the Ghastly Gorge, they went to go fight it but magic doesn't work on it! The Princesses both tried their most powerful magic and nothing worked!” Sweetie Belle looks like she worried deeply about her sister. I have to help, I won’t allow anypony to be hurt because of me anymore.

“Which way?” The girls all point in the same direction behind them. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom have tears running down their cheeks, they are clearly worried about their sisters. “Go home girls, I’m going to go help as much as I can. I won’t let your sisters or anypony get hurt because I wasn’t there when the dragon arrived.”

Taking off from the ground I fly as fast as I can go, I've never flapped my wings so hard and the only thing keeping me going is my sheer will to get there as soon as I can make it. I have to make it there before anything happens to them. I have to apologize to them all. I HAVE to. These thoughts give me more power to flap my wings faster and after a few minutes I can see Canterlot Castle as I fly past. As I pass over Ponyville, a loud boom comes from behind me engulfing me in blue flames. Flying over Ponyville I see the destruction caused by the dragon, all the homes destroyed by its attack. The sight of the destruction brings a small tear to my eye, if only I had been here all this would have never happened. Flying as fast I can passing over the Everfree Forest entrance where Fluttershy lives. I hope nopony is hurt from this dangerous dragon. Ghastly Gorge slowly comes into sight. A loud roar like the night before bellows from nearby. That thing is what caused this unneeded terror and destruction. What dragged this creature to this town? Circling above the dragon I see Celestia and Luna are laying down behind Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie but they aren't moving. Was the fight this one-sided? How powerful is this dragon? Flying down to where the girls are I barely have time to catch my breath as Twilight notices me.

“Ashton, what are you doing here?!”

She’s right I really have no reason to be here after what I did, but i can’t let them do this alone. They wouldn’t have let me risk danger like this so foolishly.

“You all protected me from any danger that may have came my way, you all took care of me, and now it's my turn to return the favor. I can’t let you all do this alone even if you hate me after that night.”

Twilight looks defeated, is this situation really that hopeless? The dragon roars behind us and I can hear the movement of his large frame. Turning around quickly to face the dragon, my anger is at its limit. It feels like a large balls of fire is stuck in my throat. “You will not hurt a hair on these ponies' manes!” With those words leave my mouth I roar loudly in anger at the dragon, breathing a large volume of flames onto the dragon's head making it step backwards in a daze. I don't know if I can control this yet but I'll use it until I can't any longer, it’s the least I can do for these mares that gave me a comfortable life.

The sounds of one of the princesses stirring on the ground causes me turn around slowly. Celestia is attempting to sit up, she’s covered in bruises and small cuts from the battle with the dragon. “That is a crystal dragon elder...The crystal dragons were a race born before...” This battle has exhausted them all it seems, she can barely catch her breath to speak. Is this thing that powerful to defeat both princesses? “... Discord ruled the land... Chaos magic is the only thing that can hurt them...”

Chaos magic, the same foul magic that made me like this... Twilight looks as confused as me. “But Princess, Discord is imprisoned in stone and the Elements of Harmony don't work on him, what else can we do?”

The sound of the dragon roaring from the burns I gave it are the only sounds right now. Celestia takes a labored breath as she lays back on her side. “It's not what we can do... it's what he can do.”

What can I do against something that large and powerful? I’m just a magical mistake. Images of each conversation I’ve had comes over my mind. Each one I had they told me to take control of my own life to do what I felt necessary. I don’t know what I can do but if I was born of chaos magic maybe I can do something. Turning around to face the dragon there's a large ball of fire flying towards me, but it stops and dissipates as a translucent wall appears before me, Twilight stopped it with her magic. The sound of a thud comes from behind me as somepony falls to the ground. “Twi! Wake up Twi!” Turning my head to see Twilight laying on the ground passed out from the impact on her magic from the fireball. AJ is trying desperately to wake her up. She protected me after everything I said and did. I can’t let this happen to anypony else. No one else will get hurt because of me again. I don’t care what happens but this dragon is going to pay for what it did.

“AJ, Twilight, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Dash, Rarity, Celestia, and especially you Luna... I want to thank you for putting up with me until now. I don't expect to be forgiven and I don't expect to earn your trust back but know this, I will not see any of you hurt ever again.”

With those words I give no time for second thoughts, flying up as fast as I can I encircle the dragon breathing fire engulfing it entirely in my blue flames. The roaring it sends out just makes it seem as if it's annoyed and not actually being hurt. Stopping in front of it's face I expel a large amount of fire burning it's face as flames envelop it entirely. A large roar of pain shakes the gorge, if I'm not careful the entire place will cave in and hurt everypony. I have to find someway to chase it out of here. Flying up to his face I kick him as hard as I can in the mouth, breathing fire on him again as I turn around. The dragon roars again taking swipes at me with his massive claws. The dragon flaps it's massive wings flying off into the air. I cannot allow this dragon to return to cause more problems for any of my friends, this has to end now no matter the cost. Flying off after him hearing the boom behind me again as flames engulf me once more, I know how this will end. The dragon turns to face me curious what the sound was. I aim straight for midsection of the dragon's abdomen where a heart would be on any other creature. Normally I’d be scared of a thought like this, but for those mares below I’d do anything to protect them. “Thank you girls... You were the best friends I ever had.” A tear runs down my cheek as I hit the dragon causing a massive explosion of blue light. Crystal shards shower the land below.

I’m not sure if I’m dreaming or dead, but I’m floating through a black space. Looking around I see nothing else, just an empty black space devoid of sound. I can feel tears stream down my face, I was finally able to return the favor to my friends, but I’ll never see them again.

“Well, seems you can do more than just mope and hide.” I can hear the voice but I see nothing. He sounds like he's close to me though, but I can’t place where its coming from. Why is this voice talking to me? Is my mind playing tricks on me?

“I couldn't let them get hurt, they helped me when they didn't have to and they looked for me when they had every reason not to.” The space is so quiet that the silence is about to drive me insane. Am I imagining this voice to remove the boredom?

“Well seems like somepo... no someone, learned something of great importance. Too bad it'll cause your friends a great amount of pain.” The new voice has a soft tone to it almost like Mom used to have, but what does she mean pain? How do these voices know about me?

“I hurt them so much over my own selfishness, why would they feel pain over me?”

A bright light appears before me, the darkness is illuminated as stars surround me in the black space. Two ponies stand in front of me, the one on the left is pure black and the one on the right is pure white. The white one bows it's head as an orb of light appears in front of me. “Why not see for yourself?”

The white mare speaks to me but it's mouth doesn't move. Images appear on the orb of Ghastly Gorge, Twilight is teleporting around the landscape, Applejack is running around the ground, Dash is racing across the sky. They all seem to be looking for something or somepony. “They are looking for you, but what do you think will happen if they don't find you?”

These words weigh heavily on me. I never thought about what would happen after I charged at the dragon. Was what I did really worth it? “I... don't know, but I couldn't let them suffer anymore because of my faults. If anypony was going to do anything then it should be me who caused them so much pain.”

“Let's show him what influence he's had on the world he believes so much he’s not a part of.” Images of Ponyville flash before me on the orb, the ponies are all rebuilding their homes except one. There's an empty lot where my house once was, now occupied by a statue of me that reads ‘Hero, Friend, Protector’ with flowers placed upon it. New images come across the orb of everypony I knew and some I had only seen through the windows are all standing at a graveyard in front of a lone grave on a rainy day. After some time only one pony is left... Luna. She's crying wearing all black except she's wearing the cloak Rarity made me. She uses her magic to leave a crystal shard shaped like a tear on the gravestone. I touch my cheek, I know what the crystal was made from. I feel tears running from both cheeks. I promised to be her friend and I treated her so badly.

“Now, let's see what your sacrifice brought to your surrogate home.” All of a sudden the orb takes me to the front gates of a majestic castle, I can only guess it’s Canterlot Castle.

“Let's let him hear what they say.”

The white mare wants me to hear something in these images, but what? Sounds of cheering come from the orb but quiet down as Celestia takes her places on a podium. “Tonight we are here to pay respect and honor a brave pony that many of you may have never known but was close friends to the few that came into his life. Chaos magic brought him to this world and made him more special to any of than he'll ever know. Tonight we celebrate our late Ashton, the last Dragon pony and friend...” I can't hear any more of this, a sharp pain bores into my heart. Before I can close my eyes I notice there's no stars in the sky and Luna is nowhere to be seen. Where is she and why are the stars missing from the sky?

The orb changes images to the park clearing, a lone figure in laying in the grass crying. “Princess Luna, we all miss him but if you keep crying this hard each night you'll only make yourself sick.” A small light illuminates the clearing, Princess Celestia is descending onto the park. She tries comforts her sister as much as she can, but the tears won't stop flowing from her face. I wonder how much pain I caused Luna from my selfishness the past few weeks... How can I call her a friend at all if this is how much pain I’ve put her through.

“I'm a monster...” I can’t take any more images form the orb shutting my eyes tight to avoid seeing anything else.

“No you're a friend loved and missed by many, especially our daughter Luna.” Did she just say daughter? Before I can ask another word a bright light fades everything to white, muffled sounds are coming from all around me but I can’t hear what they are or where they are coming from. Sharp pains all over my body tell me one thing, I'm alive if barely. I can't move or speak. I try to form words like I just did a little while ago but nothing happens. Am I really alive or is this some sort of afterlife?

I awake still groggy, I’m in a white room with a window to my right. I can barely move my head and my entire body is in excruciating pain. Slowly turning my head to the left I see Luna at my bedside asleep, resting her head on my bed. She seems so peaceful now unlike in those images that were before me in that dark space. How long was I out?

“Well it seems somepony decided it was time to wake up. You gave us all a scare.” Celestia walking through the door seems happy I am alive. All the anger and frustration I had for her before has vanished from me. I still don’t understand why she did what she did, but for some reason it no longer matters to me.

“I'm sorry I was so selfish, I hurt you all and you didn’t deserve that. I was a terrible friend to you all.”

Rainbow Dash hovers into the room, she must have heard my words from the hallway. “We're just glad you're not dead, but defeating that dragon was so AWESOME!”

Luna moves around as Dash’s voice gets louder.

“Well, look who woke up. Do I have you to thank for rescuing me again?” Luna hears my words and has a shocked look on her face, but before I can prepare myself a powerful hug happens. Pain shoots all over my body, I think I have an entire skeleton of broken bones with this pain shooting through my body.

“Princess Luna! Yer gonna hurt 'im if keep doin' that!” Seems AJ can see the pain I'm in even if I don't say anything.

Fluttershy peers around the corner of the doorway slowly making her way in the room. “We were so worried that you...”

“I know Fluttershy, I saw...”

Princess Celestia appearing shocked takes great interest in those words looking at me inquisitively. “What do you mean you 'saw'?”

Gathering my thoughts I try my best to explain what happened after I hit the dragon. I'm too sure if I was just having a coma dream. I explain what i can of the black space, the orb of light, and the images strewn across it. I try my best to describe the white mare and black stallion that appeared in the black space. Celestia seems surprised I witnessed what I did.

“Ah... would seem the chaos magic provided you yet another miracle. Not just anypony gets to go to the Realm of Creation and see Mother and Father. They rule over all creation from another realm different from our own but interconnected all at the same time. Right now you need to get some rest, you're going to have a long week after you're healed.”

Slowly everypony walks out of the room except Luna who stays where she's been since I've woken up. The conversation just now was short but I'm exhausted, I still can’t believe I’m alive after that collision with the dragon.

When I wake up it's already night time, but Luna has moved to the window staring at the night sky. That mane of her's has enthralled me since I first got to this world. Its beauty is unmatched. Why is she staring outside alone?

“The moon is beautiful tonight.”

Luna seems startled, guess she didn't expect me to be awake. She continues gazing out the window, an eerie silence falls over the room. Is she still mad at me for what I did that night? “We're going to give you a special gift when you get out of the hospital as a thank you for saving our lives”

A gift? I don’t deserve a gift. I saved your lives with my own because I felt like protecting you all. I don’t deserve anything after treating you all so horribly. “Why?” I don't deserve anything, not after what I did to her, to any of them. Images of the park flood my head, why did I have to say those things? Why did I have to treat them all like that?

Luna turns to face me. Her mane flowing from the movement of her head. The flowing motion is almost hypnotizing. “You saved me and everypony that day. We hid you away and had the nerve to call you a friend. We treated you so badly and you risked everything to save us. We have a lot to apologize for, so just let us thank you properly.” Tears are flowing down her face as she speaks those words. Her trembling voice has more emotions in it than the words themselves. I didn't know she cared that much for me. There’s only one present I truly want from her. The night sky she so selflessly gives to everypony each night.

“Okay, but I want to have this happen at night after you raise the moon for me. Okay?”

Luna smiles as she hears those words and nods at me. She doesn’t speak a word as she turns and continues to stare at the night sky. Softly humming a calming tune as she stare out the window. It brings a smile to my face making it easier for me to drift asleep on this moonlit night. As I sleep a dream of the Realm of Creation envelops me. The white mare and black stallion are nowhere to be found yet I wander the empty space searching. Finding neither of them I stand in the nothingness and surrender to its vastness, breathing deeply preparing to project my words to anyone or anypony that might hear.

“Thank you!”

My voice echoes endlessly across the space with no response. The dream fades to white and shifts to large room filled with well-dressed ponies. This looks like a very important ceremony. Twilight, AJ, Fluttershy, Dash, Pinkie, Rarity, Celestia, and Luna all stand at the top of a small set of stairs. Hovering over the scene I see myself walk in from the side dressed in a elegant suit. Soon after a long white gown walks up the aisle as it ascends the stairs. Waking from the dream I can’t help but dismiss the last one. I’m fourteen and I want nothing to do with that scene until much later. The day seems a little gloomy as clouds cover the sun, but looking around the room I can’t see Luna anywhere. Did she go home and rest? Laying back in my bed the most bubble voice comes from around the corner.

“Heeeeey Ashton are you awake yet?” Pinkie’s voice is followed by the nurses’ pleas for her to quiet down. This is the first time I’ve talked with only Pinkie Pie and nopony else. What is there to talk about? “Ashton, when is your birthday? I was talking to Twilight and when she didn’t know I went to everypony I know and they don’t know your birthday, and that made me really sad, but then I was like ‘GASP! I’ll just ask him myself!’ so I hurried over to find out your birthday and if you like cakes...” Is this what Pinkie Pie is like on a normal basis? Whatever she’s taking for that energy I want some of it.

“Well, when I was a human I was born on October twentieth.” Pinkie looks confused, of course she would be there’s no October in Equestria. I have to explain this to her so she can understand easier. “I was born at the end of fall beginning of winter near a holiday called Halloween where kids would Trick or Treat for candy.”

Pinkie’s face brightens up, did I explain it right or was it that I mentioned candy? This is one hyper mare. “You were born near Nightmare Night? What a great holiday, why it’s...” Yup, all she heard was ‘candy’ and it made her giddy. She must love sweets a lot to be that excited over just the mention of them.

A long grueling week passes by me, a week of healing spells and rest has . I can't believe how injured I was. The doctor comes into the room with a smile on his face followed by all my friends. he comes up to the bedside and reads the charts then nods his head. “Well it seems you will be able for discharge today. You are by far one of the fastest healing ponies I’ve even witnessed, but you had a lot of extra help from the Princesses and their healing magic.” The doctor unwraps the bandages slowly giving me time to think about how I got here and what I want to do after today. As the bandages unwrap from my wings the doctor gives me a very stern warning. “Stay off your wings for a few days or you’ll rebreak them, even with magic healing you you’re lucky to still have them.”

The doctor continues unwrapping my bandages but when he gets to my flank the room is filled with sudden gasps from everypony. What are they staring at? Do I have a disfiguring scare or something? “What’s wrong? Is there something wrong with me?” The look on their faces kind of worries me, what’s wrong with me that they all look like that. I stretch out my wings and inspect them but find nothing, that’s when I notice the Princesses smiling. What has caught their attention?

“Ashton, look!” Twilight moves a mirror to my side showing me something I never expected... a cutie mark! A dark blue dragon hovering over a white piece of crystal on my flank. When did this appear?

“How... Wha...” The words escape me, I'm not sure what to think or say. Did I get this from defeating the dragon or was this more of the magic from the Realm of Creation? The entire room erupts in cheers, myself included.

“A unique cutie mark for our friend, whom without we wouldn’t be standing here today.” Celestia appears from the doorway smiling. These words strike at my heart, I'm no hero... I caused them all pain and put them all through such peril all because of my selfishness. I don't deserve anything from them not after everything I've said.

“I'm not your hero, I can't even be your friend without thinking of myself. I caused you all pain and when you needed me the most I wasn't there.”

A loud smack is heard and my face now throbbing, something just hit my face with a lot of force. Looking to the side it came from I see Twilight with a look of anger on her face. A book is floating in the air between her and I as silence falls upon the room. She just smacked me as hard as she could with a book using her magic. “You were there when we needed you. You risked your life to save ours, who couldn't ask for a better friend? You spoke the truth to us and we never really took your feelings into consideration when we forced you into the house, we just hid you away. We are the terrible friends not you so don't you ever say otherwise again!”

Even though I put them all through that, they still called me a friend? Looking around the room, there are tears in everypony's eyes. I feel the tears forming in my own eyes now. Who knew these mares cared so much for me?

“I'm sorry!”

“Mighty sorry sugarcube.”

“Um.. sorry, please don't be mad.”

“Sorry dear.”

“Ashy, I'm sorry.”

A small silence comes over the room, suddenly Twilight gives Dash a mean look, kicking her in the rump swiftly to force her to say something.

“Ow, geez. Yeah, I'm sorry too.”

I feel a tear run down my check as it all sinks in, these mares care deeply for me as a friend and for me they are my new family, but I just never noticed until now.

Celestia sits down in front of me, looking down at me as tears drip off my cheek. “I'm sorry for hiding the truth from you so long, will you forgive me?”

There’s no doubt in my mind that I forgive everypony here. I used to only see the bad of the situation and not the good that went along with it, I was so lonely that I didn’t see the tears I brought to my friends until that orb showed me. “Of course I forgive you, all of you. Why would I charge at a dragon unless I already have? There is something you can do for me though.”

I motion for Celestia to come closer so I can whisper something to her. “Help me find a job once I’m able to come out of hiding, I need to stop relying on others so much.”

Celestia moves away from me silently thinking of an answer. She nods, standing up and then moving towards the door. As I get my things together the six mares that have taken care of me since I’ve came to this world. These mares more than anything have wanted to see me be taken care of but somewhere along the lines I took that as an insult. No longer am I angry about the thought of being taken care of but I do want a say in my own life, maybe now I’ll get that. The midday sun is beating down upon the walkway, the girls surround me so that I can’t be easily seen by the ponies in town. The destruction from the dragon is still visible but the ponies are rebuilding their homes and shops. Everypony is helping each other, you would never see this in the human world. As I walk with the girls back towards my home I can’t shake the thought of not going back to the human world.

As we reach the front door of my house the girls wave goodbye as they trot back to their homes for the day. Opening the door, I peer inside the house expecting it to be covered in dust, but it looks like it's been taken care of in my absence. Furniture has been dusted, floors swept, and even flowers with cards on the table all from my wonderful friends. Hoofsteps behind me startle me, I thought I was alone in the house, but as I turn around I find Twilight behind me.

“We wanted to make sure you knew that you are appreciated around here so while you were away we watched over your house in case you came back. Even though you’ve only been here a short while you are a special friend to all of us.”

I'm not sure how I should take all this. I ran off, said things I shouldn’t have, and they still tried to give me a home to return to. They truly are the best friends anyone can ask for.

“There is one pony that would never forgive you if you never came back.”

“Who?”

Twilight faces me with a smile turning towards the door as she answers.“Take a wild guess.” She trots out the door before I can say anything else, but I think I know who she's talking about. Luna... does she really care that much for me? Am I really that special to her? Does that mean what I think it does?

Time passes quickly as I read all the cards from the girls but the one that sticks with me the most is from Luna. Her emotions reach me in a way I never thought any could. Why was I so selfish? As I read the letter again her emotions are clear. I have to make it up to her somehow, but how? Ideas race across my mind but one sticks out, maybe I can get Celestia to raise the moon and stars as Luna and I watch. Before long the sun starts to set, but as I place the letter down on the table my front door is pushed open. As the door swings open it reveals Luna standing there with Twilight and Rarity. The three of them walk into the house slowly with an intimidating look on their faces.

“Uh... hello girls, what brings you here?” Backing slowly into the living room, I'm not sure what is going on but something is about to happen and I have an uneasy feeling about it. Why are they looking at me like that? Why is Rarity holding fabric with her magic?

“Twilight darling, can you please secure our friend while I measure him?”

“Of course.” Twilight smirks as she uses her magic to hold me in place. No matter how hard I struggle I can’t seem to break free. Luna is laughing as I struggle against Twilight’s spell.

“Twilight, this isn't fair! I don't come to your house and rearrange your books do I?!”

I hear snickering from around the room as I flail trying to break free. I’m glad somepony finds this funny because it feels weird not being able to move because of magic.

“Tough love Ashton, now quit squirming and it'll be over with quicker.”

Only thing I can do is surrender and let them do as they please, no matter how hard I kick and scream. “Fine...” I give up, not like I can break free from this spell anyway. What possessed these girls to barge into my house like this anyway? Rarity is stringing a measuring tape all over me, measuring my shoulders, neck, forelegs, back, and stomach. As she calls out measurements Twilight writes them down.

“...annnnnd Done!”

“Thanks for your cooperation, Ashton! Come on Princess Luna.”

“I didn’t cooperate you abducted me...”

They left the house trotting down the road towards the other end of town. What in the world is up with those mares? Well guess it doesn’t much matter now that that’s over with. I haven’t eatten anything since getting out of the Hospital I should probably eat something eat something. Going into the kitchen I suddenly can’t remember if I even have any food left. After looking in all the kitchen cupboards looking for anything there seems to be no food left in the house. I don’t guess they would stock some food in here since I was gone for a while, it would have spoiled. The front door creaks as it opens, light sounds are heard as they walk into the house, too soft to be made by hooves. Who has come to visit me at this hour?

“I'm in the kitchen!”

“Heeey Ashton, how ya doing man?” Spike walks into the kitchen waving with one hand and carrying a bucket full of something with the other.

“Hey Spike! Nothing right now, but I'd sure go for something to eat. I am starving.”

Spike walks up to the table and sets a bucket full of jewels on the table. He picks out a large yellow topaz and begins chewing on it making loud crunching sounds as he eats it. “You eat jewels?!”

“Well yeah, dragons eat gems. Didn’t you know that? Twilight told me you're part dragon or something and I thought we could eat some in peace without the girls around mano-a- mano. I tell you they have been really giddy about something since you all came home from the hospital.”

Eat gems? Doesn’t that hurt his teeth? Picking out a nice red ruby I wonder if I'm able to eat it without hurting myself. Chomping down slowly I find it rather easy to chew where normally it would be too hard and possibly break my teeth. It takes almost like strawberries, I didn’t know gems had a flavor. “Not bad Spike. I was kind of scared I was going to break a tooth on this.”

Spike looks confused. He wouldn’t understand that I came from a different world where gems are inedible. “Break a tooth? What are you talking about?”

I guess Twilight hasn’t told him everything yet. I should change the subject before he can ask anything else. “What does a topaz taste like?”

“Carrots, but they have an aftertaste of apples.”

Edible gems with a taste, if I ever thought I understodd this world something seems to throw me a curve ball each time. We eat and talk for what seems hours, but Spike is squirming around finally producing a belch of fire that turns into a scroll. Spike grabs the scroll reading it quickly. “That’s pretty cool. How does that work?”

Spike rolls up the scroll as he finishes reading it. “Princess Celestia sends mail through through magic to me to give to Twilight usually, but this one here is for you.” Spike sets the letter down on the table, grabbing his bucket. “Well I have more chores to do before Twilight gets back. I’ll come back tomorrow and we can hang out again, take care man.” Spike walks out the door then down the street towards the library.

The last bits of sunlight creep into the house as I make my way upstairs yawning as I walk upstairs. My friends, a smile comes to me as I fully embrace the fact that no matter what those mares and the princesses call me a friend. Climbing into bed I can’t help but remember how soft the clouds were but they don’t compare to the warmth of this bed. As the moon rises from the horizon I can’t keep my eyes open any longer.

As I awake into the morning sun, the day seem clear and the heavy air that used to be in this house is gone. The thoughts that weighed me down no longer hold me back. These ponies have given me something that in my old world I would have died trying to get, friends. I will do whatever I can to make sure they are never hurt again. Walking downstairs to the bathroom there’s a new wall mounted brush for me to straighten out my mane and also a mounted toothbrush so I can finally clean my teeth. Taking a long look in the mirror I wonder how Mom and Dad are doing, am I making their lives better by being here? I was nothing but a burden back then, but here I have friends, a house where I can open the windows, and I’m the most unique pony in this town. Dad always wanted me to be normal and happy, does this count? Knocking from the front door echoes down the hallway interrupting my thoughts. The door creeks open as I walk out of the bathroom letting the daylight into the house. Spike is standing in the foyer with Twilight, I’m glad she stopped by so I can get a letter sent to Celestia.

“How are you feeling today? Have your wounds healed completely?”

I haven’t noticed any pain, but I haven’t tried flying since coming home from the hospital. “I don’t feel like anything is bothering me at all, so I guess everything is okay although I haven’t tried to fly since that night.” Twilight seems concerned after I mentioned that night. Is she alright, she got hurt pretty bad by that dragon.

“Twilight, are you okay? You blocked that fireball and was knocked unconscious to save me from it.”

“You risked your life to save all of us and was put into the hospital. You worried us, we didn’t think you wouldn’t make it.” Twilight seems shaken thinking about the battle, was I really that close to death? Did I really survive or was it their magic that brought me back? I don’t understand this world’s magic or how it works completely but I am grateful. Zecora said the dragon came looking for me, why was it after me and why did they have to suffer from it? I slowly advert my eyes away from Twilight.

“I used to think this form I was given was a burden keeping me from living a normal life, but without this chaos magic that created what I am then I wouldn’t have attracted the dragon but I wouldn’t have been able to defeat it either. I’m unsure if i should feel like it’s my fault to begin with or if I should be grateful that it let me save you all.”

Twilight moves closer as I speak, as I think about why the dragon came for me my thoughts are interrupted by her caring nuzzle on the side of my face. “We all have our talents for some reason and I choose to believe that you saved us because you aren’t the kind of pony to put any of us in danger. Whether your power attracted it or not is not something you need to worry about just know that you saved us and take comfort in that. We are friends we look out for each other.”

My heart thumps with those words, as Twilight steps back some I can’t help but feel relieved of my depressing thoughts. I feel like I am forgetting something though as the silence envelops the room. “Oh! Twilight, is there a way I can contact Princess Celestia? I want to repay Princess Luna for all the help she’s given me and I need to show her the friendship you all have shown me, but I have no idea what I can do around here without being seen. Any ideas?”

Twilight, looks disappointed as I change the subject. Is something else on her mind? “I’ll send it to her as soon as I get home, but she may not respond right away since she’s been busy with her royal duties.” Another awkward silence comes over the room but my stomach rumbling breaks the silence. “Spike told me you were out of food. Good thing I brought some sandwiches over, if you don’t mind the company.”

“You both can stay as long as you want.”

“I’m not eating another bit of hay while I have that bucket full of delicious gems at home. I’ll see you both later.” Spike walks out the door, closing the door in a hurry to go eat those gems he likes so much.

Walking into the kitchen Twilight pulls out a large platter of sandwiches as I set plates on the table. Looking at this food makes me even hungrier than I was before.

Twilight is fidgety staring at the food in front of her. “I made these sandwiches for us today. Spike needed a break form always cooking for himself and me. I’m sorry if it’s not as good as his.” She almost seems nervous for me to eat the food she made.

Taking a quick bite, I can already tell that she tried her best but it doesn’t have the same flavor.

“This is pretty good!” The sandwich isn’t awful but it barely has any flavor to it. Twilight smiles as I continue eating the sandwich. The sun is starting to set as we finish our meal, I don’t know what Twilight has to do during a day but she seems to be happy spending time here with me.

“Hey Ashton, do you want to catch the moonrise with me before I have to head home?” Her voice almost seems timid, is she wanting some company tonight or something?

“Sure Twilight, where do you want to meet?”

“How about the hill north of Ponyville tonight at sunset, I’ll bring us some food to eat while there.” Smiling as she walks out of the kitchen towards the door. “I have to go home and prepare for tonight, I’ll see you tonight.” She trots happily out the door and down the street, what did I just agree to?

I only have an hour or two until the sun is below the horizon, maybe I should go freshen up. Walking out of the kitchen and down the hall towards the bathroom I really need to take a bath, entering the bathroom I prepare the tub for a short bath. Water fills the tub as I add soap to it. Sitting in the tub soaking away the stress for a little while I find it much easier to wash myself if I use my wings to help, still some areas just can’t be reached. Stepping out of the tub I can’t figure out how to dry myself off other than shake my body. I can’t breath fire on myself to dry off or the house will burn down, so I’ll just have to air dry as I fly. After brushing my hair and teeth once more I check outside through the window to see if anypony will notice me, but thankfully I see nopony on the street. Stepping outside I close the door and quickly take to the air trying to keep the speed down so I don’t go sonic again. Flying over the last section of Ponyville I see a familiar purple unicorn sitting on a hill by herself. Gliding down to her slowly I can see the basket and blanket she has prepared and suddenly I feel very anxious.

I say as I’m landing just behind the hill. As I walk up the hill I notice she’s writing on a piece of paper. “I hope you weren’t waiting long, Twilight.”

She puts the paper away into the basket. “Oh, I haven’t been here too long, we still have plenty of time before the moonrise.” She seems a little startled that I’m here now. Maybe I got here too soon, walking up along side of her I sit on the blanket, this has been the first social conversation we’ve had at length, why do we talk about? An awkward silence befalls the small hill, I’m really no good at these things.

“Ashton, can you do your fire breath for me? I’ve been practicing a spell to manipulate fire since that run-in we had with the dragon.”

“Sure, but don’t get in front of me, I still can’t control it completely.” Stepping forward away from the picnic, I try as hard as I can to make the fire come out but it just won’t. “I don’t know what’s going on, I was able to use it on command during the battle.”

She is observing me, slowly she walks forward. “Maybe you have to have the right emotions to use it effectively. Sometimes I teleport around if I’m emotionally unstable. Try focusing on the emotions you had that night act like you need to protect me if you have to.”

Closing my eyes I force images of the battle with the dragon and what emotions I had then. I had a large feeling of anger towards the dragon but I also had had the conviction of wanting to protect my friends no matter what the cost. As the images flash across my mind the realization comes to me, the fire comes from my fury. Not only did it come out at the dragon but also started around Celestia. I look directly at her. “I think the fire reacts to my fury. I could use it when I was trying to protect all of you and when I was upset at Princess Celestia. I don’t know if I can harness that emotion without a reason, but I’ll give it one last try.” Closing my eyes I focus on only one thing, protecting my friends no matter what comes. The more I drown out any self doubt the hotter I feel my throat getting.

Taking a deep breath I point my head to the sky as I breath out a steady stream of blue flames. “Yes, hold that for a few seconds.” She concentrates, quickly casting a spell on my fire contorting the pillar of flame into a beautiful spiraling cone of flames. I stop the flames to take a breather, I haven’t done that for a while and it is rather exhausting. “We did it! Now maybe we can combine my magic with your flames if we need to some other time.”

I look at her groggy from the energy I just spent breathing all that fire, she seems so excited and I’m happy for her. Walking back to the picnic I lay down on the cloth trying to rest before the sun completely disappears over the horizon. As I rest my head on the blanket Twilight places a sandwich in front of me. “I had Spike help me with these this time, I hope you don’t mind.”

Taking a small bite of the sandwich proves that Spike helped her with these, the taste is much different. Smiling as I swallow I face Twilight who is staring at the ground. “The sandwiches you made earlier were good enough for me.” She stares at the ground more intensely, but blushing heavily now. I really should give her something special since she did all this for me. I know! I’ll go super sonic as the moon rises over the horizon and light up the night sky for her. Waiting for the last bits of sunlight to fade from the skyline I brush up against her so she can hear me. “Watch the sky when the moon rises over the horizon, I want to show you something. Do me a favor and shine a light for me so I can see where you are in the dark?”

She nods her head as the darkness envelopes the sky. Taking off from the hill and fly as far as I can as fast as I can turning around to see a small purple light coming from back where I was. If I don’t time this right I’ll completely miss. No! I can do this! The white light of the moon rises over the horizon displaying the shadow of Canterlot Castle as it ascends. Taking off I beat my wings harder and faster focusing on my fury I had that night. The closer I get to Twilight the more determined I become and finally as I pass over I’m engulfed in flames as I go sonic. The blue flames light up the sky and even her sitting below me. I loop around trailing blue fire stopping in midair to make sure I don’t come close to burning her. When the flames go out it takes my eyes a bit to adjust to the light of the moon.

Flying slowly back to the picnic blanket she sits staring at me .“Ashton that was beautiful! What do you call that move?”

“I can’t cook so I did that as a ‘Thank You’ for you, but as far as a name I don’t have any for it.” I was able to do both of my special talents on command tonight. If I ever need to do it again I now know how to.

She sits staring at the sky that was just ablaze. “I got it, we should call it the Sonic Blue Blaze.” Smiling as she names my move, but in the back of my mind I hope she enjoyed the display. While I revel in being able to control my fire breath and Sonic Blue Blaze she kisses my cheek. “Thank you Ashton.” She scoots closer as the moon rises higher into the sky. “So how did you like my surprise?” I can’t see her but I know she’s smiling. I’m completely shocked, barely able to move, but I can feel the blood rushing to my head. What is this feeling, why is my heart pounding so hard?

Finally able to find words to answer her. “I liked it... but that was the first kiss I’ve even received.” I have feelings for Luna and Twilight? How will I choose which to date? I turn to face Twilight, looking her in the eyes. “Twilight you know I have feelings for Luna right?”

She nods slowly. “I know but I wanted to show my affection for you. You are special to me, not just because you saved my life but because I connected with you when we threw the party for you at your house. I’ll compete with Luna for you.”

Shaking my head at her, I think she misses the situation she put me in. “I now have to choose you or Luna and no matter who I choose somepony’s heart will break from not being chosen. I don’t want to hurt either of you and now if I don’t make a choice I’ll just hurt both of you.” Bowing my head as I finish explaining it to her, I stare at the ground.

She nuzzles my cheek softly. “Choose who you love and no pony else, but until you choose, you’re fair game.” She giggles as she says that, it’s almost like she’s enjoying this.

As the moon rises above Canterlot Castle Twilight starts packing up the plates and blanket. After she stuffs everything into the basket she lets out a yawn as she starts walking back to Ponyville. “Twilight, do you want me to fly you back to the Library?” What am I saying, I’ve never practiced carrying anything! Will I even be able to carry her back?

She turns around looking at me with concern. “Are you sure about this?” She has a right to be concerned, I’ve never carried another pony before.

“Sure, besides I’m a lot less tired than you are and you have a longer trip than I do if you walk. hope on, but hold onto the basket for me at least.” Squatting down so she can climb onto my back, she’s shaking a little as I stand up. My legs aren’t used to this weight but they aren’t buckling. “Hold on tight Twilight, loop your hooves around me.” As I feel her hooves wrap around me I flap my wings harder and harder until we take off. This is a lot harder than it looks, but we’re gaining speed.

“This feels so great! Is this what it feels like to fly all the time?” She seems to be enjoying this, I just hope I can make it to the library before my wings give out.

“Yeah, the wind in your mane is one of the best feelings in the world.” We pass over the first buildings of Ponyville, the library should be on the next street over. As we land in front of the library she seems like she’s completely worn out from our picnic.

I knock on the door slightly, waiting for Spike to open the door. “About time you gu...”

“Shhhh. She’s asleeep. Help me get her into bed, please.” Walking slowly and quietly into the house we head upstairs. Spike gets the bed ready as I walk up along side of it and slowly lay myself on the bed letting Twilight slide off my back, but she won’t let go of me. “Spike help me, she’s still got her hooves around me.”

“You’re on your own buddy, my blanket has been calling me for hours now.” Spike walks off frustrated. I think coming home this late woke him up. As he walks to the other end of the room Twilight finally releases her hold on me. I turn around grabbing the blanket making sure she’s covered up. As I let go of the blanket I notice she has a big smile on her face which in turn puts one on me. I’m glad she had fun, we both needed it after everything that’s happened but now I have a heavy choice to make sooner or later. Walking out of the house I close the door slowly. Trotting back home the only thing on my mind right now is I just had my first date.

The noon sun beams through the window onto my eyes waking me up. I slept in late today, but I was out late last night. Thinking about the date with Twilight a smile comes over me. Walking downstairs I see the letter I forgot to read from Celestia sitting on the table, with everything that happened it slipped my mind totally. Unrolling the letter on my table I hope it wasn’t too important.

“Ashton you are hereby invited to a celebration in your honor at the Ponyville Town Hall on the at sunset two days from now. At the end of the ceremonies I wish to have you and Rainbow Dash display your sonic boom techniques as the fireworks ignite.” Two days ago I got this message so that means tonight! I should have read this much earlier. I have plenty of time to get ready but I need to clean myself up before I can do anything, rushing into the bathroom I prepare a bath, brushing my teeth as I wait for the tub to fill. After bathing quickly I remember the heat I felt in my body from my emotions last night.Trying to evoke them again and dry off faster I feel no different, shaking off will have to do.

Knocks on my door surprise me as I walk out of the bathroom. I see Rarity standing behind the door as it opens. “Hello darling, are you ready to try on your suit?”

Standing there in confusion I’m not sure what she’s talking about. “What suit?” This must be what they abducted me for the other day.

Rarity motions for me to follow her outside. “Follow me dear, we need to hurry to my shop so i can make alterations if I need to.”

“Rarity, I’ll be seen if I go outside. I can’t go with you right now.” What is with her today, she seems a little rushed.

“It’s fine, I have a cloth to cover you with while we walk so nopony can see you. We need to hurry.” She quickly uses her magic to conceal me under a black cloth leaving only enough room for me to see directly in front of me. She takes off in a fast trot down the street with me following her every step of the way. As we walk in Fluttershy is standing over next to a mannequin that has a lovely midnight blue suit adorned with gems. “Isn’t it simply marvelous! I sewed silver into the threads of the fabric to make it shine like stars when light hits the suit from different angles and the dark blue fabric brings the out the color of your mane. I came up with every thing I could think of to make the suit fireproof and the gems even sparkle brightly as fire touches them.” She uses her magic to fit me inside the suit and to my surprise it breathes well leaving a lot of room for my wings. “You look fabulous darling!”

“Have you tested the fireproofing yet?” As I inspect the suit it amazes me she was able to make this in such short time. There’s an amount of quality in it that I have only seen in Rarity’s work. She must really love making clothes.

Rarity walks over to the suit to adjust it some more. “No we didn’t really have time but the fabric should be fireproof.” Celestia wants me to perform a Sonic Blue Blaze with Dash as the fireworks go off. Using what I practiced with Twilight I focus on my feelings of fury and breath a series of flames onto the suit, making sure it is fireproof. Rarity seems shocked I actually tried to set it on fire, her mouth is hanging wide open.

“Well at least we know for sure.” I don’t think Rarity is hearing my words right now she just keeps staring at me. “Sorry Rarity I didn’t want it to burn up tonight but I also love this suit. Thank you so much!”

Rarity removes the suit, making sure that nothing was set on fire and then places it back on me making sure it fits perfectly. “The seams here need to to be let out some.” She levitates the suit over to a sewing machine where she sews the suit back together again. As she puts the suit on me once again I have to say it fits much better. Rarity looks at where the wings slits are placed with a concerned eye. “Darling do you mind flapping your wings for me?” As I flap my wings vigorously she smiles as it passes her test. The sun is close to setting by the time Rarity puts the finishing touches on the suit.

Fluttershy walks over to the table Rarity is inspecting the suit one last time. “Um... Rarity it’s almost time, we should hurry.” She’s right, if we don’t hurry we’ll be late.

“I guess it will have to do then.” Rarity helps me get dressed as we hurry out the door. The streets are full of ponies all talking and walking to the town square. Rarity and Fluttershy both throw the black cloth over me once again covering me up as we trot to the Town Hall. The ponies of the town seem excited, chatting about the celebration tonight.

“What is this celebration for?”

“I don’t know. it’s about somepony I’ve never heard of.”

“Must be somepony special to get the Princess’ attention.”

When I read Celestia’s letter I thought it was a private celebration, what is she thinking? The closer we get to the Town Hall I notice a DJ table, a stage, and a graphic banner that simply says ‘Thank You’. Celestia... No, everypony must have been in on this, which makes me smile that I matter this much to my friends. As we walk up the stairs of the building the doors open quickly being rushed inside by the royal guards. As the doors behind us close Rarity and Fluttershy join the others in the group before me. The cloth is pulled off me by Rarity’s magic, revealing the beautiful suit she made for me. The sunlight that’s left shines onto the suit making the silver sparkle.

Celestia steps forward from the group. Walking towards the door as the music starts outside. “It's almost time, shall we move this out front?”

Follow everypony to the door where Twilight stops me. “Stay inside for just a bit longer, you'll know when you can come out.” The door closes in front of me and I stand there waiting, listening to what is happening outside. The music and commotion to cease almost instantly.

“Tonight we are here to celebrate an unnamed hero that defeated the crystal dragon and saved Ponyville, Equestria, and the lives of those you see before you. He has been living here secretly among you with my permission as we were afraid of the stigma of his race, but the time for secrets and fear is over. This pony isn't like any of you, he was brought here from another world and transformed into a dragon pony by chaos magic created by Discord, who created the race more than a millennium ago. Some of you may fear him at first for his power, but he deserves our respect after risking his life to make us all safe. For his service to Equestria, Ponyville, and his dedication to his friends he deserves to come out of hiding. Tonight we hold a celebration in his honor to celebrate our no longer secret protector. Allow me introduce Ashton!”

Listening to the words Celestia just said made me forget all the bad memories I have had since coming to this world. These friends of mine are priceless to me, and I would give anything in the world to stay by their side. The doors open up as Celestia finishes her speech, prompting me to come outside and stand on the stage next to my friends. As I walk out to the podium to stand next to Celestia many gasps at my appearance are heard across the crowd. Is it because of my suit or is it the horns and wings?

“This pony has endured the hardships since coming to this world but no longer will living a secret life be one of them. He is not to be feared no matter how different he is for without him Equestria would have been destroyed by the crystal dragon. Now, Princess Luna if you don't mind raising the moon so we may begin the festivies.” Luna nods as she makes a grand gesture raising the moon, bringing the stars out at the end of her ascent.

As we are waiting for Luna to land Dash leans in next to me. “Hey think you can keep up with me and give these people something bright to look at? We're going to go sonic above the crowd.”

“Keep up, heh let's see who goes the fastest!” I have no idea if I can even keep up, but it’ll be fun seeing how fast I can go to keep up with Dash.

“With the moon raised and the hero of the night present allow me one last announcement. Ashton for your heroics and to celebrate your new life here in Equestria we hereby give you full citizenship along with being Dragon Knight of the Royal Guard. Oh and one more thing, a new name to with your new life. Everypony welcome Blue Blaze.”

I’m almost too shocked for words. I’m a full citizen now. I have a royal job all thanks to my friends and the Princesses. “Thank you so much Celestia, this is more than I could ever ask for.” The only words I can find and they are the only ones I need.

Celestia leans down in between Dash and me. “How about giving the ponies here a show?

Dash nudges me as she takes off into the sky. Taking off as fast as I can we split up heading away from each other, turning around at the end of town. Going full speed going sonic right above the crowd the Sonic Blue Blaze and Sonic Rainboom send colors into the sky for miles. Coming back to the podium all I can hear is cheering from the crowd and my friends.

The party is going at full speed. Ponies are having fun eating, dancing, singing, and everything in between. I've never felt so special and I am proud to be called friend by these six mares and two princesses. As I walk through the crowd I am stopped in my tracks, somepony is using magic to keep me from moving any farther. I expect Twilight to be behind this but as I turn my head I find Luna.

“Seems you'll be working under me from now on Blue Blaze.”

One question rushes through my head but I already know the answer to it, but that doesn't mean I can't play around a bit.

“So it does. I wonder who asked Princess Celestia to hire me into the castle, but I have grown to like Ponyville even only seeing it from my house, do I have to move to Canterlot?”

Luna giggles as she lets her magical hold me go. Flapping my wings to save myself from falling to the ground I turned around to face Luna while landing.

“You don’t have to, but it would make it easier to... um... see each other.” She seems really shy about this, but this only makes my decision to choose which one harder.

Smiling at the joy this celebration has given me and deciding to put all serious thinking aside from now, I just have one request of her. “Princess Luna, would you mind teaching me how to dance as a pony?” Those words caught her off guard, she can't seem to stop blushing. Quietly she gives me her right hoof, giving me pointers as we dance to the music played by the DJ. I can slay dragons, break sound barriers, breath fire, but there's one thing I'll never get used; dancing with four left hooves. I’m glad I came to this world, even with it’s hardships I’m able to be useful here instead of being waited on each day by everyone.

Mom, Dad, I know you can’t hear me or my thoughts but I am truly happy here. I’m sorry I left you both without a word, but I have a chance to be normal here just like you both wanted. I used to hate my old world for limiting me so much but now I thank it, for without it I would have never come here.

Comments

[gordobraveheart]

last paragraph. HNGGGGGEEE!!!!! GREAT ENDING!!

[Rarelygood]

And read... Interesting.. Has my attention.

[Midnight Blues]

I haven’t eatten anything since getting out of the Hospital I should probably eat something eat something.
we have problems...
good story so far. guess it was a dragon pony. So, how do the horns look? unicorn style, devil style, billy goat style?