New Friendships (My First Fanfic)

by Blazer

7

My eyes snapped open. I sat up, looking at the sun peeking over the distant mountain range. It was the early morning, although everypony in the group had already gotten up. Some were idly chatting, while others were charged with the task of preparing breakfast. Apple cider bubbled in a small kettle on the fire, while Applejack and Twilight were roasting a couple of apples over the flames.

Tears formed in the corners of my eyes. Kelsey… I couldn’t save you…! I brought my hooves to my face, sniffling a little.

It didn’t take long for the girls to notice. “Keith? You okay??” Twilight asked.

Embarrassed, I wiped my eyes, quickly dismissing her. “I-I’m fine. Got some dust in my eyes when I sat up.”

Applejack became concerned, setting the apples on a plate. “Ya sure, sugarcube? Ya sounded like you were cryin’ for a bit there.”

I looked down at the blanket, my mind recalling the fall into darkness.

“Yeah. I’m sure.” I said absentmindedly.

Everypony took a second to look at me, a little confused or completely baffled. However, it wasn’t long before they returned to their activities. Except Twilight and Applejack.

“Come on, Keith. Out with it.” Twilight started.
“You’re not gonna to feel any better if ya bottle it up, sugarcube.” Applejack echoed.

I shook my head. “I’ll be fine. I just had a nightmare.”

Twilight groaned. “Look, we can’t have you all worked up over something we have no idea about, and it’s not fair to us if you don’t tell us what’s wrong.”

Applejack nodded. “We’re not letting ya off this time. Speak up.” She said sternly.

Sighing, I lowered my head. I really didn’t want to give away too much about myself, but I really had no choice. “Fine.” I said flatly. “I just had a nightmare. I lost my sister in a fog, and I never saw her again. That was it.”

Twilight cocked her head. “Your sister?”

Pinkie butted in. “You have a sister?! Cool! I’ve got two sisters, and—”

I silenced her with an outburst. “Yes! I have a sister! Now would you all please leave me alone?!”

They all recoiled in surprise. It wasn’t long before they dispersed silently, everypony avoiding me from then on.
~~~
We soon packed up and left the camp, dispersing the ashes and burying the makeshift fire pit. We entered the canyon in silence, with the occasional whisper between ponies. It wasn’t long before I realized that they were all afraid of me, other than Rainbow Dash, who glared at me instead. After the seventh time somepony glanced back at me nervously, I decided that it was time for an apology.

“Okay. You can all stop with the whispers and glances.” Everypony turned to face me, giving me their attention.
“I’m sorry I yelled at you all like that. You’ve done nothing wrong, and I was just mentally stressed. I’ve reciprocated your kindness towards me with the exact opposite, yelling at you for no reason, and I just want to apologize for that outburst.” I said carefully. I hung my head, somewhat ashamed.

Pinkie was the first to accept. “It’s okay! It happens!” She exclaimed.

Rarity visibly relaxed. “I’m glad you’ve calmed down.”

Rainbow Dash followed everypony’s lead. “That took a lot of humility. Glad to have you back.” She said, smiling a little.

I smiled sheepishly. “Thanks, you guys.” I said. Applejack and Twilight sidled up to me. “Of course we accept your apology, Keith. We were also a little nosy for our own good, so don’t be too worried about it.” Twilight said.

Applejack patted me heartily on the back, nearly knocking me over. “Good to have ya feeling okay again, sugarcube! And like what Twilight said, don’t give it too much thought. I kinda feel bad for askin’ ya such a personal question, but I also felt like I wanted to pay you back for savin’ me back on the bridge.”

I was about to reply when Spike came running out of the canyon ahead, nearly collapsing breathlessly at Twilight’s hooves. “T-Twilight… we’ve got trouble. Somepony… dragon… trouble!” He wheezed.

Twilight looked back at everypony, eyes narrowed. “Looks like it’s time for some aggressive negotiations. We’d better hurry!”

We galloped around the next corner, ignoring the distant rumbling and occasional falling debris from the clifftops.

A scream rang out through the canyon. My ears perked up. No way… is that…!

We rounded another corner, coming upon a large red dragon. It was apparently fighting a number of the Buffalo tribe, who were losing badly. Several lay embedded in the canyon walls, while others lay prone, knocked senseless.

A valiant dozen remained standing, facing the dragon. The Chief was with them, face twisted in a vicious snarl. “By the divine spirits, you will return the mare!” He yelled, leading a seemingly futile charge against the beast.

Mare?? What mare? My eyes searched rapidly for the aforementioned pony. I saw her in the monster’s clutches, weeping and sobbing loudly. “KEITH!! HELP ME!” She cried.

Twilight nodded towards the rest of the girls, starting to formulate a game plan. “Okay, girls, we’re going to need to distract that dragon to get that filly out of there. Fluttershy, fly overhead and provide an overwatch. Make sure that everypony is moving in a synchronized formation. Rarity and Pinkie, see if you can start moving off the injured Buffalo. Rainbow Dash, provide the distraction. Keith, you stay—”

I charged, head down. “KELSEY!! I’M COMING!!” I roared. I approached the dragon, my brain frantically thinking about how I'd fare any better than the buffalo it had knocked aside. Before I could realize that I was in the same boat, I felt a horrible pain in my side, and in the next moment, I was sent whistling into the canyon wall.

“Keith!!” Twilight cried.

I slid down the wall, landing on my head. I slowly stood up, shaking my head furiously. “Ugh… I-I’m fine.” I stuttered weakly, firmly placing my Element cap back on my head.

Twilight forced me to sit down. “Just hang in there, Keith. We’ll take care of this.” Twilight said confidently.

I watched her march forward, yelling directions to her friends.

“Rainbow Dash! Gather some cirrus clouds and bunch em’ up! We’ll need a big storm, so make sure you gather one heck of a thunderstorm!” Twilight barked.

Rainbow Dash saluted smartly, speeding off in search of the cirrus clouds. Twilight turned back to Pinkie Pie. “Pinkie, you’ll be helping me move off the injured and unconscious buffalo. It’s important we get them away from the dragon!” She yelled over the rampaging dragon. Pinkie nodded enthusiastically. “Okey-dokey-lokey!” She exclaimed, galloping over to start helping up those too weak to walk.

Applejack and Fluttershy looked back at Twilight expectantly. She turned to them swiftly, immediately delivering their orders. “AJ, Fluttershy: Get working on a distraction. Give him the stare; try and rope him down, do anything to get his attention off of that filly!”

Finally, Twilight turned to me, a stern look on her face. “And YOU sit this one out; you’ve already scared me enough for today.” She said. I nodded, gulping loudly.

Everypony scattered, hurrying to complete their tasks, with the exception of Pinkie, who had already moved two buffalo on her own.

Twilight assisted the Chief in hobbling to a safe distance while Applejack and Fluttershy drew the Dragon’s attention away from them. “T-Twilight; thank goodness you’re here… I knew I had to try to get the girl back, but I’ve never been up against anything like this.” He admitted sheepishly.

Twilight smiled. “Don’t worry about it, Chief. We’ve got it from here.”

Applejack pulled a long rope out of her saddlebag, quickly tying a slipknot at the end. Whirling the rope around her head, she whipped the lasso towards the dragon, catching it on the arm holding the filly. She yanked it down, attempting to force the dragon to loosen its grip. It almost worked too, except the dragon’s grip must’ve been one of steel, since it didn’t let go.

The dragon pulled Applejack by the rope, swinging her into a canyon column and forcing her to let go of the rope. She cried out when she collided with the sandstone. “Ungh!! Fluttershy! Help me out, willya?!”

The Pegasus was already at eye level with the dragon, face screwed up in a nasty scowl. “Hey, meanie!” She roared. The dragon turned to face her, its lips drawn back in a vicious snarl. Fluttershy hesitated for a second. “S-sorry… I was trying to be more aggressive.” She apologized. The dragon breathed in, threatening to breathe fire. Fluttershy barely had enough time to dodge before it released the flames, which charred the columns that were unlucky enough to be in its range.

Applejack started pulling another rope out of her bag. “Twilight! We’ve got its attention, but it ain’t droppin’ that filly anytime soon!” She advised.

Twilight grinned, looking up at an approaching omnibus cloud. “Keep it up! We’ve got our main distraction right here!”

Rainbow Dash appeared on the scene, shouldering the cloud into place above the dragon. “Okay, Twilight! It’s ready!” She said.

Twilight looked to Applejack and Fluttershy. “Keep that dragon occupied! If it sees the cloud, we might not have a chance!”

Nodding to each other, AJ and Fluttershy doubled their efforts, Applejack making twice as many attempts to tie it down, while Fluttershy strafed occasionally, delivering swift kicks to the jaw.

Twilight looked up to Rainbow Dash. “Okay, fly up and hit that cloud with everything you’ve got! We need a thunderbolt to hit this guy!”

Rainbow Dash grinned deviously. “You got it, boss!” She flew straight up, hovering a good hundred feet above the cloud. “Alright, here goes nothing!” She started, folding her wings and falling into a steep dive.

The wind rushed past her ears, blowing her polychromatic mane behind her head. Her eyes squinted from the wind, but could still clearly see the black cloud still in the middle of her sights. <i>Get ready for a dose of pain!!</i> She thought, her smile growing bigger.

Twilight turned back to AJ and Fluttershy. “Okay! Back off! Get out of there!!” She ordered. They obediently retreated, leaving the Dragon utterly confused and dazed. “AJ! Grab the kid!” Twilight barked. Applejack tried it a second time, wrapping the lasso around the dragon’s right arm, which held the filly. She fiercely yanked it down, causing the dragon to release the filly.

Managing to barely catch the filly, Applejack hightailed it out of the hot zone. Twilight looked up, wincing a little in anticipation. “Here it comes…”

Rainbow Dash collided with the cloud, causing an enormous thunderbolt to appear, hitting the dragon square in the chest. There was a brilliant flash of light, blinding everypony that happened to be looking at the blast.

There was a loud roar of pain, then silence. Keith blinked rapidly, allowing his eyes to readjust to the dim canyon. “D-did they do it?”

Rainbow Dash hovered above the now-dispersed cirrus cloud, somewhat out of breath. “Hah! Take that!! Ponies: 1, Dragon—”

She was cut off as a bright red claw emerged from the smoke, pinning her to the canyon wall. She struggled feebly against the giant’s clutches. “Ugh!! Lemme go!!” She protested.

The dragon’s head emerged from the smoke, as well as the rest of its body. A bright-red patch of melted scales on its chest showed where the lightning had hit. It glared at Rainbow Dash, as if relishing his victory over her.

It drew back its head, taking a deep breath. Realizing what it was going to do, I charged towards Rainbow Dash, my Element cap glowing brightly. “RAINBOW!!!” I bellowed, my entire body now enveloped in the same light.

The dragon released the fire from its throat, enveloping us both.