Granted a chance to never be bullied again, I jumped at it, not thinking of how it would change me.
I was bullied my whole life on earth. My brother was the ringleader, and his hatred of my favorite show led him to torment me even further. That all changed the night that old man saved my ass and offered me a chance to never have to be a victim again. I took the offer, not knowing what it would do to me.
Now I'm a reborn, living in a world of equines that, as a whole, distrust and fear me. Now I have to live with a new place in life, the role of the creature all fantasy worlds fear. Now I am a fearsome, fire-breathing dragon. Too bad I have enemies here too. Between the griffins, the diamond dogs, and the other dragons, I've got too many new found foes for a normal person to deal with.
I looked up at the guy behind the bar. The old guy had scaly skin, and white hair that stood in spikes going down the front of his scalp. He had been serving me the same thing for the past 3 hours, my usual blend of root beer, cream soda, and sparkling apple cider. He wasn't the usual bartender, but he was better at conversation. I peered over my glasses, and my glass, at him.
“I'm not sure anymore. I once wanted to be an artist. Then I changed to trying to be a scientist. Ended up as being an actor, which has done me absolutely nothing. The only talent I've ever had, is not knowing what to do.” I responded to his question in my most even tones.
“That doesn't sound like a talent to me. Sounds more like you've been holding yourself back. Most humans tend to find a talent early on in their lives, and then go off of that. Seems to me like you've been forgetting that the first step is not deciding what to do with your talent, but instead finding your talent.” His words had a slight, hiss of sorts. I wasn't gonna judge, but it sounded oddly comforting.
“Then how do you suggest I go about finding this talent? It's not like I'm a colorful pony whose behind has a tattoo of whatever they're good at.” Oh yeah, forgot to mention that part. Yeah I watched My Little Pony. Used to watch it with my sister, when she was babysitting me and my brother. Then she left, and trying to watch it with my brother in the house was a nightmare. Lucky for me, sis got married and had a daughter. Now I spent most of my time outside of work, accounting for those of you who care, with my niece. She loves the show, and whereas I liked the older generations, I truly enjoy Friendship is Magic.
“True, you are not an Equestrian. Although, I'm fairly certain that you remember that it takes a long time for most of the younger characters to get their cutie marks. Also, who says that all Equestrians have them? Spike certainly doesn't, but he's a dragon. Neither did Gilda the Gryphon. I certainly didn't see any on the changelings, and I'm pretty sure Discord didn't have one either. However, they all had talents, and each one knew that.” His response stunned me. Not only had he understood my mutterings, but he had responded to them as well. He showed an actual understanding of the show. However, I pushed those thoughts aside to continue the discussion. I didn't even register the rest of the bar. Not exactly a good idea.
“How can you compare those characters to the normal citizens? I mean, Discord was the Spirit of Disharmony, the changelings fed off love, and Spike isn't even close to the norm for a dragon...” My talking stopped as the fist hit me on the side of the head. I fell to the floor my signature drink falling with me and breaking as it hit the ground. The glass stung my face, but the liquid stung my eyes worse. I felt myself being lifted off of the floor and being shouted at by a very familiar breath odor.
“I can't believe I just heard you talk about a stupid girl's show in front of all my friends!” my brother yelled at me. “I feel kind enough to bring you here, seeing as how you're too stupid to get a license, and you try and humiliate me? That is the last straw! You and me are going outside right now, and I'm gonna beat some sense into you!” I choked out a breath.
“First of all, you don't have to shout. I can hear, and smell you just fine from less than 4 inches away. Second, I need to pay off my tab before you take me out, otherwise I've committed a crime, and you would be seen as my accomplice. Third, and most important, how can you beat any sense into to me, when you don't have any yourself?” Crap, I've had too much of my drink, and it did what that amount of carbonation usually did to me. Sugar-high School of Stupidity, student body myself. With what I just said, he might even kill me this time.
“What did you just say? Did you just insult me?”
C'mon, brain, don't do something stupid. “Actually yes. However, obviously since you were unable to interpret my condescending vocal patterns at the first attempt, it would be within the best interests of both parties to attempt to reach a verbal compromise as to the nature of the following discussions. At this juncture I am delighted to announce that I am equipped to speak within the following languages: Idiotic, Moronic, Stupid, Asinine, and Dumb. If these are not your language of choice, then we are at an impasse of the highest degree.”
He blinked, then smiled. Crap. “You are dead.” Double Crap. “Also, no. You aren't paying your tab.” Triple Crap. He lifted me up even higher and cocked back his fist. “You won't be paying any more tabs, except for the ones you start in the afterlife.”
Well, this is it. How I died. Hopefully there were ponies in heaven. Wow it sure took a long time for his fist to get to me. I opened my eyes, to see him let go of my neck. I hit the floor, second time today, and looked up. The old bartender had circled his right hand along my brother's cocked wrist, and was pulling back on it as he simultaneously pushed forward with his left hand in an open palm jab on my brother's appendix. He seemed to be exerting no effort, but my brother was sweating bullets.
“You sir, have had too much to drink. Your conduct against one of the paying customers as well as your disturbance of the piece gives me legal obligation to perform a citizen’s arrest upon you. However, for the sake of not bothering the police with you, I am merely going to ask you to leave.” The old man had a fire in his eyes, and I must have still not recovered from being out of breath, because I could have sworn that the fire was purple.
“What are you gonna do if I say 'No' you old...” The door slammed shut as the old man threw him out, literally. He came and walked over to me, and reached out his hand.
“You want some help?”
I looked up at him, and then grabbed his hand saying, “Sure”
His grip was strange. Firm, yet relaxed. He looked me in the eye, and then asked me a question that I will never forget.
“How would you like to never have to be the victim of that kind of thing anymore? To be able to protect yourself better, and to be able to find your purpose?” His eyes seemed to once again sparkle with that strange purple glow. Then I said the words that changed my life.
“I would like that very much.”
Next second I was falling, screaming, and also still Sugar-high. That last bit continued right up until I went unconscious. I hate trees.
I opened my eyes, to see trees above me. Bright light streamed through the red and gold leaves. I then noticed the headache, and all around soreness. “I must have had to much of the sugar. I really should stop drinking that stuff.”
I rolled to my feet, and went to brush myself off, when I caught sight of it. A claw, right where my hand should have been. Not only was it a claw, but it had scales on it. Silver scales. I looked at my arm in general, yep scales there too. I looked down at my feet, to find I was covered in scales. The weird part was the white section going right down my stomach, but still I had scales. I almost started freaking out about this. When I heard something behind me. I turned only to trip over something. I landed on my back and looked down at my feet to see what tripped me.
“Oh crap. I have a tail.” It was a glorious tail too, long and reptilian, with the silver scales, and a white, um, crap. I had forgotten what the flair thingy at the end of the tail was called. I rolled over and reached my hands back to see if the white crest went all the way up my back. Then about halfway up, I hit them.
Things that felt like powerful arms, with skin stretched between them. I then remembered the soreness from earlier. I tried to locate where it was coming from. Yep it was the things on my back. I tried moving the muscles, to no result. I then tried to move them as hard as I could, and found myself lifted off the ground.
I was flying! Too bad I was flying backwards, in a forest. I really hate trees.
After a few more failed attempts to fly, I finally came up with my best idea yet. Get up really high first, then try to fly. “Now where is a tall tree? Ah, that one looks good!” The tree in question had a trunk about as wide as a limo. It stretched towards the sky, and didn't seem to stop after hitting the clouds. After finding a large patch of grass, and making sure I had enough padding underneath me to stop any unplanned falling, I started up the tree.
Something interesting about dragons, they can climb really well! Those claws, when small, can really sink into the wood quite easily. The trip up was quite easy, until I hit the cloud cover. The foggy inside of the cloud enveloped me rapidly, and I soon found myself wondering if going through the cloud had been a good idea. Shortly after that thought, all doubts as to whether it had been a bad idea vanished as my head broke through the clouds.
“Phew, thought that would never end!” I said, as I pulled myself farther up the tree.
“Dragon!” roared a voice, and I almost fell off the tree. My head whipped around, to see a pegasus swooping towards me, his body seeming to shine black and gold at the same time. It wasn't until he got closer that I could see that what I had thought was skin was actually armor. Black armor, with gold trim that covered his chest and flank. He held no weapon, but he didn't look like he needed one. His wings carried the same armor on them, and the end feathers appeared to be coated in the same armor. He shouted at me again from under his plumed, centurion like helmet. “Foul beast of the flame, I did not expect even you to be so foolish as to come here once again. Let it be known to all dragons that I will not spare those who harm those whom I have sworn to protect! For this second trespassing, I shall not let you off with merely the scratch I gave you earlier! Nay, for this, I shall send your body back to your clan, in pieces!” With that, he charged me.
Okay, I'm being attacked by a pegasus with an archaic speech habit and who can't tell the difference between me and another dragon. Crap, this doesn't bode well for me. That was as much as I could take the time to think before instinct set in. As he barreled towards me, I did the first thing that came to mind. I let go of the tree trunk. As I fell, I heard him hit the tree with a resounding clang. I also heard him roar as he set out after me. Then, as soon as my body hit the clouds, my wings snapped open. Holy crap, they worked! I sped off inside the cloud, waiting until a count of thirty five before flying above it again.
As I flew out, I felt my head connect with another being. At first, I thought I had run into my newest friend, the black centurion. However, the sight that now flew before me was not my armored foe. It was another pegasus, that much was certain. However, this was obviously a girl, if the mane was any judge. It fell down her back in a long braid, with two more braids framing her face. Her skin was a reddish brown, and her mane a pale yellow. She wore a black coat, with gold trimming on it, much in the same style as the armored pegasus. However, this all paled in comparison to her eyes.
At first, I would have said that she had no pupil, and that she was blind. After quick inspection, however, it became clear that her eyes were actually a pale white in color. This fascinated me and I continued to stare at her. Until of course, my armored enemy arrived.
“Away from my daughter you overgrown salamander!” He yelled. As he charged towards me at point blank range, I tried to think of some last words.
“Please, don't hurt me!” I screamed.
Yeah, I know. Not too manly, or dragonly as the case may be. But it got him to stop charging me. I then tried to come up with something really good to say that would keep him from ripping me apart with those wings of his.
“Father, didn't you leave a large scar on the dragon you fought yesterday? I don't see it on this one. Also, that dragon had white scales, not silver.” the reddish brown mare stated this all with a tone of curiosity, and interest. I almost shivered at her voice, because it was eerily similar to that of one of my Dungeons and Dragons friend's. Also, that friend was my ex-girlfriend.
“I see this too my dear, but I would not expect that this new dragon is acting alone. I suspect that my former foe is merely waiting for his chance to strike at us. I must be ever vigilant, and I fear that this is some new trick of dragon design.” said centurion flanks. Yep, that's his nickname now. Then I thought of something really clever.
“If I were here to have done anything bad to both of you, would I not have roasted you both where you stood? I have come to this grand height merely to explore the surroundings I find myself in. I seek no quarrel from you warrior, nor do I seek to harm your kin. I search for meaning in my own life, and answers as to where I am. However, I know better than to stay where I am not wanted, for I have garnered enough animosity to last myself a lifetime. Therefore, I shall take my leave of you. I trust you will allow me to leave in peace, despite your preference to it being in pieces.” I stated, drawing out my voice into the same high-class tone that I reserved for the Eladrin of my DnD games.
Oh yes! The looks on their faces ranged from shock to embarrassment, and the father looked even respectful! So glad that I had perfected my grasp of archaic speech patterns over many a tabletop game. I then turned and slowly spiraled down through the clouds, leaving the duo behind me. I had finally reached the air beneath the clouds, when the father flew in front of me again.
“I hope that you can accept my sincerest apologies for my actions against you. As much as it pains me to say it, I have grown somewhat paranoid of late as to the safety of my daughter. However, this is no excuse for my conduct, and I wish to rectify this. I ask that you be my guest this evening at my home, for the night in this area is dangerous to those it deemed newcomers.” He said. I nodded my acceptance of this invitation and began to follow him as he flew back towards the clouds. I was finally able to catch a glimpse of his cutie mark, a blazing sun with razor wings that stood out against his pale brown skin. “My name is Sunstone,” he said as we reached the clouds, “What's yours?”
My head reeled as I thought of a name, no way I was going to go by my birth name. Not as a dragon! Then I remembered my scales, and realized I could use my name, just add a little bit to the beginning.
“I'm Quicksilver, and I thank you once again for your hospitality.” I said. Then I smiled. Oh yeah, that was a perfect name for me now.
Alright, so I'm probably gonna be skipping around a bit here for some reasons. First of all, turns out that all that flying, especially after just getting wings in the first place, really wears down your stamina. I think I had just hit that cloud layer again, when I felt them close and stiffen. I had just enough time to register this, when gravity reminded me once again, that it is the law. Thank god there was someone with me, otherwise I might have died. I was able to get off a few choice curses, “Zarking Moscow Rule Number Nine!” being the exact phrasing, before Sunstone caught me. Thank god he did, otherwise this story would have gone up to possibly adult rating, and then end swiftly and squishily.
“I think... that it would be best... if you... kept your wings... open!” He grunted.
“I perceive that you may be correct. Unfortunately, I find myself... getting... really... tired...” I started. Then, according to him, I slumped rather unceremoniously, and in a way that was very undignified, and fainted. He also says that I was heavy.
I woke up looking at...a damp cloth. I put my hand on the cloth and slowly raise myself up. My head is still pounding from last night. “I am never getting that Sugar-high again. I could have sworn I got teleported to the Land of Equestria and got turned into a dragon, then I attacked by a roman pegasus named Sunstone. Then it turned into one of the weirdest falling dreams of my life.” I lifted up the cloth to see a nicely furnished household. I groaned and snapped my neck a couple of times. The resounding pops were quite pleasant to my ears when I heard something out of place. A creaking of a swinging door. I turned around swiftly, not exactly the best idea, and toppled over the reddish-brown mare with the bucket of water in her mouth.
“Ahhh!” I heard her yell. That yell was followed by, in lovely slow-motion, the bucket flying through the air and spilling all the water within on me, the bucket landing on my head in a resounding clang, and a roar from Sunstone as he charged into the room.
“What happened?” he yelled, right before he tripped over me. “Oooph!”
I lifted the now empty bucket off my head, and turned it over to put my face in it. With my face down in the bucket I asked him, “Do you mind if I use this bucket?”
“What do you mean?” he said, getting up off of my back.
Right at that moment, I began throwing up. Thank goodness for the bucket.
Okay, little backstory here. I'm a Dungeons and Dragons junkie, and the only thing I love more than DnD is to LARP. Now one of the things I know about dragons, thank you Draconomicon, is the metabolism rate. Absurdly high. I mean, they can eat gems get nutrients from them! There is a drawback though. The dragon liver is practically non-existent. Meaning that there is no way I was ever gonna be able to keep my head in a bar ever again. Now, back to the story, we'll pick up after I'm done throwing up.
I finally pushed myself away from the now full bucket. “Thanks, I'll empty this outside.” I said as I picked it up. I started to walk towards the most important looking door, when my head pounded again. I started to fall forward again, but instantly found Sunstone propping me up. He looked up at me, yeah I was taller than him by far, and spoke to the mare.
“Citrine, would you mind retrieving my special cure all from the cabinet?”
“Okay.” she said, leaving the room. I looked down at him, and said the first thing that came to my head.
“Did anyone ever tell you that you look really badass? Because I'm afraid that if they haven't then you were being to awesome to comment on.” He looked at me as though I was drunk, which might have been a pretty accurate representation of my body at that time. Thankfully, Citrine walked in before he could respond. She had something in her teeth, and I shifted my head to look at it.
It was a small sphere, really small, and it glowed with a soothing green, like the color of fresh grass in the forest. Just being in the same room as it made my body feel less tired, and more alive. The headaches just kept coming, though and I wondered if this was the cure all she had been sent to get. This was answered when she flew up to be level with my eyes, and then bonked me in the forehead with it.
The resulting power that swept through me was nothing less than astounding. I instantly felt clear headed, and all my pain was gone. Even the soreness in my wings subsided. I would have fallen on my face from sheer relief, if not for the bucket in my hands. I looked back down at it, then at Sunstone.
“That door leads outside right? I'm gonna go dump this.” I said, and moved past him and opened the door. He started to yell something, but I had already stepped out, into the open air. I almost fell forwards, but caught myself on the door frame. The bucket wasn't so lucky. I watched it tumble down through the air, and then down through the clouds. I pulled myself back in, and then closed the door behind me. I slouched against the wall, and then looked at him. I was about to speak, when he beat me to it.
“So, would you care to eat dinner?”
Dinner was excellent. The bronies I've talked to, have always said that being in a world of vegetarians would be horrible, but vegetarian doesn't exactly qualify for Equestrians. Main course of the meal, was fish. It was sort of like a smoked salmon, but I was too busy being amazed that they ate something else that blew my mind. Bacon, or what looked like bacon. It actually turned out to be something Citrine called a hogfish, apparently a big fat fish that has meat that can be cured like bacon. Bit gamier though. Along with this amazing food were corn-bread rolls and some buttery garlic stuff, as well as some broccoli. All in all, not a bad meal. I would go into it more, but that was when the questioning started.
“So, Quicksilver, where are you from?” Citrine asked. I gulped, the questions were going to go along this route it seemed. I mentally prepared myself to lie, when I looked at my hosts once more. These people, or ponies, had invited a complete stranger into their home and then taken care of that stranger as if they were part of the family. I sighed, they deserved my honest answer.
“Another world.” I responded, putting down my food. My appetite had been sated a long time before, and it is considered impolite to speak while talking.
“What do you mean by, another world? Did you mean to say that it seems like another world, or do you actually expect us to believe you come from somewhere outside of Equestria?” Sunstone seemed very interested. I never imagined him to be the kind of pony interested in other worlds.
“I believe that it would be best to continue on the idea that the world I am from is outside of Equestria. Also, it would be best to get a clear picture of just what my kind are.” I said. There I go again with the high-speak. Sunstone looked intently at me.
“And just what, pray tell, are your kind?” he asked. I sighed again, and looked him dead in the eye.
After a very long conversation about humanity, and earth in general, Citrine finally suggested to her father that she take me to the guest room. To be honest, I really think he would have preferred that I stayed and continued talking about my world. Thankfully, though he was able to see past that wanting of his, and agree that I be shown my room. As I left the dining room, I noticed a final piece of fish bacon, and tried to grab it with my tail.
Sadly, my aim was a little off. I ended up hitting the bowl of soup, and caused it to make a beautiful arc. An arc that ended on my head, giving me a beautiful wooden pot shaped hat to go along with my now soup soaked hair. I sighed, then asked, “Do you have a towel that I could borrow as well?”
Shortly after drying off my face and head, Citrine showed me the guest room. Honestly, it was perfect for me. Nicely sized bed, with a wooden frame, bedside table, lamps, pretty much everything you could want in a room. What struck me though, was the window. It was as tall as I was, and it opened onto a small balcony. I also noticed a couple pictures on the side wall. Most were of Citrine and her father, but the one that caught my eye was different. In it, Sunstone was standing with another pegasus mare, only this one was a deep green, with a white mane. The mare was holding a foal in her arms, and from what I could tell, it was a very young Citrine. She saw me staring at the photo.
“My mother, Coral, along with me and my father back when we all lived together in Nimbus.” she said. Hmmm, interesting use of phrasing there. I noticed how she seemed a bit tight on the subject, so I simply smiled back at her.
“Aha, makes sense then. By the way, where is Nimbus?”
“On the other side of Equestria.”
“Okay.”
…
…
…
Okay, awkward silence is awkward. I felt like I needed something to break the silence. Cue normal brain function, program name firstthought.exe. “Could you show me on a map? I'm not really used to this place.” Wow, for me that appeared to be a well thought out request. I congratulated myself. Thank God she smiled back.
“Actually, the nearest map is in the town nearby. Me and Dad were going to make a trip there tomorrow for supplies, but with you here I don't know if we should...”
“Nonsense! I only plan to stay the one night. In fact, I would like to join you in this quest towards the town for reasons all my own.” Clothes being the primary reason. Hey, just cause most of the characters on the show are comfortable without them, doesn't mean that I am.
“Oh. Then that's fine. I'll tell my dad. Good night, Quicksilver.” she responded walking out of the room. This left me on my own, so I flopped down on the bed, and tried to get some sleep. Notice the use of the word try in that sentence. I just couldn't do it. Try as I might, it was either uncomfortable, wings can be annoying, or my mind was just going so fast that it wouldn't relax. I stood up and walked over to the window, opened it, and stepped onto the balcony.
A beautiful night. Compared to the ones at my apartment, this was just amazing. It reminded me of the nights spent with my dad, back in woods. The stars would shine out, and you could see so many of them, an amount beyond the scope of the imagination. The constellations were the same here, and I found myself looking for some of the more prominent ones, like Orion and Cleopatra. Then I found the moon. It had been behind the tree, and so I didn't see it until it was at the apex of its journey. Beyond beautiful. There were no words that could describe it. I simply stared at the sky, for what seemed like the longest time.
“Luna's creations are not oft appreciated for their beauty, but it is always a comfort to know that there are those who still enjoy her night.” said a voice. I shot a fast glance to my side, and beheld Sunstone, simply standing on the balcony with me, and staring at the night sky. He wasn't wearing his armor, and I noticed his coat was beyond the pale I had originally thought. His mane was short, but it was obvious that it had once been a very bright blue. Now, it was so pale that it seemed to be the same color as the moon above us. He seemed, in a word, old. He turned and looked at me. “You've told me much about your world, but do your skies match this?”
I turned back to the view of the stars, as they traveled underneath the cloud cover. There was no end to them from up here. “No. I share the same skies, but nothing I have seen can match this.” I felt a stinging sensation in my eyes, and found that I was crying. I looked back at him, and asked something strangely off topic, “What day is today?”
He seemed startled at my question. “Friday, tomorrow is Saturday. Why?” An honest question. I looked at him once more. Here was a father who had allowed me to stay with him, and his daughter, even though he knew the kind of danger such an act might place him in. This was, in all essences, a being that I could trust. He deserved the truth.
I turned around, facing back into the room, and slid down the railing till I was sitting and leaning against it. “I told you about Earth, but not about my own family. My sister has two kids of her own, and Saturday is the night I go to spend time with them. Every week. I often tell them stories before their bedtime. Their favorite nights, though, are the ones where I sneak them out to the backyard, and show them the stars. I had promised them that I would take them on top of the roof this time, and that from there they would be able to see all the stars. If I'm really here, and this is no dream, then means I'm going to miss all of that.”
He looked at me, rather shocked. He then sat down next to me, and asked “What are their names?”
“River, and Simon.”
“How old?”
“River is 9, Simon is 6.”
“What do you like most about them?” this actually made me look back at him. His eyes were looking straight into mine, and I felt moved.
“Well, I guess it could be that they accept me and love me, no matter what I do. I've gone through some trials in my life, and I'm too used to people wanting to know me because of what I do, instead of who I am. These two, though, they don't care about what I do. They love me because they love me. There is nothing more than that.” I actually choked up at this part. Tears were welling up, and all they needed was a signal to open the floodgates.
He stood up, and looked back over his shoulder at the moon as it traveled across the sky. “Most ponies go through a phase in their lives. It often happens when they try to get their cutie marks. They try to get the attention of all passerby and show off what they can do, in order to gain recognition. The root of this phase, is in all creatures. It is a desire to be loved, for some reason or another. These two foals, or kids, have given you that love. It is only natural that you feel lost without it. Do not despair, for that will only lead to suffering of a far greater kind. It may even lead you to lash out, and tarnish what you remember of them.” He then left the room, shutting the door softly behind himself.
That changed everything. My tears dried up, and I found myself invigorated. I also found myself extremely tired. I shoot the moon one last look as I hit the bed. “Thanks Luna, I appreciate the artwork, and the advice.” With that, I fell asleep, and dreamed of family, and home.