Chapter 9 - The Dragon Lord
[Gregory’s Room - Later That Night…]
After Gregory, Pinkie, and Gregory’s guards returned to the shelter, the human had been greeted by a larger crowd of foals who had heard about his storytelling and were eager to listen. His room was too small to fit them, so Twilight, who had also wanted to listen to his storytelling, lent him the use of a larger room with plenty of couches and beds that the foals could use. Pinkie hadn’t left his side and had actually curled up on his lap while he lay on a bed and read to the foals. He brought the other foals up to speed on what had happened in the first two chapters of The Hobbit before starting the third. Cozy and Spike were there, too, along with Gabby and another pony from the CFE named Feather Duster. Gregory had to reassure Spike that the dragon in the story was only fiction and that it wasn’t a reflection on his species.
After reading two chapters instead of one, the foals were all tucked in and Gregory had gone to his room. Pinkie didn’t want him to go, and Gregory could see she was feeling very vulnerable, so he let her stay with him in his room while he turned on his computer. After he had logged on, he opened up a folder full of some of his favorite cartoons. Outside, night had fallen and as per the schedule there was clear skies. “So, what do you think?” he asked as they came to the end of an episode of Tom and Jerry.
“Pfft. This show is a riot,” Pinkie giggled, “who knew slapstick could be funny? But where are the owners?”
“Well, that’s really not the point,” Gregory explained, “it’s a show geared towards children, so a lot of things don’t need to make a lot of sense.” He chuckled slightly, realizing that the same could have been said about My Little Pony, but said nothing more. He ran his hand through Pinkie’s mane. “Are you feeling any better, Pinkie?”
“Yeah, this helped a lot,” Pinkie said thankfully. “The story was great too. You humans have such amazing storytelling skills. Are you sure you don’t have a cutie mark somewhere?”
He smirked at her. “Humans don’t get cutie marks,” he chuckled, running his hand through her mane more, scratching behind her ear, “and if I did, I don’t think I could show you where it would be. Assuming it would appear where I think it would.”
Pinkie let out another chuckle. “You’ve seen my cutie mark, right?”
“Well, yes, but humans don’t have flanks,” Gregory said, “and if humans did get them in the same general area, well, we tend to keep that part of our skin hidden with clothes all the time.” He gave her a grin, then chuckled.
“Well, duh, I can see that,” Pinkie giggled, “but that’s not what I asked. Have you seen my cutie mark? A simple question requires a simple answer.”
“I did answer, and I said yes,” Gregory replied, “I’ve seen your cutie mark in the show and in real life.”
“Then, in the interest of fairness. If you ever do get a cutie mark, regardless where it shows up– I get to see it!” Pinkie said with a mischievous smile.
Gregory laughed. “Alright, you’ve got yourself a deal, Pinkie. If by some miracle, I get a cutie mark, you will be the very first to see it regardless of where it shows up. You naughty mare,” he added with a chuckle.
“Naughty? Get your mind out of the gutter, Gorgy,” she giggled at him. “Why do you assume your cutie mark would end up somewhere naughty. Does that mean every time you saw my cutie mark, you were thinking of something naughty?”
“Gorgy, huh?” he chuckled good naturedly, “and not at all, but like I said earlier, you are very attractive…Ponkers.” He grinned.
“Yep, too bad I am out of your league,” Pinkie said with a playful smirk, “but who knows? Maybe your special somebody might crash into you one of these days.”
He reached out and booped her snout. “Eh, I’m not holding my breath.”
The two were silent for a bit, simply sitting in the room with the fire still roaring. “You know,” Pinkie began in a thoughtful tone, “I think you should show these cartoons to the rest of the ponies. Everything here is so serious. Ponies move around like golems. Some Tom and Jerry should be the right amount of kick in the pants these ponies need.”
“Maybe not Tom and Jerry,” Gregory said, “but maybe some other cartoon or movie. I wonder…” and with that he fell silent, thinking.
Pinkie got up and stretched her legs. “Alright, I’m going to rest up. I have to get up bright and early if I want to catch Rarity and Rainbow before they get drunk again!”
“Well, you sleep well,” he said, waving as he watched her head to his door, “and have pleasant dreams!”
After Pinkie had left, Gregory put his laptop away, then after changing into the normal sleeping clothes he wore, climbed into bed and fell fast asleep.
[Ponyville - The Next Morning]
“You know, I thought for sure Twilight said that the next week would be sunny,” Gregory said to his two guards the following morning as he wrapped his long black coat around him. Fog had formed around Ponyville the night before, and it was a little bit cooler because of it. It wasn’t really thick, but he couldn’t see Canterlot anywhere, and when he glanced at the Everfree, even he got shivers at the spookiness of a fog shrouded dark forest. He was walking with both his guards on either side of him, wanting to go and purchase a few food items for himself at the Ponyville market. There weren’t many ponies walking around, and those that were gave him cold angry glances.
“Always nice to see some friendly faces.” Swift said sarcastically.
Gregory sighed. “Let’s just get some things and go back,” he said. However, his expression changed when he saw a particular stand near the end of the marketplace street. “I’ll be damned,” he whispered. There, sitting and looking a little bit tired, was Big Macintosh. Next to him, he saw little Applebloom, yawning and putting her hoof to her mouth. He adjusted his direction and headed towards the Apple family stand. As he approached, he could smell various apple related dishes, such as apple pie, applesauce, fresh apple cider, and even caramel apples. There was a barrel of fresh apples there in general as well. As he approached, he raised his hand in greeting even though the two hadn’t seen him yet. “Good morning,” he called out politely enough.
“Howdy, Mister Gregory.” Applebloom said.
“Eeyup.” Big Mac said.
Gregory smiled. Even if Big Mac was a stalwart and quiet stallion, Gregory had expected a bit more of a reaction to a second human other than the pony’s traditional catchphrase. Still, he just walked up and looked at all of the various wares displayed. “Everything going alright over here?” he asked as he saw that an entire barrel of apple cider was for sale along with mugs of it.
“Well, we were trying to sell some product until this darn fog rolled through. Ponies are calling it now. How are things since the, um, incident?” Applebloom asked.
Gregory smiled ruefully. “You heard about that, huh?” He put his hand to his new scar on his eye. “Things are alright now,” he explained, “I was healed by some mystery pony, but the scars won’t go away. I have one on my eye, one on my arm, and an imprint of hooves on my chest. But nothing hurts much now and I’ve been told I’ll be alright.”
“Can I see them?” Applebloom asked. “I mean, the one on your eye is kinda cool. I bet Scoots would like that.”
“Applebloom!” Big Mac said in a warning tone.
“What? I’m curious,” Applebloom said, looking at her brother with an innocent look on her face.
Gregory shook his head. “I don’t think it’d be appropriate,” he said, “and while the scar on my eye might look cool, how I got it wasn’t really cool.” He opened his mouth to mention Jason’s own scars, but closed his mouth again.
Applebloom looked down in dejection. “...Right, sorry…”
Gregory knelt down, and unlike before, he reached out and put his hand on her mane gently. “Hey, there’s nothing wrong with being curious,” he said reassuringly, “but there are things that are a bit rude to ask. I’m not mad at you, little filly, and I forgive you. Maybe someday I’ll show you.” He ran his hand gently through her mane to calm her down. He was rewarded by Applebloom instantly relaxing and even pushing her head into his hand, almost instinctively.
“Eeyup.” Big Mac said appreciatively.
At that moment, Gregory noted a shadow flying overhead. It was moving in an erratic pattern as if it was a bird or some other winged creature looking for a place to land. He paused and looked up curiously. “Hey, what’s that?” he asked, pointing to the shadow which seemed to be growing closer.
“Stand back, sir,” Moonlight said. Beside her, Swift spread her wings and stepped in front of Gregory.
“Um, sure thing,” he said, moving back.
The shadow moved more and more until it seemed to recede back into the fog. After a few tense seconds, everyone relaxed. “Seriously, who in their right mind would start stunt flying in this fog?” Swift asked, retracting her wings, “I swear, ponies around here really have lost their marbles.”
“That wasn’t a pony,” Gregory said, “it wasn’t shaped like a pegasus. It looked more like…um, let me see…like…a dragon.”
“I suggest we head back to the castle. It’s best not to take any chances.” Moonlight said.
“Oh, come on, Moon. you’re being paranoid,” Swift said with a wave of her wing. “Besides, the dragons all left Equestria, remember? We haven’t seen them for a whole year. I bet it was just some pegasi doing some tricks or mail ponies doing a late delivery.”
“It didn’t look like a pegasus,” Gregory insisted, “but your eyes might be better than mine since you’re a pegasus yourself. Still, maybe we should head back quickly. If it is a pegasus, they have aerial superiority and can shoot lightning at me if they wanted. But before I do, just one question.” He turned to Big Mac and Applebloom before pointing to the barrel of cider that was for sale, “how much is that?”
“Five bits,” Applebloom said.
Gregory’s eyes widened. “Only five bits? For an entire barrel of cider?” he asked. “Isn’t that a bit cheap?”
“Ponies are struggling nowadays so we cut back on the price,” Big Mac said, “so don’t you worry about our finances.”
Gregory frowned, but reached into his bag. He brought out five bits and placed it on the counter. “Thank you, and I’ll definitely come back and buy more.” He walked over to the barrel and gently laid it on the ground so he could roll it back to the castle. “You two have a good rest of your day, and Applebloom?” He turned to the little filly and smiled, “I haven’t forgotten what you asked me to do. If you still want me to come and try and help your sister, just let me know what your granny says. I’ll abide by it.”
“Thanks, Mister Gregory,” Applebloom beamed.
“Much obliged,” Big Mac said.
Gregory gave them a polite nod before he began rolling the large wooden barrel down the street. He looked at it and could smell the delectable scent of apple cider wafting from it. “Phew, this thing is heavy,” he said as they headed back towards the castle.
The trio were halfway to the castle when the shadow reappeared, but much closer this time. Gregory had a few moments to look up before he felt a weight collide with him. “Fuck!” he shouted as he was flung back, the weight on top of him as he fell onto his back.
“Ouch!” a new voice said. The guards rounded on their charge as Moonlight’s horn glowed and Swift took to the skies. The newcomer, sensing the threat, shot up to their feet. “Back off, ponies!”
Gregory groaned as he opened his eyes and looked up. His eyes widened when he noted the appearance of the newcomer. She was a fairly slender light blue dragon with reptilian brilliant red eyes and downward facing horns. Her tail was swishing and there was a look of anger in her eyes. He recognized her from her appearance and her voice. Quickly, but still in pain, he stood and faced her. “Ember?!”
“That’s Dragon Lord Ember to you–! Huh? You’re not a pony,” Ember said in confusion as she turned to Gregory. She took a step closer, a curious glint in her red eyes before Moonlight and Swift barred her path. Snarling, Ember bared her teeth while flames leapt from her snout.
“Stand down, you two,” Gregory said, “or do you want to risk an international incident with the ruler of a foreign nation?”
“She came here unannounced and attacked a creature under royal protection,” Moonlight countered, not taking her eyes off of the snarling dragoness. “She’s the one at fault here!”
“If she wanted to kill me, I would be a scratched up and scorched mess right now,” Gregory replied. He looked back up and faced Ember, who he noted was about as tall as he was. “Still, I think an explanation is in order,” he added. “So, Dragon Lord Ember, what brings you to Ponyville?”
“I came here regarding an attack on the new human in Ponyville,” Ember replied, slowly calming down, “that, and Ponyville is on my way back home.”
Gregory raised an eyebrow. “Really? How’d you hear about the attack on me so quickly?” he asked.
“I was at the opening of the Seeds of Yggdrasil multicultural school when the pink Celestia got the letter from the purple winged Starlight pony from the trial,” Ember explained. “Unicorn Twilight wanted to use the train, but it was faster for me just to fly.”
Gregory snorted immediately. “Heh, so Twilight contacted Cadance?” he asked, guessing at the ponies that she was referring to.
Ember shrugged. “Who knows? All you ponies look the same to me,” she said matter-of-factly.
“Hey!” Moonlight and Swift hollered indignantly.
“Yeah, but I’m not a pony,” Gregory said, stepping forward.
“I can see that! I’m not blind,” Ember snarled.
“With eyes as majestic as yours, I don’t doubt it,” he said.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ember asked, narrowing said eyes at him.
“It’s a compliment, I promise,” he said honestly.
“Yeah, well, dragons don’t do compliments!” Ember stopped and looked at his eye and her frown deepened. “But I see the attack has already happened. Where are the ponies that did it?”
“I was told they’re in Canterlot’s dungeons awaiting trial,” Gregory replied.
Ember turned to the castle which was still shrouded in fog and nodded as she made her way to it. “Hey, where are you going?” Swift asked.
“To show those ponies how dragons deal out punishment!” Ember growled.
“Hold on a moment, please,” Gregory said.
Ember stopped and turned around, a look of what Gregory could only describe as righteous fury on her face. “What?!” she snapped.
“Far be it from me to tell you what to do,” Gregory began in as calm a voice as he could muster, “but the attack is over and the ponies are arrested and nursing the injuries I was lucky enough to give them. I think they’ve had enough punishment already, don’t you?”
Ember marched to Gregory’s face with a vicious sneer. “And you are fine with that? Those ponies tried to kill you and you want to let bygones be bygones.”
“Oh, fuck no!” Gregory retorted, “I want them rotting in a cell for what they did to me! Them and whoever orchestrated the attack! I managed to injure two of them, anyway.”
“Then, why are you sitting here?” Ember asked, gesturing to the fog-ridden town, “Why not go there and demand their heads? What’s to stop them from trying again? Just let me go and see your attackers. I get them to spill the beans.” Ember flashed her claws for emphasis.
Gregory raised an eyebrow. He had no idea why Ember was so insistent on helping him, a human she didn’t know, but he figured she must have some sort of reason. “Canterlot would be more dangerous for me than Ponyville,” he said, “and I was told I don’t need to go to the trial of these ponies. Although…hmm…” He paused and began thinking. He had been told that he didn’t have to go to the trial of the three ponies if he didn’t want to, but he wondered if it would make more of an impact if he did testify. “Maybe…I don’t know. I don’t know when the trial against them is gonna be. I’ll have to contact Princess Luna and ask.”
“You should face your attackers instead of doing whatever this is,” Ember replied as she gestured to the barrel of cider on the ground. “Hiding away breeds cowardice. I thought you would be more like Jason in that regard.”
He looked back at it, then back at Ember. “That’s like me saying that you would be more like Spike or that Spike would be more like you. I’m not Jason and I won’t be like Jason. Humans are all different. But you make a good point.” He turned to Moonlight and Swift. “Do either of you know when the trial is?”
“It’s scheduled for tomorrow,” Swift informed him.
“Tomorrow, huh?” Gregory looked in the general direction of Canterlot since the fog still shrouded it from view. Then, turning to Ember, he reached out his hand. “Alright, how about you and I both go to Canterlot together instead? I’ll buy the train tickets.”
“Train? I could just fly us over now.” Ember went over to Gregory and before he could protest, she grabbed him by the back of his shirt, unfurled her wings and took off with Gregory dangling by the collar.
“Hey wait! I’m not ready to go yet!” Gregory shouted up at her. “Put me back down!”
“What? I can’t hear you. There’s a lot of wind. “Ember smirked as she headed up further.
“I call bullshit!” Gregory shouted, “You’re a dragon! Your ears have to be better than those of a pegasus!”
“Does any creature ever tell you that you’re whining is annoying?” Ember glanced down to see the two guards giving chase. She chuckled to herself as she hovered in place.
“Well sorry for being scared,” Gregory replied, “because I’m slipping out of my coat and a fall from this distance would really do some damage! Just put me down and let me pack first!”
“Fine. make it quick,” Ember sighed as she landed once more.
Gregory breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at the two guards who had been racing after. “Okay…I guess today and part of tomorrow are gonna be spent in Canterlot. Let’s drop off the barrel in my room and I’ll grab some things before going.”
After Gregory and the guards returned to the castle and dropped off the barrel in his room, Gregory grabbed one of his backpacks, stuffed a few changes of clothes in, including a suit and tie for a court appearance, toiletries, his laptop, phone, chargers, and a few other things to keep himself busy while waiting. He did include a couple of knives and one pistol with plenty of ammo just in case, although he did doubt that he would need it. He also grabbed the metal pole before swiftly leaving.
Finally, he came back out. The fog had lifted by then and the late morning sun was shining down on them and the temperature was warmed. He asked one of the palace maids to tell Twilight where he had gone, but just in case said maid conveniently forgot, he slipped a quick note underneath Twilight’s closed bedroom door which asked that she tell the foals that he’d gone to Canterlot and wouldn’t be back for the storytelling that night as he was there for the trial. He came out, backpack secured and ready to go. “Alright, I’m ready, but don’t carry me by my clothes please,” he said to Ember, “I don’t want them ripped. I’ve got no way to replace them.”
Ember rolled her eyes before her tail snaked around Gregory’s waist. “You two can take the train. We’ll be going my way!” Ember said to Moonlight and Swift before taking off again.
“This isn’t what I thought people meant by getting tail!” Gregory shouted in alarm as they flew above the town, which quickly began to grow smaller as they flew. He quickly grabbed onto Ember’s tail for support with his free hand. “Well, Canterlot, here we come…”
[Changeling Hive]
Jason sat on the throne glaring into empty air after reading the report Chrysalis had just given him. Gregory had been attacked less than a day after Jason’s departure from Ponyville. In a sick and twisted way, Jason felt vindicated. Once again, ponies reacted as he thought they would to the presence of another human. He did give Gregory a warning after all. He had no earthly idea why his counterpart would want to stay if the Gjallarhorn showed him The Trial and all of Ponyville’s injustices before that. Still, just because he was right doesn’t mean he wanted to be right. Thankfully, Gregory wasn’t hurt too badly, just some scarring on his chest, left eye and forearm, according to Ocellus. “Heh, maybe we’ll be twins now,” Jason joked ruefully. The walls slid open as Chrysalis came strolling inside. “Chrysalis.”
“Jason,” Chrysalis responded with a nod as she made her way up to the throne. “Still brooding, are you? And in my throne, no less?”
“Me? No, never,” Jason replied sarcastically, “I’m just thinking about sending Gregory an I-told-you-so letter for his stupidity.”
“If it is any consolation,” Chrysalis said, “the ponies responsible are the same ones that assaulted you, Their trial is tomorrow.”
Jason looked mildly irked by that news. “Tsk. Sure, now they want to prosecute them after four years,” he said bitterly. “It’s nothing but grandstanding anyway. They’ll probably get a slap on the hoof and a pay cut.”
“Hardly,” Chrysalis replied. “My drones tell me Princess Luna has been making some strides despite the council hindering her. Besides, even if they somehow do get a lighter sentence, two of the attackers won’t be the same again.”
That caught Jason’s attention and he looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “How so?”
“It would seem that Gregory is more adept at fighting than you were,” Chrysalis chuckled. “He managed to sever the wing off a pegasi and rendered the limb of an earth pony immobile.”
Jason sat up with more curiosity. “Can’t those wounds be healed by magic?” he asked.
“Under normal circumstances, perhaps,” the changeling queen replied, “but whatever Gregory used seems to disable magic permanently. Is there something special about human weaponry you neglected to tell me?”
Jason leaned back on the throne. “Other than it being either plain steel or a bullet? No,” he replied, before a smirk formed on his face. “Heh, who knew that twerp had it in him? I think I want to go see this trial.”
Chrysalis tilted her head to the side as she smiled coyly. “Oh? Feel like a stroll through the capital of Equestria?” she asked cheekily. “Very well, we can go. There’s a local eatery I wanted to visit anyway.”
“You don’t eat food,” Jason deadpanned.
“Not true,” Chrysalis countered. “Yes, food doesn’t provide sustenance for changelings, but we can eat it to fill ourselves or as an indulgence. Regardless, you’re paying.”
“With what money?” Jason asked.
“The one you collect from Ponyville obviously.” Chrysalis’ horn glowed as several bags of bits were teleported into the room before falling on the floor with the familiar clinking of coins. “Voilà.”
Jason looked down at the bits in stunned silence for a bit before he turned and looked back at her. “Why would you take that and not melt it?” he asked.
“I understand your need to be symbolic and petty,” Chrysalis said, “but it’s still wasteful. Now that you seem to be in a better mood, I do have a suggestion regarding the bits.”
“What?” Jason asked.
“Instead of burning all the ponies' hopes and dreams, why not repurpose them into something positive?” Chrysalis suggested. “You can still spite the ponies by funding some charity or orphanage for non ponies.”
Jason crossed his arms and made a face. “Tch, Nnext you’ll tell me to meet with Cozy Glow and join the CFE.”
Chrysalis merely shrugged. “Hey, It couldn’t hurt,” she said. “My drones in the organization are telling me that her movement is legitimate. Some of them are even considering dropping their disguises and operating in the open.”
“I already told you that the filly is not what she seems,” Jason reminded her.
“Even so, events from that show of yours are wildly different from reality,” Chrysalis reminded him. “I was the big bad villain in the show yet I allow you to bathe in my presence. Rent free I might add.” Chrysalis closed the distance and placed a hoof on his shoulder. “You have to move on eventually. I believe now is as good a time as any.” She stepped back and smirked at him. “Now, I’m going to prepare for our teleportation to Canterlot. You’d better get ready too.” With that said, Chrysalis exited the throne room to let Jason stew on her words.
Jason, in turn, slumped back down on the chair as he sighed. “...Whatever…”
[Ponyville - Carousel Boutique]
Pinkie stood outside Rarity’s home with a determined expression on her face. She straightened and psyched herself up by slapping her hooves to her face. “Alright, Pinkie, it’s go time!” She said to herself as she extended her hoof and knocked at the door. She waited, but all she heard was silence. She knocked again with a little more force but once again there was no response. “What’s she doing? She’s usually up at this time. Hmm…” Pinkie stared at the door for a while. Finally going off a hunch, she reached out and turned the knob. The door opened with no resistance, eliciting a brief frown on the pink mare’s face. “Rarity never leaves the door unlocked,” Pinkie said worriedly. Walking inside, Pinkie saw the normally immaculate place was a mess. Clothes and ponequins laid around the floor and fabrics and sketch paper were torn to shreds.
Pinkie’s frown deepened as she followed the carnage up to Rarity’s room. “This is worse than I thought,” she said to herself while slowly opening Rarity’s room. “Rarity? Hello?” Moving further inside, Pinkie’s foot hit an empty bottle of wine. It was only now that she saw that the room, just like the downstairs, was in complete disarray. Several bottles littered the ground with empty tubs of ice cream scattered everywhere. The fabrics and paper had made their way up to Rarity’s bedroom as well and added to the mess. However, it was the sight on the bed that made Pinkie’s heart ache. Rarity had always been the mare of pristine beauty and poise. Now? She was the total opposite.
Her mane that she took such pride in was worse than Twilight’s was whenever she was having an episode, The same could be said for her tail. Her coat had dark patches on it due to some filth and dirt that hadn’t yet been washed. Her face was the worst as black tear stains and mascara ran down her cheeks and connected with some drool pooling on the sheets.
Pinkie took a few tentative steps to her friend and shook her shoulder. “Rarity?” The fashionista didn’t even stir. Pinkie shook her more forcefully. “Rarity, wake up!” she called again. Rarity grumbled a bit before turning away from the party mare, mumbling some incoherent gibberish. Pinkie sighed. “Alright, you forced my hooves.” Pinkie reached to the side and pulled out her party cannon. She stared at it with a soft smile, running one hoof up and down its bright blue exterior. “Hey there, old buddy,” she said, “do you mind helping me wake my friend up? You don’t? Great.” With a smile she tugged on the string and fired a burst of confetti over Rarity’s bed.
The effect was immediate. Rarity shot up into the air with a terrified shriek before she landed roughly on the floor. Rubbing her sore haunches, Rarity looked around the room for the culprit. She quickly spotted Pinkie Pie waving at her with the cannon, and she frowned. “Pinkie, what are you doing in my room?! Can’t you see it’s too early for parties?” she shouted.
“It’s already half past noon,” Pinkie said, pointing to the clock on Rarity’s wall.
Rarity followed Pinkie’s hoof, and her frown only deepened. “Well, that’s still hardly any way to wake a pony,” she grumbled. “I have a splitting headache now.” She held her head and moaned softly.
“You sure that’s not from the hangover from all the heavy drinking and ice cream binging?” Pinkie asked as she gestured to all the bottles scattered on the ground.
Rarity looked around and winced at the sight. “Ah, I was getting around to cleaning that,” she said, “but I was just too tired.”
“And the torn pieces of fabric and stretching paper?” Pinkie asked more gently.
Rarity got up and walked out the room with Pinkie following her. “I’ve hit a bit of a creative dry spell,” she said as she slowly and painstakingly walked down the hall, “and I must’ve released my pent up frustrations. It doesn’t matter. I can replace them.”
The two mares made their way to her bathroom as Rarity went into her cabinet. She took out some pills and poured herself some water from the sink. As she began swallowing the pills, Pinkie came up and looked her up and down in the light. “Rarity, you’re a mess,” Pinkie said worriedly.
“Oh, pfft. What? Am I not allowed to have a bad morning face?” Rarity snapped angrily back at Pinkie, “ I can take a break from my beauty regimen for a while, you know!”
Pinkie didn’t react, but instead put a hoof on Rarity’s back gently. “Rarity, come on, it’s me. I know you’d never let yourself go like this. What’s bothering you?”
Rarity downed the rest of the pills before slamming the glass down. She whirled on Pinkie and pointed at her with an accusatory glare. “Don’t pretend you care all of a sudden! You’ve been gone for an entire year! You’ve been spared Jason’s punishment and the scrutiny that came with it! My businesses have suffered because of The Trial! I’m barely staying afloat here!”
“What about your parents?” Pinkie asked.
Rarity pushed past Pinkie and stormed down the stairs to the main level, the pink mare hot on her tail. “I can’t ask them to support me,” she said as they walked, “How can I claim to be independent if I go crawling back to them when things go wrong? At least Sweetie isn’t here to suffer this as well.” Rarity paused as she glanced at Pinkie with a frown when she reached the landing. “Oh, what am I telling you this for? You don’t understand.”
Pinkie, a few steps away on the stairs, continued walking down the stairs with a placid expression on her face. “Is that it?” Pinkie asked in an even tone. “Do you feel jealous that Jason didn’t give me any punishment? Let me tell you something, Miss Rarity: in a way, he did. He broke my whole laughter-filled party loving world. He showed me how immature and thoughtless I’ve been! I had to look deep at myself and ask if this is how I want to keep going forward?”
“So, you’ve come back all grown up and made friends with the new human in town?” Rarity replied bitterly. “Careful, I’m sure Jason will notice. Since he’s the petty type, there’s no doubt he’ll get jealous as well.”
Now it was Pinkie’s turn to frown. “Yeah, I’m friends with Gregory, so what? That’s the one thing that’ll never change. But what about you? You want to blame Jason and Gregory for how bad things are, but you have to realize that what Jason showed the world at The Trial was our fault!”
“My fault?!” Rarity shouted, pointing at herself before pointing in the general direction of Fluttershy’s cottage. “It was Discord who–!”
“Discord didn’t make you throw Jason out into that rainstorm!” Pinkie shouted angrily, cutting Rarity off. “Discord didn’t make you call Jason a disgusting and filthy monster! Discord’s guilty because of his thoughtlessness and misuse of his powers, yes, but you’re guilty for your actions too! It was a knee jerk response, sure, but that doesn’t mean we can be ignorant of self control, and you know that! That’s why you’re drinking so much! You’re running away from your guilt!”
Rarity paused and sputtered, completely taken aback by Pinkie’s words and her tone. “I-I…You– He…” Her head finally drooped down in shame as she couldn’t find a rebuttal. Slowly, tears formed in her eyes as she sniffed, and unlike her normal over the top crying, the way she was crying now was full of self-loathing and guilt. “...You’re right,” she sniffed,, “I’m the one who made a mess of things. I’m the one who ruined my businesses. And, I’m the one that acted like a mule to Jason and then to you.” Fresh tears threatened to fall as Rarity wrapped Pinkie into a hug. Finally, the tears began flowing and she buried her face into Pinkie’s neck. “Oh, P-P-Pinkie. I’m so s-s-sorry. I’m a terrible pony!!!”
Pinkie relaxed and smiled kindly as she wrapped her friend up in as warm a hug as she could muster. “It’s okay. Rarity,” she said reassuringly, “you made a really big mistake, yes. but you’re not a bad pony for it.”
After a few more minutes of Rarity sobbing uncontrollably, she slowly began calming down and straightened up. She used her magic to grab a nearby tissue from the box and cleaned up where she had sobbed onto Pinkie’s coat. “Dreadfully sorry for messing up your coat,” she said apologetically as she wiped the moisture away.
Pinkie smiled again. “Don’t worry about it, it’s not the first time this week I’ve had to hold a crying pony and it probably won’t be the last.”
Rarity finished cleaning Pinkie up before she examined her friend. “There, much better,” she said before smiling. “You certainly matured this past year, Pinkie. I could learn a thing or two from your example. And you look magnificent, darling! You could be a model!”
Pinkie giggled, sticking her tongue out playfully at her friend. “Thanks, I’m glad you finally noticed,” she said before gesturing to the trashed room around them. “Do you need help cleaning up?”
Rarity nodded. “Yes, I would appreciate that very much. And after this, do you think it’s possible for you to arrange a meeting with your new friend…um…what’s his name?”
“Gregory Graystone,” Pinkie said, “and sure, I bet he’d love to meet you.”
Rarity smiled. “Thank you, darling.”
“Of course!” Pinkie replied happily. The two elements shared a real embrace for the first time in over a year as Pinkie inwardly cheered. Things with Rarity had gone much better than she had anticipated. After they broke their embrace, Pinkie and Rarity set to work cleaning the boutique. As they did so, Pinkie thought to herself, ‘Alright, next up is Rainbow Dash!’
[Canterlot - Fifteen Minutes After Gregory And Ember Left Ponyville]
Gregory landed hard on the ground with a grunt. He had been dropped about two feet from the ground and had to run a bit to steady himself before he fell to his knees. As he stood, he looked around and saw that they were in front of a large building with its doors wide open. Inside he saw two pony guards on alert and watching him warily. After standing, he turned back to look at the smirking dragoness who was now standing a few feet away and chuckling with her arms crossed. “Let me guess, dragons don’t do gentle?” he snarked.
Ember smirked at this. “Now, you’re catching on. There might be hope for you yet,” she chuckled.
“Is there anything you do that isn’t rough?” Gregory asked as he stood and faced the building that they’d landed in front of. “Hold on…isn’t this the same arena place where Jason’s trial took place?”
“It is,” Ember said as she looked at it with her hands on her hips. “I find it to be a good landmark in this big pony city. It’s also closer to the main capitol building. Now quit your stalling and let’s go. We can walk from here.”
Gregory hoisted the backpack up again and looked around, finally spotting the palace which hung over the side of the cliff where Canterlot was built. “Jesus…it’s a wonder that thing’s still standing,” he said as he began heading in that direction, assuming it was where Ember wanted to go.
“That’s pony architecture for you,” Ember said as she fell into step beside him, “It hardly makes any practical sense.” She tilted her head suddenly, as if hearing something. She looked up and chuckled. “Speaking of ponies, here come your guards.” Ember pointed up.
Gregory turned and saw that Swift and Moonlight were coming in fast, the former holding the latter in her front hooves. Swift looked exhausted but determined as she came in, landing on the ground hard after releasing Moonlight, who landed spryly on the ground. Swift was sprawled on the cobblestone pathways of Canterlot, panting heavily. “So…tired!” Swift gasped.
Moonlight, after quickly getting her bearings, turned and pointed a glowing horn straight at Ember. “That was completely uncouth and unwarranted action against our charge,” she hissed, “and if you were any other dragon, I would blast you back to your hoard!”
Ember rolled her eyes at the threat. “What? I thought you would be happy to see your charge seeking justice,” she retorted. “Besides, you could’ve taken the train that you ponies like so much.”
While this was happening, Gregory had rushed over to where Swift was still panting heavily and reached into his backpack. He retrieved his metal water bottle and knelt beside Swift, helping her up into a sitting position. “Here, drink some,” he encouraged, letting a small stream of water enter her mouth. “Slowly, now.”
“Hah…hah…thank you!” Swift panted gratefully as she took in gulp after gulp. When she’d taken her fill, she slowly stood and looked at the other three. “Well, we’re here a whole day early. What’s next?”
“I suggest reporting our arrival to Princess Luna,” Moonlight said, “I believe she can provide us with a room for the night. We’d best be quick about it though. I don’t wish to let other ponies see Sir Gregory before we enter the castle.”
Gregory quickly put the hood that was on his coat over his head. “I doubt that’ll really work,” he said, “since humans have a very unique shape, but it’s worth a try, I suppose.” He tightened his grip on his metal pole. “Let’s go.”
The walk to the castle was mostly uneventful. The only attention anyone around gave the group was mostly focused on the Dragon Lord rather than the hooded Gregory. The human took a few cursory glances at the city. From what little he could see, it sat on a large flat ledge that looked like it had been carved out of the side of the mountain itself. Had things been different, he would have asked the guards questions, but since they were attempting to be incognito, he kept his mouth shut. It only took them about five or so minutes to reach the main gates to the castle, where they were stopped by two Royal Guards. One of them stepped forward and held up a hoof. “Halt. State your business,” one of the guards demanded.
Moonlight stepped forward and cleared her throat. “We’re here to–”
“We’re here to see the pony princess!” Ember cut Moonlight off with her blunt response. The guards frowned at her attitude as they stiffened.
Gregory groaned slightly before he reached up and removed his hood, causing the guards’ frowns to turn into shock. “Just please go and tell either Princess Luna or Prince Blueblood that Gregory Graystone is here to testify in the trial tomorrow,” he said calmly.
The guards shared a glance before nodding. “Very well,” the same guard said, “you and your party please wait in the main hall while we inform our majesties.”
“Thank you,” Gregory said.
The guards led the group into the main hall where they directed them to a large bench where they could sit. Swift took the opportunity to rest a bit. Moonlight sat beside her. Ember spoke up at that, looking at Gregory with a stern countenance. “What’s with the cowering?” she asked with her arms crossed. “You should be more assertive. It’s your right to face your attackers.”
Gregory turned and raised an eyebrow at her. “Cowering? I just asked the guards to let Luna or Blueblood know about our arrival,” he replied. “Besides, there’s nothing wrong with a little bit of politeness. After all, I plan to face my attackers tomorrow anyway.”
“Yes, but you should keep that attitude at all times,” Ember said, pointing at him. “No slouching. Stand up straight and tall and firmly declare what you want.”
“What are you, my mom?” he asked with a smirk. “You make a few good points, but I’m going in there to show them that I’m not the monster they’re obviously gonna paint me as. I plan on being very well dressed and will answer truthfully. Basically, the whole shebang.”
“Humans carry armor with them?” Ember stared at Gregory’s current attire, looking him up and down. “It looks flimsy.”
“Armor? Nah, this isn’t armor,” he said, grabbing the coat he was wearing, “these are just clothes. You saw Jason at The Trial a year ago, right? He wore clothes. Humans wear clothes all the time in public. Not only because we don’t have fur or scales to protect us from the elements, but to protect our modesty. I didn’t bring armor with me when I came to this world, although thinking back, I probably should have.”
“Hmm, shame,” Ember said in a disappointed tone, “I would’ve loved to see you in armor. But, what’s modesty?”
Gregory paused and looked at her with both eyebrows raised now. “You’re kidding, right?” he asked incredulously.
“Would I ask if I was kidding?” Ember snapped back.
Gregory groaned. “Whoo boy. It means I don’t want to walk around naked,” he explained, “especially with what’s between my legs. I don’t want that showing.”
“Naked? And what is between you legs? Is that where you keep your weapons?” Without warning, Ember kneeled down to Gregory’s legs and tried to feel for any foreign object.
“Hey! Does the term sexual harassment mean anything to you dragons?!” Gregory shouted, stepping away from her.
“Urgh! You humans are starting to be more annoying than ponies with your customs,” Ember growled as she stood and looked Gregory straight in the eyes. “When our business is done here, you should properly explain yourself.”
Growing more frustrated, the human threw up his hands. “You know what, fine!” He looked her straight in the eyes as well and pointed at her. “You and me. Night on the town. Look presentable. I’ll find a Canterlot restaurant that can accommodate the two of us. You want the truth so badly, you’ll get it. Just don’t bite my head off when you learn the truth.”
Ember was about to respond before the hallway doors opened. The guards came out and approached them quickly. “Their majesties will see you now in the throne room,” the first one said.
Gregory turned and nodded to the guards. “Thank you.” He turned back to Swift and Moonlight. “You two coming?”
“Uh, not right now,.” Swift said, still looking exhausted, “I’m still beat.”
“Feel free to head in, Sir Gregory,” Moonlight said, “we’ll be here when you return.”
“Alright,” he said as they headed towards the open doors with Ember right beside him. There he saw Blueblood and Luna sitting in two thrones on the dais in the all-too-familiar throne room. “Good morning!” he called out, raising his hand in greeting.
“Good morrow to you, Sir Gregory. And…” Luna paused as her eyes landed on Dragon Lord Ember and shot up in surprise. “Dragon Lord Ember, we were not expecting a visit from you.”
“It is rather sudden and a bit uncouth,” Blueblood added, gazing down at the two bipedal creatures with a cool expression. “After all, we haven’t had time to properly set up for your arrival.”
“I came to see that justice is done against Gregory’s attackers!” Ember stated bluntly, crossing her arms.
Blueblood facehooved. “Urhg. This again,” he whined. “Has our word lost so much credibility that even foreign leaders feel the need to inspect us?” Blueblood turned to his aunt only to see her frowning at him. He exhaled, cleared his throat, and turned back to Gregory and Ember. “Well, your concern is appreciated. The perpetrators will face justice tomorrow.”
“And I want to testify against them tomorrow,” Gregory said. “Besides, I’d like to know who ordered the attack on me. They couldn’t have acted on their own.”
“That much is clear, Sir Gregory,” Luna said in agreement, “however, interrogation has proved fruitless. The ponies refuse to speak and have lawyered up as the term goes.
Gregory sighed. “Of course they have. Who’s paying for those lawyers?”
“I am afraid that violates attorney client privileges to disclose that information.” Blueblood said, looking over his hooves.
“Oh, right, that makes sense,” Gregory replied.
“Bah! Let me see them. I’ll get them to talk!” Ember stated firmly while cracking her knuckles in a threatening manner.
“I don’t think you’d be allowed in there anyway,” Gregory said before turning back to Luna. “Princess, I have to ask, are my guards and Twilight also going to be testifying? They were somewhat witness to the attack.”
“The guards reports are already in the case notes,” Luna explained, “but since you now wish to speak, you hold more of a firsthoof account than Twilight.”
“Understood,” he said, “and yes, I know I said before that I wouldn’t be testifying, but I think it’d be better if I did. This dragoness here really hammered that into me.” He gestured to Ember with his thumb.
“As is your right!” Ember responded.
Gregory nodded at her before turning back to Luna. “One more question,” he asked, “this trial…is it going to be broadcast live like Jason’s was or not?”
“This will fall under the standard purview of an Equestrian trial,” Luna explained. “The Trial of Jason Wright was a tribunal. That garners special requirements involving all the world leaders. However, there will be newspaper ponies present, so expect the news to travel fast once we have finished.”
“Yeah, that makes sense,” Gregory replied, “thanks for telling me. Anyway, now that we’re here, I should probably find a place to stay for the night.”
“The castle guest rooms are yours to use for the duration of your stay, Sir Gregory,” Luna replied, “We do not want any more incidents to occur.”
“Understood,” he replied, “and thank you. Also, do you know of any good restaurants in town?” He gestured to Ember, “This dragoness has questions for me, so I’m treating her to dinner tonight and answering her questions, and a place that won’t kick us out immediately would be nice.”
“Oh? What a surprise. I had no idea you humans work so fast,” Blueblood said with a smirk. “Well, if that’s the case, you should visit The Tasty Treat on Restaurant Row, the one run by those two Indimane ponies.”
“The same one that Rarity and Pinkie Pie visited and the one that Zesty ignored in that one episode, huh?” Gregory nodded. “Yeah, that sounds nice. I haven’t had Indian food in a while.” He turned to Ember. “That sound good to you?”
“Beats standing here doing nothing,” Ember shrugged.
He chuckled. “Alright, then how about after we get settled into our rooms we find this Indimane restaurant?”
[The Tasty Treat - Thirty Minutes Later]
Gregory and Ember both stood in front of The Tasty Treat restaurant, looking at it curiously. Unlike the somewhat sterile looking restaurants around it, this one was colorful and stood out from the rest of the restaurants. The facade was mostly orange with a golden roof on top. There were two widows on either side of the door, which had a very Indian look about them. Above said door, there was a wooden elephant in profile which was holding a spoon in its long nose. Gregory could smell various spices and other delicious smells emanating from the restaurant itself, along with the sound of various voices coming from inside. He turned to Ember. “Let’s head in,” he said as he walked up and pushed on it. The door, which was bright aquamarine with a five leaf clover window in the center, opened with a creak.
As they entered, the two saw that the place was crowded with a rush. A young unicorn mare who was nearby rushed up.“Welcome to The Tasty Treat. I’m Saffron Masala. How may I serve you two today– Oh!” Saffron gasped at the sight of her two guests. “My, what exotic guests we have. And, who are we serving today?”
Gregory removed his hood, revealing his human features to the Indimane mare in front of him. Smiling at her, he spoke. “I’m Gregory and this is Ember. Could we have a corner booth or table?” He looked around at the various ponies inside.
Saffron bowed and led them to the corner booth available. “Please, wait while I bring the menus. And, try the present treats as a small appetizer.” On the table was a fresh basket of muffins.
“Thank you, miss,” he said as he took a seat. He realized that it was the same booth from the episode where Pinkie and Rarity had sat near the beginning of said episode.
Ember took a muffin in her claw, but rather than eat it, she proceeded to rub it against the wall. “This place has a lot of different scents in the air. It almost reminds me of home.”
Gregory chuckled a bit as he remembered her doing something similar in Triple Threat. He then looked at his muffin, tore off a piece, and ate it. His eyes widened as an assortment of spices assaulted his taste buds. They weren’t overly hot, but they were delicious. He looked down at the muffin in awe. “I wonder if Derpy would enjoy this…?” He took another bite. “That’s really good!”
“Really?” Ember inspected the muffin before taking a bite. Her eyes lit up as she took another and then another until it was gone. “Hmph, not bad,” she said with a nod.
“I figured that dragons would like hot and spicy food,” he chuckled.
Saffron came back then with a small platter with two glasses of water and a glass jug of the same. She placed them down, then gave them both a menu. “Please take your time, and wave one of the wait staff down when you’re ready.” She bowed and headed back into the kitchen.
Gregory opened the menu and looked it over. “Well, no meat products. I’m not surprised, but I would have liked some curry-oh wait, they have curry. And rice? Nice!” He continued looking over the menu, sipping on his water and nibbling on the spicy muffin.
“Curry rice? What’s that?” Ember asked.
“It’s a popular dish consisting of curry, which is a blend of different spices, and rice, which is a grain that’s been steamed,” Gregory explained as he looked over the ingredients in said curry. “Hmm…no hay or anything like that…good! Humans can’t eat hay or grass. Still, it’s probably a good idea to look over everything else just to be safe.” He continued perusing the menu. “Hmmm…Curry Oatmeal with Tandoori Masala Roasted Zucchini…Vegetable Biryani…Spicy Noodle Soup…they’ve got a nice assortment of food items here.”
Ember looked over the menu once more before she put it down and spoke. “Alright, I want all of them.”
Gregory looked at the prices, then looked at the Dragon Lord. “Everything on the menu? Or just everything I mentioned?”
“You are treating a Dragon Lord, correct?” Ember grinned at him as she leaned back and crossed her arms. “You’d best go all out and provide the best experience. Don’t worry. I’ll pay you back.”
Gregory snorted, shaking his head in amusement. “Nah, today’s on me.” He waved down a nearby waitress. “I’ll have the curry and rice dish, please.”
“Would you like anything to drink?” the waitress asked.
“I’ll stick with the water, thank you,” Gregory said.
“Very good,” the waitress replied before turning to Ember. “And for you?”
“You have molten slag?” Ember asks.
The waitress looked a bit nervous, but shook her head. “Um…sorry, but we don’t,” she said apologetically.
“Urgh! Then, get me a glass of water and put whatever it is you put on the food in it!” Ember said a bit testily.
Gregory looked at the nervous waitress and gave her a small smile. “I know it sounds odd, but I’ll tip you well if you do what she says,” he said.
“Um, alright, I’ll let the chef know,” she said, writing it down before looking at both of them. “Would you like anything else?”
“Well, if it’s not too much trouble, could you get one of everything on the menu for my companion here ?” Gregory asked.
The waitress’ eyes widened. “That will…take some time to prepare,” she said.
“We’re willing to wait,” Gregory replied.
“Understood, sir,” she said, writing it down, “and anything else?”
“The lava cake for dessert sounds good.” Gregory said, “and that should be it.”
“Very good,” the waitress said, writing that down quickly. “The chef will have that out as soon as possible.” So saying, she turned and went quickly into the kitchen.
Gregory sighed. “I’m just glad the menu is small here,” he said as he took another sip of water before looking out at the crowd of ponies. Many were giving them various looks, mostly at the human. “Jesus Christ…” he groaned.
“What? What’s wrong?” Ember asked, looking at him curiously.
“Eh, I’m getting the stink eye from some of the ponies in this restaurant,” he said with a shrug, “but I guess it comes with the territory of being a human.”
Ember looked around and spotted the eyes of other patrons on them. Seeing the distress it was causing to her companion, she released a low growl with flames leaving her nostrils. The effect was immediate. Many of the gawking ponies ran out of the restaurant or buried their heads in their menus, more so the latter than the former. Turning back to Gregory, Ember flashed him a satisfied smile. “There! No more stink eye!”
Gregory internally sighed, trying hard not to chew her out. “Yeah, I can see that, thanks,” he said before he turned to face her again. “Alright, you have questions for me about humans? I’ll answer them, but don’t be upset about what you learn here.”
“So, what was that modesty thing you were whining about earlier?”
Gregory took a deep breath before replying, “That’ll take some explaining, but you asked for it.”
And so, Gregory spent the next few minutes carefully explaining the many different aspects of human society to Ember. He talked about a few things, such as what was appropriate to say and wear in public, how humans behaved in general, and how humans conducted themselves when dealing with others.
Ember had a better understanding after all of that, as well as a small blush over her azure scales for unintentional copping a feel on Gregory earlier. “Huh, there is a lot more to humans than any species I’ve met,” she said, “although I am curious about how you fight.”
“Well, there are many different ways a human can fight,” Gregory explained. “I took a few self defense courses when I was back on Earth. We have weapons that this world doesn’t have, too. I managed to use one to kill a Timberwolf a few days ago. I also used some of my weapons against the ponies who attacked me.”
“Well then, after the trial, how about you show me what you can do!” Ember declared.
He chuckled at that. “I’ve no doubt you’ll beat me in a fight, but you know what? I’d love to spar. I’m gonna need to get better at defending myself in this world anyway.”
“Good, tomorrow then,” Ember said with a grin. “I do have one more question. How do humans view dragons?” As she was asking, Saffron came in with the food as Ember licked her chops at the pleasant smell.
After Saffron left, Gregory pursed his lips. “That’s a complicated question,” he admitted, “especially considering the fact that where I’m from, dragons like you are only a myth and don’t exist. For a long time, dragons were described as evil beasts who kidnapped princesses and hoarded gold and treasure, but as time went on, many different stories described them in different ways. Many would write about them and describe them as noble creatures, ancient, strong and proud. Many works of fiction depict them as both monsters and as majestic beings. But just remember that humans don’t believe dragons are real, because on my world they’re not real.” He gestured to himself. “As for me? Well, I’ve seen the show that Jason told you about and I’ve seen only a few brief glimpses of the dragons on Equis or whatever this world is really called, so I’d have to learn more about them. But hey! I have a Dragon Lord right here! What’s dragon society like?”
“We value strength!” Ember said proudly, “strength in our bodies, flames, morals and ideals. Weakness is not accepted in dragon culture because weakness leads to submissiveness or death. We don’t do anything that deviates from the path of strength.”
Gregory surmised that the episode Triple Threat couldn’t have happened already since she hadn’t yet met Thorax. He even doubted that Thorax hadn’t even transformed yet, which threw him for a loop since Thorax and the other changelings had undergone the metamorphosis before the Storm King’s invasion which had apparently already happened. He figured that events of the show had been mixed up in this universe. He nodded. “Yeah, I can see that,” he said, “and valuing strength is a good thing, but what would you consider weak? Would, say, talking about your feelings be considered weak?”
“Dragons don’t do basically anything that ponies do,” Ember said with a wave of her claw, “like feelings or openly expressing hobbies or wanting to dress up like princesses. Everything must be solid as a rock and fierce as fire!”
“Heh, you sound like the fictional dwarf race,” Gregory chuckled before his expression changed to one of seriousness. “So…where does that leave your friend Spike? He’s a dragon, and while I only met him briefly, he’s not quite like how you just described dragons. He has his own strengths. Hell, he hasn’t even molted yet and he’s working in the CFE. He’s got hobbies that other dragons would laugh at.” He almost mentioned Garble and Smolder as dragons with unusual hobbies, but figured it would be rude to intrude on their personal lives, so he remained silent.
Ember went silent as she thought about her answer. “Spike’s the only small exception,” she said after a few moments of contemplation, “After all, he was raised by ponies which probably stunted his growth. But now that he’s free from their clutches, he’s doing fine work.”
“Yes, yes he’s doing really good work, but what if there are dragons in the Dragon Lands who have secret hobbies that might be considered weak?” Gregory asked. “What if there’s a dragon there who likes to do sculpting or some form of art?”
“If they are good at keeping it a secret, then fine,” Ember conceded, “but exposure is prone to mockery.”
Gregory nodded. “In a society like yours, at least the way you’ve described it so far, that’s understandable. Still, I’m pretty sure I have some hobbies that a dragon might think are weak, but I’m proud to say I enjoy those things.” He put his hand on his chest and looked at Ember. “To me, that’s another form of strength: being able to proudly say you love something even though you’ll likely get mocked for it. Well, there are exceptions to that rule, of course, but you get what I mean. But then again, I’m only one of eight billion humans from my world.”
“Hmm, well, you do have potential,” Ember said with an approving nod, “and if you are anything like Jason Wright, then I’ll reconsider my position, but only after you impress me tomorrow. Now, stop talking and eat!” With that said, Ember dove into her meal like she hadn’t eaten in days.
He smiled and grabbed his fork, digging in himself. As he ate, one thought passed through his mind: ‘Tomorrow’s gonna be an interesting day…’
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Love this chapter, as well as curious how Gregory may help Ember open up. As for the moment with Rarity and Pinkie, truly a touching moment.
Though I feel Rainbow won't be the same...
11653693
I feel she's gonna be the hardest after everything being ripped out from under her.
Ah, it's good to see Rarity finally realize her mistake and put herself together with Pinkie's help.
I wonder if Spike will ever recover from that stunted growth?
Rarity using alcoholism to run from herself isn’t too surprising, though now that she’s accepted her part in all this, she needs a path out of her predicament. Perhaps focusing on her gem finding ability to rebuild her life? Maybe she could become a jeweler? Or at least a gem wholesaler? Maybe it’s not what she had dreamed of, but dreams change and evolve over time. She’s a business pony at heart, business might change, but her skills can always be used in new ways.
Rainbow though, you’re dealing with sociopathy, pure and simple, it was nurtured by her parents who taught her she could do no wrong. She might not understand that other creatures have feelings that are not her own, which seems silly to us, but is a real symptom of her mental illness. Here’s some other symptoms, Aggression toward people and animals(Jason and “Bullies), Destruction of property (damage from her “stunts”), Lying and dishonesty, and having problems with the law including criminal behavior (violence, vandalism, thievery). On top of that you have, sense of superiority, being insensitive to others (shes been ironically shown to be a bully), Using charm or wit to manipulate others for personal gain or pleasure(cough cough, Scootaloo), and Feeling no guilt about harming others (Gilda and Jason) Sound familiar?… it should, these are all behaviors she exhibits on a regular basis. There’s more naturally, but these are the major ones she shows.
If Pinkie is expecting an “breakthrough” I have a feeling she’s gonna be in for a major disappointment… Rainbow simply doesn’t have the “software”, so to speak, to understand what she did wrong. It runs counter to her entire understanding (flawed as if might be) of the world, where she’s the center of everything, and everyone else is just a disposable NPC. I’m wondering now if Raritys “awakening” is that little skip of happiness, before the fall into the mud puddle? Maybe Pinkie is gonna learn that part of being an “adult” is being careful what relationships you keep? If someone’s toxic sometimes you can’t save them, they will only cause pain, and will drag you down with them… could be a good lesson for her, if a bitter one.
11653763
Am I the only one who’s thinking his limited diet might have long term consequences for him?
So, no one else has mentioned it, but Queen Bugbutt said something that could be foreshadowing ““Even so, events from that show of yours are wildly different from reality,”. This either isn’t the canon universe, or perhaps the show in our world is based on a “Cliffsnotes” version of the events, where things are simplified, and the holes are roughly filled in. This could mean that both Jason and Gregory’s predictions could be incomplete or outright faulty, especially now that their presence has changed everything.
The biggest issue is that out of the two of them Gregory is in a position (and has a willingness unlike Jason) to act on these faulty understandings. Which could cause him and those around him a considerable amount of harm. So what does this mean? Where as Jason was robbed as happy ending because of those around him, Gregory might rob himself of it by his own actions. Think about it, he could have left for Starlights school, maybe it wouldn’t have been the “ending” he wanted, but it would have been a good one. Teaching the next generation, having coffee breaks with his fellow educators, meeting various races of Equis (supposed planet name), probably be effectively unfirable being the sole “human expert”. Instead he’s stubbornly hanging onto his dream of being “bestest” friends with the Mane 6 and being a hero (though I doubt he’ll admit that part openly).
I’ve mentioned it before, his warning about Cozy Glow could easily backfire, so far he’s seen a lot to show that theirs more to these characters around him then what he’s seen on TV. But he hasn’t really begun to connect the dots, though neither has Jason, not fully anyway. In his attempt to warn them, he might inadvertently set back the civil rights movement in Equestria and cause massive backlash. Imagine, after all that… he comes to his senses and finally goes to the school… only for Starlight to stop him right at the doors for the good of her students, not because he’s a human, but because of his own actions. Would you want someone who’s actions inadvertently or not, caused so much harm near your vulnerable students, especially when you already have so many hostile forces trying to make you fail?
I feel like out of all the Mane 6 Rainbow would be the most difficult to turn around.
Glad that Rarity's finally accepted responsibility for her actions and on the start of her road to recovery.
However, I doubt Rainbow Dash will be snapped out of as easily as Rarity, Jason, a human, did after all take away what she prided most.
11653797
I am hoping he can still recover
I'm half expecting the guards to get off with a slap on the wrist. If that happens, then nothing will protect them from Jason when he presses charges, assuming Ember doesn't burn them first. Good luck saying "we're innocent" to a ruler of another race/ country you tried to kill. He could press charges still and, no one said it wasn't on the table during the trial, have them executed for what they did to him as they would be charged based on when it happened.
Execution and drain their families of all the money they were bribed with.
Or tell them everything and they keep the money and lives with permanent imprisonment.
I thought Chryssy and Jason would run into Gregory and Ember at the end of this chapter, since Chryssy mentioned wanting to try some food in Canterlot. Maybe in the next chapter
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It is funny when authors wrote the "I didn't mean it intentionally Blueblood"
He's just living his life unintentionally angering many ponies in his path
You are right about the Blueblood clown facade. To see others shocked that the spoiled Prince actually knows what he is doing.
Yes, Blueballs, yes it has, and as a throne warmer you’re kind of expected to have understood why by now. <sigh> I get that Blueblood’s gotten used to playing the fool and that having your enemies underestimate you is a definite perk, but there’s a downside to having too many people consider you an idiot, too, and I wonder when that will come back to bite him: it means that even folk he needs to be taken seriously by won’t necessarily do so, and in a suitably significant moment of crisis that sort of thing can result in outright disaster.
It’s nice to see Chrysalis still take an active interest in Jason’s well-being and Gregory hit it off pretty well with Ember, as well as a relief that Rarity at least does seem to be ready to start dragging herself out of her self-pity and become a pony who can look at herself in the mirror again now. (I do agree that Rainbow Dash may simply be a lost cause or will at least have a rather tougher road ahead of her.) With this sort of story there’s a potential pitfall in focussing a bit too much on just ponies being asshats even when that’s not actually supposed to be the main thrust (nice to see Saffron not make any undue fuss about her unusual customers, too; I suppose she just never had a reason to hold a grudge against either humans or dragons anyway, but still), so brighter moments like these do a lot to balance that out.
What if cozy glow doesnt have any alterior motives. (At least not any malicious ones) what If she actually does want to help non ponies.
I wonder if that's what the author is going for, because the moment that cozy was introduced, everyone including the readers believed that she was using the movement for her own gain.
I mean look at blue blood, we all thought he was going to he the big bad but then it turns out hes on lunas side or his own. Maybe cozy glow wants to free tirek, maybe
But tirek might also be wrongfully imprisoned or maybe we dont know the whole story.
Think about it, what do you think happened to scorpan we only ever see him through a story and hes never seen or mentioned again (I think) and if he is tireks brother, then he should be still alive since tirek is.
Unless something happened, something that was the real reason why tirek chose to attack
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Blueblood is clearly up to no good. The previous scene showing him with High Life makes that clear.
Cozy cannot be trusted. Jason mentioned her pen pal during the trial and her poker face broke briefly.
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True but if you've seen enough of a pattern, you are in a position to make a better, educated guess or take a better chance. If Cozy was shown to have helped Tirek, there's a decent chance she's still going to do that. The consequences were dire, it would be foolish to ignore it and just say, "Nah, it'll be fine."
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So hope for the best, but prepare for the worst essentially.
11657314
Exactly. It's foolish to ignore the warnings.
The way rainbow dash is being written before during and after the trial, reminds me alot of something called a "high functioning sociopath". From what we've seen she meets alot of the criteria almost hitting every box.
Lack of remorse/guilt for her actions, lack of regard for how her actions could affect herself and others, has a tendency for lying, cheating, and manipulating.
To be honest it would explain alot about why rainbow dash would go out of her way to make Jason's time in ponyville hell in the first place.
Rainbow's parents, due to their sub-par parenting techniques molded rainbow dash into the mare she is today. They failed to develop healthy traits in her personality and habits while she was still a small child. Sociopaths are made, not born after all.
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She is denial about being a bully and not even trying to be responsible for her actions. It certainly didn't help anything when Celestia had encouraged them by being happy the gala was ruined. Stop going if you hate so much. Explain that so many exactly the same thing each time that you feel bored but you want your subjects to have a good time. You are making blueblood greet the guests instead. The party might have been changed if anyone had known.
11655168
Cozy has a friend in the worst prison in the country and considering what she did in the show that isn't a good sign of things.
11646616
I think her caretaking was a crutch to avoid her social anxiety issues. She felt fine around animals so she could take care of them. Discord acted like a naughty child so she just treated him like one. And yes a doctor would be good but I doubt many doctors would like him better than the rest of the elements considering he just set up the pieces and then let them fall where they may. Fluttershy need to see a mental health doctor. She was probably using rainbow the same way. only rainbow like feeling important and protecting Fluttershy from the world helped her do that without realizing that she was hurting not helping her.
I'm honestly waiting for when a counter movement to the CFE will form, its bound to happen sooner or later. Cause things have been going way to smoothly for them.
Probably gonna happen when they try to get the wrongfully convicted out of jail; I can see it now a giant counter protest by a bunch of disgruntled Manehattan ponies that quickly escalates
Aww thanks pink's we try to have good one's once in a while.