Miss Sweetheart stared at the little colt. She had been assured that the swaths of bandages and tape that covered almost his entire coat were only because he had so many shallow cuts. Nurse redheart had told her that, with all the glass and splinters, they had to call in a specialist. Apparently, it had taken Doctor Shard over four hours to get everything.
When the poor colt was healed, he would be her newest charge.
If he ever wakes up, she thought to herself sadly, noting the vacant look in his eyes as he lay curled up in the bed.
She was reminded of the day she got her cutie mark. The foals whose parents had been crushed by dragons fighting with each other had that same look. It had broken her heart so badly that she had begged her mother to take in more than one. It was at the moment she declared to everypony how she would get a giant house and take care of any foal that lost their parents that she got that distinctly unforgettable, yet impossible to describe feeling that comes with the revelation of one’s Special Talent. She pushed those memories back. They were just too much to deal with at this time.
If only I could keep them from losing their parents in the first place... She thought quietly to herself for probably the thousandth time.
“Is there anything we can do?” She turned to Miss Introspective with a pleading look and tears in her eyes.
“Not much,” Was the reply from Miss Introspective, glancing at her notes and sighing. “As best we can understand, his mind is processing all of what happened... Either that, or he’s retreated into himself and is blocking out everything that has caused him pain and anguish.” There was a slight quaver to her voice as she said the last part.
She turned back to the heartbroken mare with a compassionate smile. “Have hope, the younger they are, the more resilient they seem to be. We should be able to break through to him with a reassurance of love and security. I expect he’ll be noticeably recovering by the end of the month.”
“Are you sure it’s best to keep him in Ponyville?” Miss Sweetheart looked with apprehension at the mental health expert. “My heart goes out to him and I’m already feeling like he’s mine to love, but shouldn’t he go back to Baltimare? Wouldn’t the unfamiliar surroundings here get in the way of his healing?”
“The decision was made that his parents’ sacrifice of well paying jobs showed a serious concern for his environment. His mother was taking a position that paid less than her old job and his father was unable to find work before the move. Also, they do not have anypony with a special talent in orphan care, so he would need to be placed with a willing foster family.” His mixed parentage would be a hinderance to that as well, she added to herself.
Their little discussion was interrupted by Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness, as she entered the room. She whispered something that must have been a greeting to the two of them before sitting down at the colt’s bedside. She was carrying a tray of food and set it down before sitting him up and feeding him. He would look down and open his mouth when she touched it with the spoon and drink when she brought the cup to his mouth, but other than that, he showed no awareness at all of his surroundings. Even when eating, he was looking through what was in front of him. Miss Sweetheart’s heart broke and she had to turn away to hide the tears running down her face. When Fluttershy was done feeding him, she started brushing his mane and singing a lullaby to him as she looked into his eyes.
After a while of staring at her, Miss Sweetheart quietly walked over.
“May I brush him for a little bit?” Her whispered question was met with a startled ‘eep’ from the timid mare.
Fluttershy nodded and passed her the brush before giving Steelskin a full pegasus hug and nuzzling his cheek.
After a while of brushing and talking, Miss Sweetheart stopped, brushed the hair from his face and gave him a long hug.
Fluttershy gave a gentle push to Miss Introspective and they both joined in.
Slowly, a light crept into his eyes. A pain beyond description was written line by line across his face. Finally, his tiny frame trembled and he broke out in anguished sobs.
“Oh, Sweet and Merciful Celestia, it’s a miracle,” Miss Introspective murmured to herself.
The poor colt cried without stop for most of the morning. While the sound of it broke their hearts, all three of them were thankful for what it meant.
The rest of the day would be spent speeding up preparations for his move to the orphanage, checking his remarkably light and fast healing injuries, and evaluating his mental state for the records.
“Two days,” Miss Introspective whispered to herself. “After seeing his parents die in front of him. After being trapped with their broken bodies for over an hour. Only two days and he’s come back to us.”
She wiped a tear from her eye and went back in to talk more with the little colt. She wished she could just rock him in her forelegs and comfort him, but she had a job to do. She looked down at the mental evaluation that had to be done and frowned.
Someday, I should make a new evaluation that can be done while comfort is being given instead of this pile of meadowmuffins.
Buck it.
I’m going to give him what he needs. If I get the Discorded paperwork done, fine. But if not, they can shove it up their plots.
With a grim smile, she dropped the papers into her saddlebags, pushed her annoyance off her face and out of her mind, then went in to do her real job.
Another jump... I wonder who will try to kill me here?
I looked around at the forest I was surrounded by, noting the bits of cave that were close enough to me to be brought along.
First, find an unoccupied cave.
Second, do not get my hopes up about seeing either of my adopted sons here. Better yet, do not hope for anything.
It had been about twenty-five jumps since I had the ability to be self sufficient rather than stealing my meals or demanding tribute. Both tend to get the locals annoyed and eventually leads to a hero or angry mob. That is a lesson I have learned the hard way. I shook my head, remembering all the times my pride and greed got the best of me as a wyrmling.
I made the decision to walk rather than fly so that I could keep a low profile. There was no need to advertise the fact that there is a ‘dangerous monster that needs to be killed’ in these parts.
A day of exploring yielded one cave, occupied by some sort of magical saber-toothed ursan beast four times my size. I think I shall pass on that one. Also found were a few magically animated wooden wolf-like creatures and some sort of twist on a displacer beast. There was the scent of another dragon, but it seemed far off and was not fresh. I estimated it to be on the other side of the forest and probably indulging in a century nap.
I finally decided to hunker down for the night and make myself a hollow.
I’m so sick of this! Why did my mum and dad have to die, but not me? It’s so lonely in the orphanage. Miss Sweetheart barely even talks to me and nopony ever wants to play with me. I’m younger than most of the kids here, and I’m sick of the kids my age staring at my cutie mark and telling me how jealous they are of it. I finally got so sick of it, I beat up my bunk-mate, and now everypony is gonna hate me.
How can they not when I bucking beat up a colt for complimenting me?
~~~
”You want my cutie mark? Maybe you should ride a train when it jumps the rails!” I shouted as I dragged him off the top bunk and began stomping on his face. “Do you want to see the two adults that love you the most get smashed against the sides of the train car? Do you want to see their broken bodies in your dreams?” The older kids quickly dragged me off of him and held me down. Robbed of the ability to put actions to my words, my voice rose to a screech “Every time I close my bucking eyes I see my dad’s neck facing the wrong bucking way! Now I have this bucking cutie mark to constantly remind me every time I bucking look at my bucking flank!”
At this point, Miss Sweetheart came in and started treating the cuts and bruises on my bunk-mate’s face and forelegs while I sat panting and crying.
~~~
Where can I go? Everywhere I could think of, I’d just be dragged back to the orphanage and have to look at Rocksford and Miss Sweetheart until I’m of age. Since nopony will ever adopt a bully like me.
I wonder how much trouble I’m in for beating him up? I doubt they’ll even bother with my swearing after the damage I did to Rockford’s face.
“Guess the only place for me is the Everfree, hopefully I’ll get eaten quickly and won’t have to starve to death,” I muttered to myself as I trudged off under cover of night.
After walking for a while inside the darkness of the Everfree, I started having second thoughts. Getting eaten was no longer sounding like a welcome thing and I started noticing eyes watching me. After a few minutes of this, I started trembling with fright. I heard a twig snap behind me and thought I felt hot breath on my tail.
This is it, you’re gonna get what’s coming to you.
My courage completely failed me. I ran mindlessly, trying to escape phantom dangers and accusing eyes.
I was just settling down after moving my hoard to a barely acceptable shallow pit I had dug when a tiny equine creature came tearing through the forest, bleating with terror and ramming right into my side. The thing had a grey coat with a mane dyed teal.
Obviously a show pony and probably quite valuable to its owners. It hit me so hard, I expected its neck to be broken, but it just dazed itself enough to stop running. It was cute, but that usually did not stop creatures from becoming my lunch. As I pondered whether it would make a decent mouthful, I suddenly heard words.
“I don’t wanna die, I miss you, mommy and daddy, but I’m too scared of dying.”
The voice was coming from the... pony... no, colt. This was definitely a very young pony, and it was talking. Moreover, its... no, his crying was no longer the mindless braying of a frightened animal. The sound was most definitely the anguish of an intelligent being.
I am glad I was not hungry.
I started humming in the way that calmed down my adopted sons those many, many decades ago, and the little colt settled down enough to look up at me.
Of course, he immediately cowered in fright, covering his eyes again. But after a few moments he must have wondered why he had not been eaten yet and looked at me closer. I changed my humming into a song.
Hush now little one, Darkness comes, night doth fall. Rest up weary one, Grow now your metal scale.
Sleep now little one, Night has come, sleep does call. Strengthen now weary one, ‘Morning we conquer all.
Yes, it does not translate all that well, but it had the desired effect. Namely that his look of confusion changed to a look of wonder as he whispered “You can talk?”
“Yes little one, and I am as amazed at your ability to speak as you are of mine,” I whispered as I stroked his cheek reassuringly. “Why are you running through this dangerous wood?”
“I don’t wanna talk about it,” He mumbled.
I could see the guilt in his eyes so, for now, I decided not to press it. “I can understand that. I shall not press you tonight, so sleep now.”
I can guess he is a smart one, as his discomfort showed how clearly he understood my statement. “Do not worry, little one. I am very understanding.”
“O-okay”
“Well, then, let us exchange names, little hatchling. You may call me Tallic.”
“I’m Steelskin,” The little colt answered.
“Your name is quite the match for your coat coloration," I commented, hoping to settle him down some more "Well then, Steelskin, let us get a good night’s sleep, then talk about our troubles in the morning.”
I can’t believe I crashed into a dragon! He felt like a brick wall and running at full tilt, it reminded me of the battering I got in the train wreck. I was really scared when I first realized what it was, but it started humming like mommy does...
Did.
I couldn't help but sob like a little baby when I was reminded I’d never see her again.
It asked me why I was running, but I just couldn't answer. It said it was okay, just like dad always did, but I was prepared this time and kept from crying.
~~~
I must’ve been sleeping, ‘cause I woke up shrouded by its wing. It was moving carefully, like there was some sort of danger coming close.
“Your people have come, do you wish them to know you are here?”
“Please don’t” I whispered.
I was awoken by the sound of a dog barking, which is never a good thing. I was reassured by the tone of its barks. It sounded intelligent and happy, more like a tracking dog than the rabid, snarling, bark of bloodthirsty hunting dogs. They squish easily enough, but their handlers are usually well armed and psychotically brave. When it came into sight, I was even more reassured. It was well groomed and seemed more intelligent than most humans I have encountered. Not that that would be saying much. After the dog came three ponies and two humans. Bipeds, at least. I was only guessing that the future tech knight was human since his smell was muddled with all the technology on and in him.
Just looking at that armor made me want to squish him.
“Go away,” I rumbled, the menace in my voice making it a threat.
I took a second look at the ponies and noted their diverse coloration.
“Ahm sorry, Mr. Dragon, but we’re looking for a young colt who ran away, and Winona here seems to think he’s with y’all,” the orange pony drawled.
I thought for a moment. With a dog, they would be certain to know that the little colt was with me, and how she referred to the dog, it was obvious she respected it far more than most handlers.
“I will not talk to knights. Go away. End of conversation.” I glared even harder at the knight.
"Knight? I'm no knight, I'm also not here for a fight. I'm just trying to make sure everyone gets home in one piece."
That little fewmet, he is keeping his hand right by some sort of weapon and trying to act all nice.
“You are wearing armor, therefore you are a knight. Since you are arguing with me, I want that human gone as well,” I replied, motioning with my talon towards the unarmored human.
“M...mister d...dragon... I...I know you have Steelskin under your wing. C...could you p...please... le...let us talk to him?” The yellow pony stammered so badly that I did not even need to smell the fear radiating from her frail body.
That is enough. These creatures have officially worn out their welcome. I rose up, careful to keep the little colt hidden and safe.
”GO NOW!” I roared. ”I hate humans and will not tolerate their presence!” To punctuate my statement, I shot multiple foot long spikes from my mouth into the ground at their feet.
The humans drew their weapons. Apparently the knight has some sort of ‘gun’ and I think I saw the other one’s sword change shape. Finally, no more pretense. I shifted myself into a more aggressive stance, ready to squash the knight if he looked like he was going to use it. I had faced some pretty nasty versions of those things, some of which would have killed me with one hit if they had found their mark.
The purple pony...
wait, was that a horn on her head?
The purple unicorn stepped forward into the freshly spiked area. “I can understand anger, but you have no right to exclude an entire species just because of the actions of a few who have wronged you. In fact, I don’t know how... you could... even know... about... humans?” I could see the gears turning, although my limited knowledge kept me from knowing just what was clicking into place.
My interest temporarily calmed my rage and I took a moment to find out what she was thinking.
“If you hate humans, then you must have met some before...” The purple unicorn slowly stated.
Thank you miss obvious ...but I think I shall refrain from breaking her train of thought.
“And it seems you haven’t met Alex or Matt, so...”
“What are ya sayin’, Twi?” The orange pony interrupted.
“I think this dragon is a jumper.”
The two humans were distracted from eyeing me like a trophy by this statement. They stared, slack jawed, at ‘Twi’ like utter buffoons.
I clapped my claws together in a parody of the human gesture, my eyes twinkling with mirth. “Bravo, bravo, at least someone here has something inside their tiny skulls. Now, if you do not have anything more to say, please let me get back to sleep, I have a lot of burning and pillaging to do in the morning.”
Okay, so that was not the most intelligent thing for me to say... actually, maybe it was. Both humans paused for a minute like they understood it was sarcasm. They did not stand down, but they relaxed their stances to a noticeable degree. The ponies, on the other hand, got quite skittish.
I brought a claw to my muzzle. “I was joking. Why does everyone see me and immediately think I will burn down their village or eat their maidens? Oh yes, I forgot. I am a dragon and all dragons do that” I realized too late that I had revealed my little guest as he let out a frightened squeak and the yellow pony ran towards him.
I quickly put down a claw to stop her.
That was the plan, at least. A plasma bolt almost scorched my muzzle. That is what I get for taking my eyes off a knight with a gun. I jumped forward and quickly crushed him under claw. His armor gave a satisfying crunch as I ground him into the dirt.
Yes, I admit, there is something quite nice about the squish and crunch of a knight.
Before I had my normal remorse over killing another intelligent creature, I felt a small projectile hit my chest and saw the other human in a throwing stance. On his face there was a look of... regret? I felt electricity course from that spot, causing me to lose all control of my body. I cursed the combination of my conductive muscle and bone structure and the magical nature of the electricity that caused it to continue to course through my muscles rather than dissipate quickly into the ground.
As I fell to the ground, twitching violently, a magical attack enveloped my head and froze my body. Her attack was both powerful and focused in a way that spoke of intensive training. Worse yet, she did not seem to be struggling with the initial casting.
That unicorn is definitely a force to be reckoned with, I will need to watch my step if there are more that are that powerful.
That is, if I get out of this alive.
I saw the yellow and orange ponies dragging Steelskin away and I fought with all my might against the combined effects of the magical restraint and the electrical confusion of my muscles.
The unicorn, I was relieved to see, was struggling against my mental push. The human watched me warily, like he was unsure as to how to proceed. The colt, Steelskin, knew exactly what to do and was kicking and biting like an enraged animal.
I did not envy the adults trying to restrain him and I was pleased that someone other than I was getting hurt.
Alex stood there weighing his options. His sword was quickly dissipating its charge and Twilight looked to be having trouble holding her spell. Matt was seriously injured and couldn’t use his blaster and Applejack and Fluttershy had their hooves full trying to hold back a thrashing colt.
He could kill the dragon by setting his knife to full lethal mode, but what if it could be reasoned with? He could let it go, but that would leave them all open to its wrath. The town would also be in danger. He looked over at Twilight and tried to figure out whether she would be able to continue holding it while he tried to reason with it.
A single drop of sweat ran down his temple. That and the licking of his dry lips showed his turmoil. The consequences of any choice he made weighed on him.
"Alert. Unit condition critical. Immediate assistance required," An electronic voice stated from Matt’s direction.
I peeked out from behind the dragon’s leg and saw the ponies that were sent to drag me back to face Miss Sweetheart. I gave a little shudder when I saw that those two scary humans also came. I keep hearing how nice they are and Alex even adopted Scootaloo, a filly a couple years older than me, but they’re strange and something about their faces always makes me think they want to eat me.
They started arguing with Tallic almost immediately, and I started getting worried. I heard Alex had killed a popping cat all on his own, Matt had that freaky armor, and the ponies were three of the Elements of Harmony that defeated Nightmare Moon, Chrysalis, Discord, and who knows how many other threats. There’s stained glass windows showing off how they saved Equestria, and even Twilight Sparkle’s little dragon helper has a window showing him beating up King Sombra.
At first, it looked like it was just posturing. I started to relax, and was even reminded of how a couple of older colts once argued about who was gonna date Miss Cheerilee, and how they kept talking big and acting all threatening, but were too scared of each other to be the one who started the fight.
That was till Fluttershy caught sight of me when Tallic moved his foreleg. Once she saw me, she ran towards me. When Tallic reacted, Matt shot at him. Before I knew it, Matt got stomped into the dirt. I barely even saw it, he was so quick. I sat there not knowing what to feel. I was pretty sure Tallic just killed him, but he was trying to kill Tallic. I mean, he was being attacked, right? And who knows what Matt would have done to him?
Applejack and Fluttershy dragged me away from Tallic, and I started kicking and biting till they finally let me go. When I turned around, I was horrified to see Tallic get zapped by something Alex threw. Alex just stood there watching as Tallic started twitching and fell to the ground, but before he even hit the ground, Twilight hit him with a freezing spell. He was in horrible pain with electricity dancing across his body and Twilight’s freezing spell keeping him from even being able to thrash around in agony. I ran over to him and threw my forelegs around his muzzle. Holding onto him was zapping me painfully, but I was too worried for him to care.
After I sat crying for what felt like several minutes, I realized Fluttershy was trying to get their attention.
“Twilight? Alex?”
“Uhm.. Twilight?” Fluttershy whispered.
Applejack was busy making a stretcher for Matt who was clutching his ribs and wheezing. He claimed to be fine but he winced in pain every time he tried to take a breath. I couldn't believe he was still alive.
“Twilight, Alex, you both need to stop.” Fluttershy squeaked, trying to shout.
I noticed Tallic’s eye and a bit of liquid metal rolling down it. The pain in that eye was too much for me. I flipped out and ran at Twilight, trying to hit her.
“Why did you have to hurt him? He was just trying to protect me! He was so kind and you hurt him!” Applejack grabbed me and dragged me away from her. I got a lucky buck to Applejack’s face, but she didn't even flinch.
Twilight looked at him and saw Fluttershy trying to get her attention.
“Please let him go. He’s a good dragon, just look into his eye, you can see how much he cares about Steelskin.” Fluttershy tried to shout.
Alex put a hand up to his nose and closed his eyes for a second. “Twilight, I do believe ‘hilarity ensued’. Unless I miss my guess, we’ve totally misread this situation.” I don’t know if she was obeying him, or just agreeing, but Twilight dropped the freezing spell and fell to her knees in exhaustion.
The little purple unicorn’s face was full of remorse as she got back onto her hooves. “Please keep calm and let’s talk about this misunderstanding, I’m really sorry about what’s happened.” She stared into Tallic’s eye as she cast one last spell to dissipate the remaining electricity.
Applejack finally let me go and rubbed her jaw where I got her. If I wasn’t so worried about Tallic, I would’ve been scared about what I just did to her. You don't attack a mare like that unless you want some serious consequences.
I lay there, stiff as a statue, unable to move as the little colt broke away and ran to me. I could feel his little muscles spasming as the electricity holding me captive coursed through his small body. The irony of a fully metal body was not lost on me. If I had but metal plating, the electricity would have flowed harmlessly around the more sensitive parts of my body, but having my muscles and bone so conductive caused the electric current to flow through my body evenly and scramble all my neural signals. Worse yet, this was magical lightning that did not dissipate naturally, but was designed to keep its target incapacitated.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. I knew better than to focus on only one combatant during a fight, yet, I put all my attention into that knight, despite knowing that the other one had a magical sword. Most weapons are laughable when used against me, as the toughest and sharpest of them would only give me the shallowest of cuts, but magical ones often had elemental natures imbued into them, of which Lightning and acid could be seriously problematic. Furthermore, I underestimated a unicorn of all creatures. Every reality I have been in, unicorns have held power on the level of my own kind, yet because they have been, with few exceptions, peaceful animals that only used healing and escape magics, I paid this purple one no mind. To think that a unicorn would be using an offensive spell like ‘bind’ would have been ludicrous a scant ten seconds ago. So now I am trying to defend my actions.
Well, time to stop kicking myself and focus on what they are doing now. I heard the yellow pony trying to come to my defense and I wondered about her voice. Had her vocal cords been injured?
The unicorn was too busy keeping me frozen like a fossil to pay her any mind, and ‘Alex’ seemed to be pondering his choices as he watched me for any indication that I was breaking free.
The good part is that it looks like they will not be killing me.
It was little Steelskin that finally got their attention when he charged the unicorn with all the passion of youth. After a short talk, the yellow pony convinced ‘Alex’ and ‘Twilight’ to release me.
As I was freed from the freezing spell, the knight surprised me twice. First, that he was still alive, and second from what he said.
“That was a warning shot you know. I try not to kill without a good reason. I’m just a little... over protective of certain ponies.” He said as the purple unicorn levitated him into an upright position. I could not help but notice the little yellow one blush. He gasped in pain when she prodded him in the side. "I mean, sorry."He quickly amended.
“I assume you have never fought a dragon before. Only those with a death wish give a dragon a warning. If you do not kill or incapacitate us on the first hit, you will assuredly find yourself crushed, burned, or eaten. Usually all three. I have yet to see even one hero get a chance to make a second strike.”
"Funny, I have a second chance... Should I still take another shot?" His attempt to laugh was cut short with a cough and him clutching his chest.
I gave a low laugh “It would be amusing to me for you to try in your condition.” I glanced at the unicorn and the other human and was relieved to see that they recognized this as friendly banter. I would need to be much faster if we ever came to blows again. Hopefully I can figure out whether or not I can break the unicorn’s magical grip before that happens. No matter what, if we come to blows again, that human must be dealt with first. Or at least, his sword.
The human chuckled. "A real hero, never lets things go that far. That's why I will do my best to make you a friend. Better to make a friend than kill an enemy." Let us see if he actually believes this.
The orange pony stopped staring at Steelskin and spoke up. “Let’s let bygones be bygones and start with some introductions. I’m Applejack, this here unicorn is Twilight Sparkle, student of Princess Celestia, The pegasus is Fluttershy, caretaker of pretty much all the animals in Ponyville.”
Surprised, I took a closer look at her and noticed her wings for the first time “an’ the two humans are Alex, Paladin of Redemption, appointed by Princess Luna herself,” The unarmored human gave a two finger salute to go along with his weary smile, “and Matt, our resident defender.” The knight seemed to frown through that faceplate “I’m just a friend” The dog gave a little bark. “Oh, sorry Winona, didn’t mean to leave you out. This here’s Winona, the best darn herder a pony could ask for.”
I decided to forget about banishing the humans for now, since the knight was in no condition to fight or leave, and the whole ‘paladin of redemption’ thing was intriguing. Especially the redemption part. It is interesting how ‘knight’ makes me want to squish, but I associate ‘paladin’ with devotion to a higher authority, not the bloodthirsty seeking of honor.
“My name is Tallic, and you can probably guess that I am an iron dragon.”
Both humans raised their eyebrows at this, but did not say anything.
“This little colt is running away from something, but does not want to talk about it right now. Could you elaborate for me?” I felt the little creature tense up, but decided truth was more important than comfort for him.
The orange pony stepped forward “Well, his parents were killed just last week.” She paused to look pityingly at him. “He was injured in the same accident. Just a couple a days ago, he was released from the hospital and moved into Miss Sweetheart’s orphanage. Tonight, apparently, he got in a bit of a tussle with another orphan and ran away.”
I surmised by how she talked that she did not know anything more about this ‘little tussle’ and merely volunteered to be part of this rescue party due to her toughness and compassion. “Can we leave him alone for tonight? I promise I shall take him to the edge of town tomorrow morning if you leave us for now.”
“Fluttershy, what do you think? Is he safe?” The unicorn asked.
The pegasus stared me straight in the eyes for a second before answering in a whisper. “Y...yes, I think he’s real scary, but he’s definitely not going to hurt Steelskin.”
“AJ, will he keep his promise?”
The orange pony seemed to think for a moment, then pushed up her hat and said, “Yup, I reckon so.”
Alex piped up at this point "Alright Tallic. Fluttershy trusts you, so I do too. I'll be in the meadow come morning, or if you want, I'll escort Steelskin h-." he looked away, embarrassed, “back to Miss Sweatheart.” He thought for a moment, then nodded. "I'll bring my daughter, Scootaloo.” He turned his focus to the child, “She's worried about you, Steelskin."
He placed his pack on the ground and withdrew a small saddle bag. "I've got a little something for Steelskin. Miss Sweetheart said he really likes cupcakes from the Cube, but they were already closed when we heard about him, so I got a good meal of carrots, celery, flowers, and a couple of hay pucks. Also a couple of juice boxes from Sweet Apple Acres. You can help him with this?"
Alex took a step forward and I tensed up, but he just chuckled warmly, "I wouldn't trust me either at this point, so I'll just leave the pack here. These woods are dangerous. Please, keep him safe."
They finished making a stretcher to carry the knight back to town, and all of them started to head out of the clearing. I noticed the unicorn was stumbling a little as she left the clearing. Yes, the sword will be my largest threat.
Alex began to turn, then stopped, "I know different dragons eat different things. The locals go for gemstones and such. Anything I can get you?"
What is this human up to? I took a moment to consider, then decided the truth would be the safest, and possibly, most profitable course of action.
“I am an iron dragon, therefore, I eat metals, primarily (you guessed it) iron. I can also survive on meat for long periods of time. Could you tell me which animals are fair game and which, like these ponies, would get me hunted down?
"Iron. Got it. I'll see what I can do. Cows, ponies, and donkeys are the intelligent animals in these parts. And humans on a good day. Basically, ask it how it’s day is going, and if it answers, don’t eat it.” He gave a slight smirk. “We can have a talk more about pony morality tomorrow over breakfast."
I watched them finally walk out of my little clearing as I wondered about this Alex. Are there really humans this compassionate, or was he just going overboard trying to trick me into trusting him? I shook my head as I settled down with Steelskin.
After a while, they finally left, but they got Tallic to promise to take me back in the morning. Alex gave me a ton of food. Guess I won’t have to worry about breakfast tomorrow.
“Do I hafta go back to Ponyville?”
“Why? Do you not wish to be with your own kind, little hatchling?”
“Everypony hates me... or at least they will when they find out what I did...” My voice trailed off as my head hung with shame.
“People do not face down dragons for someone they hate. They put their lives on the line for you. I could have squashed any one of them if I were a different sort, and they stood their ground without knowing what kind of dragon I am. You do not do that unless you care about someone deep enough that it would take a terrible breach of trust to counteract.” His voice was soothing and I wanted to believe him. It’s also funny how, with his formal way of talking, he uses the word ‘squash’. I think I’ll ask him about that sometime. He’s still staring at me, I guess I’ll have to explain.
“I just beat up a kid that only wanted to be my friend.”
He nuzzled me with his snout. “I believe you had a reason, and apologies can be powerful. It could be fate that brought that ‘paladin’ to us. Tell me what happened, and if I think they will not forgive you, I shall make sure you do not have to go back.”
I told him all about the train wreck, and the fight that brought me here. I ended up stopping lots of times because I was crying too hard. When I finished, he pulled me in close with his wing and whispered “It will be all right, even humans would forgive that and these ponies seem even better.”
I fell asleep with him humming that strange song about growing scales.
I woke real unhappy about having to go back to ponyville. I was hungry, but I was so scared about having to see Miss Sweetheart, I felt like I’d just hurl anything I tried to eat. I couldn’t imagine what kinda trouble I was in.
I’m such a horrible pony.
I opened up the saddlebag Alex brought and rummaged through it to see if anything looked like I could hold it down. Mom always told me to eat something bland and light when I wasn’t feeling good...
Mom, I miss you so much.
Carrots, celery, flowers, a couple of hay pucks, a couple of juice boxes... I sat gazing with a hungry stomach at food that I didn’t want. I finally decided to struggle down a hay puck and a little juice... make that all the juice. I forgot how dry those things are.
I nuzzled the little one awake when the sun rose fully above the trees. No need to get him up too early. He was grumpy, but that was only to be expected with all the uncertainty that lay before us.
After he ate, I decided to check the area. Extending my wings, I gave a few flaps to see how he’d respond and was pleasantly surprised by his ability to stay on his feet. After making sure he was ready, I launched myself and did a quick aerial reconnaissance of the area. When I had made sure of the safety of the skies, I had him climb onto my back.
It was no wonder he kept his footing so well. I could feel a telekinetic pull from his hooves as he climbed up and stood on my shoulder blades. Shards, did I miss this. I had been alone for so long, I had forgotten how wonderful it was to share the skies with an earthbound.
Awesome! I can’t believe I’m riding a dragon! It’s scary as all Discord, but so totally fun! I don’t ever want to get down! I watched the trees zoom past under my hooves and felt the wind in my mane. I wondered if this was what pegasi get to feel and hoped that Tallic would let me do this every day. I imagined landing in the schoolyard on the back of Tallic. That would get me stares for all the right reasons!
Sadly, Tallic reached the meadow outside Ponyville almost immediately, but I think he wanted to give me some more time, ‘cause we made a few slow circles around the meadow before he came in for a landing.
Oh yeah, that’s why we’re here. I spotted Alex, Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, and Miss Sweetheart. Great, Rockford is here too. I hopped down, cause I knew I wasn’t gonna be able to skip out on this.
Once he saw me, he started galloping over. He looked nervous, so he was probably gonna hit me. I felt so bad, I wasn’t even planning on hitting back. He slowed down as he got close and I changed my mind. He’d probably just keep his distance and gloat about how much trouble I was in. If he did that, I’d go ahead and go all in with a second beat down on him. Cowards don’t deserve an apology.
My jaw dropped when he got close enough to do what he came to. He started pawing the ground and looking embarrassed.
“I’m real sorry about last night, I had no idea about how you got... it.”
Wait? He was apologizing to me? What’s next, will the grass turn purple? I stood there dumbfounded as the adults walked up. My jaw was moving, but I had forgotten how to make words come out.
Finally, I found my voice. “No, Rocky, I beat you up. I’m the one that should be apologizing.” We finally looked each other in the eyes, and something just... clicked. We hoofed each other in the shoulder with a grateful smile.
I spotted the ‘welcome party’ almost as soon as I leveled myself out. They were in a nice little meadow just on the outskirts of the town. Mental note, no knight. I circled a few times, partly to scan the area for ambushes and partly because I did not want this first-in-decades kindred flight to end.
As I landed, the group of ponies approached with their human. When Steelskin disembarked (with a jump, no less), a colt slightly smaller than him ran up, and they started talking.
Alex unslung his pack, "Sorry I could only get five bars. Not much industry in Ponyville.” As he approached he started arranging iron ingots, five in total on a gaily decorated sheet. He half smiled at me, seemingly embarrassed, “I've made arrangements to get three pallets shipped in for you. 40 ingots at 25kg each per pallet, so three ton-”
“No.”
Alex stopped and looked at me.
“You’re being far too generous. I do not trust gifts, and this much makes me think you either are plotting something, or, worse, you may be pitying me.”
Alex surprised me. He did the unexpected. He laughed. “Oh, no. No, this is an apology gift. I recommended that particular course of action, so everything that was done falls on my shoulder. We now realize we shouldn’t have attacked you when you were only protecting this young gentleman. No, this is our apology. And, as an added bonus, it gives you a little reserve until you can get settled in.” He stood and smiled, hands on hips. To him, the conversation was over.
I fought an internal struggle between my pride and my greed. At long last, the greed won out.
“Fine, I shall accept your tribute." I was made uncomfortable by their lack of fear or awe, but the thought of that much iron made me drool
A little orange filly with messy hair came up beside him, “Whoa. You’re right dad, he’s big and he does look cool.”
Dad? The absurdity of this gave me pause.
“Why is a pegasus calling you dad?”
He looked lovingly at the child, “Simple. My wife and I adopted her. She is my flesh and blood.”
I decided to ignore it for now and greeted the orange pony and purple unicorn “It is nice to meet you again, Applejack, Twilight Sparkle. I would like to talk with you about the social norms of this ‘Ponyville’ sometime soon. I am eager to form a positive relationship with this town, I would prefer to not have to deal with any angry villagers or local heroes.” I tried to keep my contempt from coloring this last word.
I turned to the new mare, sporting a light pink coat and blond mane and tried to speak casually. “I assume you are Miss Sweetheart, Steelskin’s current guardian?”
She smiled and answered “Yes, he came to live with us at the orphanage three days ago.” Her nervousness showing through her attempt at congeniality, but even more apparent was the obvious concern for him.
“I can see your care for him and share a desire to see him healthy and happy. What would be the duties of a parent for a foal of his years?”
As she started explaining about schooling, shelter, and food, my attention was caught by a little dragonling. The little hatchling was standing agape where they had been waiting for us.
I noticed that Miss Sweetheart had stopped talking. “I am so sorry, I was distracted as I was not expecting a fellow dragon in your midst, especially one so young. Please forgive my inattention. You were saying that schooling is mandatory in this culture and the obvious requirements of feeding and sheltering. Did I miss anything during my lapse?”
“Simply my question of why you are curious.” She answered with some trepidation.
“Well, first, is there anything these three foals, and possibly that young dragonling should be doing?” I asked, trying to dodge the question. I was not yet ready to admit what I was hoping for. I was also mentally kicking myself. First ignoring combatants, now starting a conversation with “I want to adopt one of your children?” This reality must be draining my intelligence.
“The foals would normally be in school today, but we figured they could get away with-”
A pink blur interrupted Sweetheart as it shot straight onto my nose. My wide spaced eyes could just barely make out a pink pony perched on me.
“OOOOHHHH!!!!!!! Metalicana! you’ve finally made it! Gajeel misses you like crazy but he’s doing really well he’s ditched Phantom Lord and joined Fairy Tail and even made some dragon slayer friends and you’d be so proud of how he did in the grand magic tournament and-”
“AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT IS THIS INFERNAL PINK FIREBALL?!”
Everyone covered their ears except the Pink energy blast. Thankfully, she calmed down and hopped off my nose. I could now see that she was a regular pony with no wings. My head hurt partly from her insanity and partly from trying to understand how she got on my nose without the ability to fly.
“I’m really sorry, Metalicana, I was just so excited to see you, I forgot how few ponies can handle my ten percent form, oh wait, Belldandy would be the one to get that description. Oh well,” The pink pony gave an abashed grin. “I was actually coming to ask if you want me to throw you a welcome to Ponyville party, but now that I think about it, there’s not really room in ponyville for a dragon of your size, so we should probably have it at your house-oh-ifthat’sokaywithyou? Oh, and my name is Pinkie Pie, I really hope we can be friends.”
My mind swam with the verbal torrent, nay, waterfall of words that were assaulting my ears. I put a claw up to my snout. “Too. Many. Words.”
The pink typhoon stopped, closed her eyes and concentrated. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes again and spoke clearly and slowly “Welcome. Party. For you. At your house” She took a deep breath “Is that okay?”
Finally, I can actually understand her. “I have but one problem with your offer. I have yet to find myself a permanent cave. I only arrived in this universe yesterday, and there does not seem to be much in the way of vacant caverns.”
GASP!!!!
The pink pony somehow rose five feet into the air without jumping, then ran to the orange pony “I need you to find out what he eats and anything he’d like to drink then meet me at sugarcube corner this evening!”
House search Party!" The insane pony yelled, then dashed off into the center of town.
“Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, could you come here for a minute?” I requested.
The ponies trotted over to me and I took a deep breath. “What in the name of Aethelind’s Egg was that pink pony?”
The orange pony chuckled “That there was our resident Element of Laughter, Pinkie Pie. She’s downright genius level, but we reckon she’s not completely in this reality.”
“It’s best not to think about it too much...” The purple unicorn cut in.
I figured that would be good advice with that... creature. “Tell me, are there any good caves in the area that I would be able to make use of? I normally stay about ten years in any given reality, so I probably will not need it for long.”
On the edge of my hearing, I thought I heard a ridiculously meek voice speak, “How about...”
The purple unicorn tapped her chin with her hoof, “I’ll go back to the library and start looking at all the geography books for this area.”
Again, the demure yellow pegasus tried to speak, “Um, excuse me...”
I put a claw up to my mouth, hoping it meant ‘please be quiet’ here as well.
The orange pony pushed her hat back. “Tarnation, that’ll take forever. We need to send out for the records in Canterlot. There’s experts there who likely already know.”
The older human started shaking his finger at no one in particular.“You know sis, I’ve got a good relationship with the north east diamond dog tribes, maybe they’ll know a-”
What is with these people? Are they just so unable to see their surroundings that they ignore a friend, or are they just so rude that they only care about what they are saying?
“Quiet everyone” I said with just enough force to get them to listen.
Turning to the yellow pegasus, I continued. “What did you want to say, Fluttershy?”
“eep” The yellow pegasus shrank back, stiffening and looking around at everyone with a terror stricken face.
Oh well, maybe there was a reason they were ignoring her...
Turning to the purple pony, I asked “Is there a way of finding out what she was going to say?”
Alex said kindly, “Sorry Fluttershy. We just got a little excited.” He went to his knee and seemed to focus on her. I could only hear the softest squeaking, but he nodded his head and acted like he could understand every word. Finally, he stood up, cracked his back, pointed behind me, to my left. “Where the red dragon tried to take a nap. Large cave, good view, close to town. Do you see it? About four fifths of the way up.”
I squinted my eyes in the general direction. “It is worth investigating. Quite defensible, by the looks of it.”
Everyone chuckled. “The last tenant was about to take a hundred year nap, complete with smoke. These fine ladies, as well as Rarity and my wife, Rainbow Dash, persuaded him to leave. Now, before you get upset, I don’t mean anything by that. It was just a data point, so you know it’s not as defensible as it seems. You know the drill, different world, different rules. Around here, the worst you’ll get a sternly worded letter, for the most part.” Or a blaster bolt to the face. “And, I say this now, if you need help or advice or just want to talk to a friend, well, we’re here.”
“No, I understand. Dragon hunters use completely different terms. They usually prefer euphemisms like ‘put to sleep’ or ‘removed’. But please stop with the offers of help, it is getting quite irritating.”
Alex smirked at me, “Just my passive aggressive side.” He chuckled, “But seriously, you’ve not shown yourself to be aggressive, Not shown myself to be aggressive? What is this one playing at? and...” He grew melancholy for a moment, “I know what it’s like.” His expression changed to such a hopeful expression, “I’ll be here the rest of my life, but I’m surrounded by friends,” he hugged the little filly who happily returned it, “and family.”
Out of nowhere, the pink pony was back “Ifoundthebestcave....”
She looked down abashed. “I mean, there’s a cave up on the mountain over there, you might want to check it out.” She turned to the other ponies. “It’s the one we kicked that smoker out of and I think it’ll be perfect for Metalicana.
“My name is Tallic.” I replied
The pink pony looked confused for a minute, then shrugged her shoulders and replied “Okee dokee loki”
While the adults were talking, the three of us snuck off to talk. “Why isn’t your face all messed up, Rocky? I know I hit you real hard, and I was really worried about how bad you’d look this morning.”
“Yeah, you did, and I was pretty messed up this morning, but when Miss Sweetheart told me to come this morning, Fluttershy asked Twilight Sparkle to try a new healing spell that Nighm- Princess Luna taught her” Rocky looked around anxiously like Princess Luna was gonna pop out of nowhere and banish him for using that name. “Well, she said that gunk that Doctor Emerald put on my face was good, but she wanted me healed quickly so you wouldn’t have to see... well, you know.”
Scootaloo jumped in “So what happened? All dad told me was that you ran away and you stayed with a dragon last night.”
I could see her eyeing my cutie mark.
Rocky broke in “I didn’t know about him getting his cutie mark in the train wreck and told him he was..” he pawed the ground in embarrassment “was lucky to get it so early.”
“Ooh, no wonder he ran away. I’d rather be a blank flank forever than lose mum and dad.”
“Actually” I replied “I beat him up, then ran away.”
“Wow, you beat him up? Is that why you ran into the Everfree Forest?”
“Yeah, it was the only place I could think of that I wouldn’t be able to be found. Guess I was wrong on that.” I said with a halfhearted chuckle.”
The two of them stared at me patiently, waiting for me to continue.
“Well,” I continued “I started out pretty brave, since I didn’t think I had anything to lose, but ended up getting pretty creeped out. I ended up galloping straight into the side of Tallic. Oh Celestia, did that hurt.”
“What did he say when you met him?” Scootaloo asked
“He... wanted to know why I was running away,” I knew it wasn’t the whole truth, but you just don’t go saying ‘I cried like a filly and begged him not to eat me’.
Then the two humans and some of the Elements of harmony came, and they had a big fight before they realized Tallic didn’t want to hurt anyone.
I watched the little hatchlings wander off to talk amongst themselves while the adults gushed about how great that cave in the mountain would be for me.
I think I will need to get used to surprises.
Pinkie Pie, apparently, is not the only one who can move faster than I can track. I say this because a rainbow maned pegasus streaked down to land next to the human, who kissed her.
“What did I miss? I heard the dragon yell something that made me think ‘Pinkie Pie’, but couldn’t leave the thunderstorm we’re working on for this evening. I finally called a half hour break.” She turned to face me, realizing that she had not yet greeted me. “Sorry, I’m Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in Equestria” She said with a bow. “You must be Tallic.”
“Alex, you just said you were married. Why did you just kiss that pegasus?” I rumbled menacingly.
“Because she’s my wife.” he replied with a sly smile while I stared stupidly at him.
“Yep, I’m the wife of the most bad-flank human that ever lived.” The new arrival boasted.
The matter is settled, this is one of the strangest realities I have ever jumped to. I think I shall follow Twilight’s advice here as well.
I talked a while with this new pegasus about wind currents, cloud textures, and the interesting fact of their ability to manipulate the weather, but paid attention to Miss Sweetheart pulling Applejack away.
“Please tell me that thing isn’t planning what I think it’s planning.” Miss Sweetheart whispered.
“So you are telling me that you can manipulate clouds in this reality?” I asked Alex’s wife.
“Ya’ll need ta get it from his own mouth, but I reckon he’s seriously considering asking to adopt little Steel.” Applejack replied
“Yep, we even have cities made out of clouds, though only us winged creatures can walk on ‘em.” Rainbow Dash answered.
“How can a dragon care for a pony? How do you know he’s not planning on eating him?” Steelskin’s guardian asked in a horrified whisper.
“...So you are saying you can create rainclouds?” I interjected.
Alex butted in to their conversation, speaking in a harsh, angry whisper, “Hey now! I don’t see anything wrong with him wanting a child. I mean, I was accepted.”
“Well, yes but-” and they continued to argue in hushed tones.
“...and much as it seems counterintuitive, you should really add at least one large cirrus into your thunderhead if you want a substantial downpour.” Rainbow Dash went on.
“It’s highly unusual,” The purple unicorn cut in “but there are accounts of other species caring for orphans. I even read an account of a gryphon family caring for-”
“Stop pulling my tail, you really think a dragon would care about a little colt?” Steelskin’s guardian virtually yelled.
“Why not? A ruthless human monster has. He’s just... scaled up.” Alex retorted.
“I don’t know why you keep saying that. Despite your constant claims, the only humans I have ever met have been kind, caring, and selflessly heroic. You have proven yourself from the first day to be a creature that cares about others. When have you heard of a dragon ever caring about anything but its treasure?” The director of the orphanage was starting to get distressed.
Alex opened his mouth to argue further, and it hung open for a moment, “Maybe. But he shouldn’t be disqualified for being a dragon. That’s all I’m saying. He should be given the chance to-” Alex kept prattling on.
Rainbow Dash stopped talking and looked at me, obviously having realized that my attention was elsewhere. “Are you alright? Is this about Steelskin? Cuz...” she paused to listen to Alex and the director of the orphanage.
At this point they were not even bothering to whisper, and Alex was bending down almost nose to snout with her while she was straining her neck to come as close to his level as she could. “Mr Roberts. I simply cannot believe you would entrust a frightened child into the... the... the claws of this creature. Unless he saves all three Princesses and all three order me to reconsider, this case is,” the light pink pony stomped with her hoof, “closed!”
In the deafening silence that followed I could see all the ponies staring slack jawed at her and Alex.
That confirms it! No matter where I go, dragons will always be nothing but killing and eating machines that burn down villages just for fun.
“Maybe I should just be the monster everyone insists that I am.” I growled, glaring at Miss Sweetheart and allowing the rage bubbling in my soul to lash out through my eyes. I took a moment to run my tongue along my lips with a hungry smile. When I decided I had made my point, I took to the air.
With a powerful downstroke that I hoped would scatter them everywhere, I took off in the opposite direction of the village.
I was just getting to the part where Tallic stomped Matt into the ground when I felt a huge gust of wind.
Tallic was flying away, and he looked angry!
“NONONONONO!!!! Please don’t leave me!” I brayed as I galloped after him. I had just found someone who would care about me and now he was leaving! I couldn’t contain my tears, and didn’t even bother to try. All that mattered was catching up to him and convincing him not to leave me.
I ran faster than I had ever run before, but I was still falling behind. There was no way I’d be able to catch up. Soon, I was running headlong through the forest, barely avoiding tree trunks. I didn’t care about how badly my chest was burning. I didn’t care about the branches whipping my face and body. Physical pain was nothing. The only pain that mattered was the pain of loss and I just couldn’t deal with it again. Well after he was out of sight, I stumbled for the last time, my legs unable to lift me up again.
“Tallic... please come back... Tallic...” Steelskin whimpered.
I should just leave him to be found by his own kind. Let him forget about me. I would only bring pain into both of our lives if I let him into my heart. Yes, abandoning him would be the kindest action.
“Tallic...” The little colt sobbed.
Who am I kidding? I let him in the moment I started singing to him. and made it official when I failed to send him back to his own kind last night. I should have scared him away like I have done to so many before. Now, he may as well be my mate’s egg.
I believe I will regret this most severely.
I turned around and headed back to where he was huddled on the ground, sobbing. The rainbow maned pegasus was doing her best to comfort him, but he was doing a pretty good job of ignoring her.
The pegasus felt my arrival and stepped back a few paces to let me near. Apparently Steel noticed her departure and looked up.
Rainbow Dash caught up with me pretty quickly. I think she was just waiting for me to exhaust myself. I sat crying, calling out for Tallic, and ignoring Rainbow Dash’s attempts to comfort me.
Finally, a gust of wind caused her to back off and leave me to my misery.
Wait, a gust of wind?
I ran over to Tallic and hugged his foreleg. “Please don’t leave me, I don’t wanna be alone again.” I sobbed.
“Be strong, little one, your kind is a very good race, full of compassion. You would do well to stay with Miss Sweetheart until she can find you a full family rather than just a dragon that cannot even provide for your basic needs.”
“But you’re strong, and you care about me, and... and you can do lots of things to help.”
I started hiccuping from all the crying.
“and you won’t get killed in a train wreck.” I whispered
“Do you really think they will give me permission to raise you? Have you ever heard of a dragon adopting a pony?”
“B-but Alex adopted Scootaloo...” My heart dropped as I realized that what he was saying was probably true. At least Alex could live in a regular house. Tallic could barely walk down the streets of ponyville he was so big.
No!
Alex could do it, so Tallic has to be able to as well. I refuse to give up!
I sighed inwardly, fighting both my own heart and the pitiful cries from the colt. I just knew it would not work and it was better to dash his hopes now while he was already upset from my precipitous departure. I tried to tell him as much, but he was being quite stubborn and his pleading was tearing me up inside.
“Look, Scootaloo was adopted by both Alex and Rainbow Dash. Single parents have a much harder time raising a... pony to be a well adjusted and productive member of society. Besides, I know precious little about your society. I will not be able to instruct you on the finer points of being the pony you should be.”
I noticed Miss Sweetheart and Applejack come into the clearing and could tell by her uncomfortable expression that she had heard us. Well, time to get her back for her comments.
“How about you ask her why it would not work. If you can convince her to let me, then I shall reconsider.”
He struggled to his hooves and stumbled over to where his guardian was approaching with Alex and Applejack. Apparently Twilight decided to stay behind.
“Miss... Sweetheart,” he choked out. The combination of mental and physical weariness showing in his voice. “Tallic cares about me, please let me stay with him... I... I...”
I wished I could cut this short. He could barely stand, and the desperation in his voice was tearing me up. Despite that, I was taking a perverse joy in the expression on Miss Sweetheart’s face as those eyes pleaded with her to let him stay with a ‘monster’.
Miss Sweetheart stood there, trying to keep from crying as she was forced to listen to his pleas.
“I... you...” Miss Sweetheart stammered.
“Steely,” Rainbow Dash knelt down, looking into Steelskin’s eyes “These things take time, squirt. I mean, Alex knew Scootaloo for almost a year and I knew her for almost four. How about you first become friends with him. Spend time with him after school, see if he can help you with your homework, and give Miss Sweetheart time to get to know him. He’s really cool, but he’s also big and scary, and a lot of ponies need time to be sure he’s not going to gobble them up.” Her voice dropped down to a whisper “Some ponies still think Alex might decide to eat them, and he’s just a weak little human.” She ended this with a wink.
“Yes” Miss Sweetheart finally found her voice. “How about we let... Tallic... be your big brother like Rainbow Dash was for Scootaloo.” I could see her discomfort, but I was glad she was willing to make at least this concession.
She deftly passed Steelskin off to Dash and approached me apprehensively.
“I am sorry about my outburst earlier.” She gave a heavy sigh. I could tell that she had not yet changed her opinion of me, but she was at least trying to be civil. “Please forgive me. We can start filling out the paperwork for the big brother program whenever you like.”
“Ponies” I said with a shake of my head “You creatures are more open and accepting than any I have yet encountered.”
Alex grinned "You're right. These ponies are better than most humans, especially me."
Dash hoofed him in the shoulder with a smile, "Shut up, you big lug."
“I did not expect to see violence from one of these ponies.” I commented with a chuckle. “Although, you did deserve it.”
Well, I gotta go back to the orphanage, but at least I got a promise from Tallic and Miss Sweetheart that he’d be my big brother like some of the other kids have. I wasn’t looking forward to seeing everypony again, but at least Rocky was okay with me.
The adults finished their conversation and decided we needed to go back to the meadow. I was so glad when Tallic scooped me up in his claw and carried me back. I don’t think I even had the strength to stand on his back, much less walk back to ponyville. I think I even fell asleep during the flight back.
We flew back to the meadow, with the rainbow pegasus following (I use that term loosely as she was flitting all over the place, like an excited dragonling).
The field was now occupied by a single dark green unicorn. I could see fear and curiosity warring against each other in the unicorn’s posture as I landed.
“Twilight told me to let you know that she took the kids to Sugarcube Corner.” The unicorn informed us. “My name is Emerald and I’m a doctor of natural sciences and xenobiology.” he replied with barely restrained excitement. He also smelled different, more so than a male normally would differ from a female.
“Greetings, unicorn, you may call me Tallic.”
“I’m glad to meet you, Tallic.”
He trotted over to the supplies “Twilight also mentioned that you haven’t yet eaten, do you mind if I ask you some questions about your species over breakfast?”
I moved over to the tables they had set up earlier and took a bite out of one of the iron bars Alex had procured. It was a little too pure for my tastes, lacking the depth of flavor found in less refined metals. Not that it was as refined as more advanced civilizations, but better than most low tech worlds. I happen to be more of an ore dragon, myself, but this would be a good source of energy in a pinch and the promised pallets would become the core of my hoard.
“May I ask your actual name? I can try to speak it in dragonese if you please. Though I’m a bit rusty”
“No” I replied, “Names are powerful and not to be known by any but family.”
“Very well, I understand. Where do you hail from in relation to this location?”
“Far away, Emerald, not only am I not from this reality, but I have been... Twilight Sparkle called it ‘jumping’, for some decades.”
“Fascinating! So you’re a jumper like Alex and Matthew? Please tell me more about your home reality and your race.” Emerald asked, completely forgetting about the grass-based patty that he had put on his plate.
With an inward sigh, I explained about Fiore, dragons, and even a little about the dragon civil war. Every time I took a breath, he had more questions to clarify what I said. He was fully polite, and there was nothing at all annoying about him, but the constant talking was wearing on me. The rainbow pegasus seemed to be quite bored and offered to take Steel to meet his friends at Sugarcube Corner.
Tallic and Emerald started talking and even though I wanted to know more about my new big brother, adult talk can be really boring. Luckily, Rainbow Dash also thinks that stuff is boring, so she took me to find Rocky and Scootaloo.
When we got to sugarcube corner, Rocky, Scootaloo, and Miss Twilight were drinking milkshakes at one of the booths. Scootaloo was in the middle of telling them about something when she noticed me come in and ran over.
“You okay? Did the dragon come back?”
Rainbow Dash saw me almost trip over my hooves and cut her off. “Hey squirt, go help him sit down while I get him something.”
I stumbled over and Rocky made room for me.
“How are you doing? Did Tallic come back?” Miss Twilight asked with concern.
“Yeah” I said, a smile of relief forcing itself to my face despite how tired I was.
“Hey, squirt, slide this over to Steely.” Rainbow Dash said, coming back to the table. “Mrs. Cake’s not too happy with us giving them milkshakes before noon.” She said with a smirk towards Miss Twilight.
She sat down next to Scootaloo and gave her daughter an affectionate noogie while sipping one of those adult drinks with the really complicated names.
I choked back a sob, remembering how mom’s hoof felt on my head.
“So, what happened?” Rocky asked.
My head drooped as I remembered Tallic yelling and flying off. I took a deep breath, getting my nerve up.
“You should’ve seen him!” Dash cut in. “When Steel here went running after Tallic, I was the only one who could keep up with him. He went tearing off after him and convinced him to come back and talk. Then, when Miss Sweetheart got there, he convinced her to let Tallic be his big brother!” She reached over and hoofed me in the arm. “Can’t believe you got someone like her to let a dragon watch you. She’s even scared of gryphons.”
Remind me never to trust a story told by Rainbow Dash ever again.
“Whoa! That’s awesome!” both of them yelled at once.
“Uhm...” I didn’t know what to say, so I just drank my milkshake, refusing to look any of them in the eyes.
“STEELSKIN! I NEED YOUR HELP!”
I spilled my Milkshake all over Twilight Sparkle. After getting my heart started back up after Pinkie’s terror inducing materialization, I apologized to Twilight and started cleaning up the mess I made.
“I gotta go, the weather team needs me back to supervise this evening’s thunderstorm.” Rainbow Dash took off almost like she was scared of Pinkie Pie.
“Steelskin! This is urgent! I need to make some cupcakes for Metalicana and I don’t know what he likes!”
“Metalicana?” I asked, momentarily distracted from my cleanup efforts.
“Your dragon friend, silly! I know he eats metal, but I don’t know which kind he likes best. I mean, does he like ores or refined steel or silver or is rust tasty and are gems sweet or sour? I’ve seen so much of his backstory, but it’s been so hard to keep track of him after he started jumping, And it never told what he liked to eat!
“His name is Tallic.”
I was getting a little nervous. I’d heard stories of ponies who talked too much with The Pinkie, and I was starting to believe that she could actually drive somepony to live in a hollowed out log wearing a daffodil cloak and talking to haystacks.
“So, you want me to ask about how metals taste?” I asked, hoping against hope, she’d give me a single word answer.
“Yes, that’s exactly what I want, there’s so much planning and logistical considerations. Really, how am I supposed to get my party cannon all the way up that mountain along with the...”
I looked at Twilight Sparkle, silently pleading with her to rescue me from pink insanity.
“We’ll see what we can do, Pinkie,” Miss Twilight interrupted “but I really need to get these three back to Alex and Miss Sweetheart.”
Pinkie Pie stopped for a moment, her eyes glazing over. Popping back to life, she let out her usual expression “Okee dokee Loki.” and trotted off happily.
The four of us walked dazedly out and towards the meadow.
“Does he really eat metal?” Rocky whispered
“Yup, in fact Alex got him a few iron bars and said he’s ordered pallets of the stuff for him.”
“My dad told me he wanted to make him feel at home, and wanted to be friendly, so he got him the metal bars. Dad was actually excited to make friends with a dragon that wasn't bothered by his ferry-mons, whatever those are.” Scootaloo informed me “Can you ask him to let us ride him too?”
“Sure, I bet he’d love to.” I said, hoping I was right.
I was quite relieved when the rest of the ponies came into sight. “Do we have enough food for them?” When I mentioned food, Emerald looked down at his now cold patty. “And while I have the chance, please tell me about the intelligent creatures of this world. I would hate to accidentally eat somebody.”
This last bit caused him to chuckle. “Well, we ponies are the dominant creatures in this area, divided into three tribes. The unicorns like me can use magic and can levitate things. The Pegasi can fly and are in charge of the weather, and the Earth ponies are able to grow pretty much anything and are quite strong and durable. Cows and donkeys prefer to live here in Equestria, we are on friendly terms with the Griffons, and there are also changelings...” He seemed uncomfortable with saying that name, but it wasn’t the normal fear of an enemy race.
“Who are the rulers of this land?”
“OH! I’m sorry, Equestria is ruled by Princesses Celestia and Luna. For the record, Luna went insane and tried to usurp her older sister. She was banished to the moon for a thousand years and was released only a few years back, being restored by the Elements of Harmony.” I was confused by this. The way he said Luna’s name showed that he held her in even more reverence than Celestia, yet he so blithely mentioned her going insane.
“And has appointed me as her first Paladin of Redemption, to pass on the healing that we both received.” Alex said as he joined us, giving Emerald a slightly annoyed look.
“Shortly after Nightmare Moon’s defeat, Princess Cadance was kidnapped by Chrysalis, Queen of the changelings, who took her place and almost took over Canterlot. Princess Cadance is married to Twilight’s brother, Shining Armor” Miss Sweetheart continued.
“Princess Luna reclaimed her position as Princess of the Night after her redemption, and returned to her duty of raising the moon each night.” Emerald continued, annoyed by the interruption to his lecture.
“So, I assume that cows and donkeys are intelligent, and therefore off my menu. Do I need to worry about chickens and fish?”
Miss Sweetheart looked nauseous, the other ponies looked slightly uncomfortable, but Alex just looked annoyed.
Alex raised his hand, as if he was asking permission to speak. I nodded in his direction.
“There’s also pork. They export it from most farms around here.” Emerald added, not noticing the silence that had fallen.
“Fish are completely okay, but let’s talk about the others when we’re with ponies of stern stomachs. Eating meat is not the most comfortable subject for herbivores.” Alex cautioned.
“I can temporarily help you with your diet, sir.” Emerald stated. “We can go to Garbo’s Griffon Grub and order some food for you while I compile a list of local beasts you can consume in the frontiers outside of town. And don’t worry about pay, we can cover you.”
“Stop. I am only interested in supplementing my diet of iron, I do not need to eat much in the way of proteins.”
“Aaaaah, I see. You eat metals. That explains the teeth.” Emerald scratched his chin. “Easily done. You prefer ore or ingots? Freshly smelted or tempered?”
“I prefer the taste of ores, but the refined metals are a greater source of energy. Alex has promised me a tribute of iron to be delivered in the near future.”
“Well then. I won’t burden you with further questions, but if you want some income, could Twilight and I borrow you for another inquiry and a medical screening? We’ll pay you for your time.” Emerald offered.
“Plus my assistant would love to talk with you.” Twilight smiled as she escorted the children back into the meadow.
Steelskin came running over and whispered to me “Can you give Rocky and Scootaloo a ride? I told ‘em how awesome it was to fly with you.”
“I’m not quite ready for that, Steely.” Alex interjected. “Besides, Miss Sweetheart would die of fright if she saw you three above the treetops on the back of a dragon, especially after our recent conversation.”
Too many people. I need to find some sanctuary. “Steelskin, I think you should spend a little time with your friends. I will return this evening.”
With that, I made a hasty retreat for the mountain pointed out to me earlier.
When we got back to the meadow, everypony was talking to Tallic, I ran up and asked him about letting my friends ride, but Alex shot us down.
Then Tallic told me to spend more time with my friends and few off.
It had been a while since I had to deal with friendly locals, and I had forgotten about how ill suited dragons are to ‘company’. I think I will need to limit my accessibility so I do not get tempted to do something rash. I was also getting nervous about my hoard. Maybe the unicorns can instruct me in some security measures for my new cave. Perhaps Alex? His sword shows some seriously cunning enchantments. No. I cannot put my life and wealth at his mercy.
Flying back to my makeshift hollow, I contented myself that it was undisturbed, then flew to the mountain the cave supposedly was in.
Just as they said, it was in the top third of the mountain and it would be perfect. The opening was reasonably long and only slightly larger than myself. The plateau at the mouth was small, with a winding path to one side and a nice steep drop-off for anyone proving to be dangerous. Well, almost anyone, since this world contains children of the wind.
Inside was plenty of room for a hoard twice the size of my current stash and there was a little alcove where I could set up a little bed for...
No, I need to keep some distance. These ponies have not accepted me yet and I am not sure if those humans will keep to their supposedly peaceful ways.
It took me until about noon to move what I had into my new home. Having contented myself that it would be reasonably safe, I decided to see if there were any locals worth talking with.
I just need to avoid that pink terror.
As I approached the town, I saw a red pony watching me from the shade of an apple tree. He apparently saw that I had taken notice of him and gave a slight nod of greeting.
It is always good when you find someone who shows no fear at your presence, so I landed nearby and he trotted over.
“Name’s Big Macintosh, but you can call me Mac. I reckon you’re Tallic? Though Pinkie Pie seems to be calling you Metalicana.” Apparently, he noticed my flinch at the name of The Pink One. “Seems you’ve met her already. I’m guessing she’s a mite talkative for your tastes.”
“You could say that.” I replied
After several minutes of a nice, comfortable silence, the red stallion asked “Any plans to stay here?”
“Yes, Twilight, Applejack, and Fluttershy recommended a nice cave in the mountain over there.” I pointed with my muzzle towards my new home.
“You got food and any other necessities?” He added after a while.
“Enough. Alex has offered tribute of iron as a peace offering.”
He waited another few minutes before saying “If you have any need for money, I have some work around here. A bit of farm work and a few big things I’d love to get cleared, but can’t since they’re too heavy for a pony.”
I thought for a while. Farming struck me as humiliating, but I would not be opposed to showing off my strength.
“What would one of your ‘big things’ be?”
“Well, there’s a boulder we’ve been tryin’ to move to expand the southeast cropland. Every year, we have a competition to see who can move it the furthest, but between everypony, we only get it a few yards each time. I’d be mighty grateful if ya could move it about a hundred yards to the south.”
I snorted. “Show me this pebble and let me know if you would prefer it moved or obliterated.”
Mac got up and trotted until a massive boulder was visible. I stared at it, gauging its size and weight.
“You ponies can move that? I am impressed.”
“Eeyup, we earth ponies are a mite stronger than the other tribes, though I bet the stronger unicorns might be able to levitate it some.”
As I came within striking distance he added. “Keep it whole if ya can, would be a pain to find another one like it fer the contests.”
I was able to move it if not easily, then at least with little trouble. The idea that a single pony could move this even a fraction of an inch gave me new respect for these ‘earth ponies’.
“Do ya want yer bits now, or would ya like ta pick ‘em up in the morning?” He asked as I finished moving it to the edge of the clearing.
“If, by ‘bits’ you mean my pay, I would be perfectly content to pick it up in the morning. Where would you like me to meet you?”
“That red barn up on the hill is our home, but we’ll be working this field at just after sunrise.” He motioned to the roof of a barn sticking up above the treeline. “Oh, and Pinkie wanted me to ask you about the tastes of various metals and ores. I think she wants to make you some dragon cupcakes. Didn’t seem like the time to ask today, but figured I’d warn you since she’s prob’ly asked others as well.”
“Thank you” I said as I flew off to check in on Steelskin.
Well, the adults were caught up in their own conversations, so after getting a little breakfast, we wandered off. I made sure to eat some hay patties since mom let me learn the hard way that sugary stuff like milkshakes made you feel sick if you didn’t get something real in your stomach. Scootaloo wanted us to go the the Crusader clubhouse and Rocky was excited to, so I went along.
“Here we are!” Scootaloo all but yelled. She quickly showed us around, offering us some of the food they had stashed.
“Am I too young to join?” Rocky asked.
“Of course not! I’m sure Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Sapphire would love for us to have another member... and Steel, you could join too since you got yours so early, you might be able to sh...”
A look of horror and fear came over her “I’m so sorry... I completely forgot...”
I sat there, trying not to cry. “It’s okay, I know you didn’t mean it... I’d like to help, but... I’ll... I’ll think about it.” I was blinking back tears and trying to act cool with it, but was pretty sure I was failing big time.
“Only if you’re okay with it...” Scootaloo whispered with a tear in her eye.
“Hey, how about we explore Whitetail Wood?” Rocky suggested. Both of us quickly agreed, glad of the change in conversation.
We mostly just talked as we trotted through the woods. Scootaloo was talking about her flying lessons with her mom, Rocky was talking about hoofball practice, but I couldn’t really pay too good attention, I was too worried about whether Tallic would come back for me or not. The worst part was that I loved playing hoofball and would’ve loved to talk with him about it.
Trotting along, I fell behind the others, stuck stewing in all my pain.
I winged my way over the town, taking note of the diverse buildings. I would assume the giant gingerbread house would be Sugarcube corner. I took note of the blacksmith and hospital. The latter due to the likelihood that the knight was still recuperating there. Should I pay him a visit?
No, I doubt that would be wise, I thought to myself, pushing back my less than intelligent urges.
I continued to fly, watching the poor ponies scatter in fright, with only a few brave souls watching my progress. Yet another perverse pleasure of mine was watching stupid people, or in this case, ponies, run away in fear. I am mean and stupid for giving in and doing this, but sometimes, when I deny one urge, my other instincts get the best of me.
I smelled the unusual scent of Emerald again. There was something wrong about it, like it belonged to too many creatures.
As I approached the western end of the town, I caught the scent of Steelskin and his friends and followed it into a much healthier forest than the one I landed in. I zeroed in on their scent, but as they came into sight, there was something seriously wrong. The scent changed to fear and blood.
I walked, looking at Rocky and Scootaloo’s flanks as they trotted in front of me. Stupid cutie mark, why do I have to have this constant reminder of my parents leaving me all on my own. A tear escaped my eye and I quickly wiped it away. I don’t want my friends thinking I’m a crybaby.
Where could Tallic be? It’s kinda funny, but even though he’s a big, scary dragon, I feel safe around him like nopony else.
I heard a cracking sound up ahead. I looked up to see a pine tree leaning over the road up ahead and everything slowed to a crawl. Rocky and Scootaloo were stepping forward right under the tree as the trunk started to splinter and crack. As the tree broke free of it’s stump and started it’s fall, the two of them looked up and saw it for the first time. Instead of running, they froze in place, panicking at the sight of the monster coming towards them.
No! I can’t let them die, that tree will crush them like they were nothing.
I galloped forwards, painfully slowly, while the tree picked up speed. Scootaloo and Rocky stared at the tree hurtling at them with every muscle in their body locked up in panic.
I’m not gonna make it.
As the first branches brushed their noses, they woke up and started to move, but they didn’t have enough time. I put on a last burst of speed, my muscles screaming, and planted my forehooves on each of their flanks to give them an extra push.
The last things I remembered was a branch spearing me in the side with white-hot pain, a heavy weight, and the feel of several bones snapping. I could see that they both made it and gave a weak smile. I’m so glad they didn’t get hurt. Everything faded away as two foals yelled my name.
As I approached, the smells grew stronger and my eyes could make out a fallen tree with two foals braying with a terror and anguish that could not be described. I recognized the brown coat of Rocky and the orange of Scootaloo. My mind snapped into focus as my imagination filled in what could not be seen among the branches of the fallen tree.
I adjusted my flight to bring me around to the same side of the tree they were on and saw the colt lying in a pool of blood.
Steelskin was a mess, the trunk was completely covering his rear legs and there was a limb impaling his side.
“I cannot move the tree until we have a medical professional here, Scootaloo, fly back and get a doctor as quickly as you can. Make sure they bring plenty of bandages, tourniquets, and splints.”
She broke free from her panic quickly and I watched her fly away. While I could tell she was flying with all her might, there was no way she would get to town in time.
I weighed my options, looking back and forth between Rocky and the departing Scootaloo.
“Do not let Steelskin move if he wakes up, but tell him Scootaloo and I have gone for help and shall return as soon as we are able.” I instructed Rocky before taking off, greatly outdistancing the pegasus filly as I shot towards the hospital.
There was just room enough for me to land in front of the hospital, and I was in luck. There was a pony with a nurse’s hat walking out of the front doors.
“Steelskin has been hurt!” I yelled as I landed on the street. “I need your help, Steelskin has been crushed by a tree and I need you to bring tourniquets, splints, and multiple bandages.” The stupid herbivore went wide-eyed in panic and bolted back inside the hospital.
Oh, no, no one will be escaping this time. I thought as desperation overwhelmed me. I was not about to let the only medical person I could reach get away from me. As I stuck my foreleg in, I reduced the door to splinters and knocked the frame from the wall, but my claws just missed her fleeing form.
I looked through a window and spotted a stallion in a lab coat huddled in the corner. I grabbed him instead and dragged him out. "You! You are a physician?" He only stared at me, slack jawed. I pulled him closer, "I said, are you a healer?" He continued to tremble, mouth agape. "Are you a fewmet eating doctor?" I roared.
That seemed to snap him out of his stupor, but he was still terrified. Good. He will fear me and save my son... the colt, I mean. "Y-Yes, sir. I'm Doctor Pulse. W-What seems to be the nature of the medical emergency?"
I bellowed, "There is a child who is bleeding to death right now! He has a tree branch piercing his side and his back legs are beneath the trunk. You will gather all the supplies you need and I will carry you to where he is. You will do this now and we will leave in no more than one minute." The ponies all stood around, seemingly shocked.
I heard a tiny voice behind me. "Mr Dragon? Are you getting help for Steelskin? I'm sorry I was so slow."
The rage drained from my heart. This frail creature was asking my forgiveness when she performed heroically. For the first time in a very long time, I faltered.
After a moment, I turned back, and I pleaded despite myself. "I... have overstepped. Please, there is a child who is dying as we speak. He needs your help. Help that I cannot give." I bowed my head. Me, bowing my head to such as these. My dignity demanded I simply took what I wanted, but I could not. And I did not understand why.
“Tallic! What are you doing?” Twilight’s voice asked from behind me.
I barely restrained myself from screaming my rage at her, and instead I calmed my emotions and replied “Steelskin has been crushed by a tree. I need help from someone his size.”
“You two go ahead and get him stabilized, I’ll get things prepared here.” The stallion ordered, recovering completely from his fright.
Twilight levitated the nurse onto my back and teleported herself up. “Let’s fly.” She said as she braced for takeoff.
Just at that moment, the knight came limping around the corner.
Is he really healed enough after what I did to him to be walking around less than twenty-four hours later? Wonderful! I have wasted too much time already.
I brought my tail around and caught him in the side, slamming him into a wall. Hopefully, that will buy me the time to get away.
I took off as fast as I dared with the two balancing on my back. their hooves did not grip as much as Steelskin’s, but they held well enough that I did not have to sacrifice my speed as I flew towards the wood. I assumed the indignant tone of Twilight Sparkle’s voice was her berating me for what I did to the knight., Thankfully, the wind was too loud for me to hear.
I passed the orange filly as she was entering the town. I felt a twinge of pity as I saw how exhausted she was in her flight.
“I have Twilight and a nurse, gather anyone you can think of at the hospital and be ready for our arrival.” I called to her.
Once we were in sight, Twilight teleported herself to the tree. As I landed, she ran up to us. “He has two ribs that are worryingly close to his lungs, but his spine is completely undamaged and that branch missed all his internal organs. I’m mostly worried about blood loss. It looks like he’s already lost a lot, and when this tree comes off, he’ll lose a lot more. I just don’t know how we’re going to get that tree off him without making things a whole lot worse”
The nurse came to her senses “Twilight, haven’t you reshaped tree limbs before? I know I’ve seen Rarity do it. Couldn’t you separate the branches that have punctured the skin?”
“Thank you.” She replied with a look of amazed understanding. Her horn glowed with a purple aura and the branches disconnected themselves from the trunk. Once I saw that it was safe, I picked up the tree and hurled it away from the path.
I was slightly relieved by the fact that his torso was intact, but it was obvious that his two hind legs were crushed and the puncture wound was horrifying. If this were a mount, there would be no question that it should be put down. I could only hope that this would not be the case here.
I noticed his friend being violently ill at the sight and quietly went over to comfort him.
Scootalo saw Tallic fly past her. Within minutes, her wings were burning and her eyes were watering from pain and failure.
She was fustrated by the tormenting image of her scooter sitting next to her front steps, but he mom told her to stop relying on it and get her wings practice with lift.
Talic passed her coming back and told her to help at the hospital, filling her with a fresh wave of uselessness.
Only halfway there, she was so exhausted that all her focus went to continuing her flight. After a while, her house came into view and she decided to grab her scooter.
As she swooped down to grab it, she realized she was coming in too fast.
She tried to backstroke with her wings just before crashing into the railing of her steps.
Dash came galloping out. “Scoots, what’s wrong?”
“Ow,” She rubbed her wing for a second before remembering why she was there. “Mom, Steelskin’s been crushed by a tree! Twi and Nurse Redheart are going to help, and he wants me to gather everyone at the hospital!”
She winced as her adoptive mother jostled her wing while hoisting Scootaloo to her back and taking off.
I was spinning my new hoofball between my hooves as I sat on the train back from Canterlot.
“Earth ponies are really important to the game. It’s our job to keep the unicorns distracted so they can’t mess with the passes or rip the ball out of the pegasus’ hooves. More importantly, they need to keep their unicorns safe from the other team’s earth ponies.”
“Yeah, but I still think it would be cooler to do more with the ball than just kick it for the conversion.”
“I understand,” Dad chuckled, “but some of the most important jobs are the ones no one sees. They’re also the ones that are the most rewarding. Especially the ones where you’re protecting somepony important.” At this, he reached over and messed up my mane.
My mom gave her usual sniff of disapproval. “I really think that game is much too dangerous. Ponies are always getting hurt.” She wrapped her wing around me protectively.
I saw a dark blue unicorn sitting in a corner of the car.
“It’s an important part of growing up. He needs to face a little pain if he’s going to realize how strong he can be. It builds character and gives him confidence.”
I wasn’t too sure about that, but I loved the game despite some of the painful hits I took when colliding with the other colts.
~~~
The ball was zigzagging through the air towards Flitter when I saw one of the other team’s pegasi diving towards Shimmer Stream. I let go of the earth pony I was wrestling with and jumped into the oncoming pegasus...
~~~
The whole train lurched sideways and I found myself thrown to the other side of the train. My parents quickly grabbed me. They were holding each others’ hooves with me stuck between them and all three of us were bouncing around the train like we were being fought over by a couple of unicorns...
I watched Twilight and the nurse work to get Steelskin’s condition stabilized. I suppressed my rage and sought to focus on finding something productive to do. I looked down at Steelskin’s friend trying to suppress dry heaves now that his stomach was empty.
“Thank you for staying with him, little Rocky.” I rumbled, trying to comfort him. He looked up at me with a queasy little smile and a touch of fear and wiped away a bit of bile at the corner of his mouth.
“I’ve gotten him stable, but we need to get him to the hospital. I’m going to teleport the three of us into town, please meet us by the hospital.” She glanced over at Rocky, “Oh, I don’t have the strength left to teleport four as accurately as I need to. Tallic, could you please escort him back?” Before I had a chance to respond, the three ponies vanished in a purple blaze.
Turning to the little colt, I asked “Do you wish to walk or fly?”
He gave the obvious answer and I knelt down so he could climb aboard.
We landed outside the hospital as the residents scattered before me and told Rocky to run in and find out what room Steelskin was being treated in.
I dove too early and the pegasus slammed into my side. We both fell to one side of Shimmer Stream and I looked up to see Shimmer’s magical aura guide the ball to Flitter, who landed in the endzone.
~~~
Scootaloo and Rocky were ahead of me and the tree was falling. I was running, but it was like I was swimming through maple syrup.
I wasn’t going to make it...
The blue unicorn had wings.
~~~
Dad lost his grip and was flung off to the front of the car, but mom held me even tighter, wrapping her wings securely around me. When we finally stopped, mom whispered “Good, you’re okay.” She closed her eyes and let go of me...
~~~
I lay under the tree, watching Scootaloo and Rocky stand up. Smiling, I closed my eyes...
~~~
I stumbled over to dad...
Staring into his room, I saw the medics healing him with a mixture of salves, stitches, and magic. After several minutes, I noticed that I was tearing up the cobblestone road with my talons. That settles it, I need to vent some of this, before someone takes offense at the property damage.
I set out in the direction of the forest I first appeared in, and was soon able to sight a manticore. Not really a tough fight, but it will hopefully be seen as pest control. Just in time, I remembered the human’s warning and landed in front of it to give fair warning.
“Greetings, I need to rip something limb from limb, might you be able to suggest an alternate target?” The creature proceeded to not only stay silent, but move into an aggressive stance, rather than the appropriate action of cowering in fear. Apparently, it is a dumb beast.
“This is your last chance before I tear you to pieces. All you must do is beg for mercy.” The creature gave no indication of comprehension, but rather leapt at me like I was a prey animal. I proceeded to rip its stinger off. It swiped at me with it’s claws. I contemptuously let them connect. They glanced off my hide unable to even scratch it. I then smashed it against a tree with one claw. The monster limped at me and tried to bite my neck. What is with this beast? Is it rabid, or just incredibly stupid? I grabbed it and wrung its neck. Ripping into it’s soft belly, my rage flowed away. The warmth of it’s blood covered my muzzle. I sat savoring my meal for several minutes... until the yellow pegasus found me.
“How dare you kill a fellow creature! You have no reason at all to kill somepony in such a...”
She was staring into my eyes and I sensed all her emotions on a much deeper level than I had ever experienced. I knew for a fact, that if my motivation for this act was anything but the instinctual need that it was, I would be feeling deep remorse. Instead, it seemed, the remorse fell to her.
“I’m so sorry. I saw you and just assumed...” She said as she shrank into herself.
“What is wrong with this land?” I growled, refusing to be mollified by her apology. “A colt survives the accident that kills his parents only to be crushed by a tree the next week! Either some minor deity has it in for him, or this place is one of the most dangerous realities I have encountered. Now, to top it off, I have a pony lecturing me on eating meat.”
“I understand-”
“Do you? Do you really know what it means to see those you care about violently killed? To have every lesser creature either run in fear of you or try to kill you because of what you are? To have your own instincts pushing you to give them reason to fear and hate you?” I was virtually spitting in her face as I ranted. I felt a vicious joy at how she cringed. I imagined how the snarling of my voice and the bloody mess my muzzle presented to her would affect a timid herbivore like her and revelled at her discomfort.
She pulled herself together and stared at me again, but this time I felt a wave of compassion and reassurance wash over me. In addition, I felt all my tortured emotions reflected back at me. “I do know, because I have felt your heart just like I tried to get you to feel mine.”
Yes, she does truly understand. This time, I let myself give in to the soothing influence even as I regretted my pleasure in causing her fear.
I took a gentler stance and looked down. “My thanks, little pegasus. Your kindness is greatly appreciated.” The peace she gave me spread throughout my body. I even started to feel hopeful about Steelskin’s recovery. “How would you like me to dispose of this carcass?” I asked quietly. Normally I would care nothing for a carcass and just leave it for the carrion animals, but in our little exchange, I felt her need to show this creature respect even in death. Besides, it was the least I could do after my rant.
I woke up screaming and was almost comforted by the pain I was feeling. My chest burned with every breath, both hindlegs were a mass of pain, and there was a stinging pain in my side.
Turning my head, I saw Twilight and Doctor Emerald. I remembered what Rocky said about them healing him from our little ‘tussle’ as Applejack put it.
Rocky
Scootaloo
I tried to get up. “Where’s Rocky and Scootaloo?” I tried to ask, but it came out as a garbled “Wh.. Rock... Scoo...?” Doctor Emerald Quickly touched his horn to my forehead. “Don’t worry, they’re fine.” My world faded into a happy green glow.
After taking care of the corpse and cleaning myself off, I flew back to the hospital and found the knight waiting for me. He saw me coming, but did not have his sidearm drawn. Instead, he had his arms crossed. I glided in for a landing.
“What’s the deal with slamming me into that wall?” The knight yelled at me when I landed. “I understand last night, but today I did nothing to deserve it. I've given you your chance. There's a clearing not far inside the Everfree, the hospital is out of pony earshot leaving just Alex being able to hear. You want a dangerous knight trying to kill you? Fine, I'll give you what you want! One or both of us won't be walking away." His intimidation was cut short by a string of coughs that spoke of serious injury. Apparently two strong impacts to the chest in such a short period had caused some harm. To his credit, I have not seen many humans able to appear so strong while they appeared to be coughing up blood.
Dragon rage was still too close to the surface, so I decided to say as little as possible.
“We shall talk tomorrow and see what happens. I will meet you in the field when the sun clears the treetops.” I answered.
Satisfied, the knight walked away, limping slightly.
Once he was safely gone, I looked into the room Steelskin was being treated in. Twilight appeared to be using her magic to examine him without waking him up. She did not seem reassured.
The tree was falling and I was too far away to save them.
“Greetings, Steelskin.”
Time was frozen, the tree was hovering just above a frozen Scootaloo and Rocky, and Princess Luna was standing in front of me.
“So, my little pony, why did you sacrifice yourself for them? You barely even know them, yet you took their place under that tree.”
“I... I don’t know, I just kinda acted without thinking.”
Suddenly I was under the tree with two broken legs and a branch sticking out of my side. Princess Luna was staring at me.
“Am I gonna die?”
“That is yet to be determined, little Steelskin, but the real question is would you do it again? If I had the ability to go back and let you choose not to save them, would you take it?”
The tree was hovering over Scootaloo and Rocky again. All my emotions suddenly settled down into a sad, strong calmness.
“I wouldn’t change a thing.” I said, staring into her eyes with quiet resolve.
“It is time for me to go. Your father was a wise stallion, keep his words in your heart and you will honor his memory greatly” She called as she was swept up into the sky.
I settled down with one eye looking into Steelskin’s room and prepared to wait through the night. Twilight came out of the hospital looking almost as exhausted as she did after our little dust up the previous night.
“Don’t worry, Tallic, he’s going to be okay. We’ve gotten his wounds closed up and now he just needs rest and time for his bones to finish healing.”
In addition to what I had seen in the window, there was something in her demeanor that told me she was holding back. There was more to be said.
“A lie of omission is just as irritating as a false statement.” I glared at her to add weight to my words.
She sighed and added “I was hoping to wait until tomorrow to tell you. We know he will live, but his injuries were so severe, we don’t know how well he’ll recover... also,” she added sheepishly “You’re scaring the other patients... I was told to ask you to leave for the night.”
No! I wanted to yell, but I knew there was nothing I could do for the night. I closed my eyes and suppressed my rage yet again. Someday soon I will snap and level this town. Maybe a fight with that knight will be enough to vent all this frustration. I could see Twilight getting nervous. I wonder what she would do if I refused... No, that would be a sure way of being harassed for my entire stay here.
“Fine, I shall leave for the night.” As I was getting up, I saw Steelskin open his eyes and glance out the window at me. I moved close to the window.
“I must go for the night, but I shall return in the morning,” As I was getting ready to fly, I made my decision. “and I will have a gift for you.”
I glanced up at the darkening sky, then, turning to Twilight, I asked “Would the town blacksmith be open this evening?”
“Yes, he tends to work late into the night, you’ll find him at...”
“Tallic, please don’t go yet, Pinkie Pie wanted me to ask you-” The little colt broke into a coughing fit. “What does metal taste like?” After more painful coughs, he added “She wants to make you cupcakes.” Another coughing fit followed this statement. “..And I’m kinda curious too.” He whispered.
This is even better.
I smiled warmly at him and gave a little chuckle. “Is he well enough to come to the window?” I asked Twilight.
“I’ll help him over.” She quickly trotted inside and levitated Steelskin to the window. Meanwhile, I had thrust my foreleg into the window and was channelling as much magic I could into a loose scale near my elbow. When Twilight levitated him over, I motioned to the scale and said “Take it, and have a taste.”
The little colt struggled a bit, but was able to pull the scale off with Twilight’s help. I noticed him wincing as he pulled at it. After he had it clasped between his hooves, she levitated him back into his bed and tucked in the covers around him.
I did not need to wait for Twilight to finish giving me directions, I had seen the shop from overhead this morning. With one last glance through the window, I walked gently over to the blacksmith’s shop.
I woke up to dad’s... no, Tallic’s voice. He was talking with Twilight Sparkle outside my window. She was telling him he had to leave. I wanted to run up and beg her not to send Tallic away, but there was a sleepy green haze all around me. Just as I was figuring out how to talk, he looked in and said “I must go for the night, but I shall return in the morning,”
My fuzzy thoughts went round in circles until finally I remembered. “Tallic, please don’t go yet, Pinkie Pie wanted me to ask you-” I broke into a coughing fit, but managed to get out her request about what metal tasted like. He smiled and had me pull off one of his scales. Twi helped me back into bed and I examined it closely. The thing was about the size of my hoof and had a smooth, satiny finish. I also noticed a vibration and a low humming noise right at the edge of my hearing. I took a tentative bite of it. It tasted strong. I don’t mean that it tasted strongly of something, but instead, the taste itself spoke of strength. It also had a touch of bitterness, but that didn’t bother me. It was a good bitterness. When I looked at it, I saw tooth marks even though I barely even closed my teeth on it.
I fell asleep clutching that humming scale.
Miss Sweetheart walked into the hospital room to see Nurse Redheart.
“I knew it was a bad idea to let him be with that dragon.” She sighed “Even if he does care about Steelskin, he doesn’t know his own strength, and now he’s knocked a tree over on him.”
A tear ran down her face as she caressed Steelskin’s muzzle.
I carefully threaded my way through the streets of Ponyville until I came to the blacksmith’s shop. Unlike my usual self, I approached with an intent to cause as little terror as possible. Irritating as it might be to humiliate myself so, landing with my usual flourish would terrify the poor equine to death. Possibly literally. Either way, it would be counterproductive to what I wished to accomplish.
The smithy was not much different from the rest of the buildings in town. The chief difference was a double set of doors that were almost big enough for me to crawl through. As it was a chilly fall day, they were closed, though not tightly. Before announcing my presence, I spat out a length of iron roughly the size of a lance.
“Excuse my intrusion, Sir Blacksmith.” I announced as I rapped gently on the doorframe “I would like to hire your services for an urgent project.”
A soot grey pony opened the doors and paused for a fraction of a second before greeting me. “Greetings, Dragon. I am Stronghammer, how may I help you?” He was already radiating a scent of fear as strong as Fluttershy’s but kept his body language confident and unafraid. I was impressed with his courage and self control.
“A pleasure to meet you, Stronghammer. I am Tallic. I would like to commission something, but first, I would like to talk potential payment.” I handed over the rod of iron in my claw. “Please check the quality of this iron, as this will be the currency I will be using.”
Stronghammer took it over to his anvil and gave it a few hits with a hammer held clumsily against his hoof. He proceeded to take it to his forge, heating it to an orange glow. After hitting it a few more times, he trotted back to me. “Above average quality. Unicorn refined?”
“Not exactly. A more apt description would be magically created.”
“Interesting,” he grunted “what’s the job?”
“I would like to give a get well present to an injured colt. It is to be crafted from either one of my scales or a clipping of one of my claws. I was thinking either an ear-piercing or a pendant and would defer to your knowledge as to both the appropriateness and difficulty of crafting.”
He stood there smoothing his black goatee. The red hairs interspersed throughout his mane and tail reminded me of the burning embers of his forge. As the moments stretched on, I decided his fear of me must be distracting him. I was about to offer to leave for a while when he finally looked back at me.
“All decorations of that type would be unusual on a stallion...” He scratched his chin for a moment. “Chestplate.” He muttered to himself before turning to me. “A chestplate would be strange, but would work for somepony with a military bent. A piercing might work for him, but most ponies would see him as a degenerate and troublemaker and a pendant is something only mares wear.”
“Very well, chestplate it is.” I replied, contemplating proper sizing. I made my decision and ripped a scale from my chest, willing a new one to grow into place. “Here is the raw material.” I added, handing over the scale. “I can comfortably provide six rods of iron per day. How much would you like for this project? I expect that if it takes more than two days to pay you, there will be a premium.”
“Don’t worry about that. As long as this crafts well, two will be acceptable payment.” He replied, taking the scale over to the forge and heating it to an orange glow. Lifting it from the coals, he placed it on the anvil and gave some experimental hits with his hammer. “Cools rather quickly, impossible to work when black, but a dream otherwise... almost like it knows the shape I want from it.” He then pondered for a moment before looking up at me. “Yes. Two bars should cover it. He stared longingly at the scale and looked like he wanted to ask something.”
”If you have it done tonight, I will give you that rod and three more.” I replied
“Four bars, Eh?" He sat looking thoughtfully before adding "Feels like robbery, but sure. I’ll just have to give you a good deal on your next purchase.” He grinned and held out a hoof, apparently expecting a hand-or would it be hoof-shake to close the deal. I obliged with a talon and felt that same magnetic pull as Steelskin and the rest had demonstrated. Once that formality was done, he set to work shaping the scale as I quietly watched. I wondered to myself why he was wielding that hammer like a human rather than using tools designed for ponies. Even with the clumsiness of the tool, he worked quickly and efficiently and a masterful piece of barding took form that was shaped so as to be both useful now and part of a larger set as he matured.
I spotted a big gash in the long hill Tallic and I were flying over and we swooped down for him to breathe into it. As his breath entered, metal flowed up and filled it in completely. We flew on to a larger hill with a giant hole in it. Tallic breathed into this one, too, and I saw the broken ribs inside fix themselves with the same iron while the wound closed up. Finally, we left my side and landed by my other hind leg. Tallic’s breath again started fixing it, pushing aside the green goo that was holding it and the muscles together.
I heard voices from outside.
“I’m amazed at his healing. Ever since you and Tallic gave him that scale, it’s like his body is kicking into overdrive. Even now, most of my Gelatinous Antibiotic Aiding Cellulose has been pushed out of the way by new bone. I am slightly concerned, though. It seems there are traces of metal worming their way into the healing bone and muscles.”
I opened my eyes to see Miss Twilight and doctor Emerald in my room
“I think we should ask Tallic if he’s responsible. I’m guessing that he’s doing something to help Steelskin heal faster, but his reaction may be telling. Also, that G.A.A.C. of yours reminds me of my brother’s wedding for some reason... or King Sombra. I’m not sure which.”
“Really? King Sombra? Who was he?” Emerald quickly asked. For some reason he sounded real nervous and eager to steer the conversation away from the wedding.
“Good evening Doctor Emerald, Twilight Sparkle, I see you are continuing to take special interest in our little patient here.” Doc Pulse said as he walked into the room.
“Yes we are, Doctor Pulse. I for one, believe such a courageous colt deserves our full efforts especially after losing his parents and saving two other foals at the cost of his own well being.” Twilight answered.
“I concur with Twilight on this. His actions were most commendable and we should be as heroic in his care as he was in saving his two friends. You do realize that the only reason he survived was that his special talent gives him superior durability. If that trunk hit the two others, we would be planning a pair of funerals right now.”
I lay there watching the three of them in their normal argument, then looked around my room. I spotted a piece of paper and slowly reached out my hoof to get it, surprised at how little it hurt to do that. In fact, all over my body, I felt achy and weak, but had none of the pain I felt when I first woke up.
Dear Steelskin
We wanted to thank you for saving our lives. It was really awesome how you pushed both of us out of the way, but we feel really bad that you got hurt saving us. We hope you get better real soon.
love Rocky and Scootaloo
P.S. sorry it’s so lame, we didn’t know how to do this and only Twilight was around to help us.
I smiled as I closed my eyes to go flying with Tallic some more.
The human... Alex, came up to me as I watched Stronghammer put the finishing touches on the chestplate.
He leaned against one of the open doors of the smithery. “You picked the best armourer in town. He does beautiful and practical work. Never been one for armour. Tells everyone you're looking for trouble. I’d rather avoid trouble. Talk it out. It’s not a zero sum game, I believe everyone can win. Anyway, if I do have to get unpleasant, armour just weighs me down. Best defense is not to get hit.”
I sat there looking at the smith shaping my scale and let the human talk. He was mildly annoying, but was obviously trying to make friends. It is times like these where I wish I were familiar enough with humans to be able to recognise dishonesty.
“I do not have that luxury except when in the air. Besides which, this is neither for me nor for protection in and of itself.” I replied sneeringly, hoping to initiate a negative response. How easily I could get a rise out of him was the only way I had to gauge his hostility.
He simply tilted his head slightly and smiled that infernally smug smile of his kind. “That’s nice, I bet Steelskin will love it, especially from you.”
After a moment’s pause, he continued. “In one of the realities I landed in, I got mixed up with a small band of adventurers. I was still looking for a way to get home at the time, and I had a lead on something called the Gem of Balzoon.” He lost a bit of his smile, “Silly name. At any rate, I was told by a wizard called Zathrock that if I got it for him, he could use it to send me home.” He looked down and his smile lost a bit more of its luster. ”Nonsense, of course. Anyway, one of the adventurers I had hired to help me was Shedinath, dragonborn Paladin of Bahamut. She was big, standing a good thirty centimeters taller than me, and after that failed adventure, well suffice it to say we had a several more adventures.”
“You honestly expect me to believe that a dragon of any type would ally itself with the likes of you?" I intentionally misunderstood him "Are you sure she was not keeping you around in case she got hungry?” I replied, hiding my surprise that he did not rise to my bait.
He barked a laugh, “She said humans were too stringy, dwarves were more her meal.” His eyes gazed into the forge, seeming to look to the glowing coals for answers. When he did finally speak, his voice was soft and sad. “You could say a lot about Shedinath, she was funny, honourable, pious, kind, and didn’t care if you were human, or dwarf, or even an elf. She was a good friend.” He looked back up at me with that thrice blasted smile. “I hope we can be friends. You have a lot of her qualities.”
“Ahem,” Stronghammer cleared his throat and I saw him standing there holding the completed breastplate. I Praised his workmanship and coughed up payment, causing his first visible fright of the evening as the three rods embedded themselves in the street in front of us.
"So that's how they're made" He replied, recovering quickly.
I said my farewells and prepared to take wing to my cave.
“Hi, Metallicana!”
I jumped back, inadvertently crushing a wagon on the other end of the street.
“Oohh.. is that a present for steelskin? Is that how you’re gonna teach him dragon slayer magic?”
I took off as fast as I could and landed on the far side of town.
“I think dragon slayer magic is super awesome!”
I turned my head and stared at her in terror. How could she have kept up with me? I quickly took wing again and landed in the forest, but she was there, too. As I took off again, I thought that this must be how my prey feels when I am playing with them.
I shall have to think about whether I will continue to do that.
After about ten minutes of running and being found in every place I ran, trying everywhere except my cave, I collapsed, exhausted, just outside of town and watched in dread as it bounced up to me.
“I just wanted to ask you about how...”
Suddenly, her eyes filled with tears.
“Oh, no, I did it again... I’m so sorry.”
I calmed my breathing and settled my nerves.
"I'll just leave you alone. I'm really sorry." The pink one was slowly dragging herself back into town.
Maybe this... creature... is not as bad as I thought. Dredging up courage that I did not know I had, I called out. “What is it you wanted to ask me?”
Her posture suddenly reversed, but she quietly and carefully walked back over to me.
“Well, there was the question about how metals taste, but also I was wondering if we could have a get well Steelskin party before we had your welcome to ponyville party.” She looked up at me hopefully and then added “I’m really sorry for going all fangirl on you, it’s just that I was so happy to meet one of the coolest characters in the Fairy Tail universe that I forgot about dragonish nature.” As she said this, she looked down and kicked a clod of dirt. “In fact, now that I think about it, I don’t think you’d appreciate a party very much.”
I swallowed the last of my fear and looked her in the eyes. “Let us make that get well party for Steelskin, and then we can discuss the suitability of a party for a dragon.”
As she processed my words, her eyes filled with rainbows and she turned, skipping, back to town.
Well, that is one nemesis taken care of. Now I just need to figure out what I am to do with that knight. I have made an enemy of one of the protectors of this town and he most assuredly has his sights set on vengeance.
“Pink...ie Pie, I have a request.” I called to the retreating form. She was back in front of mein an instant, although at a reasonable distance. “The knight... Matt. I have assaulted him and he is rightfully angry with me... Would you be able to smooth things over with him? Make sure he knows about Steelskin’s injury and my...” I bit down on my pride and uttered one of the most disgusting words in my vocabulary. “...Panic.”
Miss Sweetheart watched Rarity leave the room and her head sank down into her hooves. After a minute, she took the pure white paper in her hooves, feeling the diamond dust embedded in it, and slipped it into Steelskin’s file next to ones from Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, and Alex Roberts. As she closed the drawer, a last breath of lilac drifted off the paper and caused her to let out an exasperated sigh.
“If another pony barges in here to tell me a dragon is a suitable father for a colt, I’m going to take their unrequested affidavit and have them shove it so far up their...” She caught herself, remembering the foals in the next room. “...that Celestia herself will never see it.” she continued quietly. “Not one, but four ponies think they know better than me what to look for in a prospective parent and are arrogant enough to put in writing that they think a dragon can care for a pony?” She glared at the file drawer, reminded of her legal duty to safeguard all documents until the pony reached the age of majority. Despite, or perhaps, because of her duty, she continued to entertain some very unmarely fantasies about what she’d like to do with said affidavits.
Nurse Redheart came in and woke me up so I could talk to him outside my window.
“Here is the gift I promised you last night.” He said, holding a piece of metal up to the window. Nurse Redheart cautiously took it and brought it over to me. I could barely contain my excitement as she carried it over. It was a chestplate, kinda like what the royal guard wear, but simpler.
“Can I try it on?” I asked, examining it reverently. Even though it was simple, it had an elegance in its simplicity. Even more awesome, it was shaped like my cutie mark.
“I think we need to have Doctor Pulse take a look at how you’re healing first.” She said with a sad smile. I was sorely tempted to beg her to let me right now.
“So, what did you think of the taste of my scale?” Tallic asked me as I ran a hoof across the chestplate. I sat and thought for a while, distracted by the same humming vibration from the chestplate as that scale. “I can’t describe the taste. Maybe... strong? With a little bitterness?”
“I completely agree.” Tallic chuckled, a twinkle appeared in the eye he had pressed up to my window. “I find carbon adds a sweetness, silver tastes swift, copper tastes flexible, and ores are a medley of flavors. You said she wanted to make me cupcakes?”
I don’t think Tallic’s too comfortable with Pinkie Pie because he got a little frightened for a second when he mentioned her. “Yup” I answered.
“Well then, I would say that a combination of silver and copper shavings would round out the traditional cupcake, and steel balls would make a nice replacement for blueberries or chocolate chips in the batter.” He said with a chuckle.
While we were talking, Applejack stopped by with a bag of bits for Tallic. I used the distraction to see if I could bite off a piece of the scale he gave me last night.
While visiting with Steelskin, Applejack stopped by with payment for my little help yesterday. I asked her to take it to the town hall and present it as partial payment for the cobblestones I tore up the previous evening and the destruction of the front lobby of the hospital. After that, I took my leave, grew my battle armor, and headed for the field I would be meeting the knight in.
He was sitting in the middle of the field. I banked my wings and glided into the field, landing right in front of him.
“So, are you ready to try for your revenge?” I growled in lieu of a greeting. I watched him closely, wary of any hostile intent in his body language. He was tense and ready, but I recognized the stance as watchful rather than preparatory.
“Revenge isn’t worth the effort, what I’m after is a... lasting solution. We can work this out here as civilized beings or we can fight, a fight you’re guaranteed to lose even even if you kill me. So words or weapons, what’s your choice soft scale?”
Rage swelled up in me as I tore up the grass wishing it was him. No. It does not matter how much he is asking for it, I should refrain from ripping his limbs off...
On second thought, he is asking for it.
“Nice test, squishy.” I chuckled.
He visibly relaxed and I started liking him despite myself.
“So what’s the deal? What about me makes you want to introduce me to the hardest surface possible at high velocities?” He queried, still acting gruff and disagreeable..
I thought for a moment as to how to proceed.
“My reasons have been twofold. My specific ‘deal’ was the fact that you, my crunchy friend, are a reasonably dangerous opponent and I had just destroyed the entrance to the hospital and was carrying away two ponies.”
Matt’s helmeted head tilted at my statement, but made no attempt to interrupt.
“Apparently you have not heard of the events of yesterday yet. Little Steelskin got crushed by a tree and I did not have the time to reason with people or ponies. I needed someone pony size with medical training before I could even pull the tree off him. I assumed you would have shot at me if you realized I had just demolished the hospital and was carrying off two ponies. Was I wrong?”
I took his silence as agreement.
“My second and more general problem with you knights can be summed up with one question. How many heroes do you know who would not kill to have a dragon head mounted above their mantle? I have yet to jump to a reality where at least one of you knights-”
“I keep telling you, I’m not a knight!” Matt started getting irritable and I noticed his hand twitch towards his sidearm. “There’s no castle and no king that I’ve sworn fealty to. I. Am. Not. A. Knight!”
“I have dealt with many unattached knights. Kings of their own castles and seekers of their own fortunes and glory. They have been the ones most ready to kill me for the glory and treasure of it.” I got in his face as I responded to his protest. They have also been the dumbest. I thought to myself, showing a rare bit of restraint by not adding that intended insult.
Matt was about to reply when we heard galloping and shouts from the far end of the field.
“There it is!”
“That’s gotta be the dragon that’s been terrorizing Ponyville!”
“Stay strong, ponies, it’s big, but we can take it.”
“Looks like one of those hairless diamond dogs is engaging it.”
About half of the ponies were unicorns and all wore golden barding.
“Looks like this reality is no different.” I growled. “Do you think they will listen to reason?”
“It’s worth a shot. They know me better, I should be able to keep them under control, maybe.” Matt stepped towards them, waving. “It’s okay, relax. I’ve got everything under control.”
Oh, yes, that is why they called you a ‘hairless diamond dog’, whatever that is.
Needless to say, they did not even acknowledge his existence and charged straight at me. The ponies charged in on three hooves while holding spears with their spare foreleg while the unicorns set up a perimeter and started charging their horns. I responded by sweeping the ponies to the side and taking to the air. The unicorns fired mana blasts at me which I easily dodged. The magic level, while higher than human mages, was nowhere near the strength of Twilight’s. I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing I would not need to take any of these as real threats and could concentrate on showing them non-lethally why you do not mess with a dragon.
Looking down, I saw Matt making an absolutely miserable attempt to calm them and decided I should intervene.
I landed, knocking the unicorns into each other. A couple lucky magebolts hit me in the chest, hurting slightly more than I expected. They must be more focused than I had originally believed. Luckily, still completely harmless.
Roaring, I made ready to cause them some pain in return when Matt drew his weapon and, to my surprise, began to swing it towards the attacking ponies. Suddenly, we were all brought up short.
”Stop!” A voice boomed louder than most human tech amplifiers. ”Thou shalt all refrain from further violence in our royal presence!”
Two alicorns descended to the plain. One was pure white with a pastel rainbow of a mane and tail, the other was dark blue with a mane that sparkled like the night sky. Their ornaments were both regal and understated, consisting of a crown, torc, and hoof coverings. The grace of these two were fitting of the “Princesses Celestia and Luna” I had heard about.
I smelled anger radiating off of them and half expected them to vaporize the soldiers, and possibly attack me as well. The dark one had an aggressive posture, while the white one was calm and gentle in her demeanor. Strangely, it was the light one that was radiating anger to the point of an intent to kill.
“Captain Stoutheart, Please explain the nature of this confrontation.” The white one spoke with a gentle voice to match her soft demeanor. Still, there was the smell of anger that left me concerned for this captain. I may well be able to hold my own against these goddesses if it came to a fight, but I knew I would have precious little warning when they attacked.
“My princess,” The stallion was visibly shaking as he stepped forward and bowed “You sent us here to detain the rampaging dragon, did you not?”
“I am sorry, but you misunderstood our command. We requested that you come here to assess the situation. We wanted you to find out the truth of the reports of a rampaging dragon. We find it hard to believe that this town has been attacked when there is no visible sign of damage.”
Again, her voice was soft and gentle, but now, I sensed the quiet steel behind her words. This goddess had the greatest presence I had ever seen. Even the fire dragon king, Igneel, could not hold a torch to her.
“But...” the stallion stammered.
“Please take this squad back to the outpost, Lieutenant Stoutheart. I shall visit when I am done here.”
Lieutenant. I almost winced when I heard the demotion.
Stoutheart’s head drooped as he walked back to his bruised and battered soldiers and led them back the way they came. I found myself feeling sorry for him despite myself. He was a broken man that may well have lost all respect from his squad. I noted a hint of sadness in the eyes of the princesses as they watched him lead his men away. The smell of anger also dissipated quickly as she turned to face me.
“Greetings, Tallic, I am Princess Celestia, and this is my sister, Princess Luna. Thank you for not killing any of those guardsponies.”
I was quietly amazed at her. There have been few realities I have visited where a ruler would see me fighting their troops and thank me for not killing them.
As she approached me, an aura of motherhood washed over me. I found myself reabsorbing my battle armor and kneeling before her.
Matt, for some reason, stepped well back from the princesses, turning his visor crystal clear, and called out a greeting to them before begging his leave. “I’d love to continue our discussion at a more relaxed time.” Matt said to me as he prepared to depart He seemed strained. The Princesses responded by bidding him farewell, before turning once more to me.
“I am deeply regretful for the actions of my guardsponies, Please forgive the less than warm welcome.” Said Celestia warmly.
“I have no hard feelings against you or your subjects for I recognize how my appearance can lead to faulty first impressions. In fact, I feel sorry for Lieutennant Stoutheart.”
“I, too, am pleased to make your acquaintance, most compassionate Tallic.” Luna interjected. “I have been in contact with little Steelskin and have seen your concern for him. Also, do not be too grieved for captain Stoutheart, he will be restored to his position quickly, so long as his attitude allows.” As Luna’s aura enveloped me, I felt a surge of honor and loyalty. I caught myself as I almost pledged my fealty to her on the spot. Her presence made me want to follow her into glorious battle. I shook my head to clear the magical influence. Whereas Celestia was a ruler that could be counted on to care about her subjects, Luna struck me as a ruler who could be counted on to lead her subjects in battle and rally them to her cause.
“My thanks for those kind words, Princess Luna. If only the director of the ponyville orphanage shared your views.”
The two of them looked uncomfortable.
“My sister has told me of your compassion for Steelskin. She has even seen some of what his subconscious has picked up, so we know of the... qualms of Miss Sweetheart. Sadly, we have found that it is inadvisable to meddle too much in the affairs of our citizens.” She paused for a moment as a wry smile spread across her face, replacing the slight frown that appeared at the mention of Sweetheart. “Though, my sister has her gentle persuasions that may very well have the desired effect.”
She changed her demeanor from motherly to regal. Not much of a difference, mostly just posture.
“It has come to my sister’s attention that you wish to adopt Steelskin. Why, may I ask, do you think you would be a good father for him?” She asked pointedly but smiled encouragingly.
I hesitated for a moment to hold back the influence of their auras. “The child has suffered so much pain in such a short period of time. My heart goes out to him... I also sense a strength in him that I can, if given enough time, grow into a mighty force of protection for this land.” I proceeded to tell them about the dragon civil war and how those of us who rejected ‘the rule of might’ taught humans how to harness our powers to fight alongside us. I blame their auras for the looseness of my tongue.
“So you wish to teach one of our little ponies this dragon magic? How do you know that a pony will be able to learn this?” Celestia asked.
“There are two key components to learning it. The first is an affinity for magic, which seems to be inherent in all of you equines. The second is an emotional bond between dragon and student.
I have taken it upon myself to give him magically imbued scales for the current hope of helping his recovery from the grievous injuries he suffered while protecting his friends. My heart breaks at his loneliness and I wish to take the position of guardian in his life. In my home reality, little value was ascribed to children, so adopting one was merely a case of finding a runaway or abandoned little one and declaring him to be your son. Here, I expect it to be much more difficult, if not impossible.”
“Please tell us what you would ask of us for help towards this end.” Luna offered, stepping forward, but having an inscrutable expression on her face. As she approached, her aura of command increased exponentially.
“I would appreciate any help you could give in my attempt to adopt Steelskin, but as my species, and the fact that I am, to use Twilight Sparkle’s term, a ‘jumper’, I believe the best I can hope for is to be a mentor or older sibling to him. To put it another way, any way of allowing me to help assure his ability to rise above the trials he has so recently faced would be my request.” Hmmm... Despite speaking before I was ready, I had little regret over my request. I paused my self-assessment to scrutinize their response to my request. Sadly, their masks were in full effect and their expressions unreadable.
Suddenly, my mind finished processing what Luna had said earlier. “How have you been ‘in contact’ with Steelskin?”
“Part of my duties as Princess of the Night is watching over the dreams of my subjects. I walk through them, observing and helping as needed.”
“A dreamwalker?”
“More of a dreamwarden, as I will occasionally influence dreams as necessary.” Luna glanced at her sister with a smirk.
“Princess Celestia! It’s so good to see you!” Twilight came galloping up to Celestia and nuzzled her.
“It is good to see you, too, my student.” The princess responded, returning the gesture of affection.
I was admiring my new chestplate when Scootaloo, Rocky, and three other fillies came in, along with Pinkie Pie. I quickly took the scale I’d been chewing on and hid it under the covers. Not only was the taste something wonderfully unlike anything else, but it made the Discorded itching of my side and legs bother me less. I couldn’t even get at them to scratch because of that green shell Doc. Emerald put on them.
“Now remember what Nurse Redheart said, nopony is allowed to touch Steely. He’s been hurt real bad and even a gentle touch in the wrong spot could be real painful.”
“We know, Miss Pinkie.” They said in unison.
“We came to thank you for saving Scoots and me.” Rocky said as he stepped forward.
“Yeah, we thought that card was a lame idea.” Scoots said as she motioned towards my bedside table. “But mom and Miss Twilight said we should make it anyway.” Her face lit up when she mentioned her adopeted mom, and I swallowed down the sudden lump in my throat.
“By the way, I’m Applebloom.” The yellow earth pony said.
“And I’m Sweetie Belle.” Interrupted the white unicorn.
Sapphire was the name of the grey unicorn.
Wait, how did I know that?
Nevermind, it didn’t really matter, I was suddenly feeling really proud of how I rescued them.
Suddenly, Pinkie Pie was right next to my ear. “So, did Metallicana tell you what metals taste like?” She whispered deafeningly.
“Ow.” I said, rubbing my ear, “Yes, Tallic has.”
“Well?”
“It’s not a normal taste.” I sighed and touched the scale I’d been chewing on. “He said that Iron tastes strong, silver tastes swift, and copper tastes flexible.”
“Thanks so much! Air hug!.” I flinched backwards in my bed as she jumped at me, wrapping her forelegs around me without actually touching me.
After that, she let me talk with my friends.
“Please tell us about Tallic. He gave me a ride back here after Twilight teleported you. It was awesome!” Rocky said. Turning to Scootaloo, he continued gushing. “I’m real jealous of you pegasi. Flying is the coolest thing I’ve ever done.”
“Yeah, well, it’s still real hard for me.” Scootaloo mumbled as she looked down and rubbed her hoof on the floor.
“Hey, look what Tallic gave-” My attempt at changing the subject was broken by a coughing fit. “Look what Tallic gave me.” I finished, holding up the chestplate.
“Wow!”
“Cool!”
“Awesome!”
Amazing
Rocky just stood there with his mouth hanging open in wonder as the girls went on about how beautiful it was.
“It’s made from one of his scales.” Rarity commented, entering the room with Doc Pulse. “He got Stronghammer to make it last night and paid quite a lot to have it made quickly. Now, children, it’s time for you to say goodbye. The doctor needs to examine how Steelskin’s wounds are healing.”
“Bye Steelskin, it was nice meeting ya.”
“Bye.”
“See ya, Steel.”
“Later.”
Sapphire was also really glad to meet me and hoped to see me soon.
After she guided them out the door, she made her way quietly to my bedside and whispered, “All of us are immensely proud of you and I want to make sure you know that if you or Tallic need anything, don’t be afraid to ask. Also, as far as business advice goes, both I and Applejack will be more than happy to provide it. Please let Tallic know that one of those rods he used to pay Stronghammer could easily be sold for fifty bits.” Her eyes caught sight of my present. “My stars, This is beautiful... and so well crafted. Stronghammer really is a great blacksmith.” Rarity’s eyes glazed over in wonder as she caressed it. “This is an exceptional piece of work. I was wrong, he didn’t overpay at all.” She clutched it to her chest briefly, pausing a moment with a look of surprise, then gave it back to me.
Inside fort Stonehoof
Stoutheart was fuming in his quarters.
“I can’t believe that that dragon made a foal out of me in front of the Princesses!” He griped to himself, pacing back and forth. “He’s gonna pay for what he’s done.”
The little hatchling hopped off Twilight’s back and approached me nervously.
“Hi. My name’s Spike.” He introduced himself tentatively.
“Greetings, little one. My name is Tallic. Do you have an elemental type? I am an iron dragon.”
“Uhm, I don’t know... I have teleportation magic. I can send things with my dragon breath, is that what you mean?” He responded hopefully.
“Not exactly, but it is an interesting ability, and is close enough to an answer to my question.” I replied, trying not to sound too condescending.
I continued to make small talk with Spike as I listened in on Twilight’s conversation with Celestia and Luna.
“Doctor Emerald and I are on the precipice of a revolution in medicine! His GAAC is simply amazing. We really put it through it’s paces in healing Steelskin. I just wish he wouldn’t be so secretive about how he makes it...”
“So, I hear the dragons of this reality eat gems. What do the local gems taste like?” I asked Spike, holding up my side of the conversation.
While he listed his favorite gemstones and the proper way to age them, I noticed Luna give a knowing smirk as Twilight went on with her annoyance with Emerald.
“Oh, Tallic, I almost forgot, I have the paperwork for becoming Steelskin’s big brother, and,” she said with barely contained enthusiasm. “We still have a program from before Miss Sweetheart started the orphanage. Apparently, there was a system of ‘foster homes’ where qualified adults would take care of orphans temporarily until a better permanent home could be found.”
As I started getting my hopes up, she suddenly got embarrassed. “The trouble is, that while the big brother program only needs three ponies who are willing to vouch for your character, the foster program needs ponies that have known you for at least a year.”
I breathed a sigh of relief at this. A year would not be that troublesome. I decided to ‘swallow it whole’. “So, what is the difficulty level of adoption?”
“Oh, well, while the big brother and foster plans need any pony to vouch for you, the adoption precedent for an unknown entity allows Miss Sweetheart and the town councilors to pick the ponies you need to get references from.”
“Ah, yes, I can see why that would have potential for trouble.” I chuckled. It was not like I was likely to be in this reality for more than ten years, so a foster arrangement would be a good thing.
“I will be more than willing to try and enter your dreams and review your life.” Luna offered “That would count as more than a year’s worth of knowledge. The other two would be more difficult to rationalize.”
“Fluttershy!” Twilight exclaimed. “She told me her stare backfired with Tallic and she ended up getting his emotions rather than impressing hers on him. I think, with the proper willingness from Tallic, she might be able to enter his memories and give a complete vision of his character. ”
“It sounds like a longshot, Twilight, but I trust your intuition.” Celestia commented.
“...Too bad there isn’t a third pony that could give a reference like that.” Twilight added with a sigh.”
“I think there is.” Celestia said with a smile.
“What? Who?” Twilight’s eyes went wide as I sat there watching their conversation bemusedly.
“Didn’t you say Pinkie Pie thought she knew him? You said in your letter that she was calling him Metallicana.” Celestia responded.
“No! I will have no part with that creature.” I slammed a claw down, hoping that that would distract them from the look of terror on my face. I still had not fully recovered from our previous night’s encounter.
I was tempted to squish them as I noticed all three were barely containing their laughter.
“Don’t worry, she’ll calm down and leave you alone pretty soon. Also, I can deal with getting her affidavit.” Twilight said with a smirk worthy of a human.
Doc Pulse gave me a checkup and told me I was healing amazingly fast, but wasn’t ready to let me put on my chestplate yet. After that, he let my friends back in and helped me into a sitting position so I could talk with my friends a little easier.
This time, it was Miss Sweetheart that brought them in. My heart dropped when I saw her.
“How are you doing, Steel?” She asked sweetly.
“Fine.” I replied emotionlessly.
“Doc Pulse says you’re making a miraculous recovery.” She said, trying to cheer me up.
“Yeah.”
“Well, I’ll be here if you need anything.” She said uncomfortably.
I was relieved when she gave up, I really wasn’t in the mood to talk to her. I knew I was wrong for feeling it, but I felt like if it wasn’t for her, Tallic would’ve been around, and if he were there, he’d have saved all three of us from the tree.
“So, is there anything we can get you?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Nah.” I said in a happier voice than how I talked to Miss Sweetheart. “Miss Twilight’s already given me a few Daring Do books and ‘I, Golem’ she got me from Manehattan Public Library.”
“Ooh, you read Isaac Stallionov?” Sweetie Belle’s eyes lit up. “Have you read ‘Sunfall’? How about ‘The Stables of Steel’?”
“Oh great, the dictionary is at it again.” Apple Bloom said as she rolled her eyes. Scootaloo joined her in an eye roll, but Sapphire and Rocky looked at us with interest.
Sweetie Belle noticed their looks of interest. “He’s the greatest magic fiction writer ever! My favorite is The Stables of Steel. It’s about a detective that has to work with a golem partner thousands of years into the future...” She gushed, ignoring Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.
“Steelskin is recovering incredibly fast, but we’re concerned by metal forming in his muscle and bone structure where his injuries were. You don’t know anything about that, do you?” Twilight asked pointedly as we walked towards the hospital.
So she is accusing me of interfering with Steelskin’s treatment and assuming I will lie about it?
I rounded on her in rage. “Tell me, little equine, how badly was Steelskin injured?”
I waited just long enough for her to open her mouth before continuing. “How long would it have taken for him to heal under normal circumstances?”
“I’m not-” Twilight started to say.
“Were you not the one that told me that it was unlikely that he would make a full recovery?” I interrupted.
Stop and listen!” She shouted at me. “I am happy that you’ve helped him.”
That stunned me into silence for a moment.
“I’m just trying to find out the safety of it and any potential side effects.” She continued. “I didn’t mean to imply that you were trying to hide it.”
“You condone my meddling with the treatment of Steelskin?” I gave a little chuckle.
“Well, we’re not totally comfortable with it, but I think your heart is in the right place. I’m willing to see how it turns out.”
“I will accept that. As far as side effects go, the only ill effect I have ever heard about has been vertigo when being carried by transport vehicles.” I responded.
We walked the rest of the way in silence. Her pet dragon rode on her back the entire way.
“So, what’s your cutie mark mean?” Apple Bloom asked. Rocky and Scootaloo cringed.
My heart fell when I heard that and I blinked back tears. “It means I’m tough. Anypony else would’ve been killed in the train wreck or mashed to a pulp by the tree.” I responded gruffly.
“What’s with the crack in it?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“It means I hate it. I wish I died with my parents.” I said, almost yelling. I lost the battle with the tears in my eyes.
Keep his words in your heart, and you will honor his memory greatly. Luna’s voice rang through my head.
I suddenly noticed everypony’s faces and realized just how horrible I just was to them.
We arrived at the hospital and were met by Emerald.
“Tallic! Glad to see you, are you here for the physical we talked about?”
I sighed, knowing that I would be constantly reminded of that agreement. “Let me check on Steelskin first.” I replied.
“Very well, then, I’ll get my supplies.” With that, Emerald trotted off into the hospital.
I looked into Steel’s room and found him with foals his own age. He looked sad, but I decided his friends should be able to cheer him up. On my way back, I saw Twilight and Emerald examining a device with a needle as long as their foreleg. After a moment’s thought, I remembered something similar that humans called a ‘syringe’.
“So Tallic was telling me that he is responsible for Steelskin’s rapid healing, and the metal is a benign side effect.” Twilight was telling Emerald.
“Doesn’t he know better than to start a treatment plan without consulting a physician?” Emerald replied in an insufferable huff.
“So, little green unicorn,” I said, putting my snout against his and exhaling threateningly, “You believe a dragon should seek permission from you?”
Impressively, the green one stood nose to nose with me. “Do you have medical training, sir? Did you know for a fact it-”
“Okay, today we hope to get a blood sample, a scale to examine, and a stool sample.” Twilight interrupted nervously. Emerald set aside the syringe and pulled out two different types of tongs in an attempt to hide his nervousness.
“What is this ‘stool sample’?” I asked. The term seemed demeaning.
“Well, we need a sample of the solid waste you excrete.” The green annoyance explained.
“Excrete? Do you mean what I think you mean?” Any sane creature would have noticed the menace in my voice and posture and run in fear.
“Well...” Twilight said nervously. “We’re talking about...”
“Feces, turds, poop...” The green one volunteered unashamedly.
“No.”
“What?” They responded.
I glared at them, annoyed that they would be so rude. “No stool samples.” I growled, irritated that I even needed to say it.
Twilight seemed to accept this, but Emerald got huffy. “How do you expect us to know how to treat you in the future if you won’t give us a full-”
My glare stopped him mid-sentence. “I said, no stool samples. Fewmets are to be studied by predators. Do you hunt dragons? No? Then no stool samples.”
“Well, can we at least have a scale?” The green annoyance asked.
I grudgingly ripped one off of the inner surface of my foreleg.
“Thank you.” He said. “That will also be a good spot for the blood sample.”
I presented my leg to him and he attempted to stick in the needle.
“I’m sorry.” I said to my friends as they shifted uncomfortably. “I just can’t help but remember the train wreck every time I think of my cutie mark.” I blinked away tears and tried to pull myself back together.
Sapphire nuzzled me comfortingly.
It’s okay. She let me know.
“If ya ever need ta talk about it, any one of us would be happy ta lend an ear.” Applebloom said, glancing at everypony else as they nodded encouragingly.
“Thanks.” I said quietly.
Emerald set down the hammer and wiped his brow.
“Are you done acting like a mosquito?” I asked, continuing to keep myself from swatting him in annoyance.
“Racist.” He muttered quietly.
Where did that come from? I wondered. Well, only one way to respond to a comment like that. I thought to myself as a grin spread across my face.
“I am so sorry, I did not know you disliked that term... parasite.”
Shock, indignation, and... fear? spread across his face.
"I'm the parasite? Don't you feed off the materials needed to build a civilization and offer little in return?" He answered, trying to act superior.
“I am fully willing to offer my services to any being civilized enough to accept it.” I retorted, my mood lightening as I found myself able to needle him.
“Oh? And how much have you taken by force?” He replied.
“Not as much as you assume.” I said with a smile.
He returned to work, bending the second needle even with the sharpness and hardening spells put on it.
“I think you should stop. Now.” I warned, recognizing my irritation was reaching dangerous levels despite the positive effect of our argument.
"Fine, just don’t expect much help if you ever get smokephesima or lava pox!"
“Not only have I never heard of those diseases, but I will face whatever it may be, up to and including the end of my life with the dignity of a dragon, not whining in fear like a prey animal.” I replied as I prepared to wing my way to my cave and cool off.
“Well, fine, I’ll remember that when you get sick.” He muttered.
“Hey, Twi.” A human called as he walked towards us. He was wearing a long coat and a pointy hat that obscured his features. He had an aura of magic about him and a mystical fox creature sat perched on his shoulder.
As I turned to face him, he turned his attention to me. “Hello, you must be Tallic. I’m Trace.” He said, tipping his hat.
“Greetings, Trace.” I responded. “That is an interesting familiar you have on your shoulder.”
The fox jumped off his shoulder, transforming into a humanoid on the way down.
“I am not his familiar!” The newly bipedal girl snipped at me.
“Well then, greetings fox maiden, and since you are not a familiar, what is your relation to this human?”
“I’m Fei, and he’s my dad.” She replied. “Oh, hi mom.” She added, turning to Twilight and giving her a hug. I resisted the urge to put a claw to my face. First a pony family with a human as father, now a human and pony with a fox spirit as their daughter. This place is getting almost as crazy as that other reality.
I caught a scent from him. Make that half human. Other heritage seems to be some breed of dark elf.
Suddenly the mild pricking sensation in my foreleg got more intense. I looked down, snarling, to see that Emerald had finally succeeded in piercing my hide. He was filling that syringe with my lifeblood and I had to suppress a fresh wave of violent annoyance.
Sadly, the little fox changed shape again and hid in the human’s cloak.
“Well, I think she just realised she’s talking to a dragon.” Trace said with a grin. “Guess I’ll take her in to the crusaders now.”
With that, he walked into the hospital. I noticed a surprising lack of damage to the front doors.
“Twilight,” I said, remembering something I should have asked the princesses. “Do you know of, or could you ask your princesses if there are any dragon rulers I must respect?”
“I’m pretty sure there aren’t any, but I’ll ask.” She reassured me.
I noticed a human that I hadn’t seen yet in the doorway. He whispered something to a little fox and it jumped off his shoulder and hid behind Scootaloo. The human left as Scootaloo pushed it forward.
“Don’t worry, he’s really nice.” Scootaloo said to it. “He’s just had some really bad things happen to him.”
“Steel, this is Fei. Trace, that other human, is her pa.” Applebloom said. “Fei, this is Steelskin, he was on the Ponyville Express last week when it crashed.” She got real quiet and her eyes started tearing up. “He was moving to ponyville with his parents and they... died... in the crash.”
“I know what that’s like.” Fei said quietly as she put her paw on the red patch of fur on her chest and her ears drooped. I don’t know why, but she was keeping her mouth still like ventriloquists do.
We all sat quietly, not knowing what to say. As I looked at that red patch on her chest, I had the feeling it was like a cutie mark. No, not like a cutie mark. Like my cutie mark. There is something special about it, but it feels like it’s too horrible to bring up.
“So, Fei, what part of Equestria do you come from?” I asked, trying desperately to change the subject.
“I’m not from Equestria, I’m from Gaia, Trace’s home reality.” She looked down before continuing. “I kinda followed him through the portal.”
My ears perked up. Now this is something I can get into. “What’s this ‘Gaia’ like? I’ve been hoping to find a way of asking the jumpers about the worlds they’ve been to. It sounds like it’ll be even cooler than the magic fiction books I’ve read.”
“Well, let’s see, the biggest difference would be the species. The kitsune like me can change from this form into a humanoid form to look like the other jumpers.” She said, talking slowly.
“And she can do illusion magic.” Sweetie Belle snickered.
“Shhh! An adult might hear ya.” Applebloom whispered.
“As I was saying,” Fei continued with a smirk. “There’s the kitsune like me. Also humans, some of whom can use magic, unlike Alex and Matt’s homeworlds. There’s also elves and dwarves, along with a few other smaller races that keep to themselves like us kitsune.
Sapphire’s attention was disconcertingly focused on me, rather than on Fei.
My faithful student, Twilight,
I am sorry, but it would not be wise or appropriate for me to undermine Miss Sweetheart’s authority by granting Tallic’s adoption of Steelskin by fiat. I do recognize this to be an unjust situation that is unfolding, but, sadly, if we are not careful, we can fix one injustice only to create a worse one. In our early rule, Luna and I ruled with a benevolent, but iron hoof. We both believed that we were crusaders of peace and prosperity, but our people feared us. Sadly, I even started treating my sister like one of our subjects. Remember what I told you about Luna’s descent into nightmare and my part in it, and let that stand as a lesson about how dangerous good intentions can be when not bound by careful consideration.
But do not fret, my dearest student, for we have seen Tallic and know his strength of character. He will undoubtedly prove himself to Ponyville just as the other jumpers have done.
As to your question, I have already informed The Proud Three of Tallic’s presence and my opinion of his character and potential behavior. If past experience is to be an indication of future events, they will be unlikely to rouse themselves for such a one as him.
After suffering the humiliation of the irritating green unicorn’s examination, Miss Sparkle offered little Spike’s services in filling out the required paperwork for the ‘big brother’ program.
“There ya are, Tallic.” Applejack stated as she trotted up to us. “Just so ya know, the repairs didn’t cost that much, so I deposited the rest in the bank for ya. Also, Pinkie’s... now don’t get like that, she wanted me to tell you because she knows she’s a mite more exuberant than ya like.”
I unclenched my talons and dropped a bit of sod they had torn up.
“Thank you for taking care of that for me.” I said shakily. “What was that you were saying about... Pinkie Pie?””
“Well, she’s planning Steelskin’s get well party for this evening. Doc Pulse was gonna get him hitched up to a fancy walking rig tomorrow, but she talked him into today so he’d be able to move around here in the courtyard. Party’s planned for five, but you’ll prob’ly want ta come a bit earlier ta make sure you’ve got some room.”
“Okay, Tallic.” Spike interrupted. “All we need is your hoof-I mean talon print to make this official.”
He held the document flat as I dipped a claw into the inkwell and put a crescent shaped smear on it. He then rolled it up and lit it on fire with his green flame.
I was about to yell at him about destroying our hard work when I remembered what he said about his breath’s teleportation magic.
“There. It’s on her desk.” He said proudly. “Now we’ll just need to check on those affidavits. Twilight’s already left one with Miss Sweetheart, so we just need to get two more.”
After the crusaders left, I lay thinking about how mean I was to them and crying into my pillow. I think I dozed off for a while because I woke to Tallic calling to me from my window.
“Greetings, little one.” He said with his eye pressed up to the window like he normally did.
“Hi, Tallic.” I said, wiping the tears out of my eyes and smiling at him.
“So, do you still have that scale I gave you?” He asked.
I was surprised and a little offended. “Of course I do, it’s right there on the chair.” I said, pointing to my chestplate.
“No, the first one I gave you.” He chuckled.
“Oh.” I nervously pulled out the scrap that remained of that first scale. “I got a little... hungry.”
“Hmmm...” He purred. “Impressive. The humans I taught barely got tooth marks into it after a week.”
Tallic is impressed with me!
Hearing his praise made me feel happier than I had since before mom and dad said we were moving.
After spending some time with Steelskin, I flew back to my cave, irritated that I was spending so much time away from it and leaving my hoard unguarded.
I sniffed carefully, to make sure no one had entered while I was gone. I was relieved to catch no scent but a few small creatures that apparently stopped at the cave mouth before skittering off somewhere else.
After assuring myself that my cave was undisturbed, I settled myself on my hoard to catch up on my sleep.
Tallic left when Miss Cheerilee came in to help me catch up on my schoolwork. Luckily, we were still less than two weeks into the school year and my old school was a bit further along, so there wasn’t too much she needed to explain to me.
“So, did you have many friends in Baltimare?” She asked after we finished my math homework.
We talked about hoofball and how the pegasus gangs that settled in the neighborhood made my parents request transfers to ponyville. Only my mom was actually able to get reassigned, my dad had to up and quit the local guard, but was hoping to find some work as either a bodyguard or farm hand.
We were interrupted by Nurse Redheart saying we were going to try some physical therapy. Miss Cheerilee wished me a good evening as I was harnessed to a pair of wheels.
“These will take most of your weight, but your hind legs will still need to help push you forward.” She explained as she finished tightening the straps and then helped me put on my chestplate.
The humming from it comforted me after my reminder of my parents.
As we went out the doors, a bonfire erupted in the center of the courtyard.
”Surprise!”
I roused myself from my hoard watching as the time grew close for the party. Normally, I would avoid such gatherings, but it was obvious that key ponies were expecting me. I paused at the mouth of the cave, irritated that I would have to leave my hoard unguarded again. Maybe one of the magic users could make me some traps to guard it while I am gone.
Flying high over the town, I arrived while they were still setting up and found myself a place almost directly across the bonfire from the door into the courtyard.
While I watched the preparations, Matt sauntered up to me.
“Sorry, I left so quickly, the auras surrounding alicorns aren’t exactly the best for our health, I get a little… twitchy when I’m around Luna. I’m just wanting to double check that we’re over our little misunderstanding. It’s kind of annoying having to deal with the itch of broken ribs being repaired… twice in a week.” He kept his tone casual and I was impressed with how well he kept himself from sounding pleading or threatening or even just annoyed.
“We are pax. I will not attack preemptively as long as I have your word that you will assume the best with my actions.” I replied.
“I’m pretty easy to get along with, I tend to follow the rules of engagement that I practically had beaten into me. You’re not an enemy and as long as you don’t behave in a manner that threatens civilians I’m not allowed to take anything other than preventative measures. Plus I think you’re the kind of… Dragon that wouldn’t lie about your intent, your word is gold as far as I’m concerned. Even if you’re likely to just eat it.” As he said this, he handed over what he would probably have called a five gallon cake. I popped it into my mouth, noting the iron wrapper.
Chocolate, nuggets of iron ore, some silver bits, and... sapphires.
I would not have chosen sapphires, but I was surprised at how well it complemented the metals.
“Very good, please tell Miss Pie that she did an excellent job.” I said with what I hoped was a happy smile.
A moment later, Steelskin’s teacher came out and announced he was on his way. A couple minutes after that, all the ponies yelled ‘Surprise’ as he walked out. I gave my own greeting and watched sadly as most of the ponies jumped away from me like I was Pinkie Pie.
I tried to sit back on my haunches and found myself rolling backwards. Suddenly, a strange trumpeting roar erupted from behind the bonfire and everypony jumped. I, on the other hoof, instantly recognized Tallic’s voice, even if I never heard that greeting before and eagerly rushed towards him.
Pinkie Pie was immediately at my side as we trotted through the well wishers.
“Do ya like your party? Hi Lyra. I’m sorry it took- glad you could make it, Bons- so long to have a welcome to ponyville party. How’s it going, Matt? So I had to make this the best welcome- Hey, Stronghammer, are you still gonna get that gryphon apprentice? -and get well soon party I’ve ever done.”
The constant greetings made it hard to follow what she was saying, but it did help me get through the crowd faster. “Hi Tallic,” She said as we got close to him, “don’t worry, I’ll keep myself calm even though you’re so super awesome I really wanna fangirl everytime I see you. Oh, and be careful at the punch table, I keep some hot sauce over there for my cupcakes, but Twi keeps reminding me that not everypony likes it.”
She put her hoof up to the side of her mouth like she was going to whisper something. “Twi poured herself a glass of it when I threw her her welcome party.” She said in her normal voice.
“Hi Tallic!”
A shudder of fear ran through my body.
“Greetings, Pinkie Pie.” I replied, cursing Bahamut that I had no way to run.
Thankfully, she kept her distance and let Steelskin approach me alone.
He settled himself, with the nurse’s help, between my forelegs and we greeted all the well-wishers that had come. Trace brought a keg of mead for me, saying he had brewed it himself, and a mug for Steelskin. I was slightly concerned by how much of my keg Steelskin drank, but the adults assured me that it was unsalted, whatever that meant.
Apparently, as the strongest male here, I became the magnet for the rest of the males and soon had not only Matt and Trace, but also Alex, Big Mac, Stronghammer, and a few other stallions drinking with me.
“So, Tallic,” Big Mac asked me. “You go for salt, or is alcohol your thing?”
“Ah, so that is why you are fine with minors drinking.” I replied as I slipped Steelskin one of the metal filled cupcakes. “I assume by your question that salt is your inebriant.”
“Eeyup.” Big Mac answered.
“Ether ore.”
“Yes!” A voice disturbingly like the pink one’s whispered loudly. No one else seemed fazed by it and, thankfully, they pretended not to notice my flinch.
“What’s that?” Matt asked.
“It’s a magical ore that can be refined into either mana potions or materia crystals; special gems that can be used to enchant weapons and armor.” Trace volunteered.
Both Matt and Alex let out a groan as their heads sunk into the palms of their hands while I let out a chuckle.Trace looked a little embarrassed.
“I first tasted ether ore in a land called ‘Xanth’. One of the few realities where there were no heroes seeking to kill me for honor and glory.” My smile faded as I remembered the one problem I experienced there. “Sadly, it went heavy on the puns... and took them literally.”
The ponies looked at me in curiosity. “What’s a pun?” Steelskin asked.
I looked in confusion at the creatures surrounding me. The ponies were sitting patiently and waiting for an answer. The humans, on the other claw, were grinning their smug human grins like this was the best joke ever told.
“Well...” I said slowly, trying to understand how a place with names like Ponyville and Canterlot would have anyone who did not know what a pun was.
They must just have a different name for it.
“A pun is a play on words, usually where a similar sounding word is used in place of the correct word. For example, Canterlot. You took the name of the city Camelot and replaced it with canter, the name of one of your gaits, and made the end come to mean many or multiple. If you do not have the word pun, what do you call this type of word play?”
“Uhm, Tallic, Camelot is the name of a city in Saddle Arabia.” Stronghammer replied nervously. “Why would we use the name of one of their cities?”
“Saddle Arabia?” I asked, purposely keeping my claw from rising to my muzzle.
After a few deep breaths, I continued.
“That would be another pun. Saddle replacing the word Saudi. Again, you are taking the name of a place and replacing part of it with a word that references equines.”
“What does saudi mean?” Steelskin asked.
It seemed Alex was about to reply when Matt stopped him with barely suppressed laughter.
That was all I could take. I faceclawed and mumbled “nevermind”.
“So, what are dragons like in your home reality?” Trace asked, rescuing me from the current topic.
I proceeded to tell again of the dragon civil war, the different elemental types of dragons and the rulers of dragonkind. As I finished describing our teaching dragon slayer magic to humans, Twilight Sparkle came by and I remembered my cave situation.
“Excuse me, Miss Sparkle, who should I talk to about a security system for my cave?” I asked. “I was thinking perhaps a proximity bomb.”
All the ponies stared at me slack-jawed.
“No, not heavy explosives, just shrapnel bombs.” I clarified.
“That is not something that would be... appropriate here.” Alex commented as the ponies winced noticeably.
“Yeah, you might want to tone down the lethality a little. An onion/custard pie would probably be considered overkill here.” Matt chuckled as Big Mac and Twilight raised their eyebrows at him.
“Really? They are not nearly as bad as the necro-mines from two jumps ago.” I responded, ignoring the pie joke.
“Necro-mines?” Twilight asked, looking pale.
“Yes, gems that pull the soul from the body then use that energy to reanimate the corpse. Truly horrific things. One of my kind had set them up around a necromancer’s castle he had taken over as a deterrent to annoying visitors.” I answered, surprised by all the negative reactions.
Matt, in particular, winced and his breathing sped up significantly for several seconds.
“What about incapacitation wards?” Trace asked, trying to change the subject as half the ponies covered their mouths. “Simple design, non-lethal, can hold the intruder in place for a couple hours. Combine them with an alarm ward to ruin their chance of stealth.”
“Incapacitation?” I asked. “Like ripping off their legs? Would not simple death be more humane?”
I noticed Big Mac and Stronghammer get up, muttering something about getting something to drink.
Trace proceeded to spit out the mouthful of mead he had just taken. "What!? I'm talking about something along the lines of freezing them in place. You're thinking of something along the lines of a mutilation ward, those are illegal where I come from."
“Ah, my apologies. Terminology tends to get confusing when crossing realities and species. So are you suggesting a form of the ice spell, or a paralysis charm?” I asked.
“I’m a big fan of a nice thick door with a good lock and a small room with several stun grenades… Overkill but non-lethal, just enough to put them out for a few minutes and make them regret it when they come to. Not that I’ve put any thought into booby trapping my room or anything.” Everyone in earshot gave Matt a hard look, eventually he looked at the ground.
“Maybe it’d be nice to have one night where I didn’t have some pony bother me or wake me up from my nightmares.” He poked at a random streamer on the ground with the toe of his boot, almost managing to pull off a disappointed child look despite the fact he was a heavily armored adult.
“Simple paralysis. Can you give me a rough estimate on the height and width of the cave’s opening? I’ll need it to figure out which wards would work best.” Trace said as he pulled a piece of paper and a pencil out of his coat.
“You know,” Alex began slowly, “the best defense is to set up the local social environment so that you’re a universally valued member of society. Everyone, or nearly everyone, around you respects you. Then you simply ask they don’t enter your cave when you’re not there. Simple. As an added bonus, they make sure any newcomers know the rules.”
I sat staring at him, trying to figure out if he was joking.
“Are you serious?” I finally asked.
“Eeup.” Mac said, returning to his place with a mug of cider. “Your friends will always watch your back. Friends are like a giant family.”
I sat there trying to process this.
Finally, I decided to just let it go. “As a dragon, I cannot be truly comfortable without some serious protections on my hoard.”
Alex seemed to accept this. "You know, you’re right. Go ahead and put any nonviolent wards up that you feel you need.”
I turned back to Trace, who still had his paper and pencil out, and gave him the rough measurements of my cave and offered him a ride up to take more precise measurements tomorrow.
I sat between Tallic’s forelegs as he talked with the humans. Lots of ponies came up to say hi, but because of Tallic, few of them got very close or stayed very long. Even the Crusaders were kinda skittish around him. As they walked away, I watched Scootaloo. The colts would laugh at me if I told anyone, but I thought Scootaloo was kinda pretty. Also, I noticed Sapphire constantly looking at me and quickly looking away every time I looked back at her. What is with that unicorn? It’s like she worships the ground I walk on.
Rocky called out a greeting to me from a distance, explaining that Miss Sweetheart told him he wasn’t allowed to get close to Tallic.
Pretty soon I was falling asleep. I dreamed of soaring on the back of Tallic with Scootaloo flying beside us.
“So ‘Tim the Barbarian’ starts playing a song to boost the evasion of his comrades as...”
“Wait, what’s a barbarian doing playing a bard song?” Trace asked.
“No, he’s not a barbarian, he was a bard, he just liked the name ‘Tim the Barbarian.” I took another bite of the cupcake Pinkie handed me. Something tasted familiar in it, but I couldn’t place it. “Oh, and his name wasn’t even Tim. Found out later his real name was Phillip.”
I could hear Pinkie giggling like a lunatic... I wonder if Luna will have a problem with that term? When I looked over at her, there were two of her. I did not know why, but I started chuckling too. Suddenly I let out a tremendous belch and a metal statue of the mare dropped from my mouth.
I must be drunk. How did that happen? Oh well, who cares.
“Cupcake me.” I said, looking to the pink blobs. “And more...” What did I want more of? Ah, yes. “You found some ether ore, didn’t you?”
I looked down at a sleeping Steelskin.
“Don’t... Uhm... Don’t-I mean, do not, give any to Steelskin.” I slurred.
After eating a few more cupcakes, I stood up to stretch my legs, my tail twitching back and forth playfully.
I noticed a little red dot on the ground about ten feet from me. Stepping sideways to avoid little Steel, I crouched, wings flaring as I readied myself.
“Do you honestly think that’s wise?” I heard Trace ask.
“I’m drunk, many things seem wise right now. Let me have my fun.” Matt responded.
That intriguing red dot started to twitch. Luckily, most of the guests had already left, so there were few ponies to worry about bumping into or landing on. In the back of my mind, I made note of the fact that it was a laser pointer, but my hunting instinct made me ignore this piece of information.
I pounced and the dot quickly jumped ten feet to the right. I crept around the remnants of the bonfire to catch it by surprise.
I noticed Miss Sweetheart and Twilight Sparkle pick up Steelskin and carry him into the hospital.
I finished my circuit of the fire pit and saw the dot in the same place I left it. I pounced again and again it jumped away. This time I crept up within striking distance, then struck out with my claw just as it jumped again.
I continued for several minutes amid snickers from the humans before finally growing bored and curling up to sleep with my back to the fire.
I sat in my cave listening to the humans plan their attack on me, I noticed Luna quietly observing as I planned my response to everything they were saying they were going to do.
Suddenly, one of them spoke up. “Alright, let’s do this! Leeeroy Jennnkins!
It took me a second to realize what happened as the loose cannon ran into my cave alone. His companions took even longer to realize that their comrade had just completely blown their plan wide open.
Well, time to reward his stupidity. I thought as I brought a claw down on him, feeling is armor crumple and bones break. I looked at the mouth of the cave and saw his companions watching, so I gave a dramatic twist of my talon in imitation of humans disposing of those smoldering sticks they like to suck on.
“Well, does this end the assault, or are any more of you that stupid?” I said with a menacing smile.
After that, we went further back in my memories, watching time after time of my dealings with humanity.
I wonder if she is getting a different view of humans. She may even be regretting giving Alex the position of paladin.
We fast forwarded through a few realities where the locals kept pestering me with virgin sacrifices. Luna’s normally stoic demeanor showed a bit of appreciation when I brought them to a distant village that appeared to be more noble. I still gave them a warning that I wanted my ‘meal’ well treated.
I gave a chuckle as she witnessed me playing with a knight that had a personal force field. She was not impressed with the joy I took in bouncing him off my cavern wall.
I can only hope her pony sensibilities were mollified when I let him run away after his shield failed.
Finally we got to my son... At first I tried to end it, but she would not skip this scene. I understood her necessity, but to open up that wound was difficult.
After a bit of my daily life with him, we arrived at my first jump. I was winging my way back to where he was waiting for me when I noticed the strange feeling in my belly that had been there for a couple days had grown suddenly much stronger. Without warning, I found myself a completely different landscape. When I realized what had happened, I had gone about systematically levelling a forest and turning every trunk into toothpicks.
“I am sorry for bringing up this pain, dearest Tallic, but rest assured, now I know that steelskin will be in safe hooves.” She bowed to me in respect before being carried out of my dreamscape.
I woke to that familiar rotten taste in my mouth, splitting headache and disgruntled stomach that said ‘You have eaten someone you should not have.’
The reason for my state came to mind quickly. As I opened my eyes, I resolved yet again to never get buzzed again.
Pink.
No, I cannot deal with that in this state.
“Come any closer, and I will squish you like a bug,” I threatened.
“I keep telling you, I understand,” Pinkie Pie pouted.
I growled in response.
I was in too much pain to do more than notice in passing that her voice was calm and quiet.
“Well, I’ll leave this hangover cure here in case you decide to be reasonable. I even got Zecora’s help to adjust it to dragon biology,” She said, placing a keg down and walking away. She turned back just before leaving the courtyard and added “It’s best if you drink it slowly.”
Dragging myself over to the gift, I drank it as slowly as I could. I was expecting the normal disgusting taste of all the other potions I have tasted over the decades and was pleasantly surprised by the mild, sweet taste.
As it slipped down my throat, the coolness made its way to my head and stomach, easing the pain and spreading a general sense of well-being.
I looked around at the devastated courtyard and made a mental note to offer payment as I flew off to a nearby pond to clean myself up.
Nurse Redheart woke me up and told me Tallic was outside. She hitched me up to that special cart again. I tried to tell her I was too tired, but she insisted I needed to get some fresh air and exercise.
“It’s time we started getting those muscles working again,” She said “You’ve been in bed unable to use them for two days and last night barely counted. If they don’t get used soon, they’ll think they’re not needed anymore.”
“I know how muscles atrophy,” I replied, sounding ruder than I liked.
I tried to get myself motivated to see him, but couldn’t.
I lifted each leg in turn as she slipped on the harness. Why bother?
As she helped me into my chestplate I felt like I should feel happiness and gratitude, but all I felt was emptiness. There was still that humming, but it just didn’t comfort me like it should.
After everything was set, she led me outside where Tallic was waiting.
I tried to smile.
I really should feel happy to see him.
Why bother? It’s not like Miss Sweetheart will ever let him adopt me.
As I trudged over, he closed the distance and nuzzled me gently.
“Hi Tallic,” I forced out, failing to make myself sound happy.
We talked for a bit. Well, actually, he talked to me a bit.
“Steelskin, please look me in the eyes.”
I dragged my eyes up to meet his.
After getting myself cleaned up, I landed by the window to Steelskin’s room and looked in to see him curled up in bed.
“Mr Tallic.” I turned to see Nurse Redheart standing in front of me, bravely swallowing her fear. “I assume you are here to see Steelskin? Doctor Pulse has decided after last night that he's ready to start exercising, so, if you would be kind enough to wait here, I will go get him. It will take a minute to get him harnessed into his walking wheels.”
I settled down to wait and listened as he was woken up and harnessed to his mobility device. His voice sounded hollow, and that made me nervous.
I have heard that tone before.
As he wheeled himself out, my fears gained a deeper hold. His eyes kept falling to the ground and it seemed like an effort to meet my gaze.
“Hello, little Steel,” I said as I nuzzled him like a hatchling.
“Hi Tallic,” He responded emptily.
“I have some good news for you, little one. Twilight Sparkle delivered the paperwork for me to become your big brother yesterday.”
“That’s good,” He said, forcing a smile to his face and looking up briefly.
My heart froze as I caught a glimpse of my worst nightmare. The next thing I did was one of the hardest things I have ever done.
“Steelskin, please look me in the eyes,” I said, offering a prayer to Aethelind that I was wrong.
I was not wrong.
I stared at The Emptiness in his eyes and my heart shattered like the cobblestone that was just in my claws. After a while, I calmed myself so as to not mar his last years any more than they had already been.
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine.”
“Masks are for others, not for us. I ask again, how are you?”
“I dunno, I’m just tired and I wanna go back to bed.” His voice dropped down to a whisper as he added “...forever...” At this, his eyes filled with tears.
I could not bear seeing him like this anymore.
“Then go back to bed, I shall see you in a few hours, and hopefully we can do something together then.”
Nurse Redheart looked at me with a disapproving sniff and helped him back inside as I took off towards my mountain.
Kill
Smash
Crush
I needed something more durable than a manticore this time. If I were home, I would find another dragon and pick a fight. Sadly, that did not seem to be an option here.
As I reached the base of my mountain, I saw some boulders and decided I would start there and let myself give into the red hot rage that filled my broken heart and I savored both the destruction I was causing as well as the pain of my claws, tail, and various muscles as I pushed everything to my limit.
~~~
The haze of battle cleared and I found myself having not only crushed every boulder in the vicinity to gravell, but also put a serious dent into the mountain itself. As I exited the partially formed cave, I saw two ponies stepping forward. One was Big Mac, the other was a blue unicorn mare with a silver mane. She was pressed up against him in fear and I could only assume they were paired. I could also smell human, but was pretty sure it was Alex, so I decided to ignore it.
“I heard ya scream and decided to check on ya. Feel like talkin?” Mac said in lieu of a greeting.
“Steelskin is dying.” I smashed my claw into the ground, forming a small crater.
“I thought he was healing better than could be hoped?” The mare’s expression was one of concern. “Oh, and my name is Beatrix Lulamoon,” She said with a nervous bow.
“Wounds of the flesh heal, diseases of the flesh can be cured, but there is no victory against The Emptiness.”
“The emptiness?” Beatrix looked at me with apprehension.
Yet again, I settled my emotions and started explaining.
“It is the chief killer of my kind. We have little understanding of it, for it is not something we can examine.” I took another calming breath, mustering the courage to continue. “Every so often, a perfectly healthy dragon will just start losing his strength of will. They will sit on their horde and waste away physically through lack of food.”
My thoughts were drawn to the memory of Steelskin in that hospital bed.
“I did not know other creatures could get The Emptiness. Now I will have to watch Steelskin lose all will to exist... I... I have even seen a dragon watch impassively as humans carried away his treasure from beneath him.” As the memories came back, the ache in my chest grew worse.
I closed my eyes and laid myself on the ground, crushed by the weight of what was to come.
“It’s not so hopeless as ya think, Tallic.” His reassurance was accompanied by a hoof on my neck. “Little Steelskin sounds to be sufferin’ from a nasty bout a’ depression, prob’ly some Induced Trauma Syndrome.”
“What?” I asked incredulously.
“Depression. Ponies who go through serious trauma can fall into despair. It’s something many of us have suffered,” He explained slowly.
I opened my eyes, hoping against hope that he was correct. “So you are saying that it is normal for ponies to lose their strength of will? Are you also saying that they can recover?”
“Not normal, but yes, treatable. In fact, I had a bout of it when Ma and Pa died. Started takin’ salt too much and too young.” He looked down embarrassedly. “Occasionally, I still end up takin’ a bit too much.”
“How can we initiate treatment? Whom do we notify of his condition?” I was not yet willing to let myself believe they were right, but I would claim any hope presented.
“Well, they prob’ly know already, but it’d be wise to get it nipped in the bud now rather than let it fester, so let’s find out how bad it is.” Mac gave me a gentle smile.
“Would you two like a ride? I wish to get him help as soon as possible, and you would be more apt to explain it so they can understand.”
They replied by hopping onto my back.
“You think we should give Alex a ride home?” Beatrix motioned to the treeline.
Alex stepped out of his cover. "Uh... I'll pass. Not of a friend of heights, and I think it's more important that you get there for him. Take it from me, loved ones help depression, and that kid loves you."
I lay in bed, crying into my pillow and clutching what was left of that first scale. I looked over at the pile of books Twilight brought for me. I grabbed the top one and dutifully opened it up.
Words.
Disjointed words.
I understood what the words meant, but couldn’t string them together in any meaning.
I dropped the book to the floor, feeling ashamed for treating somepony else’s property that way, but I couldn’t bring myself to care more than condemning myself for it. I broke into a fresh bout of sobbing at that.
A hoof touched my shoulder.
“Go away.”
“Please, Steelskin, turn around so we can talk,” A familiar voice quietly requested.
“Just leave me alone.” I tried to sound angry, but all I could manage was a flat mumble.
“Okay, if you don’t want to talk, that’s okay, but turn around. It’s not good to be alone how you are now.” The voice became firm, but wasn’t any louder.
I sighed loudly and turned around to see a donkey. Specifically, the donkey therapist I met during my previous hospital stay. She took a wet washcloth and wiped down my face.
“Let’s go for a walk,” she said.
I knew I wasn’t getting out of this, so I allowed myself to be hitched back up to that stupid walker.
“So you’ve been really busy this week, I’ve heard,” She said as she smiled at me.
After a bit of walking, I found myself at Fluttershy’s cottage. She sat there with all her animals, obviously ready to greet me, but as I got close, they all scattered.
“Now, now. Steelskin is a friend, please come and say hi,” She whispered to her animals
“No he’s not a dragon. He just smells like one because one of his friends is a dragon.” Fluttershy was starting to get anxious as they refused to have anything to do with me.
I would’ve just lay down in the grass, but with this stupid bucking cart strapped to my flank, all I could do was hang my head and brush my nose against the grass. I’m not really sure how long I sat like that, but after a while, I heard Miss Introspective’s voice.
“I-is that a popping cat?” Nervousness filled her voice.
“Oh, don’t worry, Dino is quite tame.”
I looked up to see a cat like creature with tentacles coming out of its back. Miss Introspective was cowering away in fear and pawing the ground nervously as she saw it advancing on me.
“D-Dino? You gave it a name?”
“Yes, of course he has a name. He belongs to Alex. I’m just watching him for the day,” Fluttershy responded.
Dino took that moment to pounce. He landed right on my back, then suddenly teleported right in front of me. Miss Introspective let out a scream and fainted.
For the first time that morning, I smiled an honest smile. I reached out a hoof and he nuzzled it with his nose and wrapped his tentacles around my foreleg.
I can only assume Fluttershy woke up Miss Introspective while I was engrossed with the popping kitten.
“Yes, Fluttershy, I think it would be good to get him out of the harness so he can sit down and cuddle with the... popping cat,” Miss Introspective said with a strained voice.
We arrived at the hospital with surprisingly little screaming from Beatrix. Mac, on the other claw, was silent and as still as a statue throughtout the flight and for quite a few moments afterwards.
Nurse Redheart greeted us at the door and was about to say something when I cut her off.
“Steelskin needs treatment for something called ‘depression’,” I stated in as calm a voice as I could.
It is official. This reality is draining my intelligence.
I realized how stupid I looked even before her hoof contacted her face.
“What I was about to tell you was that he’s taking a walk with his therapist down to Fluttershy’s cottage.’ She paused for a moment before changing to an accusatory voice. “I called for her when you allowed him to go back to bed instead of helping him get the exercise he needs.”
“Calm down a mite, Nurse Redheart,” Big Mac interrupted. “Tallic here’s never heard of depression or ITS.”
It took me a good half second to recognize ITS as induced trauma syndrome, which only increased my embarrassment.
I noticed Rainbow Dash land at the edge of the courtyard, carrying Alex in her forelegs. “You need to lose weight,” she said, needling him.
“Oh. My apologies. Doctor Introspective decided that he could use the comfort of animals to calm him down enough to open up a little more,” Nurse Redheart said understandingly.
“So, this ‘depression’ is a lack of willpower? How do you go about treating it? I have heard of gems of strength and speed. I have even heard of gems of courage. Is there a gem of will?” I quickly recognized the answer as they looked at me sideways.
“It's not that simple. Lack of will is only a symptom. The whole thing is very complex,” Alex butted into our conversation.
“Maybe we should have Spike read him some books about depression,” Twilight commented, trotting into the courtyard with several other ponies.
Miss Sweetheart was lying on her bed when she heard a bunch of humans coming into her house.
“Okay, you guys know the drill. Herb, you take the left. Joey, you take the right. Try to circle around it while I get its attention.
Miss Sweetheart watched as they came into view in the mouth of her cave. Three humans in plate armor and wielding spears.
“Die, foul beast, your reign of terror ends here!” The middle one raised his sword as he stepped forward..
“What have I done? I have attacked no one and eaten no one’s herds,” Miss Sweetheart heard herself saying in a deep growl.
“You’re a dragon, if you haven’t, it’s only because you’re not hungry yet,” He replied.
~~~
Miss Sweetheart was winging her way across a forest when she heard a child crying. She landed near him and carefully walked over. When he noticed her, he gave a frightened yelp. She felt a compassion other than her own.
Luna looked at her pointedly before being swept away just before Miss Sweetheart woke up.
I accepted Twilight’s offer of reading material, but opted for an enlargement charm and durability enhancement as I preferred to read for myself. As Trace was in the audience, I offered him a lift to my cave.
“Ah, your cave is over there, Tallic.”
I ignored him as I flew to the edge of the forest where I could smell Steelskin and the yellow pegasus.
As I came close, I saw him playing with... A displacer beast?
There was a donkey nervously shifting from hoof to hoof, but Fluttershy was completely calm.
I might need to rethink my opinion of her.
I trumpeted my arrival from a reasonable distance, causing Steelskin to look up, the donkey to jump, and the displacer beast to... teleport?
Fluttershy went belly up in the most comical faint I have ever seen.
Maybe not.
As I landed, the donkey nudged Fluttershy back onto her hooves. Steelskin was looking between the displacer-ish beast and me, trying to decide whether to abandon its affections or not. It had quickly recovered from its fright and was nuzzling Steelskin’s chin. Needless to say, I was surprised and intrigued that such a beast could be tamed enough to be trusted around small ones.
“Hello, Steelskin, my heart is relieved to see you looking better. Greetings, to you, donkey, you must be Miss Introspective.” My voice dropped down so that it would be less likely for Steelskin to hear. “I am inordinately grateful for the help you have given Steelskin with this infection. Please tell me any ways that I can help, as I have never heard of cures for it before.”
She looked at me in confusion. I could only assume I had made another mistaken assumption. I decided to just ignore it until I had time to study.
Steelskin struggled to his hooves and walked shakily over to me, leaving his mobility device on the ground while the... kitten cowered behind Fluttershy.
“Hey Tallic,” Steelskin said. “Sorry for being such a grump before.” His smile dropped away and it looked like he was going to start crying.
I nuzzled him, giving a low, comforting hum.
“Wow.” Miss Introspective ast staring at me. “I had heard the rumors, but now I need to apologise to you, Tallic. I would never have believed how gentle a dragon could be if I had not seen that with my own eyes... Please let me know if you need a reference.”
“That’s not a problem, Twi’s already found out that several of us accosted Miss Sweetheart with affidavits,” Trace piped up from my back, reminding me of the fact that this was just a pit stop on my way to my cave.
“What I meant was that I could provide a clinical battery of tests to determine his fitness to be a caregiver-not that I think this would be anything but a formality.”
“I thank you for the offer. If I determine that I will need it, I shall let you know.”
I decided I had wasted enough of Trace’s time and said my goodbyes before heading off to my cave.
I don’t know how long I sat petting Dino before Tallic stopped by. I was kinda disappointed he didn’t stay long, but I did get to apologize for being rude earlier and Miss Introspective is gonna try to let Tallic adopt me!
When Tallic left, my hind legs gave out and Miss Introspective helped me back to my walking wheels while giving me a lecture about trying to walk without them. Fluttershy also woke up from her daze and Dino came out from his hiding place behind her.
We said our goodbyes and started walking back to town.
“He really cares for you, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah, Nurse Redheart said he trashed the front doors of the hospital when that tree hit me. Yelled at her and then tried to drag her back when she ran in for supplies. We think he thought she was running away.” I smiled as I remembered the story.
We arrived at my cave and Trace started doing his thing getting measurements and writing down notes.
“So, Tallic, any interesting stories from your jumps?”
“Quite a few,” I responded.
I thought for a moment, weighing the different options and deciding on a nice tame one that I have always looked back on with a chuckle.
“I was in one of the standard three race realities-human, elf and dwarf, when I was woken from a nap meant to last a couple years...”
~~~
“Are you sure this is skyclad armor? It smells like pineapple.” I heard an elf whisper outside my cave.
“But if it creates a magical armor around my skin, why can’t I wear my normal armor on top of it?”
I could not hear the answer, but did hear her response. “Well... okay, I guess that makes sense. Now where’s my bow?”
A naked elf girl jumped into the mouth of my cave and fired off ten arrows before I could stop laughing. Luckily for me, the arrows had only minor enchantments and bounced off my hide like pebbles. I quickly picked her up and noticed multiple... flavors. The most predominant were pineapple, sugar and ginger.
I think I want to talk with her a little more. I thought to myself as I broke her bow in half and tossed her deep into my cave. The wizard was stupid enough to be rolling around in fits of laughter just outside my cave.
I promptly ate him and brought the elf’s armor in to her.
She was actually quite good company despite being unimaginably gullible and I invited her to visit me whenever she liked. I did not, however consider it even remotely wise to teach her dragon slayer magic.
~~~
Trace looked at me with trepidation. “You should probably leave off the part about eating the wizard if you tell that to ponies. They’re a bit shaken by talk of eating sentient beings.”
He finished the measurements and put his notepad away.
“So it looks like I’ll easily be able to put a nice long lasting freeze spell, a barrier to keep magic from passing through, an alert crystal to let you know when the wards have been tripped, and a few pass keys to let others through.”
“What payment options would you accept?”
While we were walking back, I told Miss Introspective all about meeting Tallic. It was kinda painful to talk about beating up Rocky and how I felt about my cutie mark, but it also felt kinda good to let it out without screaming at somepony.
When we arrived back at the hospital, there was a whole crowd of ponies as well as Alex and Matt waiting for us.
“Hey, Steel, wanna give Tallic a surprise?” Pinkie Pie was grinning at me through that armor of his.
“What?” I stared around, looking at the two humans, all six of the element bearers, Big Mac, Trixie, Stronghammer, Emerald, and a whole ton of food and other packages.
“Cave warming party!” Pinkie Pie was sitting on top of a giant party cannon as she shouted her answer.
“I’m still not completely sure this is a wise idea,” Twilight Sparkle muttered. “Dragons are known to be fiercely territorial when it comes to their caves.”
“Oh, don’t be a worry wart, Twi. Auntie Pinkie’s got it all in hoof.”
Twilight gave her an irritated glare.
I looked over at Alex and saw him fingering that weird weapon of his nervously.
The fewmet eating elf tried to make me indebted to him by offering to give me the security system for free. He is as bad as a human when it comes to trying to manipulate others.
I ended up agreeing to pay half of what he said was the normative price-enough to cover materials and a little mark up so that I would have the right to decline any requested favors.
“Warp.”
Trace vanished, leaving behind the smell of teleportation magic and I settled down to read up on Steelskin’s condition.
I was surprised by my reaction to the books. It was both intriguing and mind numbingly tedious.
I was intrigued by the near perfect description of The Emptiness. I also understood why my kind could never conquer it. We are a fiercely proud and self sufficient race and the isolation that we find so restful is the antithesis of what these books were saying was the cure.
I also wanted to grind the book into the cave floor due to the dryness and general antiseptic nature of the book. It amazed me how a book extolling connecting with and exploring emotions could be so devoid of said emotions itself.
As I was just about to give up on the book and take a nap, I heard two pops followed by whispers.
My muscles tensed.
“Everyone here?”
My scales hardened.
“Cannon is loaded.”
My claws lengthened.
“Three.”
“Two.”
“One.”
”SURPRISE!”
A group of intruders burst through the entrance of my cave.
Multiple ponies with two humanoids in the back.
I snarled and pounced, planning to sweep the majority of them against the wall and start crushing the ones that I missed.
The pink one in front pulled a cannon twice her size out from behind her... The Pink One!
...And fired it into my face.
Applejack loaded me onto a large glyph as Alex climbed into the town’s hot air balloon. I looked at it, silently naming the runes I had learned in magical theory class last year.
“Sorry yer friends can’t join ya,” she said.
“It’s okay, kinda wish I was in school now, too.” She gave me a comforting pat before moving off to get some supplies loaded on.
I traced my hooves along the lines, trying to figure out the purpose as I remembered the little golems we got to walk across our tables. I was pretty sure it was a teleportation circle, partly from the runes, but mostly because I didn’t see any other reason for us to be crowding on it.
I was only vaguely aware of others joining me along with a few crates of stuff.
A popping sound caught my attention as my guess was confirmed by the other one vanishing.
Twilight Sparkle got our attention as she stepped inside ours, making sure we were ready for the spell, and the next moment we were outside a cave and looking down on Ponyville.
While Pinkie Pie was getting us all set up, Alex came over.
“Hey, Steel, stay close to me when we go in, I’m not really sure Pinkie’s thought this through.”
I sat there picking streamers off my face as I tried to process what had just happened.
“Happy cave warming party,” Alex said, walking beside Big Mac as he pulled a wagonload of iron into my cave.
“This is even more insane than Drakkar Heartgourger,” I muttered to myself.
“Who’s that?” Steelskin sat next to me, staring up in curiosity.
“Well, I was taking a nap after being in a new reality for a couple weeks, when a paladin came striding in with what he described as a ‘smiley face’ emblazoned on his breastplate and printed on a flag hanging from his lance.”
I noticed Alex bring a hand up to his face, but the ponies looked at me with confusion.
“It looks something like this.” I used a talon to draw a circle with stylized eyes and smile in the floor of the cave. “It is usually colored yellow with the eyes and mouth being black.”
“The paladin greeted me with ‘It has come to my attention, dragon, that you are unhappy. Happiness is mandated by law in this land.”
“I decided to play along and said ‘Oh, you wish to make me happy? Then stand right here.’ I proceeded to draw an X in the floor.”
“Why?” The ponies looked surprised at Steelskin’s question.
“He asked the same thing.” I brought my talon down on the smiley face and ground the sand beneath my claw with a vicious smile on my face.
“That was my answer.” My smile melted as I saw the ponies squirm.
“I was only threatening, I did not actually do it,” I said, trying to mollify them after my mistake.
“Well, how about we get on with the cave warming gifts,” Alex said. “Mine’s an extra half pallet of iron, along with the two pallets I promised before.”
“Mine’s cupcakes,” an unusually restrained Pinkie Pie added. “The grey ones are my ‘special’ ones just for you, and the rainbow ones are for anypony who likes metal and gems.” She followed this up with a wink.
Pony after pony brought their gifts forward until the crowd started getting to me.
I walked out of my cave and drank in the afternoon air as the ponies set to work on the refreshments.
“You know, it’s bad form to leave a party in your honor.” Emerald came sauntering out of my cave, giving me a look of disdain.
There was that smell again. I noticed that mixed into the scents were those of a female dragon, then quickly noticed that all of the pheromones were of a similar nature.
“So, little pony,” I asked with a grin. “Why is it that you smell like the lust of a thousand species?”
"What?" Emerald stared at me with his mouth wide open.
"Your scent. You exude the scent of a thousand different animals in heat all at once."
"...Sorry. I bought this shampoo for my coat.” I found it quite amusing how flustered he was becoming as he started the inevitable lies.
“Y-You see, I was in a rush and grabbed a perfumed version that was made for mares.”
I stared at him with a smirk.
“The stupid stuff is designed to interact with a mare’s sweat to... alchemize into pheromones, but due to me being a stallion, the base reagent oxidized randomly producing...”
His jaw kept moving, but it was obvious his brain shut down.
“Hey Tallic, Emerald, what’s up?” Alex sauntered out of my cave.
“We were just discussing Emerald’s choice of shampoos.” I sat back and waited with amusement to see how the lies would pan out.
Sadly, the moment was ruined by Matt accompanying a group of hatchlings up to my cave.
"So... how many got hurt?"
Apparently Matt was a better judge of how dragons would respond to a surprise than the ponies.
"None of them, apparently a cannon firing party decorations is able to stop a charging dragon better than one would expect."
"Well damn, I owe Lyra a back massage... I don't suppose you could just give one a sprained ankle?"
I decided to play along with this.
"Perhaps you would volunteer?"
"If it'll get me out of having to listen to Lyra moan like she's in heat... I'll consider it."
I stared at him, trying to understand what he was saying.
“I assume this means you had a bet with said female?”
"Dude, any other pony wouldn't be so bad, but as much as me and Lyra get along, when it comes to my hands she can get a little... scary."
"Alex... why can't you do that to me?" Alex’s rainbow haired wife was looking at us from the cave mouth.
“Because you don't ask.”
Her eyes narrowed at that response. "Excuse us. Scoots?” She turned her gaze to the pegasus filly that came up with Matt. “You're staying at Applejacks's or Rarity's tonight. Don't care which, just do it.”
Scootaloo and two other fillies gave a cheer and excitedly started making plans.
“Mr Roberts, consider yourself requested," his wife whispered.
“Greetings, Oté. Are you here to purchase more of our unique wares?” Several cloaked and hooded ponies gathered to meet the newcomer. Their muzzles were the only part of their body visible and those were painted brown. The black cloaks covered them down to their hooves and brushed the ground, hiding even their hooves. The only color was an orangey yellow circle with eight arrows radiating out from it. This was positioned on their flank where their cutie marks would be.
“Yes, my research shows that my most recent target is weak against electricity, and I will need something long and sharp enough to pierce hardened steel,” the newcomer answered.
“Well, we have this little device.” A unicorn levitated over a small rectangular box in a pink glow.
“It is a recent acquisition from a reality filled with bipeds. The creatures who made it call it a ‘taser’ and use it often to incapacitate their own kind.”
“How large are these creatures?”
“Taller than us, but frailer and lighter. While lacking in strength, they have a cunning that would likely amuse our lord. As well as a cleverness for making some of the most wonderful horrors we have seen in our scrying.”
“I am unsure of the effectiveness of that against my target. It is... on the larger size, so I expect to need something with the ability to cause... a bit more... damage.”
It was three days after the ‘cave warming party’ and I was sitting outside the schoolyard watching Steel and his friends play. Trace had finished my security system the next day and Steelskin was also released from the hospital and was back living at the orphanage. I had just gotten news from Twilight that Miss Sweetheart had given up on her delaying tactics and had grudgingly accepted my request to be Steelskin’s 'big brother'.
I caught a whiff of pony from behind me.
Turning my head, I saw a cream colored earth pony and light green unicorn sitting in some shrubbery. They were wearing helmets with branches taped to the top, but their entire forequarters were sticking out of the top of the too-small bush.
“The subject seems to be guarding his charge from his vantage point above the playground,” The earth pony dictated to her unicorn accomplice.
“What do you ponies think you are doing?” I growled at them.
“Eep!” Both of them ducked down into the bush, pushing their hindquarters out the back.
Why do creatures refuse to talk to me? Oh yes, I am a big scary dragon that eats them for dinner.
“Just get out of there. I would be glad to answer any questions you might have, but I find spying to be highly annoying,” I said, suppressing my natural desire to squish the two stalkers.
“H-how could you see us?” The unicorn asked as they nervously extracted themselves from the shrub.
I stared at them in utter confusion. Did they really think that was a decent camouflage?
“Are you telling me that you were properly hidden?”
“Of course! This is top of the line military issue and is the best in Equestria,” The green one replied.
“I told you dragons have better senses than humans,” The cream one whispered to her friend.
“You have a branch stuck to a helmet.” I shook my head, trying to figure out if I were dreaming or hallucinating.
They stared at me for a minute before climbing out of the bushes.
“Greetings, ponies, I am Tallic. Who might you be?” I said, hoping to get them to stop acting like stalkers.
“I’m Bon Bon, and this is Lyra,” The cream colored one said.
“It is a pleasure to meet you. Now please tell me, do you really consider that” I pointed to their helmets. “Proper camouflage?” I asked incredulously.
“Yes it is. I have been using this military grade equipment for years and nopony has yet been able to notice me,” Lyra replied indignantly.
This is just too much. I lost my battle to stay respectful and plucked a bush up by the roots.
“Are you telling me that the height of camouflage technology is putting a branch on your head?” With that, I placed the shrub on my head.
“Am I invisible now?” I asked sarcastically.
The crazy ponies startled and looked around everywhere.
“Dragon? Where did you go?” The one called Bon Bon called out.
I let out a deep rolling laugh. Their joke was quite comical and I was prepared to offer them the right to visit me any time due to their impressive sense of humor.
They jumped a full body length into the air at the sound of my laugh.
“You cannot be serious,” I stated.
Their response was to look around even more frantically.
The smell of their fear finally convinced me that it was not an act and I removed the camouflage from my head.
I was walking down the street, hoping to find some of the crusaders. After school, I found out Miss Sweetheart finally gave Tallic permission to be my big brother and I wanted to spread the news. Sadly, she’s also reminded Rocky and the other kids that they’re not allowed to hang around with Tallic.
”Get outta my head, you narwhal!” I heard an angry stallion yelling.
Narwhal
~~~
“Why can’t earth ponies do cool stuff like flying and magic?” I said as I hugged mom.
“Why do you say that, hon?” She whispered, stroking my mane with a wing.
“Golden Star called me a mud pony and said we’re useless in a hoofball match.” I sniffed back my tears. “She said we only have mud ponies because the rules say we have to.”
“That brat!” My dad growled. “If I had a say, I’d replace all the narwhals with earth ponies and we’d kick every team’s flank!”
“Toughstuff! I cannot believe you of all ponies would be so tribist!” Mom’s voice was full to the brim with outrage. “I am ashamed of you. You’re as bad as them! We need to teach our son that nopony is better than anypony else.”
Turning to me, she went back to a gentle voice. “I understand how you must feel. Earth ponies tend to be looked down on because of those things you mentioned, but what they don’t know is that earth ponies have been given a stronger magic than unicorns and pegasi combined. What you lack in flashiness is more than made up for with your strength, durability, and a connection to the earth that even the scientists at Canterlot have yet to fully understand, or even,” Mom’s voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper, “find the limits of.”
“Ahem?” Dad looked at mom with a grin. “What were you just saying? Just because you’re a pegasus doesn’t mean you can go putting earth ponies above everypony else. I myself would give up most of my earth pony magic to have your pegasus abilities.” He tried to adopt a serious voice, but he couldn’t quite wipe the grin off his face.
~~~
I came around the corner to see a pegasus stallion a couple years older than me screaming at Sapphire.
He had Sapphire backed up against a wall and she was shaking in fright. The stallion was almost twice as big as me. I looked around for somepony who could rescue her.
Nopony. Not one stallion nearby.
I looked down at the ground in despair and noticed the chestplate Tallic gave me sitting on my chest.
“You freaky bucking narwhal with your freaky bucking magic! Talk normally and get the buck out of my bucking head!”
I looked back at my cutie mark.
Remember, defending others is the most rewarding of all actions. My dad’s words rang in my head.
The feel of them holding me during the train crash came suddenly to my mind, followed by the feel of my hooves pushing Scootaloo and Rocky out of the way.
You know, that tree hurt me a whole lot more than anything that pegasus ever could do.
“Yo, featherduster!” I sauntered up to him, pushing aside the fear of the beating I’d most likely face. “Why not pick on a mudpony!”
“Get outta here, my beef’s with this narwhal.” He snarled.
“No? Then how ‘bout a half-wing? My mom left Cloudsdale to be with a dirty mudpony.” I sneered at him, desperately hoping that Sapphire would take the opportunity and run. “And I’m his colt through and through.”
He responded by cuffing me across the jaw. I was knocked back pretty bad, but was surprised at how little it hurt. Meanwhile, Sapphire was still cowering against the side of the building.
He turned back to Sapphire.
“You’ll have to try harder than that.” I set myself, getting ready for him to turn.
Finally, he decided I was a threat. He turned towards me, rose up, and got a flying start to stomp me into the pavement. I waited for him to get close and tried to turn and buck him in the face, but I waited just a little too long. He got me in the side as my legs flew through empty air. Satisfied that I wasn’t likely to get up from that, he turned back to Sapphire, who was still frozen in place.
This time, I was going to try stealth. I dusted myself off quickly and snuck up behind him, hoping to buck him in the head as he turned to face me, but he noticed Sapphire looking at me before I got close enough.
He caught me with both rear hooves to my face, then spun around, grabbed my head, and proceeded to bash it against the cobblestone street.
I flailed my legs trying to catch a piece of him and knock his hooves off my head, but his longer legs meant I couldn’t even come close. I hoped Sapphire had finally broken free of her freeze, but was afraid to look in case he’d notice and remember he was still angry with her.
Suddenly, I heard Tallic roar. The pegasus let go and I saw Tallic land almost on top of me. The pegasus was stumbling backward and flapping crazily, tripping over his hooves and wings in his desperate attempt to run away. I looked over and saw Sapphire watching his panicked flight with a look of awe.
She realized what happened and ran over to me as I was picking myself up off the street and taking stock of my injuries.
You were awesome! Thanks so much for protecting me.
Sapphire nuzzled up against me in gratitude, and that snapped me out of my reverie.
I understand now! I thought to myself.
I was ecstatic, I was barely even hurt! I had a bruise on my jaw and my head hurt a little from getting bashed against the street, but I didn’t feel anything from the aerial attack.
“Hey, Saph, go get the CMC together, have them meet me at the clubhouse, I was so wrong about my cutie mark!”
I rubbed my hoof along my foreleg absentmindedly.
It felt prickly and hard. Looking down, I saw scales shimmering along the length of my leg.
I looked up at Tallic in excited confusion.
“Scales of the Iron Dragon,” Tallic responded.
“How?” I asked after finally getting my mouth to work properly.
“You were so badly injured that they had little hope of your recovery, so I decided to give you a test.”
My mind whirled as everything started fitting into place. Finally, I looked into his eyes and said “The scale?”
“Yes,” He smiled at me proudly. “I poured magical energy into it so that if you resonated properly, you would be able to heal yourself... and more.”
He suddenly grew serious. “Go to your friends now, and tomorrow I need to teach you how to fight properly. That pegasus should not have been a match for you.”
I sauntered down the middle of the main street in Ponyville with the shrub perched on my head.
I cannot believe that none of the ponies notice me.
“Nice camouflage, Tallic.” I looked to find Pinkie Pie grinning at me.
Of course that one can see me.
“You know, you might want to put that in a pot rather than leave the dirt falling all over your head.” I chuckled at her parting words as she turned down a side street.
A little way further on, I heard voices.
“How ‘bout a halfwing?” From the way Steelskin said that, I could only assume it was an insult.
I quietly crept close so I could see what was going on.
It was almost comical. Steelskin was going up against a pegasus at least a head taller than him. He was also getting his tail handed to him. I inwardly groaned at every attempt he made to hit the pegasus.
I will have to teach him how to fight.
Finally, the fight was over and I was slightly concerned at how hard the pegasus was smashing his head against the cobblestones.
I launched myself into the air and landed on top of Steelskin’s prone body, scaring the pegasus off.
A unicorn filly that smelled like she was related to Emerald ran up to Steelskin, obviously enamoured with him.
He obviously had something important to tell his friends since he sent her to gather the other hatchlings, so I told him to meet me tomorrow. I was glad that this was the last day of school for the week, so I should be able to have most of the morning to correct some of his more egregious mistakes.
I decided to seek out either Alex or Matt and see what they knew about pony fighting styles. I would prefer to ask a pony, but from what I gathered, there was no one in this town with a decent fighting mindset apart from the humans.
I started galloping towards the library.
Library? Why would I be going there? I should go to their clubhouse.
No, I don’t know why, but I knew Sapphire wanted me to meet her at the library.
I took a moment to catch my breath as I sat on Twilight Sparkle’s doorstep. I heard familiar voices inside as I reached my hoof up to knock. The scales had disappeared, but my coat was shinier than I remembered it.
“Hey, Steelskin, come on in, Sapphire said you were coming.” Spike opened the door and ushered me inside before I even had the chance to knock.
There’s my knight in shining armor. Sapphire ran up to me and wrapped her forelegs around my neck. I already told them about how you chased away that pegasus bully.
“But I didn’t chase him away, Tallic did. All I did was distract him so you could get away.” I argued. “He actually kicked my flank quite thoroughly.”
“Excuse me? I’d rather you not use that kind of language here.” Twilight said with a disapproving frown. “Oh, no! Your chestplate is broken!”
I looked down to see a crack in the top right of my chestplate.
“Hey! That crack looks just like the one on your cutie mark!” Sweetie Belle pointed at my cutie mark. “Hey, your chestplate and cutie mark are exactly the same.”
“Is that what you meant when ya said you were wrong about your cutie mark? Is it a chestplate and not a shield?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Oh, yeah, it is my chestplate.” I said as her question distracted me. “Wait, no, that’s not what I meant. I didn’t even notice that till you guys saw it. What I wanted to tell you is what I realized after I lost the fight with that pegasus-”
“Pffth! How can you have lost if you’re not even beat up? All I see is a bruise on your cheek.” Scootaloo said as she smiled at me. Everypony else nodded in agreement.
Well, I think they did, I wasn’t really looking at them.
Boy is Scootaloo pretty...
Tell them how you saved me. Sapphire was looking kinda annoyed.
“Oh. Well, Apparently, Tallic helped me get even tougher so all those hits I took barely even hurt.” I smiled nervously. “But that wasn’t my special talent, just something that helped me with it. What my cutie mark means is...” I remembered back to the train ride as I recited my dad’s words.
”Defending others is the most rewarding of all actions.”
Just saying it filled me with quiet strength.
I found Alex working on a teleport pad near the town’s theatre.
“Greetings, Alex.”
“Hey there, Tallic, how goes?”
“Both I and Steelskin are well, though Steel did have a little dust up a few moments ago.”
“Oh?” Alex looked at me with concern.
“Yes, he was defending a little filly against a pegasus larger than himself. It is actually why I have come to see you today.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sweetie Belle looked at me in confusion.
I sat there, trying to figure out another way to say it. I also noticed Fei sitting off near the back with a smile that told me she knew exactly what I meant.
The hoofball game when I stopped that tackle...
My mom’s look after the train wreck when she knew I wa safe...
Seeing Scootaloo and Rocky safely out of the way when the tree fell...
That’s it!
I took a deep breath as a smile filled my face.
“Okay... it means that my special talent is protecting others. It’s the most important thing to me and...”
I took a moment to savor the strength and courage I was feeling just thinking about what I was about to say.
“I have the strength to do it.”
I was really starting to get tired of how Saph kept staring at me in adoration.
Okay, why did she get all pouty all of a sudden? I was sure I kept a smile on my face.
“So, what’s the crack mean?” Twilight Sparkle sat looking at me with a knowing smile.
I smiled at the set up.
“It means that I don’t mind getting hurt a little if it means my friends stay safe.”
I noticed Fei had a smug look on her face.
“What?”
"I was wondering when you'd figure it out," Fei said, her smile never leaving her face.
I went from annoyance to confusion. “What?”
She just shrugged, "Wasn't that hard to figure out, to be both the sole survivor in a wreck, and manage to live through getting crushed by a tree, but your borderline insane level of devotion to protecting those you care about made it easy to find the answer."
“You sound like an adult.”
Fei just sat back and smiled irritatingly.
As I thought about my cutie mark, I got a little sad again... I also remembered something my dad told me.
“Y’know, don’t worry too much about getting your cutie marks. My dad told me that the reason some ponies get their cutie marks late is because what they’re best at is so big that it’s not something foals like us have a chance to do.” I looked down at the ground to try to keep them from seeing the tears in my eyes. “Basically, the later you get your cutie mark, the more important your special talent is.”
I secretly hoped none of them remembered I had gotten mine almost a year early.
Dear Princess Luna,
I received the message of your dream loud and clear, but I find it offensive that you would even suggest that I of all ponies should accept a dragon as a caregiver of any kind for a colt. You know for a fact that the very first orphans I cared for had their parents crushed to death by a couple of brawling dragons. You have seen my nightmares and witnessed through my eyes how the dragons never even noticed or cared about the lives they ended.
After having a bit of a chat with Alex about potential help with Steelskin’s combat training, I settled in for a nap. I mulled over the implications of human fighting styles adapted to ponies, but decided it would probably work. They had, after all, adapted admirably to human style tools. There was also the wildcard of this ‘Miss Butterscotch’.
I closed my eyes and scanned through my memories for interesting personages.
Warhorses? No, they must compensate for a rider.
Centaurs? No, they rely too heavily on conventional weapons.
Wolverine? Skilled and bestial fighter, but Steel will be more of a basher while he was a slasher.
Xavier? He would have known how to train a pony, but none of the students I saw were quadrupeds. Unless a few were shapeshifters and did not reveal their nature to me... but still, no combat training that I was able to witness.
Deathlok? Too angsty and too much of a pacifist. Also, not a quadruped.
The Lion? If only he had an opponent that was even remotely a chance against him, I would have had something to go on. Sadly, his awakened Beasts had little to fight against when I was there.
Optimus? That is the attitude I wish to impart, but sadly, his alternate form was noncombat.
Predaking? Though he was an enemy, we fought for quite a while. Sadly, he primarily relied on his claws and tail.
Too bad The Grey One does not travel between realities. He would probably find some halfling or other weak creature that would hold the key to success despite himself. I am still amazed how he dealt with my ‘cousin’.
Sadly, I think I will have to rely on the resources I have here.
I drifted off to sleep while remembering various fights I had witnessed or been part of.
I sat breathing heavily, my coat soaked with sweat.
I just can’t deal with these nightmares anymore.
I could only think of one person who I’d feel safe with. I had wanted to see him since I first woke up, but I knew we’d both be in trouble if I ran away.
I looked over at Rocky.
My dad’s face staring at me with lifeless eyes.
Buck it.
I climbed out of bed and crept as carefully as I could to the door. As I crept down the hallway, I thought I heard hoofsteps following me.
Finally, I was out in the night air, staring up at Luna’s moon. I turned myself towards his cave and began my long trek.
I was woken not too long before daybreak by the smell of pony.
Specifically, Steelskin. He trotted into my cave in the dead of night.
“Greetings little one, how are you doing?”
“I’m fine...” He paused for a moment and reconsidered. “No I’m not, I... I feel like my mom’s vase I broke.. actually more of shattered... and tried to glue back together... but the glue wouldn’t hold it together...” Steelskin’s eyes started watering and a tremor crept into his voice.
“The stupid thing kept sagging anywhere I let go with my hoof... Why couldn’t I hold it together! ...I tried so hard, but every time I let go to straighten another side, it would start sagging all over again... finally the thing just collapsed in a wet pile...”
Almost on cue, he sagged to the floor in a very convincing portrayal of the vase he was describing.
He sat, crying and hiccupping for several minutes as I nuzzled him and hummed my lullabye.
“I-I’m such a wimp...” He sniffled and tried to get himself under control. “A stallion shouldn’t cry like this... A stallion wouldn’t get his plot handed to him like I did...”
I sat, trying to figure out how to respond to this obvious fallacy.
“...Tallic, can I stay with you tonight?”
I sat wishing I did not have to make this decision. I had been told I could see him after school for two hours each weekday and late morning to early afternoon on weekends. I was told pointedly that I would have to get permission to have him stay past nightfall, much less having him sleep in my dwelling.
That said, there was no way I would be able to bring myself to turn him away.
“It is not the best time for you to visit me. I have only just been given permission to be your ‘big brother’ and have not been given permission for this ‘sleepover’. This may lead to problems.”
I saw him deflate and start to turn around.
“But I deem it too dangerous at this time of night to send you away.”
I could see him thinking this through before a smile lit up his face and he tackled my snout in a bear hug.
“Thank you so much.” He sniffed. “I just can’t deal with the nightmares anymore. I’m afraid to go to sleep ‘cause I’ll just have to see....” his voice trailed off.
“Would you like me to tell you a story?” I asked, saving him from having to relive it yet again.
He settled down facing me on the stone floor and tried to look happy.
“One of my jumps landed me on a planet made completely of metal where living intelligent robots...” I thought for a minute as to how to describe robots to a primitive culture as Steelskin looked at me with curiosity.
“Imagine mechanical golems that are fully alive and aware” I continued.
“I was reading a story like that! Do they have the three laws of golemics?” he asked excitedly.
Golemics... I sat for a moment before remembering their ‘adjustments’ to the human cultures I knew about.
“Ah, yes, the laws of... golemics... A reality I visited had what most of the highly technological realities called ‘robots’ that followed the laws of robotics. Many would jump in front of my attacks due to-”
“A golem cannot harm a pony or, through inaction, allow a pony to come to harm! I can’t believe those stories were true!”
I chuckled at his interruption. “Yes, though they said ‘robot’ and ‘human’ respectively.”
“Well, the story I was going to tell you did not have these laws. These robots were not created by humans and believed themselves to have evolved through natural means. Furthermore-”
“What did you mean by ‘technological’? Is that like trains and gramophones?”
“Well, yes, most non-magical realities consider that to be low technology. I assume from Matt’s armor and Alex’s laptop that they would be able to explain electricity and possibly transistors, which are the foundation of the next jump in technology, then would come atomics and possibly positronics or antimatter, depending on which way physical laws branch out. At that point, there is usually little difference between high technology and magical technology.”
Steelskin’s eyes glazed over, so I brought the story back on track, telling of my meeting with Optimus on the newly restored Cybertron and my fight with the self styled ‘Predaking’ when he believed I was a threat to his rule of the re-reestablished race.
Listening to him made me feel a little better and my mind started to wander.
“Hey Tallic, how would you get a girl to notice you?”
He facehoofed... or would that be faceclawed? I felt vaguely stupid, but hoped he’d explain.
“You do realize dragons and ponies have almost nothing in common when it comes to culture, right?” He waited a moment to let that sink in and I nodded. “Okay, because we pride ourselves on strength and cunning, and because we hunt and eat meat, we need to prove that to a potential mate.”
I nodded in agreement and waited for him to continue.
“...So, what we dragons do is drag as vicious and dangerous a monster as we can to the mouth of our intended’s cave. A weak monster would show we are not brave and a crippled monster would show that it was too tough for us to bring unhobbled.”
His smile widened as he paused in thought.
“If there were some dragoness that caught my eye, I would seek out a beast I saw in the forest on the first night I arrived. It was some type of ursan creature-that would be bear like. It had saber teeth and a body of stellar matter.”
I sat there, stunned. Was he talking about an ursa? I had seen pictures of an ursa minor and the only thing it didn’t have was the teeth. Maybe only the ursa majors had them?
“It would be too big for me to carry, so I would harry it over to her cave, then trumpet my arrival. If she approved, she would attempt to kill and eat it. If it were too weak, she would kill it quickly and leave it uneaten, possibly attacking me out of annoyance.
I felt Tallic tense up. A minute later, a voice called out.
“Hi, Tallic, just checking on Steelskin. Is he alright?”
“Yes, Alex, he is fine. He was having nightmares, and while I do not condone him making the trip in the dead of night, I did not think it wise to send him back.”
“Glad to hear it, may we come in?”
Tallic tossed four gems through the magical barrier at the entrance. Alex, Twilight Sparkle, and Trace walked in and Trace tossed one back.
“Frost can’t enter, I made a slight miscalculation when making the barrier.”
I sat there so confused I stopped being worried about them telling me I couldn’t stay.
“Well, Miss Sweetheart told me to bring him back, but,” Alex winked at me before continuing “I told her I was no match for a dragon and wouldn’t do anything that would annoy you.”
Tallic chuckled. “What you are saying is that all I need to say is ‘I would prefer you leave him with me’ and you would leave empty handed?”
“Well, I do sympathize with Miss Sweetheart, so I’d prefer to stay and chat so she doesn’t have to think Steelskin is alone with a ‘dangerous beast.” He rolled his eyes at this. “Would you mind if we hung out till morning? Perfect way to get to know each other better.”
“In that case, take a seat,” Tallic said with a chuckle.
“Hey, Frost,” Trace called out, “Let Miss Sweetheart know that Steel’s fine and we’ll be keeping him company till morning.”
“So, how you doing, Steelskin?” Alex looked at me kindly and ruffled my mane.
“I’m doing okay, Mister Dash.” This was greeted by laughter from everypony in the cave.
“We humans usually take the male’s last name when getting married.” Everypony was looking at Alex like he was the one that did something silly.
“We ended up deciding to keep our names unchanged.”
“Ah...”
I looked over at Tallic.
“What about dragons?”
Tallic sat there for a while before responding. “Do you remember when I said dragons have nothing in common with your culture? That includes marriage. Dragons will stay as a mated pair if they find each other mutually beneficial, but there are no commitments made and they usually do not tell the other when they have gotten sick of their company and leave.”
I noticed my mouth was hanging open and quickly shut it.
“Oh... I’m glad ponies aren’t like that...” I couldn’t even imagine one of my parents just up and leaving like that.
“Remember that I am a jumper, little Steelskin. I will likely be leaving this world in about ten years.”
That hit me hard. I knew he was a jumper, but hadn’t thought about how he’d be leaving me like that.
“So, Tallic, how long do your jumps usually last?” Alex quickly jumped into the conversation.
“Most last ten years. I have had one that only lasted five and another that lasted twenty.”
“Don’t think you’ll need to worry about that, then. My longest jump was twenty years, and from my calculations, I’ll be here for at least sixty. Also, Matt’s armor calculated that he’d be here over 60 years as well and he’s never stayed for more than fourteen months.”
“So, you’re saying he’ll probably be here at least that long?” My hopes started to rise.
“Hey guys,” Matt said from just outside the rune barrier. “Everyone okay here? Miss Sweetheart had a bit of a meltdown when Frost told her you were staying here and begged me to make sure you were all still alive.” I could almost see him roll his eyes through the blank faceplate of his armor.
“The sun is starting to rise,” Tallic said. “Does anyone need sleep, or would you four be willing to help me train Steelskin for when he decides again to pick a fight with someone twice his size?”
Despite his light tone, I was still mortified.
“I-I was just trying to defend Sapphire...”
“Don’t worry,” Alex said, ruffling my mane and smiling. “Tallic was commenting on you biting off more than you can chew.” He turned to Tallic. “I’m game.”
“Same here,” Trace, Twilight, and Matt agreed.
I was relieved to hear that no one wanted to sleep. I was still uncomfortable with the knight, and did not want a reason for him to have access to my cave.
I grabbed a bit of iron for myself and Steelskin and we exited the cave.
Trace and Alex gave me back the runestones. I was tempted to tell them to keep them since Trace set up the barrier and Alex had left me without the ability to doubt his motivations. I looked at Matt and decided that I would give them back some other time.
I hoped Matt did not notice that Twilight held onto hers.
“Walk or fly?”
“Fly,” Was Steelskin’s immediate reply.
The others sat looking at each other for a while before Matt replied.
“Think I’ll be more comfortable walking,” Matt replied.
“Think I’ll keep Matt company,” the other three added.
Steelskin hopped up on my back expectantly, but I explained to him that we should be polite and stay together and passed him up a bit of iron before beginning the trek.
“The first thing you need to know about dragon slayer magic is that we are able to mix both internal and external magics. You pull the magic of the earth and air into you, force it into metallic properties, then send it out to do your bidding,” Tallic stated as we walked towards Ponyville.
“Wait,” I interrupted. “What’s this about forcing magic? Dad said we invite the magic in and ask it to do what we want. Like, if we want extra traction, we open up our hooves and think ‘Please hold tight’. He said if you practice enough you can climb even a steep mountain without slipping.”
I noticed Twilight Sparkle writing in a notebook.
“So, you are saying that you already have experience using external magic?”
“Yep, ponies are extrinsic magic users,” Trace commented. “They have special glands that metabolize the magical field we are immersed in, so you might want to start either with what he already knows or teach him about intrinsic magic. They’ve got it, but it’s underdeveloped due to how much magic surrounds us here.”
They continued talking about dragon, human, and pony magic as they walked. I decided to just sit and listen since, while I did learn a little about magic in school, it was mostly COMOL runes and Grace Harpmare’s biography.
“So, how many people have you trained in dragon slayer magic?” Matt surprised us by speaking up.
“Steelskin will be the third. Five realities ago I took in a runaway by the name of George. The first one was in my home reality and was named Gajeel.”
”I knew it!” Pinkie Pie’s voice rang out from the trees to our left.
Tallic jumped almost enough to knock me off his back and looked around in a panic.
We reached the field beside Ponyville just as I finally was able to settle my nerves after that brush with pink. Alex excused himself to go off and get us all some breakfast.
“So, tell me what you know about fighting so far,” I said, turning to Steelskin.
“Well, my dad said the best way to deal with pegasi is to wait for them to try and dive bomb you...” His eyes defocused as he tried to remember. “Set you forehooves one in front of the other, so that you can twist your hindquarters around and catch them in a buck to the chest or shoulder... Earth ponies are mostly a battle of speed and agility. You’re more likely to get a quick jab in with your forehooves than a strong buck... Unicorns are much trickier. If they have you in their telekinesis, you need to check your legs to see if they’re holding them or your barrel. If they have your legs, you want to do quick random spasms to get them to break their concentration or wear them out.”
His face showed that he was remembering something painful.
“I made a mistake with that, once.” He looked embarrassed as he continued. “I had seen my dad use that against a mugger in Canterlot once and tried it against a unicorn bully that had grabbed me. Dad had to explain to me afterwards that if they grab your barrel and not your legs, you want to twist your body around to hit any walls with your legs. That way you can jump at them... never got a chance to learn how to twist myself in midair, though.”
I found myself getting curious. I was reminded of what Twilight Sparkle had done to me and neither of these seemed accurate.
“Is there something that is more internal that a unicorn can do?”
Twilight drew in a breath to answer me, but Steelskin jumped in excitedly.
“Yeah, a neural block keeps signals from getting to the muscles. Dad said you had to just force yourself through that. Enough willpower and your commands will break through the block.”
Twilight shut her mouth with a pleasantly surprised smile.
Steelskin got a little shaky.
“Dad said a unicorn can either block all signals, which is simpler, but can be dangerous, or she can block just the signals to the muscles of the legs. It takes far less magic, but she needs to have almost perfect control.”
Now that sounds like what I experienced.
Alex interrupted our chat with a bushel of apples, a basket of eggs, and strips of meat he called ‘bacon’.
Trace quickly set up a fire and Alex pulled a frying pan out of his satchel, quickly cooking the meat into crispy shreds. Matt removed his helmet for the first time ever in my presence. He looked exactly as I expected.
Steelskin looked both disturbed and intrigued by this human food.
“Sorry, Steel, it’s salted, can’t let you try some,” Matt quipped.
Steelskin snickered at this. I wondered whether it was due to the silliness of him eating meat or the fact that they were eating something that was inebriating this early in the morning.
Steelskin suddenly rose into the air, surrounded by Twilight’s magic and Trace tossed him an apple. He was so surprised, the first apple bounced off his head.
“Don’t let AJ see you playing with those,” Alex said with a chuckle.
I was surprised at how easily the four of them made Steel’s training into a game.
We spent the morning doing all sorts of drills till I was exhausted and we broke for lunch.
Everypony decided we should go into town for a bite to eat and Tallic plucked up a bush and put it on his head!
Once it was on, he suddenly wasn’t quite there... I’m not really sure how to describe it, but it was like I didn’t want to believe that there was a dragon with a bush on his head.
“Hey, Tallic, what’s up with the bush?” Matt was staring at him in bewilderment.
“Yesterday, I had a little chat with a couple of mares who showed me how this is cutting edge camouflage among ponies.”
“Yep. Lyra, the mint green unicorn with the lyre cutie mark, has been stalking us humans with branches taped to a helmet.”
“Yes, she and her friend Bon Bon were extolling the virtues of those helmets. I thought they were kidding until I uprooted a shrub and put it on my head. They panicked when the bush somehow made me completely invisible to them.”
Matt almost fell on his face. “Invisible? Are you honestly telling me a bush on your head makes you invisible to ponies?”
“Watch and see.”
I got curious too, so I started watching everypony we passed. It was like they were carefully avoiding looking at Tallic. Their eyes would just slide away from him as they greeted everypony else that was with me.
When we got to the restaurant, I saw Rainbow Dash and a butterscotch earth pony mare waiting for us.
“Isn’t Tallic gonna join us?” Rainbow Dash was scanning the horizon.
“I am,” Tallic replied, taking the bush off his head.
The two mares jumped as they stared at the now visible Tallic right in front of them.
“Pinkie is right, I need to get a potted plant for this,” Tallic said as he brushed dirt off his head. I saw a pink blur out of the corner of my eye.
“Hello, Steelskin and Tallic. My name is Miss Butterscotch and Alex has requested that I become your teacher.”
I wasn’t really comfortable with how she was looking at us, but everypony else seemed fine, so I tried to put it out of my mind.
I noticed the bush Tallic uprooted was now sitting in a pot stuck on a dragon sized helmet.
After putting Steelskin through an even heavier afternoon of training, we called it a day. As everyone was breaking off to their various homes, Steelskin finally got up the nerve to ask Alex something he’d been thinking about all day.
“Uhm... Mister Roberts? Th-That is the properly respectful way to address a human, right?” Steelskin did not wait for an answer before plowing ahead. “I really like Scootaloo, she’s a real nice filly and she’s kind and pretty and tough...”
Alex sat there, not liking what he thought he was about to hear.
“I don’t know if she likes me or not, but I really want to find out-and dad always said I should get permission from a filly’s father before asking her out-but I’m so worried you’ll be upset, I want to make sure you’re okay with it before I-”
The way you stood up and defended her the day the Diamond Dogs attacked, I would be honoured to have a fine gentle colt," he smiled and looked away for a moment. "That is the respectful way to address a colt, correct?"
Steelskin chuckled. “Normally, no, but it’s great coming from you... But what was that about Diamond Dogs?”
“Ah, nevermind, but I would like you to wait to start dating until Scoots gets her cutie mark.”
“Oh... I guess I can do that...” Steelskin’s gaze drifted off as he tried to figure out where to go from there.
“Still, I would not be opposed to you spending time with her as a friend. Plenty of time for dating in the future.”
“Okay, I know I can do that.” Steelskin trotted off to the orphanage with a bounce in his step.
“What Steelskin needs most from you is your company. Try to do stuff with him and make sure he knows you care about him. Also, don’t worry about answering his questions or telling him things, just focus on being a good listener,” Miss Introspective was explaining to Rocky and the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
“Oh, and if he says anything that makes you worried about him, come and tell me.”
After getting promises to do just that, she trotted off to see if there was somepony that could get Tallic’s attention.
I found Scootaloo, Rocky, and the rest of the crusaders at their clubhouse. They had this strange boardgame spread out on a table in front of them.
“Well, I guess I’ll just be an earth pony fighter... hey Steel, how’s it going?” Rocky glanced up from a scroll in front of him. “We’re trying a game Sweetie got, it’s called Oubliettes and Ogres.”
I had heard of it and thought it sounded interesting, but it was too geeky for the friends I used to have. It didn’t take much convincing to get me to make a character. Sweetie Belle hadn’t been a Game Master before, so we decided to skip the whole ‘meeting in a coffee shop’ thing and go straight to the oubliette.
I sat in my cave, contemplating recent events. I had told Steel the night before that he should seek out Miss Sweetheart if he was having trouble sleeping and told him he needed to spend some time with his friends and relax his mind, magic, and muscles after the day we put in.
I also thought about that new mare, Miss Butterscotch. While the style was obviously bipedal in origin, it was well crafted to pony physiology.
That mare is a wealth of knowledge and preparation. I will need to find a way of repaying Alex for most likely hiring her, as well as all else he has done for Steelskin.
I debated possible ways of payment and was mulling over a concept some more civilized humans I had spent time with had introduced me to. It was a reversal of an old dragon saying ‘punish it forward’. They had called it ‘pay it forward’ and instead of finding some hapless stranger to take your aggressions out on, you were encouraged to reward a random stranger for a good deed someone else did for you.
I resolved to ask Mac what things the town might need done that I could volunteer for. I drifted into an afternoon nap wondering where this benevolent nature came from.
“You enter the cavern to see a giant dr...” Sweetie Belle looked over at me in embarrassment. “Ursa major... sitting in the middle of the room.” She rolled her runestone, looked back at the rulebook. “It sees you. Roll for initiative.”
“Natural twenty!” Scootaloo pumped her hoof in victory. “Plus my dex gives me twenty-four.”
“Thirteen,” Apple Bloom said.
Fei looked at hers. “Nine”
Twenty-one. Saph let us know.
Rocky smiled. “Eighteen.”
I rolled mine and looked down. “Three,” I announced.
Sweetie Belle looked up from the paper she was writing on. “Okay, so Scootaloo’s human gets first go, followed by Sapphire’s unicorn, Rocky’s earth pony, Apple Bloom’s owlbear, the ursa, Fei’s warg, and Steel’s pegasus.”
“Awesome, my bard casts silent image to make a copy of Fei’s rogue,” Scootaloo said excitedly.
I awoke to a green filly whipping me with a sock.
I sat wondering if I were dreaming. I could not think of anything that surprised me more. Not even the sorcerer that accompanied the party without telling them that he had no usable spells for the mission.
The filly continued to hit me with the sock...
How did she get in here?
I cannot remember how long I sat there, trying to figure out how to react, but eventually I heard a call from my door.
“Excuse me, Mister Tallic? Is a green filly in there?” A cyborg female was standing at the entrance, just outside the barrier. “I was told my daughter was heading in this direction. By the way, my name is Eleanor.”
Yes, strangest reality yet.
“Yes there is, would you like to come in?” I tossed her a key rune and she walked in, facepalming at the sight of the little filly snarling and hitting me with said sock. I was mildly concerned for her face due to the force with which she accomplished this maneuver.
“Is this some sort of pony mating ritual? She seems to be too young for that, but by my egg, I cannot think of any other explanation.” I sat there, staring at the strange feral filly that just hit my shoulder with her interesting choice of weapon.
“Uhm... no... no it is not... apparently she heard something about delivering a dangerous beast to her beloved. Something about the more dangerous the better... I have no idea where the sock came from. I expect I’ll be apologizing to some annoyed mare.” Eleanor turned toward the filly and switched to the voice of maternal command. "Shining Lunar Aspect, what do you think you are doing?"
"'I'm gonna subdue the dragon so I can show Silver Spoon that I can take care of her." She hit me across the muzzle with her sock as she said this.
Eleanor’s hand, which was starting to loosen, was immediately back with full force.
"I dread to ask this,” She mumbled through her fingers, “but where did you get this idea?"
"I heard somepony” She paused to give me another whack, “saying something about that being a courtship thingy..."
I continued to ignore the filly’s attempts at an attack and decided to ask Eleanor for more information. “So, who would this beloved of hers be?”
“Spoony”
The green filly stopped assaulting me with the sock to glare death at her mother. “I told you not to call her that!”
Eleanor smirked, but gave no other indication that she had heard her daughter. “Grey filly, goes by the name of Silver Spoon. A large dog would probably be a decently fierce beast to her... if it were actually part of pony courtship.”
“What would be her response if the little one here successfully brought me to her?” A wonderful little joke was forming in my mind.
"Heh, I think that'd depend on what kind of warning she had. Sudden, I'd wager on pants wetting terror-if she wore pants. Forewarned, it'd come down to how you were acting. Nervous, but not terrified would be my guess. She's not as delicate as she seems from what I've seen."
I looked back to the little filly and grabbed the sock out of her hoof. “You should fill the sock with something. Rocks are usually a good idea.”
I motioned over to a corner where there was a pile of rocks and handed the sock back to her. She filled it up a little too full. I then held my head low enough for her to get a ‘good’ hit in and I dramatically fell down. I am pretty sure I even outdid Fluttershy’s faints.
She did a remarkable job hogtying me, though her choice of material was almost as laughable as her choice of weapon.
“Okay, you’ve defeated the ursa, what do you want to do?” Sweetie Belle asked.
Fei leaned back with a smile. “Let’s see what kind of hoard it had. We’ll probably get a lot of aluminum and a few magical items.”
“What? Fei... ursas don’t have hoards,” Rocky argued.
“My cleric will heal everypony,” I said.
Sweetie looked a little uncomfortable at first, but suddenly brightened. “Actually, the ursa wasn’t the original owner of the cave. The hoard belonged to a dragon the ursa drove out.”
“Can our next adventure be to try and find the dragon and give him back his hoard?” I felt a little silly, but was feeling bad for the dragon despite it being just a game and almost certainly a quick change by Sweetie.
“Uhm... I don’t think I’d do that good of a job making up my own adventure,” Sweetie replied, looking embarrassed.
“Can I try? I think I might be able to,” Fei volunteered.
I glanced over at Scootaloo and she was smiling at me!
I remembered what her dad said yesterday and I felt like this was the best day of my life.
All of a sudden, I felt anger and jealousy then my vision went all green for a second.
The cute little thing spent almost an hour trying to drag me out of my cave before she tied a rope around my neck, untied me, and got me to ‘wake up’.
“Come on, dragon, get moving or I’ll hit you again,” ‘Spect snarled.
I barely restrained bursting out into earth shaking laughter as I followed her out of my cave and down into ponyville. She kept tugging on the rope imperiously as I walked slowly, milking out this adventure for all it was worth.
Eleanor was not looking too amused. “Please, Tallic, don’t let Silver Spoon’s friends hear the nickname ‘Spoony’. She’d never live it down.”
“That will depend on my judgement of her character,” I responded.
Eleanor’s sigh told me that she did not have high hopes for that.
I stared at Sapphire with all the love in my heart. “You are so beautiful.”
I noticed Scootaloo out of the corner of my eye. She looked confused and hurt, but I couldn’t get over how wonderful Sapphire was.
“Sapphire, do ya wanna get a milkshake?” I asked dreamily.
Sure.
Her voice was like an alicorn. I could listen to it all day and all night.
“Yeah, let’s all get milkshakes.” Applebloom was looking at me strangely.
Sapphire and I looked over at Applebloom with a little irritation.
“Yeah, sure.” I turned my gaze back to Sapphire’s beauty as we walked out and took the path to Sugarcube Corner.
Eleanor and I spent most of the walk discussing the various realities that we had jumped to. I found it quite interesting that she was taken to various realities that were analogs of games she had played. She was interested in Cybertron and the prevalence of human populations in virtually all of our jumps. I assume she was looking for patterns.
When we got to Silver Spoon’s house, we were greeted by Miss Butterscotch.
“Tallic... Nice to... see you again.”
I bowed my muzzle, pulling little ‘Spect off balance. “Greetings to you, too, Miss Butterscotch. Thank you again for sharing your expertise yesterday. Shining Lunar Aspect here is wondering if Silver Spoon could come out to play.”
The little one seemed confused by this and was only able to respond with “Yeah, what he said.”
Miss Butterscotch took a few moments to process this before going off to call the little one’s friend.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?”
I was not sure if Eleanor was talking to me or to her daughter, so I decided to pretend I was not being questioned.
“Hi Spe...” The grey filly froze at the sight of me.
“Do you like him? I dragged him down from his cave for you.”
The poor thing just stood there, completely frozen in panic.
“‘Spect, honey, you’re scaring your friend. How about we let the dragon fly back to his cave now. I think you’ve proven your... bravery.” Eleanor glanced between her daughter and the poor filly I was scaring.
Just as I was about to speak, I smelled Steelskin... and mind control magic.
Steelskin trotted around the corner, following the unicorn filly that he had rescued the other day.
“Greetings, Steelskin,” I said, trying to keep my voice unconcerned.
“Oh, hi Tallic...” His gaze drifted back to the unicorn as if he already forgot that I was here.
The rest of his friends trotted around the corner looking concerned.
The smug look on the filly’s face pushed me over the edge much faster than normal.
”To your father! Now!”
I was pleased with how the little witch jumped.
Yes sir.
She quickly trotted off, followed by a magically drugged Steelskin. I took up point directly behind them until we got to her front door.
I glared at her while she mustered the courage to open the door and call for her father. I did not rush her because I was enjoying the mental pain she was feeling in anticipation of this meeting.
“Oh, hello hon... hello Stee...eelskin... Uh, hello Tallic.” Emerald was obviously seeing what I saw, and from his reaction, I could tell he knew how and why it happened.
“Explain.” I put every ounce of cold fury I was feeling into that word.
“Sapphire, release him right now and apologize.”
Sapphire, looking like she were about to be fed to me, touched her horn to Steelskin’s forehead, causing him to stumble backwards in confusion.
I’m really sorry Steelskin. I just wanted you to like me like you like Scootaloo... and I got jealous... and I didn’t mean to do it, it just happened.
Sapphire’s eyes filled with tears.
“You stupid dragon, I didn’t tell you you could leave! Come back or I’ll hit you some more!”
‘Spect lept up and hit me across the muzzle with her sock. I responded by slowly turning to face her and pulling the sock out of her grip.
“Not now. Go play with your friend.”
“Okay.” ‘Spect removed the licorice rope from my muzzle and trotted back towards the other filly’s house. “Thanks for playing along, Mister Tallic.”
“Hold on, ‘Spect. Please go tell Pinkie we need Bon’s best chocolates,” Her mother said.
I noticed all the ponies looking embarrassed and looking everywhere but at ‘Spect and I.
We met Tallic as we were walking...
Where were we going again?
Sapphire is so beautiful and clever.
I couldn’t think straight... Tallic wanted us to go to see her dad...
I wonder if he wants me to ask her dad if we can get married.
When we got there, everypony was talking and looking mad, but that was okay, because I could just sit there and look at her.
She surprised me when she turned to me and touched her horn to my head.
What was I thinking? I like Scootaloo, not Sapphire.
I stumbled back a step. Sapphire was apologizing to me for something, but I was too confused with what was going on to understand what she was saying. All I could get out of it all was that I was acting and thinking stupidly and it was her fault. When she was done, she turned and walked over and sat behind her dad, head down, tail between her legs, and crying.
“Hey, you okay? What happened?” Pretty much everypony was talking, so I don’t know who said it. Actually, I think they all said at least part of it while they were talking over each other.
I sat there for a moment, trying to get my thoughts straight. “Yeah, I think so...”
I noticed the strange human with blue glowing lines on his skin. He also had a metal arm and two metal legs that reminded me of automail limbs from some of the magic fiction stories I’ve read. He also had these two large bumps on his barrell.
I wonder if that’s where he keeps the power supply.
Suddenly, I was hit by a blinding headache and fell to my knees.
“Don’t worry, that’s just a headache from the mind control magic. ‘Spect is getting Pinkie to bring some chocolate, it’ll help with that.”
He lifted me to my hooves.
“You think you can stand? By the way, my name’s Eleanor.”
“Yes, thank you, Mister Eleanor.” Everypony broke into laughter.
I sat there, confused and hurt.
“I’m a girl,” He-I mean she said with a smile.
“Oh... Sorry, I didn’t know there were any female humans.” I sat there, mortified. I was just glad she didn’t slap me. I’ve seen a few mares get violent when somepony mistook them for stallions.
“No problem, I’ve had some missteps telling mares and stallions apart.” She smiled kindly.
“So, who got... Oh, Steelskin... I guess Saph’s grounded. Well, here’s Bon Bon’s mind control special.” She passed me five chocolate balls.
Through the haze of pain, I noticed Alex and Matt behind a strangely calm Pinkie Pie.
“How much do I owe you?” Eleanor was opening a half-saddlebag.
“Nothing. There’s a special tab set up for the orphans and this sort of situation is completely covered under the ‘no payment necessary’ clause.”
I popped one of the chocolates into my mouth.
Bliss.
The headache faded to the point where I forgot about it as the chocolate melted over my tongue.
Actually, the world itself faded as the chocolate melted over my tongue. I had never tasted chocolate like this before. It was the perfect balance of sweet and bitter with hints of some spices or cinnamon or something.
“Steel? You okay?”
I realized I had been sitting there with my eyes closed and a giant smile on my face. I opened my eyes to see Applebloom looking at me with concern.
“Yeah,” I said just before tossing the next piece into my mouth. I still had the headache, but didn’t care very much. I had my friends who cared about me, Tallic, who I’m pretty sure was the one who got whatever happened to me dealt with, and this chocolate.
“Eat up, you should eat all five. I suggest chowing down on all but the last.”
I nodded at Eleanor and proceeded to eat the next two much faster than I wanted to.
I got a general idea over the next hour of conversation that Sapphire’s magic had started coming in and she had a crush on me that sparked an unintentional love spell. I was kinda angry that she didn’t confess it, but Eleanor reminded me how embarrassed she must’ve been.
“Hello, Emerald, Tallic, what’s up?”
“I was just about to hear what Emerald’s daughter did to Steel.” My voice was quiet and restrained, but from how they both shifted nervously, I could tell my rage was seeping through.
That would make sense. I am so full of rage, I do not even care about the close proximity of Pinkie Pie.
Alex’s hand went to his sword, but he kept his body language and voice lighthearted. “Okay, this sounds like a very personal conversation, let’s head over to Sweet Apple Acres.”
Once we were out of earshot, Alex piped up.
“So, Tallic, what happened?”
“Emerald’s daughter used a mind control spell on Steelskin to make him love her. I wish to know why a hatchling would know such a spell and why she would feel free to cast it.” I took a moment to glare at Emerald before continuing. “If she were an adult, this would have been met with severe consequences.”
“Don’t threaten my daughter!”
“Hey, guys, let’s calm down a little. So little Sapphire cast a love spell on Steelskin? Sounds like Tallic has a right to be angry, but I’m sure you’ll be dealing with her and making sure nothing like this happens again, right?”
“Of course. She says it was accidental, and it’s the first time her powers have manifested, so I believe her... though I will still be giving her a lecture and some extra training to control these little blips.”
“Now, I do think you need to let Tallic in on your little secret so that he can understand why this could be accidental.”
We had reached a shady area big enough for me to settle down off the road and Alex stopped. He gave Emerald a friendly, but pointed look. We all settled ourselves in. Alex was watching me, most likely for a hint of violence, Matt was standing between the hatchlings and myself, trying to look relaxed, and Emerald was looking around anxiously.
“Right. As some of you know, I am of a race what most call: ‘Changelings’. What we call ourselves is... irrelevant I suppose. Not too long ago in Equestria’s history, on the one hundred thirty-seventh day of Spring in the one thousand and third year after the defeat of Discord, our Queen, her majesty Queen Chrysalis, planned an invasion by attempting to usurp the throne from within by enthralling Shining Armor. I won’t go into further details, but needless to say, Shining and Cadence, with the help of Twilight Sparkle, drove them out... except me. I was trapped in the basement of a house when they set that spell off. During this attack, it was thanks to a certain Pink pony we all know…” He looked around and saw everyone’s unsurprised faces. “...I see she has touched us all in a unique way. Yes, she requested I change into many things, and that annoyed me... I mean I have never felt annoyance until I met her.”
“So, Princess Luna found me there when she sensed my magic. Instead of sending me away, she took me in. I was with an egg at the time, you see.”
Matt blinked. “Well, didn’t see that coming. So you’re female but you’d rather be male?”
Emerald rolled his eyes. “No, Matthew. I am neither, technically. But that is a different matter of discussion. Luna fostered my development as an individual creature and gave me access to education. I was already an intellectual among my people, you see, so you can imagine my joy proving my skills and being appreciated for my genius.”
Alex cleared his throat. Emerald looked at him, then resumed his story. “So... yes. I was assigned to go here after I received a case about Alex, who needed my help to address his magic allergy. And I have resided here since, while raising my little one.”
“And your daughter?”
“Her actions were the result of instinct and an innocence that I attest is genuine. She truly didn’t know better because that ability is a part of her. I didn’t expect it to come out this early. Most matriarchs do not develop powers so quickly, but it appears Sapphire is an early bloomer, I suppose. But that isn’t the point. I will admit, however, some selfishness may be a part of Sapphire’s actions, but in no way intending to harm Steelskin. Now that she understands, she feels genuine guilt for what she did. Matriarchs can get a bit clingy to creatures they...’like.’”
He looked at Sapphire with fatherly kindness.
Sapphire looked apologetically at Steelskin.
“So given this, I take responsibility as her parent for now seeing as I should have prepared for this possibility.”
Alex then intervened. “That is what any father should do for their kids, but you said yourself, her power occurred much earlier than expected.”
Emerald nodded. “I know. But it’s what a father should do. Mr. Tallic, I assure you I will make sure Sapphire takes responsibility for her actions and exercises responsibility for having such powers for now on.” He looked at Sapphire. “You understand, daughter? You and I will have some serious lessons to learn.”
Sapphire nodded.
“Now, what do you have to say?”
Sapphire looked at me.
I liked Steelskin a lot. I have a crush on him. But he has a crush on Scootaloo. I got jealous and... I did that. I didn’t know I could, I just did. I am very sorry, Mr. Tallic. Please let me make it up to you and Steelskin.
Emerald raised his head in pride. “That is a better attitude.”
As my headache was clearing, I started realizing how scary everypony was being. Especially Tallic.
“I accept your apology and your promise that this will never happen again.” Tallic turned to me and lowered his shoulder. “Still, I wish to have a doctor... perhaps Miss Introspective...”
I hoped I’d get to see Dino again.
Hey, wait.
“Mister Da-Roberts! I met Dino at Fluttershy’s house, and she said he belonged to you... can I come visit him sometime?”
To my gracious employer,
When hunting a target as lethal as the one you have hired me to deal with, patience is of the utmost priority. I must study its habits, look for weaknesses and watch for the best opportunity to strike. If you continue to try to rush my actions, I will have no choice but to terminate our agreement.
I was examining the cloud I had procured from above the Everfree in between keeping tabs on my prey. I found it remarkable how clouds behaved in this reality, though I had to be careful as my claws punctured it like it was an airship. The first one deflated before I could get it halfway to town.
I stalked him as he left the schoolyard. He was walking with the rest of the hatchlings he called friends, but they quickly started peeling off as their routes diverged from his.
I thought back to two days ago.
~~~
“I’m sorry, he seems okay, but I’m not able to speak decisively on mind control spells. I suggest you consult Doctor Emerald or Twilight Sparkle.” Miss Introspective had just finished talking with Steelskin after I brought him to the hospital and was now giving her expert opinion on Steelskin’s health.
“Emerald already assured me that it was completely removed, but I cannot trust a creature that hides its true form and speaks so blithely of enthralling other sentients.” My voice was quiet and restrained. She stared at me nervously.
“...Very well, I shall go and talk with Twilight.”
Steelskin said his goodbyes to Miss Introspective and we flew over to the library. It did not take long for Miss Twilight and Mister Reinhart to take a look at him and give me the same reassurances that there were no lingering effects.
“I cannot believe that you would allow a creature like that to pretend to be one of you. Do you not fear that an unsuspecting visitor may be preyed upon?” I knew I was stepping over a line, but I just could not let it rest.
Twilight’s voice took on a little bit of an edge. “He has been vouched for by Princess Luna herself. Furthermore, he’s allowed to take the appearance of a pony because there is still quite a bit of fear of changelings among ponies. Even I find it disturbing to talk to him in his true form. Any visitor who saw a changeling in Ponyville would run away and call the Royal Guard.”
“Besides,” She looked pointedly at me before continuing. “If we were going to refuse somepony just because of how dangerous their species is, do you think we’d let a dragon live near us?”
I saw the argument, and, while I could not argue her point, I still could not fully abide a creature like that living near Steelskin.
It is probably good that I have no say in the matter.
I also noticed Spike looking more nervous than I would expect at that question.
~~~
He had finally broken away from his friends and now I only had to wait for him to reach an area open enough for me to attack. He was acting skittish, looking around and trying to find the attack he knew was coming.
Left turn, heading towards the field outside of town.
Three houses left until he reaches the clearing.
Two.
One.
One yard into the field.
Two.
Three yards in.
Finally I had the space I needed.
I popped the cloud with all four claws and swooped down at him, roaring a challenge. He turned his head and froze as I fell from the sky straight towards him. Just before my jaws reached him, he sprang into the air and lashed out with his back hooves. I was prepared for this and swung my head to the side, narrowly missing the blades formed from his hooves. He noticed my claw coming up at him and shifted his legs to use it as a platform to leap again at my head. All four hoof blades sank into my claw as he leapt. He was aiming for my neck and I rolled to the right so that he soared harmlessly past me. I swung my tail up and around to swat him out of the sky.
He landed hard but managed to roll onto his hooves. I launched a spear at him and he leapt sideways, trying to spear me with a rod from his foreleg. I grabbed it and swung him around to slam into the ground on the other side of me. Suddenly, a handful of daggers sank into my shoulder, thrown from his tail. I recovered from the surprise hit in time to pin him with my other claw as I released his elongated leg.
“Well done, little one, you have lasted twice as long as most human fighters would have,” I complimented as I released Steelskin.
“That tail flick was a nice touch, but just remember, if you’re fighting someone twice your size or smaller, you should not be using bladed weapons. You don’t want to kill anyone.” Matt was obviously smiling, despite having his visor opaque. “And Tallic, make sure Miss Sweetheart doesn’t see this. I knew what was coming and was still worried you were going to try to kill and eat him.”
I sat there, smiling at Steelskin. The little training sessions with Miss Butterscotch and myself over the past week were yielding progress I could not hope to expect.
“Yes, little one, please use nonlethal attacks when fighting unless your life is on the line. I suggest even using them on me just so you do not get into the habit of using lethal force. Something like this,” I held up my claw where his hoof spikes had pierced my scales and accelerated their healing. “Is no problem for me, but would probably get you in a bit of trouble if I were a pony.”
By the time I had put my claw down, the cuts had healed completely. The daggers had quickly been pushed out and healed over.
Tallic had been helping me with my homework all week. He was really smart with everything except Equestrian History. I couldn’t really blame him for not knowing that and, besides, it was kinda fun to teach him. It was cool seeing his reaction to the founding of Equestria.
He also told me some stuff to practice each evening when I went back to the orphanage. It was mostly about shaping my hooves or stretching my legs, but sometimes it was about trying to extend my senses like trying to recognize everypony’s unique smell or think about what different types of magic smelled like.
I personally think magic is something you taste.
It was Friday, and Tallic had told me yesterday that somepony was going to attack me sometime between when I left school and when I got to the clearing. As I walked with my friends, I was only half paying attention to them as I sniffed the air and looked around. Scootaloo’s smell was the musky, earthy smell of pony, with a hint of cloud, but slightly sweeter. Other than Scoodaloo and the smell of apples from Apple Bloom, none of the others smelled different.
“So, Steelskin, I hear Miss Butterscotch is teaching you Obsidian Hoof. Have you gotten to spar with Silver Spoon yet?” Apple Bloom was looking at me, hoping I’d tell her about how I put that bully in her place. I had only found her a little snobby, but then I can’t really see her and Diamond Tiara trying to pick on colts.
“Well, we did do a little, but we’re just too different. I couldn’t hit her once, or even block a single attack she threw, but I also couldn’t even feel her hits. Miss Butterscotch gave up when she got angry, bucked me in the face and hurt her hoof.” I rubbed my jaw, remembering the strange sensation of a hoof being stopped dead in its tracks by my face. Everypony else started giggling.
~~~
I sat there, throwing attack after attack at Silver Spoon. She kept dodging and tagging me before I could block her counters.
“I don’t know why Miss Butterscotch is still trying to train you, you still can’t come even close to hitting me.” She was sitting there looking down her nose at me.
“Yeah, well, it’s not like you could actually hurt me. Part of my problem is I can’t even feel most of your attacks. I bet you can’t even knock me down.” I knew I shouldn’t be taking her bait, but I was sick of listening to the little brat.
“I’ll have you down before you even see me move.”
“That is not how I trained you to-” Miss Butterscotch was cut off by Tallic putting a claw up.
“If your only fear is for Steelskin, let them do it. Experiencing pain is a strong teacher for a dragon slayer.” After Miss Butterscotch frowned and grumbled out an ‘okay’, Tallic turned his attention back to us with a smile that said ‘show this little brat she’s not as good as she thinks.’
I smirked. “Whenever you’re ready.”
She dashed to my side, almost as fast as her bragging and slammed her hoof right behind my knee to buckle it as she jumped over my back and buked my side with all her strength. I had a good idea what she was planning and didn’t even bother trying to avoid either of the attacks. Her hoof bounced off the back of my knee, but before she could realize how badly it failed, she was already committed to the jump and buck. Her buck sent her flying while I only needed to shift my hooves.
I smirked at her, driving her into a rage. She charged at my hind legs, narrowly avoiding my left hind hoof as I tried to stop her charge. She slammed both rear hooves into my right hind leg with enough force to break a normal pony’s and that irritated me. My anger made me stupidly mean.
“So, when are you going to try to knock me down?” I tried to imitate her bratty tone.
She screamed at me, jumping forward and connecting both back hooves with my lower jaw.
”Silver Spoon!”
Miss Butterscotch dashed over and was glaring at Silver Spoon like she wanted to trample her student into the ground. Silver Spoon shrank back and started stuttering out an apology.
Remembering that I had just gotten bucked in the teeth, she came over to me and started examining my mouth to see how badly I was hurt.
“I barely felt a thing,” I said, smirking at Silver Spoon. I noticed Tallic’s frown and quickly adjusted my attitude. “I-I mean I’m okay. Everything feels fine.”
I glanced over and felt bad as I saw Silver Spoon crying quietly and walking to the side with a little bit of a limp.
~~~
“Now I’m fighting Miss Butterscotch herself... well, actually, I’m fighting her, Alex, Matt, Trace, Twilight Sparkle, or Rainbow Dash, depending on what Tallic thinks I need to know.” I thought back over the previous week. “That first day back on Saturday was rough... Twilight Sparkle spent an hour levitating me in all sorts of different ways and half the time she didn’t even have an idea how I could fight it... and don’t get me started on Rainbow Dash dive bombing me.”
“Hey,” Scootaloo replied with indignation.
“Hey yourself. I didn’t mean she did anything wrong, I just meant it was a really tough day... hey, where’s Sapphire? I haven’t seen her all week.” I got a little nervous after the trouble she got herself in last time I saw her and hoped it didn’t get her sent away or something.
I seem to be getting a lot of ponies into trouble.
“Don’t you remember? Her dad said they were going off to get her some training in her magic now that it’s come in,” Sweetie Belle chimed in.
“Yeah,” Fei said, “Emerald told mom they’d be gone for two weeks.”
“Wonder if Luna would let me help your training with my mallow cannon,” ‘Spect volunteered.
I looked at her with interest, but everypony else looked nervous. Before I could figure out an answer, she said she was hungry and ran off towards the Everfree, licking her lips. Over the next few minutes, everypony else broke off towards their own houses.
I approached the edge of town, sniffing the air and listening intently. I could still see, hear, and smell nothing.
This is it.
I stepped out past the last two houses, forcing myself to breathe slowly. I still saw nothing, smelled nothing, and heard nothing.
My first and only warning was the roar from behind me. My head snapped around and I saw Tallic swooping down to swallow me whole.
Don’t do what they expect. A pony off the street will respond by backing up, a guardspony with good training will move to the side, but a true master will watch their opponent’s eyes and flow where they do not expect..
With Miss Butterscotch’s words in my head, I tried to figure out which way he was expecting me to dodge. I couldn’t quite figure it out, so I jumped up and aimed a buck at his nose, hoping it would be as sensitive as a pony’s. He dodged and the rest was a blur. I vaguely remembered jumping off his foreleg and extending my own foreleg before getting slammed into the ground.
“Well done, little one, you have lasted twice as long as most human fighters would have,” Tallic complimented me as he took his claw off me.
I sat there, catching my breath as they critiqued my style.
“You should not be using bladed weapons,” Matt criticized.
I sat there, trying to remember what I had done for a little bit. Meanwhile, Tallic showed me some cuts I must’ve made on his claw, making me feel a little bad.
Finally, I spoke up. “Sorry, I was just too caught up in the fight. Tallic swooping down scared the Discord out of me. I don’t even remember most of the fight.”
After our little training session, we settled down to Steelskin’s homework. He had a pretty good handle on math and writing and I found the history of Princess Platinum to be intriguing.
Soon, it was time to send him home. We said our goodbyes and I made my way to the pub on the edge of town.
“Hey, Tallic.” Trace was sitting at our usual table along with Matt, Alex, Mac, and Elusive.
It was nearing winter and the temperature was dropping, but my size did not allow for any indoor accommodations. We had started these meetings after the incident with mind controlling children.
“Greetings all.” I settled myself in my usual hollow as they all greeted me. I picked up the modified keg of mead and took a sip. As had been done for the past week, it was already sprinkled with ether ore.
I was careful to watch my intake as to avoid the humiliation of that first party.
For the most part, I sat and listened as they talked amongst themselves, though Alex made a point to pull me into the conversation regularly. Sadly, there was little common ground to keep me involved. Being a jumper barely helped as I slept through most of my jumps. Furthermore, Trace and the ponies were not jumpers.
As the night wore on, they excused themselves one after another until it was just Big Mac and I.
“There is something that I have wished to bring up,” I began.
Mac nodded at me, patiently waiting for me to continue.
“Steelskin has been helped so much by this town... I wish to repay all of you, but repayment for... gifts can be... problematic.”
“Did ya have anything in mind?” Mac sat back with his unusual patience and waited for me as I chose my words carefully.
“Is there a saying in your culture that is similar to the dragon motto of punish it forward?”
Oté sat and watched the newcomers setting up a base deep in the Everfree forest. There was something disconcerting about them... something un-ponylike. Not even the chaos cultists seemed as odd as these. He followed them, temporarily abandoning his study of the target.
“Trust me, Strong Wing,” A unicorn was saying to one of his companions, “Keen Eyes reports that there is a decently large number of orphans in this town. Soon, we will free more recruits for our village,” A unicorn was saying to one of his companions.
Recognizing potential in this new development, Oté settled down to study this addition of chaos.
A burly human wearing spandex, mask and cape walked into my cave. On his chest was a stylized explosion and in his hand he had some sort of rocket launcher with a chainsaw at the end.
“So, Betty, should we use plan ‘A’ or ‘B’?” He was whispering to his gun before listening intently for an answer. An insane smile spread across his face as he, apparently, got an answer.
“Yes, my love, I like explosions too." His smile grew wider and more manic. "Plan ‘A’ it is.”
He then turned to face me, striking a dramatic pose.
“Foul dragon, you have met your match with Collateral Damage Man!” He proceeded to pull back the fore-end like a shotgun. In fact, I quickly realized that his rocket launcher was pump action as he launched ten rockets at me in quick succession. Before the rockets could hit anything, he tried to charge me with his chainsaw bayonet.
Amazingly, none of them even came close to me as they exploded on various parts of the cave wall. Needless to say, I was buffeted by the explosions and he was tossed like a ragdoll. Unwilling to give up, he did something even more strange and insane.
As he yelled his insanely long-named attack, he leapt up, connecting his fist with my lower jaw as I sat there, too busy trying to understand his insanity to dodge. His attack was truly explosive, as it cracked the walls of my cave and sent my head flying up about five feet.
Okay, now I am officially angry.
With a sore jaw, I roared at the little punk then proceeded to slap him around, knocking him into various walls. I did not allow him to stand for more than half a second before hitting him again with either my forelegs or my tail..
Finally, after every wall in my cave had some of his blood spattered on it and my rage had cooled to mere white hot hatred, I grabbed him by one leg, hung him upside down, and stared death at him.
“What is the meaning of your intrusion into my cave? I have done nothing to anyone’s property since I have arrived three days ago nor did I have any plans to. Yet you charge in here, attack me, vandalize my cave, and bruise my jaw.”
~~~
I woke from my memories with the feeling that something was seriously wrong. I crept out of my cave to find that the night was still young.
What had awoken me?
I put all my senses into the search and quickly noticed the smell of mind control magic.
The combination of song and magic set my rage alight. I was glad for Emerald’s sake that it was completely different from his daughter’s magic.
I woke in my bunk as everypony else was walking outside. A beautiful voice was calling to us and I had to find out who it was.
“...Come, little children, the time's come to play Here in my garden of shadows”
Something wasn’t right... The air was filled with magic...
“...Follow, sweet children, I'll show thee the way Through all the pain and the sorrows...”
But I had to see the wonderful pony who was singing to us...
There were countless spells hiding the source of the magic and, apparently, the singer as well. My rage grew as I listened to more of the song, it was unapologetically a song of egg stealing.
At long last, I was able to trace the magic by its misdirection, and found them holed up in a little clearing. There were two pegasi and a unicorn standing near them. I also smelled a donkey.
“...Hush now, dear children, it must be this way Too weary of life and deceptions Rest now, my children, for soon we'll away Into the calm and the quiet.”
We arrived in a clearing after following the beautiful unicorn and her two pegasus guards. I kept feeling like something was wrong, but everything I thought about was just plain wonderful. Everypony else had fallen asleep, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was seriously wrong.
That wonderful unicorn was looking at me as she sang with her beautiful voice. My eyes were getting heavy, it was such a wonderful lullabye.
Suddenly, Tallic landed in the clearing and I was suddenly wide awake.
I recognized Steelskin and assumed the others were his fellow orphans.
The unicorn was casting some sort of spell on Steelskin. As I got closer, I could smell that it was a sleep spell.
Time for decisive action.
I landed dramatically in the clearing, sweeping the pegasi off their hooves with my tail. I pinned the unicorn to the ground and snarled at her.
“You have five seconds to explain why I should give you a quick and merciful death, egg-stealer.”
Surprisingly, it looked me directly in the eye. Its voice and eyes showed no hint of fear, though there was resignation.
“We are giving these orphans proper homes and will be teaching them to rise above their skittish neighbors,” She calmly stated with a hint of condescension.
“Then why did you not officially adopt them?” I said, my voice dripping with calm menace as I ran the tip of a claw across her dark blue cheek, blood dripping from the shallow cut almost immediately. She did not even flinch at the pain.
One of her pegasi got to its hooves and I launched a spike into one of its wings, pinning it to a tree. I was reasonably sure I had broken at least one of his bones, but he made no sound as he tried to remove my spike and free his severely damaged wing.
She did not even look over at her companion as she replied to me. “Our village is one that is not authorized by the sun tyrant. We only follow Nightmare Moon and her teachings as our parents and grandparents have since before her banishment. If you care about the future of these ponies, you will let us take them to our hidden village. There we will train them to be strong and courageous. They will learn to defend themselves and think for themselves rather than bow and scrape to the Solar Nag. If instead, you are looking for a meal, then I promise to give you as much indigestion as I can.”
I grew annoyed with this creature. Rather than begging for mercy or seeking to explain her actions, she was criticizing the town that had been helping Steelskin so much. I was getting ready to start this creature’s torment as the screams of terrified horses made a wonderful accompaniment to the draconic justice I was about to enact.
“Tallic! What’s going on?” Alex, along with Matt, Trace, Twilight Sparkle, Frost, Rainbow Dash, that new cyborg, and a few other ponies whose names I did not immediately register entered the clearing.
“I am about to show these egg stealing pegasi what I do with someone who steals hatchlings.” I readied my talon to start a slow evisceration of the unicorn. “Have you come to offer help? I could use some seasoning for these stringy little egg stealers.”
I licked my lips in anticipation of both the taste of horse flesh and the righteous torment I was about to impart. The unicorn stared at me, debating her options, still untainted by fear. Despite my hatred of her and her actions, I had to give grudging respect to an herbivore who could look me full in the eyes as I spoke of their imminent death.
”Tallic!“ A voice boomed out over the forest, causing even me to pause.
“Cease and desist immediately!”
I looked up to find Luna arriving with a half dozen pegasi in full armor. I also noticed that the orphans were the ones bleating in terror. I was annoyed until I saw Steelskin among them. He had positioned himself in front of the younger hatchlings and his eyes stared at me with fearful determination.
I released the unicorn and looked away, unable to hold his gaze. Luna and her guards landed with a quick nod of appreciation to me and quickly surrounded the egg stealers. The two who were free immediately bowed to her with full and complete deference. The third accompanied the others once his wing was freed, ignoring it as it dragged on the ground. Luna seemed confused and concerned.
“Identify yourselves and explain your actions.” Luna spoke with the calmness of a ruler with full ability to reward or execute.
“We are your Children of the Night, my queen,” The Unicorn replied, bowing low. “We are rescuing these orphans to supplement our citizenry just as you did to start our moonshadow village.” The pegasi sat silently, allowing their apparent leader to speak for all of them.
“No. They cannot have survived a thousand years...” I heard Luna murmur quietly to herself.
I started over toward Steelskin again and saw that a couple guards were checking the foals and comforting them. Steelskin was watching me nervously as I approached. I glanced back as I heard the egg stealers claiming that Luna had been an egg stealer as well.
“Are you unharm...” Steelskin jumped as he heard me speak and I felt daggers pierce my heart. Unable to bear his fear of me, I turned and slunk off.
“Greetings, Captain Nightshade,” Luna said as a group of unicorn guards came into the clearing. “As you can see, Tallic has taken care of our little situation, so all we need to do is bring these children home and take these three back for questioning.” She was talking with a grey unicorn with strangely dragonish green eyes and armor suggesting a position of leadership.
I walked quietly to the edge of the clearing to lay down and berate myself.
Tallic quickly batted the pegasi into a tree as he grabbed the unicorn.
My mind was reeling with what I could now see was mind control magic. I still couldn’t shake the fake feeling that the unicorn was the good pony.
I could see a rage in Tallic’s eyes that I never knew could exist. I knew he was there to save us, but he was so monstrous in his anger that I put myself between him and the other orphans. I wanted to make sure they knew somepony was protecting them, and I wanted to be there just in case...
When Tallic shot one of the pegasi through his wing, I almost threw up. I could tell it hit and shattered one of the major bones.
When Twilight Sparkle and her friends found us, I took a quick glance behind me. All of my fellow orphans were in full freeze and even Rocky was barely even blinking. I looked back to Tallic and he was threatening the unicorn in ways that made me queasy. Twilight and Alex were trying to tell him to stop, but he seemed like he couldn’t hear them.
Luckily, Princess Luna arrived with her night guard. Looking at them reminded me of the stories of Nightmare moon and I started having trouble keeping calm again. Luna got Tallic to let go of the unicorn and he came over to us. He was glancing back at the unicorn and pegasi angrily and when he asked me how I was doing, the anger hadn’t disappeared from his eyes and voice. I jumped a little at his tone and he looked hurt as he turned away and walked off to the edge of the clearing.
I tried to follow him and apologize, but a guardspony stopped me and made me stay with the others as the guards got the other kids to wake up. I sat watching him lie down at the edge of the clearing and stare at the ground.
Luna approached me as I sat wallowing in my self pity. Again, I was washed over with the desire to battle any and all foes that came against her. The difference this time was that I wanted to die gloriously in the attempt.
“Greetings, Tallic. We commend thy detaining of the foalnappers, but we would discuss with thee thy conduct after the fact.” She glanced over at the hatchlings and bit her lip. I could tell that she was doing her best to be gentle in her rebuke. “Our little ponies are not used to violence as thy culture is, nay, not even as human culture is. Please refrain from threats of death and torture when there are civilians around...” The unspoken addition was 'especially children.' Her expression turned compassionate as I sat there accepting what she said without rebuttal. “Nevertheless, we are cognizant of thy motives and appreciate greatly the concern you show for the little ones.”
I sat there, forcing myself to give acknowledgements appropriate for her rebuke and expressions of gratitude. All I could think about was Steelskin. I looked over and saw him leaving with the others.
He was staring at me in fear.
I tried to explain I needed to apologize to Tallic, but the guardpony made me stay with the other kids as we were escorted back to town. I looked over at Tallic and knew something was wrong. Everypony else was staying as far from him as they could and I couldn’t even get close enough to ask him if he was okay.
Mister Roberts and the rest came back with us and tried to comfort the other foals.
“Hey, Steel, you look down. Care to talk?” He ruffled my mane like my dad used to.
“...What... what happened to Tallic?” He looked uncomfortable at my question and it was a while before he answered.
He smiled at me kinda sadly. It reminded me of when my dad was explaining stuff he wished I didn’t have to know. “What have you heard about dragons before you met Tallic?”
“Well...” I thought about what I had heard and thought as a kid. “...They were scary monsters that would crush anypony who went near their cave.”
“And how was he acting with those ponies that were trying to take you and the other orphans?”
“...He was really scary when he was threatening to kill and eat that unicorn. His eyes were so full of anger... and hunger... I was even a little worried that he might attack us.” I really didn’t like admitting that.
Mister Roberts took a deep breath and took a while to answer. “I don’t think that was a possibility, but... I think he really was planning on killing that pony.” He seemed kinda nervous saying this, like he wasn’t sure I could handle it. “The dragons I have seen and heard about wouldn’t have bothered saying anything before killing all three of those ponies. Dragons are violent and proud. Tallic is the kindest and gentlest dragon I have ever even heard about, but he’s probably used to being much more violent than we’re comfortable with.” Alex took a moment to ruffle my mane again before continuing. “I think he realized just how badly he scared you foals and is trying to deal with how different pony culture is from what he’s used to... Just make sure to remember he’ll never hurt you.”
I didn’t know what to think. I used to feel safe around him, but now I was a little nervous... actually, a lot nervous. I knew he was gonna protect me and I still wanted to be around him, but how he was just acting was really, really scary. Also, he was looking sad and hurt when we left.
“I have heard many stories of dragons as a child, but none were so fiercely protective as Tallic,” Trace said from behind us.
I looked back at him and saw his hands covered over by red claws that seemed to be made of ice.
“I’ve heard dragons can go to great lengths to defend anything they hold close...” He paused to look up at the sky. “While I don’t condone what he did, I doubt I would have acted much differently if I were in his place.” He smiled at me and the two of them made me feel a whole lot better.
The others were jumping at shadows on our walk back to town.
I walked through the trees towards my cave, unable to shake the vision of Steelskin protecting the other hatchlings from me. I had a feeling that I had just lost all the progress I had made trying to get the ponies to accept me as benevolent. There was little doubt that Miss Sweetheart would use the terror inflicted on her charges to revoke all access to Steelskin, possibly even keeping me from apologizing to him.
I arrived at my cave as the moon began its descent from its zenith and lay myself on top of my hoard.
“Our little ponies are not used to violence as thy culture is.” Luna’s words rang in my ears as Steelskin’s fear filled face filled my vision.
“This is what I was afraid of.” Miss Sweetheart was lecturing me after seeing the other colts and fillies to bed and trying to calm their nerves.
Sadly, I could see her point. Even I was feeling jittery and wasn’t sure how much was the attempted foalnapping or Tallic... catching them.
“I’m sorry, but after it's gone feral like that, I cannot abide you and it spending time together anymore. It’s just too dangerous.”
I could tell from her tone that I wasn’t going to be allowed to argue. She had the same tone my mom had when she was trying real hard not to yell at me.
I just sat there with my ears laid back, wishing there was something I could say to change her mind. I wanted to buck her in the face because of what she was saying about Tallic as tears of impotent rage ran down my cheeks.
A donkey walked back to his campsite in the Everfree Forest. Upon reaching it, he activated a runestone hung around his neck and a wagon appeared in front of him. He started rummaging through it with a smile on his face and a glint of excitement in his eyes.
“Finally, I see the beast in his glory,” He muttered to himself. “Thunder pearls-must have plenty of them... Need something to pierce metal... Inhibit his accelerated healing... Defense against projectiles... Defense against crushing... Spare weapon...”
He ended with a bag full of crackling runestones, a diamond tipped spear, a set of light barding, a short sword, and several other runestones strung on a chain.
It had been three days since the night of the egg stealers. Two days of sitting on my hoard and ruminating on Steelskin’s fear of me followed by an angry visit by Twilight telling me to go talk to him. Now, after an entire day of circling Ponyville, I was no closer to figuring out what to say to him. The nebulous smell of donkey still permeated the edge of the forest.
I landed near the forest edge, trying to get myself to turn around and find him when a pebble hit me in the side of the head.
I felt a burst of lightning lance through my head and body as I fell, twitching, to the ground. As I hit the grass, I swore vengeance on that traitorous human.
Since I wasn’t allowed to go to Tallic’s cave and he didn’t want to see me anymore, I was visiting Scootaloo. We were playing with Dino and I was almost able to forget about how much I missed Tallic and worried about if he was okay..
"I can't believe how hard it was to convince my mom and dad," Scootaloo sighed as she smiled that pretty smile of hers, "to let you come over."
I suddenly got a bad feeling just before I heard his scream of pain. I left my friend standing there as I galloped towards the edge of town.
“Ha! You are no match for Oté the dragon slayer!” An armored donkey stepped into my field of vision, carrying a diamond tipped spear.
My relief at the fact that it was not one of the humans was surprising. Nevertheless, I was angered by this donkey attacking me without provocation. I swung the back of my claw at him, but between his speed and the electrical current continuing to dance through my muscles, I was unable to connect.
I forced the electricity out just in time to deflect his spear from its intended target and successfully sent him flying.
I rose up and bellowed my rage at where he was extricating himself from a shattered tree trunk. I did not wait for him to free himself before grabbing him in one claw and squeezing. His armor erupted in spikes that cut through the softer skin of my palm. I snarled in pain and flung him into the middle of the field. I continued my attack by hurling a spike at him.
It was deflected by a shimmering barrier.
I ran straight into Miss Sweetheart.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Buck the consequences!
"Tallic's in trouble, I can feel it! I don't care what you say or do to me, I'm gonna find him and help!" I pushed past Miss Sweetheart, almost knocking her over as I started galloping again.
As I ran, dodging ponies left and right, I saw Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Sapphire. The sound of Tallic’s roar startled them and gave me a burst of panic fueled speed. They seemed to understand and I heard their hooves on the cobblestones as they ran behind me along with a familiar buzzing.
“What’s wrong?” They were shouting to me, trying to find out why I was in a hurry. I just now realized that Scootaloo had been yelling to me ever since I pushed past Miss Sweetheart.
Did you miss me? Sapphire’s mental question almost made me stop.
“Tallic!” I gasped as I ran, “Gotta get to Tallic.”
I finally got to him in the field, fighting an armored donkey with a large spear. Tallic had just launched one of his own spears at him, but he had some sort of barrier protecting him. The spear that the donkey had was enchanted with a magic that tasted horrible and dangerous.
I backwinged to gain the proper distance and breathed a cloud of razor sharp blades at him, causing one of the gems around his neck to shatter.
“Don’t hurt him!” Steelskin was charging between the two of us.
“You’re siding with the dragon? You traitorous foal of a nag!”
“Steelskin, stay back! This is my fight!” I saw the donkey ready his spear. The membrane of my wings strained against the air as I flew towards them with all my might.
He ignored my command and continued charging towards Oté. I landed between the two, attempting to knock the donkey’s spear out of his grip, but he dodged and rammed it into my side. I let out a howl of pain and brought my claw down where he was standing. It had been a long time since a weapon had pierced my scales and I had forgotten how painful it was.
He rolled to the side and I took to the air, grabbing Steelskin and carrying him towards the crowd of ponies that had gathered. The pain was dizzying as I felt the tip of the spear work its way further into my side.
I dropped him near Miss Sweetheart just as I noticed a gem flying through the air at us. I started to dodge before I realised it would land right in the middle of the crowd. If I had time, I would have sighed in regret as I surged forwards and grabbed it in my talons. Unsurprisingly, another wave of magical lightning coursed through my muscles. The pain was nothing compared to the spear, but I had lost control of my twitching body. Dazedly, I saw him pull out a sword. Mustering the last of my magic, I forced the electricity from my body yet again, but I knew it was too late. As he was about to bring the sword down on my neck, he was tackled by no less than five ponies.
I never thought I would see ponies bum rushing a hunter to defend a carnivore.
With the last of my strength, I took to the air before crash landing in the middle of the field.
I charged at the donkey in rage. All I could think about was the scream of pain I had heard before.
“Steelskin, stay back! This is my fight!”
I ignored Tallic’s order as I got ready to beat this horrible donkey into the ground.
Before I could get close enough to attack, Tallic landed in front of me and tried to smash the donkey. I saw the horrible spear go up and Tallic screamed again. Tallic grabbed me and flew me over to the watching ponies.
Why won’t they help Tallic?
As he set me down near Miss Sweetheart, I saw the donkey throw something at Tallic. I yelled out a warning, but Tallic caught it instead of dodging and fell to the ground with lightning arcing across his body. The donkey galloped over and pulled out a sword. I struggled against Miss Sweetheart’s grip as I tasted the vile enchantments on that sword.
Both the spear and that sword were so full of horrible magics that I could taste them even from this distance. Fear gave me strength as I pulled away from Miss Sweetheart.
As I was running around to try again to buck up the donkey, I saw a rainbow streak hit him followed by a purple teleport bubble, an orange and red blur side by side, and a party canon cake batter charge. Soon, the donkey was tied up and being dragged into town, his weapons and armor floating in a purple aura further away from Twilight than I had ever seen a unicorn carry something.
A tan pony approached me, heading right towards the spear. I growled and swiped at his neck just as a purple glow pulled him back. The pain of moving almost caused me to black out.
“Glad I came back early.” I turned my head to see the green unicorn and the one who tried to enthrall Steelskin. “May I dull the pain, Tallic?”
I nodded assent, wincing at the slight jostling of the spear. I was now certain that it had some sort of torture enchantment on it, as this was far beyond what I remembered stab wounds felt like.
I saw the irritating green unicorn light up his horn and I felt mind control magic try to force itself on me. I sent a wave of anger at him, knocking him back and causing him to clutch his head.
“I was trying to dull the pain.” I heard him say through gritted teeth.
“Tallic, we’re here to help.” I snarled in response to the purple unicorn while moving my injury away from them. Shards, this pain is blinding.
“Oh, no! The spear!” A grey pony ran towards me and I brought my claw up to squish him.
I hesitated just long enough to recognize him to be Steelskin. He nuzzled my chest and looked me in the eye before walking carefully around to see the spear.
“Steelskin, that needs to come out, I can feel magic driving it deeper with each movement Tallic makes.” Twilight walked up to me cautiously. “Are you okay? We need to get that out so we can heal up your wound.”
I closed my eyes and shifted my side to give her a better angle, the pain causing me to hiss.
“On the count of three, I’m going to pull this out nice and quick.”
I took a deep, painful breath in preparation.
“One.”
“Two.”
“Three.”
No, this time, the pain was literally blinding. The agony radiated from my side and through my entire body. For the first half second, I could barely breathe. The next moment was spent gathering my breath as my eyes snapped open.
I bellowed. I felt the echoes of my roar through the ground itself. My head swung around to glare death at the one who caused my pain. Suddenly, an ice knight jumped between us and I brought my claw down on them.
Thankfully, an ice shield tinged with purple stopped me from repaying my healer with death.
Needless to say, they both collapsed as they dropped the shield.
The green one started to speak, but was silenced by my growl.
“Tallic, please, it looks really bad, we need to get you healed.” Steelskin’s voice snapped me out of my dragon rage.
I took a few moments to weigh my options and calm my urge to slaughter everything.
Twilight-no good, she is out cold after I almost shattered their mage shield.
Doc Pulse-earth pony, no magic. I could get it bandaged, though.
Emerald-No.
“Steelskin, I have not taught you this yet, but please put your hooves on either side of the wound.”
“Okay.”
“Now focus on the wound and tell my scales to cover it over.”
“...Okay” He let out a grunt of effort and I felt the sin and scales cover it over and stop the bleeding.
“Lastly, look inside the wound and see if there is anything besides muscle that has been severed.”
“But how-oh yeah... Nope, just missed some... stuff... but there’s some...”
As I let myself pass into unconsciousness, I saw Miss Sweetheart looking at me with tears in her eyes.
Tallic was just lying there as they carried the donkey off. I watched in fear as he swiped at Doc Pulse and did something to Doctor Emerald.
Pushing down the ball of panic in my chest that was threatening to explode, I walked over to him and nuzzled him, hoping to calm him down and let him know he had friends to help him.
I think it helped, because Twilight Sparkle was able to get him to let her pull the spear out, but he ended up trying to squish her and Mister Reinhart..
“Please put your hooves on either side of the wound.” I stared first at him, then at the horrible gaping hole in his side. I did what he asked and then let him guide me as I asked the wound to close, noticing the veins that were cut and getting them to close up too. I was about to start on the muscles when I felt a wave of dizziness and realized that neither of us had any magic left to heal with.
I sat, trying to pull some magic back into my body when he asked me to look into the wound. I started to tell him I didn’t know how when I remembered his training on looking out at the magic fields surrounding us. As I did so, I was horrified at how much muscle had been cut through and how close it was to stuff that felt important. I also felt chaos magic swirling around in the wound, but it didn’t seem to be doing anything. I tried to tell him, but only got to the part about missing that important stuff before he passed out.
I sat there watching Tallic as he lay there in the field. The pool of silvery blood on the ground was a constant reminder of how close I came to losing him. I sat there, trying to remind myself that I had seen with my own mind that he didn’t have any life threatening injuries.
I saw Miss Sweetheart.
“I’m not leaving him!” I shouted at her. I was angry. I was more angry than when I beat up Rocky. I wanted to hit her for taking Tallic away from me.
She took a step back before opening her mouth to respond.
“Steelskin...”
“No! I can’t take it anymore! I’m sick of you not even giving him a chance! He’s so nice to me and takes good care of me and I wouldn’t even be alive without him! He’s also the closest thing to a father I have left and I can’t...”
“I can’t...”
I couldn’t go on. I sank to my belly and cried harder than I ever had before. Not even when I woke up in the hospital and had to listen to them tell me my parents were dead and I’d be stuck in an orphanage in a town where I didn’t know anypony.
“I can’t believe I was so wrong about him,” Miss Sweetheart said. “I’m so sorry, Steelskin... Yes, you may stay with him as long as you two need.” I looked up to see Miss Sweetheart crying. “That is what I came to say to you.”
I heard somepony breathing hard and looked to see Misters Roberts and Brennan come to a stop by us. Mister Roberts was bent over, panting hard.
“What...” Mister Roberts gasped, “Did I miss?”
“This spear...” Twilight was examining the magic surrounding the diamond head of the spear with a look of utter horror. “I can understand the sharpness charm, but who would put an enchantment that made it dig itself towards somepony’s heart? ...And pain enhancement? What kind of monster makes a weapon cause even more pain?”
Trace spat a curse in elven, dropping the blade he was examining back onto the table. “Just be glad he didn’t get to use this sword,” Trace replied, looking at the weapon with revulsion. “This thing has five different poisons on the blade plus two different spells that would keep a wound from being able to heal. Not even the dark knights would use weapons as foul as these.”
Twilight put her hoof to her mouth as her face turned green. “Who would make weapons like this? I’m sure these have to be illegal.” She picked up a scroll, unwilling to make Spike write what she had to report on the weapons. “The insane amount of chaos magic swirling around them only warrants a side note compared to the brutality of the enchantments.”
She shook her head, wishing she could disbelieve it all as she started writing her official report. She was grateful that the questioning of the donkey over why he did it and how he acquired these powerful and evil weapons would be done by somepony else.
“Sounds pretty typical for high end weapons where magic is just another form of technology.” Alex gave a grim smile as he leaned against the doorframe of the library. “And where there are lots of humans.”
The smile vanished, but the grimness remained. “I’d like to know where he got them from, ‘cause these are still some nasty pieces of work.”
“I have come before you to announce that proceedings have been started for the adoption of one Steelskin, earth pony orphan, by one Tallic, dragon, jumper, and resident of the mountain just outside town. As precedent has been set with a Mister Alex Roberts, three affidavits will be needed. I suggest Twilight Sparkle, Alex Roberts, and myself. Twilight Sparkle is the most knowledgeable about dragons in town, Alex Roberts, being a jumper and adoptive father of another species, and, of course, you know my history with dragons.” Miss Sweetheart’s tone was completely professional and coldly clinical as she dropped this bombshell on the adoption committee. She wasn’t sure how most of them would react, but she felt sure that she could defend her reasoning on the names chosen.
She sat down with a face that was carefully neutral, reaching into her saddlebags to touch the stack of affidavits as she waited for all the arguing to calm down.
’I hope that this can make up for my speciesism,’ Miss Sweetheart thought to herself.
After much debate, everypony agreed on her choice.
“Well then, let us review the affidavits and determine any points of concern.” Miss Sweetheart took hold of the stack of affidavits and laid them on the table to the shock of everypony else. “Would you like to review the additional affidavits that have been filed on his behalf?”
After a full minute of stunned silence, Miss Introspective spoke up. “Y-yes, but we should probably start with the ones we decided on first... Did you mean to imply that you already have Twilight Sparkle, Alex Roberts, and your own ready for us?”
“Yes,” Miss Sweetheart replied, separating out the stacks of copies and hoofing each of them their own set. “The summary is located on the top page and basically states that everypony is in agreement that Tallic, while violent, greedy, and short tempered, has a high view of the value of sentient life. He struggles against the character traits that define dragons and, with proper coaching, should be able to be a decent role model for steelskin. Among the things that need to be addressed are the suitability of his cave when it comes to basic housing needs, anger management issues, and intensive training in the norms of pony society. While I would not have chosen her to provide input, even Fluttershy has given her blessing on this adoption and has stated that the adoption should be approved before this training as Steelskin will be one of the best teachers for him.”
She tried to keep from smiling as she noted the shocked expressions on their faces. Some took the time to read the stack, others immediately started spluttering in rage, claiming that they had been tricked and demanding somepony else to replace her affidavit.
I was happy that no one tried to tell me to leave because I was willing to get in a cartload of trouble rather than leave Tallic alone.
Miss Sweetheart brought me some daisy sandwiches and hay fries with a hot chocolate for dinner and a whole bunch of blankets. She was kinda nervous and I knew she wanted to tell me I shouldn’t spend the night outside. I was real thankful she didn’t.
I felt bad that I drifted off to sleep pretty early, but at least I was close to him. I woke up cold and achy despite the blankets. I moved a little closer to the fire somepony had started during the night. The sky was brightening in the east and color was starting to come back into the grass and trees, so I knew Princess Celestia was getting ready to raise the sun.
I got up and stretched a little, then looked at the grass as my stomach told me it wanted breakfast. I wasn’t too proud to munch on a little grass to take the edge off my hunger.
Stronghammer saw me as I started to grab a few mouthfuls from a place that hadn’t been walked on.
“Cold?” He asked me.
“A little, but I’m okay.” As I settled myself back down next to Tallic, he settled down next to me.
“I’m freezing... Much more used to my forge blasting me with heat.”
I chuckled a little at a grown stallion admitting to be cold. “Yeah, I’m also a little sore from sleeping on the ground... Thanks for not telling me I should go into town and warm up.”
“Nah, I understand. You’re a protector and won’t let a little thing like cold get in the way of keeping your friends safe. I don’t even need to look at your flank to know that.” He smiled and tapped my chestplate. “Be sure to let him know that I’d give both hind legs to get more of those scales and I owe him another job. Those rods he gave me ended up being even better than I first thought.”
“You are welcome,” Tallic rumbled, startling us. “I have no need, but if Alex, Mac, or Trace need anything, be sure to give them a discount as if they were the one you were indebted to.” Tallic thought for a moment before adding “If you are inclined to make more for Steelskin here, that would also be an acceptable payment.”
“Hmmm... I’ll think about that and let you know,” Stronghammer replied.
The three of us sat and watched Celestia’s sun rise above the mountains.
Soon, Miss Sweetheart came trotting over with two steaming mugs and a tray full of hot breakfast.
“Here you go, boys. One cup of cocoa and one cup of coffee.” She hoofed us the mugs and set the tray of breakfast down in front of us. “I-I’m sorry, Tallic, I don’t know what I could get you that you would eat.” She seemed to be trying to look Tallic in the eyes, but kept glancing away nervously.
“It is not a problem, Miss Sweetheart. I am thankful enough that you have allowed Steelskin to spend the night at my side.” I didn’t care how cold or sore I was after hearing Tallic say that, all I felt was happiness.
The food was nothing special and cooked badly, but the taste didn’t keep it from being the best meal I’d had in a long time.
The night passed slowly as I sat in a completely indefensible field. Half my flight muscles were cut through on one side and every muscle was throbbing with the after effects of the electrical discharges. Even breathing was painful. Furthermore, the lightning that lanced through my head had set it buzzing and kept me from being able to smell the magics surrounding me.
I drifted in and out of sleep, unable to settle in due to the stress of my vulnerable state and my inability to pull more than a trickle of magic from my surroundings. The one comfort was that Steelskin was insisting on staying close by me. Strangely, it was not his ability to defend me that reassured me.
Especially because he was not yet trained enough.
The humans and several of the more accomplished ponies were also taking turns to guard me and monitor my condition.
Near daybreak, Steelskin woke up and we sat, watching the sunrise with the blacksmith until Miss Sweetheart showed up with lunch for the two of them. I felt an odd sense of happy warmth as she apologized for not bringing me any food. She even tried to look me in the eyes as she did so.
I heard a rustling from the forest.
I was leaning against Tallic’s foreleg as I saw Doctor Emerald come out of the woods.
He was leading a cragadile!
The fact that Doctor Emerald was leading a monster to us was strange and scary until I remembered what he was saying last night...
He was bringing Tallic food! I could barely restrain my laughter as I remembered what Tallic had told me about how he’d find a special somedragon.
“Hey, what are you doing? Are you trying to get us eaten? Get that monster away from Steelskin!” Stronghammer had gone up to Doctor Emerald and was almost yelling at him.
“I told you yesterday that Tallic will need some protein to help his muscles heal properly and repair the damage from those electrical blasts. Furthermore, most predators insist on killing their own food. Thus I am bringing him something he should be able to dispatch even in his weakened condition.”
Stronghammer watched in shocked revulsion as Saph’s dad lured it close and turned to Tallic.
“Greetings, Tallic, I have brought you a peace offering. I assume you will be hungry after the events of yesterday.”
My body was shaking as I watched Tallic’s expression go from disbelief to disgust and finally to horror. He grabbed the cragadile by the tail and I saw him wince as he threw it back into the forest.
Doctor Emerald stood there in shocked disbelief.
The bug pony brought me a mating gift!
I sat there, processing this insanity. The first thought I had was disgust at the prospect of mating with a non dragon. The second was how this creature expected us to mate. Finally, I processed the pitiful gift that was not only disgustingly weak but also barely more than a mouthful. I was offended that he could consider that crocodilian any kind of threat.
Another thing occurred to me. He was male.
Does he think I am female?
I was getting ready to attack him for the insults when I realized that he probably did not know dragonish standards. Instead, I threw the poor crocodilian beast back into the forest and glared at him.
The effort involved was minimal, but it still caused a bit of pain to my injured muscles. I stared death at him, ignoring the pain and hoping that he was smart enough to get the hint without me having to resort to violence.
Steelskin broke into helpless laughter. ”Doc-Doctor Emerald,” Steelskin took a second to try to rein in his laughter before continuing. “That’s how dragons propose to each other.”
The bug pony sat there with a shocked expression on his face. “You mean I...” Emerald sat back on his haunches in embarrassment.
"I'm-sorry-Tallic-I-thought-you-were-hungry-it-has-nothing-to-do-with-any-attraction-to-you at all! I'm simply looking out for my patients!" Emerald stumbled over himself trying to explain his actions.
This time, it was I who had to restrain laughter, especially due to how much it hurt.
“Yes, and if you want to speed my healing, send Twilight Sparkle to my cave and have her bring back some of the bars of iron Alex gave me.”
I was trying to hold back the hiccups I got from laughing so hard as Tallic and Doctor Emerald fixed their misunderstanding.
“...And, Steelskin, please go with her. I would feel more comfortable if you were in the cave with her.”
“But...” The words died on my lips as I looked at him. He had a pleading look in his eyes that told me ‘Please don’t argue.’
I gave him a goodbye nuzzle and turned to leave... almost running into Misters Reinhart, Roberts, and Brennan. Twilight Sparkle followed them along with Big Mac who was pulling a wagon.
“Greetings, Twilight. I was just asking Emerald here to relay a request to you.” I was perversely amused to see his discomfiture at his title being left off.
“Oh?” She turned her head as everyone else stepped aside for her to talk with me.
“Yes, if you are willing, I would request that you enter my cave and bring back several bars of the iron that Alex so graciously gave me.” I noticed her get uncomfortable at my request.
“Uhm... how would I get in?” Her eyes darted left and right, causing my anger to surface.
“Do not lie to me,” I growled, “Even a human would be able to sense your pitiful attempt at deception. They would not even need the knowledge that you have kept the key rune I had given you.”
She wilted under my fiery gaze as I continued to berate her. “Did you think I would not keep close tabs on the stones that gave free entry to my lair? Did you count me so dull witted that I could not count?”
Her tears brought me out of my rage as I noticed that her cowering was not fear but remorse.
I noticed the others had all gone into defensive stances in case I chose to attack her, even Steelskin.
“I-I’m sorry... I-I...”
Matt turned to Twilight and started berating her. “You stole from a dragon? Are you stupid? Towns have been burnt to the ground for that.” He put his hand up to his visor and shook his head. “Twilight Sparkle, I hereby dub you the dumbest smart pony ever.”
“One moment, Matthew. She did not steal the initial one from me. She merely did not give it back when the others passed theirs back to me. I saw her hold onto it and I could very well have asked her for it at that time.” I turned back to the weeping unicorn. “No, Twilight Sparkle, I am sorry. I reacted harshly to one who has shown me nothing but acceptance and respect. Please accept my utmost apology.” I hated apologizing, but felt I needed to make amends. This world of pastel ponies was making me soft, but I could not ignore Steelskin’s response either.
I took a deep breath. It had been decades since I had ever felt so many conflicting emotions, but the lessons of my first century were still easy to call to mind as I focused myself and brought my logical mind back into supremacy. “Steelskin, please accompany Twilight Sparkle. I trust her as much as I can trust any, but I am still a dragon and she is still entering my lair and carrying off my hoard.” I turned back to Twilight. “Please forgive my lack of trust. Dragon greed is inescapable for even the wisest of us.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll be back before you know it.” Her mood had done a complete turnaround and I looked on in amazement as she stood back up with a smile on her face. ”Steelskin, please get close, we’re going to teleport to my lab.”
With that, the two of them disappeared in a purple sphere of crackling energy and I was left with the males.
We landed in her basement and she quickly went over to a stand that had all sorts of gadgets and gizmos pointing at one of Tallic’s key runes.
“Well, here we go,” Twilight said as she levitated the gemstone into her saddlebags. “Time to go.”
There was a tear in her eye and she had the same forced smile that I often wore as she readied her teleportation spell again.
“So, Tallic, do you know if healing potions work on you?” Trace had stepped forward as Mac unhitched himself from the wagon.
“They have a very limited effect, most likely due to my size and stamina being so much greater than those whom the potions were made for.”
“Mana potions, too?” Mac was unloading two large kegs from the back of the wagon as Trace continued talking to me.
“I appreciate the sentiment, so let us find out.” With that, I used my talon to poke two holes in the top of the keg of healing and downed it quickly.
Immediately, the pain in my side lessened and I could feel the muscles stitch themselves together a little faster. Sadly, both effects wore off quickly with the wound only slightly less severe than it was beforehand.
I did likewise with the keg of mana and found my awareness spreading out as a familiar feeling of well being filled me. The buzzing in my head faded and I saw/smelled the forest, finding it brimming with chaotic magics. Well, that would be a good reason why I could not draw any substantial magic in for healing. It would be nigh impossible to pull anything useful out of that tangled mess.
I started to smile as I thought about how I had tried to gather magic from that, then started giggling at the sight of the lesser ones looking at me worriedly. Finally, I broke out in claw smashing laughter as I thought about how silly I must look. I felt some pain in my side, but did not care much. I had not felt so good since the party Pinkie Pie threw for Steelskin.
We arrived at the entrance to Tallic’s cave and Twilight Sparkle gave me the key rune.
“It should only work for one pony, so you’ll need to go in and get the iron.” She looked nervous and embarrassed.
It was kinda scary to be entering his cave without him here. I looked around at the empty walls surrounding the pile in the center as I walked slowly in. The stone was worn smooth in a semicircle around the pile even though he hadn’t even been living here very long. The only place that was still rough was directly in front. I quickly gathered up as many bars as I could hold and brought them out to Twilight before going back in to get one more load. As I trotted back in, I noticed a little alcove off to one side where the walls and floor had been rubbed smooth and some hay had been laid down in a way that reminded me of a pony sized bed.
Just looking at it made me feel happy and safe.
I was able to get decent enough control of myself to talk again.
“You should put this... stuff... in your mead.” I grinned stupidly at Trace.
Trace gave me a nervous smile. “I’ll remember that for next time you join us.”
“You know, it has been difficult to sleep in this field due to how open and unprotected it is, but with this, I shall probably sleep like a hatchling... In fact, I think I will settle down for a nap right now.” I felt my eyelids growing heavy and settled my head on my forelegs.
“Before you do, Tallic, may I please examine your wound? I will be using a simple second sight spell to see into the wound and make sure there was nothing missed when Steelskin examined it. I promise not to interact with your mind at all and most creatures can not feel anything while I use it.” Emerald seemed properly deferential, so I decided to give him permission.
We got back to the clearing and found everypony but Mister Reinhart and Big Mac had left.
“Well, we’ve found out how mana potions affect dragons,” Mister Reinhart said with a smile. “He got quite happy and then fell asleep. Basically similar to his reaction to ether ore, but with a little more drowsiness.”
“Drat! I was hoping to get him to designate Steelskin as his representative for Oté and Stoutheart’s trial.” Twilight sat down and frowned.
“One step ahead of ya.” Big mac smiled at her before turning to me. “Think ya can tell Princesses Celestia and Luna about what happened yesterday and stand as Tallic’s rep?” He placed a hoof on my shoulder before continuing. “I know ya want ta stay close, but I’ll keep watch while yer gone. Also Doctor Emerald’s done a look-see of the wound and it’s healing nicely with nuthin’ in it. Was a little bit o’ chaos magic he got rid of, but that’s it.”
~~~
I felt kinda nervous getting on the train. It was my first time after... Well, getting on the train wasn’t too bad, but I got skittish when they closed the doors. I was relieved, but a little embarrassed when Twilight Sparkle pulled me close to reassure me. We stayed like that as I got my panic under control.
Then the train got moving and I puked all over her.
She quickly summoned a bucket for me and I spent the whole ride curled around it feeling absolutely mortified at what I had done.
“What’s wrong with me?” My moan was cut off by another round of puking.
“Don’t worry,” Ms. Sparkle sighed. “Tallic said this might be a side effect from his magic.
I was too busy getting sick in that bucket to ask her about that.
It was a good thing she pulled me off the train because I didn’t even hear them call the stop.
~~~
“Private Stoutheart, Step forward.” The former captain nervously stepped forward. “You have been accused of contracting for the murder of a fellow sentient and a lawful resident of Equestria. Do you have anything to say for yourself?” Princess Celestia’s voice was filled with cold anger as she glared at the pony in front of her.
“No, Princess,” He whimpered as he sank to the floor and covered his face.
“Very well. You are hereby stripped of all rank. After examination and release by the Canterlot psychiatrists, you shall be granted a job at the quarry of your choosing for the span of ten years. You shall take no jobs in the area of defense nor hold any martial weapon during that time. You shall also stand and watch as I pass judgement on the one you hired to attempt this abominable act.” At the end of Princess Celestia’s pronouncement, both her and Princess Luna stomped their right forehoof twice in unison.
Stoutheart looked at his cutie mark before quietly stepping backwards. It was obvious that the sword and shield cutie mark would have no place in a quarry and I doubted he’d ever be allowed back into the guard.
Princess Celestia turned to the donkey standing next to Stoutheart. “Donkey Oté, step forward.” Unlike the pony, he walked forward proudly and unflinching in the face of the princesses. “You have been accused of the attempted murder and grievous injury of a lawful resident of Equestria and of attempted grievous injury of a foal. Furthermore, your reckless attack with area effect lethal magics endangered multiple citizens of Ponyville. Do you deny these charges or the charge that you possessed and used weapons with unlawful and abhorrent enchantments?”
“It would be pointless to do so as you could call countless witnesses against me. I do contest the status of lawful resident on the monster I was asked to dispatch. The foal was charging me and I claim self defense.” Everypony gasped as he said this.
“You are claiming self defense with a spear magically enchanted with not only sharpness, but also heart seeking and pain enhancement against an unarmed foal?” Princess Luna’s voice was an angry whisper.
Princess Celestia looked at her in concern.
The donkey ignored the question and continued talking. “On the matter of the townsponies, I lay their peril at their own hooves since the smart response to a dragon attack would be to run in the opposite direction. If they had done so, they would not have been close enough to have been in any danger.”
“Very well then, I declare you guilty by your own admission and remand you to the custody of the Psychiatric Ward at Canterlot Hospital. They shall evaluate your mental state and decide how best to heal your obviously twisted and corrupted mind. You are to never hold or use any type of martial weapon or armor from henceforth.” Celestia turned to me and asked “Do you have any objections to this decree, Steelskin?”
I kinda wanted him to be punished worse, since I was still mad at him, but felt kinda bad saying so. Mom always insisted I needed to forgive and the princesses knew what they were doing, so I shook my head.
Princess Celestia glanced at Princess Luna and took a deep breath before calling out “Let it be recorded that in the presence of one victim and the representative for the second, we the Royal Pony Sisters, affirm this judgement.”
As I was instructed, I joined them as we stomped our hooves.
The donkey was led away by some guards while Stoutheart followed with his nose brushing the floor.
As Stoutheart trudged slowly out of the court room, a dark gray unicorn mare with a silver mane motioned for him to come over.
"C-Captain Nightshade?"
"What you did was dumb, foolish even, but you know, everyone deserves a second chance. When you're done with your punishment, come and see me."
A barely visible smile appeared on Celestia’s face as she looked kindly at them.
~~~
On the way back, it was just as bad, but this time, I puked on Spike.
“Sir, are you sure we’re armed well enough for this fight? I saw the report on what that donkey had.”
“What we have is what we have, soldier. Or would you rather ask the princesses to do our job for us?”
The guardspony wilted under the gaze of his senior officer. “No, sir, I’m just a little nervous. If that stuff is what they sold, I’m worried about the stuff they kept for their own defense.”
The leader of the six pony strikeforce checked everypony’s position before giving the go-ahead to break down the door of the two room cottage.
The lead unicorn swept his gaze over the entire room, looking for threats. Everything had been cleaned out except for one cobbled together device sitting in the middle of the room.
There was a bag sitting on the floor with a tube suspended above it. Connected to the tube was a thin wire running to the ceiling and back towards him. He watched in horror as the tube started descending towards the mouth of the bag.
”ABORT!”
His horn lit up as he triggered the teleportation spell he had drilled into him ever since basic training. The tube fell into the bag and reality tore. Thanking his drill instructor for the milliseconds he had cut off the casting time, he gazed into the void. Things started flying towards the rip as a bubble of magic crackled around him.
After the spell activated with a pop, he sank to the grass, eyes closed. He dimly registered the sound of the cottage falling in upon itself.
As he sat there, he heard his commander call out his comrades’ names.
“...Bright Shield.”
He looked up at the officer as his name was called. “Uninjured.”
“Thank Celestia, that was close. What was it?”
“Not sure the details, but it was two different magically expanded containers set for one to fall into the other. Tore a rift in space.”
I was getting restless. It was nearing the middle of my second day in the field and the weather was feeling like snow was coming. I had quietly voiced my concern about Steelskin being caught out here in a snowstorm to Rainbow Dash, but she gave me the enigmatic answer of ‘We’ll just leave a hole in the cloud for you.’
Miss Sweetheart also came by with a paper she wanted a talon mark on. It was something related to officially adopting Steelskin. She also said she needed to talk about the suitability of my cave.
I smelled donkey and tensed up involuntarily. Looking around, I saw my attacker being led by a unicorn guard.
“I have come to apologize and offer restitution to you and the citizens of ponyville.” The donkey humbly bowed to me as a unicorn guard stood behind and to his right.
I smelled mind control magic.
Looking into his eyes, I could see that while the influence appeared to be slight, the donkey had obviously been ‘adjusted’.
I took a moment to control my rage and make sure it did not affect my voice. “I accept your apology, but now I must go.” I quickly launched myself into the air and flew to my cave. My side was screaming agony as partially healed muscles protested the sudden exertion. I knew that I was setting back my healing by a substantial amount, but I could not let this cruelty go uncontested.
My cave was how I left it and my treasure in the middle of my sleeping area was only missing the few bars that Steelskin and Twilight had brought me. This calmed me down a little as it removed the fear of intruders that had been building during my recuperation, though I was still in danger of losing control. I quickly ate enough iron bars to sustain me on my journey and started my flight to Canterlot.
Mind control as a punishment? I never dreamed that ponies could be this barbaric. No, I should have guessed. Ponies are herd animals, so it would stand to reason that they would value conformity above all else.
I took the extra time I had during my flight to grow my full battle plate and adjust it to be more resistant to magic. Especially my head.
Soon, the mountain city was in my sights. I made for the largest of the windows of the castle. They had images of what I took to be great battles represented in the glass.
Cries from the guards erupted all throughout the battlements as I approached. They were apparently manning (ponying?) some seige type weapons which I ignored until I needed to avoid some large wooden projectiles. I rewarded them with some spikes through their weapons.
I noticed Twilight and her friends in several windows just before I ripped three of them apart as I crashed through them. I saw the petitioners scatter and the royal guards charge at me. I ignored the spears and magic bolts as I roared my rage at the white horse sitting on the throne radiating the now repulsive aura of motherly affection.
The mage bolts from the unicorns were irritatingly painful. The spears were not felt at all as they bounced off my plating.
“What barbarism do you perpetrate in this nation?” I screamed at Celestia as she sat there with her unreadable calm.
“Guards, please leave Tallic alone. He is angry about something and needs to talk with me.” Celestia turned from her guards and looked at me again.
“Please tell me what has happened, dear Tallic.”
”Mind control magic! The donkey had his mind taken from him!”
“Ah, yes, I make sure to be informed of the times when conscience alteration is necessary. It was not mind control, just a very gentle reformation spell.”
I sat glaring death at her. The main bulk of my rage had been vented, so I no longer needed to scream at her.
“All the spell did was to fix a damaged conscience.” Her calm arrogance caused my anger to flare again.
“Is that what you would have done to me if I killed that egg stealer?” I changed my tone to a cold and ruthless whisper. “Would you have taken away my mind?”
“What would you have me do to the one who attempted your murder? What would you have me do to the one who carelessly put innocent civilians in mortal danger? What would you have me do to the one who was ready to kill Steelskin? Would you rather he be executed, or have him rot in a dungeon for the rest of his life?” She spoke with quiet strength.
“Yes, either of those would be better than to lose your very mind.”
She paused for a second, possibly thrown by my answer.
“I will not execute my little ponies.” Her whisper held a hint of danger.
“It would have been better for him if you had! You have no right to take away free will!” I was in danger of losing control again.
”I will not sit back and watch as they fall into the trap that claimed my sister!” Her self control broke and tears fell from her eyes as she grabbed me in her magic and thrust me against a wall. The building shook with the force of the impact.
I wanted to spear her through the heart.
She took a moment to compose herself again and looked at me with eyes I could understand.
“I am sorry that you do not have telepathy, for then I could show you how minor the change was. It was literally putting something back the way it used to be... like gluing the handle back onto a broken teacup. However, I do understand your anger and your... concern, but if you cannot trust me, then you must at least accept that this is the law of the land.” She took another breath before continuing. “How would you feel if that thunder gem that I am told you refused to dodge, had hit and killed some of Steelskin’s friends? We cannot allow that kind of disregard for life...” Her voice dropped to a pained whisper. “But neither can I imprison anypony again.”
Her voice regained its strength, but stayed dangerously calm. “I have trod the path of the tyrant. It is a path I have vowed to never set hoof on again. Never again shall I execute, never again shall I imprison away from the light of my sun.”
I sat there, pinned to the wall, sulking like a hatchling that had been told to stay in their cave. I had exhausted my reasoning, but could not accept hers. Now was the time to accept that we were too different. Both of us found the others’ idea of justice to be vile and disgusting.
I hung my head in defeat.
“I accept your rule over this land... I just ask that you never use it on me. If you ever feel the need... please execute me... It would be kinder.”
She released me gently and her voice returned to the kindness of a friend. “I will not do that. I doubt that I shall ever have to do more than give you a lecture, but if I do deem it to be necessary, I promise you that I shall exile you to the dragon lands rather than use anything you deem to be mind control.”
“I will accept that, but I have lost all respect for your rule.” I sat there, staring at her with resignation.
“I am sorry for that, and again, I wish I could show you how very gently and slightly we fixed his conscience. Even with somepony as cruelly dangerous as he was, we rarely do this. Even then, we tread very lightly and carefully, seeking only to find the original state and return their conscience to that.” Her eyes spoke of compassion and regret. If it were not for the horrors I had seen, I may have even been swayed by her words and that look of sorrow.
I noticed that her horn had not stopped glowing when she released me from the wall, and as I looked, I saw the last bit of the windows fuse itself back into place as if I had never broken it.
“And Tallic, please use the dragon entrance next time.” She nodded to a set of doors easily large enough for me to fit through. “You will find my guards much more accommodating if you do not break windows when you come to discuss things with me.” She gave me a sad smile with her farewell.
I got back from school to find Tallic gone. In his place was the donkey that attacked us. Tears of rage ran down my face as I charged him, ready to make him hurt as bad as he made Tallic hurt.
I was caught in a unicorn’s grip, hooves unable to touch the ground, but that wouldn’t stop me. I sent my foreleg out and caught him full in the face. When my legs were grabbed, I started twitching them until I was encased in a shield bubble that I pounded on until I ran out of strength.
“You done yet?” A unicorn guardspony was looking at me angrily.
“What’s he doing here, and where’s Tallic?” My fear and worry pushed out my anger and I broke down in tears.
“I came to apologize, Tallic flew off towards Canterlot after I apologized to him. I also wanted to tell you yourself how sorry I am and I want to find a way to make it up to all of you.” The donkey rubbed his jaw where I had hit him as he spoke.
“I forgive you.” It slipped out before I even knew what I was saying. Mom had made it very clear that you should always accept an apology even if you’re going to stay cautious around them.
I sat back on my haunches as I realized what I had just forgiven him for. I wanted to hurt him even more, but you don’t take back forgiveness. The only thing left for me to do was sulk as the mule thanked me and walked with his guard back to Ponyville.
Taking a moment to gather clean magic from the environs surrounding Canterlot castle, I flew as gently as I could back to Ponyville. I was making use of air currents more than I ever had before and, while it helped, I was still in pain during the entire flight. My thoughts inexorably drew me back to the 'Paladin of Happiness’.
~~~
“Oh, ho, ho,” Heartgourger laughed at me in response to my threat. He stayed at the entrance to my cave as he continued his lecture on enforced ‘happiness’. “Squashing me won’t give you the lasting happiness that this kingdom requires.” At the word ‘requires’ his staff erupted in a blinding light. All concerns were washed away and I sat there in a blissful stupor.
“Come, dragon, time to head into town and make this spell permanent.” I happily followed him like a puppy.
As we walked down the main street, I saw vacant smiles all around me.
It is so nice that everyone is happy...
No! it is not good...
...but everyone is so happy and content...
The staff...
After a great deal of back and forth with myself, I won back my mind enough to reach out and grab his staff in my talon, snapping it like a twig. Instantly, my mind cleared and I eliminated the threat in front of me with a wet splat. Everyone around me smiled pleasantly except one slightly more aware one that gave a happy shout.
I grabbed as much iron as I could find, raiding the blacksmith and the armoury, and flew back to my cave. I grabbed a boulder and sealed myself in for the remainder of my time there.
~~~
Ponyville lay ahead of me. It no longer looked as inviting as it had. I adjusted my course to fly over it on my way back to my cave, trumpeting my presence so that Steelskin would know I had come back.
I settled myself on my hoard and glanced over to the spot I had hollowed out during a moment of loneliness.
I wonder if my outburst at Celestia will negatively affect that adoption application Miss Sweetheart had gotten my signature on.
Drifting off into a healing slumber, I sent out a quiet thanks for her change of heart.
Celestia sat on her throne and smiled, glad to be given a thank you from one of her subjects. She closed her eyes and whispered “You’re welcome, Tallic.”
Pulling out a scroll and quill, she began to compose a letter before a frown replaced the smile. “No, ‘tis better he not know about this link with the residents of my land... he may take it the wrong way.
With a sigh, she returned her scroll and quill to their places.
I sat shivering in the grass. I knew it wasn’t true, but I was almost panicking with the fear that he was never coming back. I fought back the tears and the lump in my throat.
I felt a hoof on my back. I looked up and saw Mister Brennan and noticed it was that strange ‘hand’ thing humans have on their forelegs. I didn’t trust myself to speak. I was pretty certain I’d start sobbing like a baby if I tried. I laid my head back down on the grass and closed my eyes.
"It's hard when the ones you care about leave, I know... But you have to remember, sometimes it's for us. Sometimes they come back."
I really didn’t want to hear him making my fears sound more reasonable. My body started shuddering with the sobs I was holding back.
His voice perked up. "Or sometimes you just have to follow them and slap them upside the head for being so stupid. The trick is figuring out which it is." Matt ruffled my mane.
That actually made me feel a little better. If he... I couldn’t even think it... but at least I could run off and find where he went and yell at him for leaving me behind. I might even be able to get Mister Brennan’s help tracking him down. I was able to give him a teary eyed smile as I thought about a knight helping me hunt the dragon and drag him home.
"Don't worry, he'll be fine, he's not about to leave you under my care. He wouldn't dare die on you if it meant me taking responsibility for you."
I gave a little half sob, half chuckle at the thought of him adopting me.
Yeah, Tallic would have a fit.
Just then, a shadow passed over us and I heard Tallic give his little bugle. I looked up to see Tallic and watched as he flew towards his cave.
Needless to say, I scrambled to my hooves and chased after him. I ran around the town so that I wouldn’t run into anypony. I stumbled more than once because I kept my eyes on him instead of where I was running.
Just before I left the field, I remembered to turn back and call out my thanks to Mister Brennan.
Miss Introspective trotted up to Matt. “Thank you so much for that talk you gave him. I was concerned he was going catatonic with everything he witnessed.” Tears welled up in her eyes. “We have yet to find a way of safely reaching those who have closed off the world... We end up having to wait and hope they come back to us.”
“Nah, he wasn’t at that point yet. Would’ve woken up on his own once he heard Tallic. That dragon’s his whole world,” Matt responded.
“Greetings, Doctor Whinnicolt.” Celestia stood at the door to his office at the Canterlot Psychiatric Ward.
“Princess.” The unicorn bowed briefly. “What do I owe the honor of your visit?”
“Simply put, Tallic has expressed concern over our method of treating Oté. I consider it necessary, as he was the injured party, to have a formal investigation into the decisions relating to his treatment. Due to the unique nature of this case, I have decided that I should handle it myself.”
Doctor Whinnicolt looked a little nervous at this. “Yes, most certainly...”
“Do not worry,” Celestia said reassuringly as she ushered him into his office. “You have served Equestria wisely and compassionately for many years. All I am looking for is the notes on why a reformation spell was deemed to be necessary, details of the spell, and the observations on its particular effect on him. This is only to try to set Tallic’s mind at ease and not because there is any concern on my part about your handling of this case.”
“Are you sure you don’t want the showerhead to be able to cut steel?” El was offering upgrades to my cave to comply with Miss Sweetheart’s complaints about the substandard nature of my cave. I did not know what to say to her suggestions, especially with the fact that she was, I hope unintentionally, talking about cutting through my scales with a cleaning device.
“Eleanor, that would be a problematic feature,” Trace said, digging through his bags.
Miss Sweetheart picked up her jaw, which had been dropped in shocked horror for several minutes. “Yes, he only needs a simple, low pressure shower. It should only be good for washing ponies and needs to be unable to hurt a colt.”
El looked disappointed, but agreed. I was ready to call this meeting done and find a way of making a home for Steelskin just outside Ponyville after the first suggestion of a fusion powered automatic front door and a quantum black hole for waste disposal.
“Okay, so you want everything underpowered,” El said with a frown.
"Yes!" Miss Sweetheart’s outburst was an interesting mix of relief and exasperation.
I took a deep, calming breath and collected my thoughts..
“I wish to have as few alterations to my cave as necessary. I do not feel comfortable around human technology.” This was not completely accurate. The truth was that it was only the mad scientist style technology that El was pushing that reminded me too much of some of the... interesting humans that had hassled me. “Let us keep it to a simple shower, drinking water, and waste disposal. I also demand that whatever is powering them not be able to create more than a pony length blast radius in the event that it overloads and explodes.”
El appeared to be about to object to the implication that her inventions could break when Miss Sweetheart cut in. “We also need a door to this cave so that the weather is kept out.”
“I could set up an enchantment that would allow Tallic and Steelskin to simply create a wall of magical ice around the entrance that would be strong enough to stop a cannonball. All I’d need to do is add a form of switch that both of them could use to activate it when needed. Along with some materia to alter the temperature inside. That should cover your complaints over my previous work,” Trace said in an annoyed tone, giving Miss Sweetheart a half-hearted glare.
“I would rather a physical door,” Miss Sweetheart replied.
“I, too, would prefer a purely physical door. Magic has an odor, and while I like the smell of your current barrier, elemental manifestations can be irritating. I would prefer something along the lines of a ‘garage door’. I believe that Alex and Matt are both familiar with the device,” I interjected, forestalling Trace’s offended reaction.
“Well, can we at least put a teleport pad outside so that Steelskin can get to school quickly?” El was apparently trying to get something that would require at least a little bit of a challenge to create.
Trace pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “I’ll look into the ideas for a door with the others, but I suggested the previous option because it would be the simplest. Unless placed right, a physical door could cause problems with the barrier, and I’d have to go through the trouble of modifying it to work properly, which could take some time.”
I glanced to the back of the cave and wondered aloud. “What if we built a small house for Steelskin in the back of the cave? Something with a large enough opening that I could stick my head inside would be more than big enough for him. You could even put in some sort of kitchen where he could learn to prepare his own food.”
I felt kinda bad ditching my friends, but I was still real worried about Tallic. He still winced when he changed positions, so I knew he wasn’t healed yet.
“Hey Steely!” Pinkie came bouncing up behind me, carrying a weird box. “I’d better get the bounciness out of my system before I say goodbye to Tallic.”
That gave me a bit of worry, but I was still kinda scared of going insane from talking to Pinkie for too long, so I didn’t ask.
“I’ve got some superawesome stuff to show you two.”
I stared at her nervously. “Uhm...”
“Oh, don’t worry your little head about it, your Auntie Pinkie has a going away present for you two.”
“Uhm...”
“Thank you, Tallic. This was most informative.” Miss Introspective had come by after the rest had left, saying she needed to ask me some questions for an official report on my fitness to adopt Steelskin. I was thankful for the distractions that were taking my mind off my restlessness.
I gave a low chuckle as Miss Introspective was heading towards the mouth of my cave. She, of course, jumped at the noise.
“I apologize, I was just amused by the thought that I would normally be irritated by all the visitors I have had today.” She looked a little confused by my statement, but shrugged it off.
As she exited my cave, she got ready to toss the key rune back to me.
“No. Keep it.” I smiled at her look of surprise. “You have earned the right to visit me and, hopefully Steelskin, any time you wish. Miss Sweetheart told me about how you spoke in defense of letting Steelskin have contact with me while these proceedings are underway. I assume from her discomfort that it is an extremely rare allowance that was potentially dangerous to your career.”
“Well, not really. I had very good grounds for pushing for the exemption due to Steelskin’s trauma from his own losses as well as his witnessing your own injury. I am actually surprised at his resilience. I would expect him to be skittish at the very least.” Miss Introspective had a distant look in her eyes as if she were remembering something.
“Yes, he does suffer from some serious nightmares and needs me to settle him down at least three times a night,” I responded.
“Well, that is to be expected, but he is remarkably calm during the day and even went to school today. It is much more common for a pony, even an adult, to be catatonic for several days after such an event. I can only assume that seeing the death of his parents prepared him for witnessing the violence perpetrated against you. We fully expected him to be unresponsive for at least a week, if not permanently afflicted with debilitating ITS.” Tears welled up in her eyes before she murmured quietly “I was so relieved when he woke up after the second day.”
“Still, you seem to be a nation of rules and paperwork. To go against the standard procedure has been quite dangerous in the other lawful-aligned realities I have been in.”
“I cannot abide putting rules above the welfare of a seriously traumatized colt.” She sniffed in anger before muttering under her breath “Unlike some on that board.”
“Good evening, Miss Introspective. Good morning, Tallic.” The Pink One was standing outside my cave along with Steelskin.
Miss Introspective gave a rather rushed farewell to me before greeting her nervously. I had the distinct impression that she was trying her hardest to give Steelskin a prolonged and attentive greeting before she trotted off quickly. I briefly wondered if she might feel the way I do about this impossible pony.
“May I come in, Tallic? I have something to show you for a going away present.” Pinkie Pie was speaking remarkably calmly and that comment about ‘going away’ made me curious.
“Yes, you may,” I said, tossing her a key rune, sure that I would regret it.
Upon entering she placed what I recognized to be a portable computer on the floor and plugged another device into it. She then used her hooves on the keyboard that was five sizes too small for her hooves and got a display to pop up in midair.
“Well, this series actually follows Natsu, Igneel’s son, but later in the series, Gajeel joins up.”
“Are you telling me that the portals between worlds can follow individuals?” I had heard of stories that mimicked the settings and physical laws of other realities. I had even been in a few that I had seen some of these stories depict, but I had never heard of actual people being the topic of these cross-world stories.
“Well, most of these muse leaks end up taking a bit of dramatic license, but I get a good feeling of accuracy with the ‘anime’ ones. I think the neighponese are much more interested in accuracy...”
I looked down at Steelskin and he shook his head at me, silently telling me not to think too hard about it if I wished to retain my sanity.
She got a twinkle in her eye. “Don’t let him know, but there’s even someone writing a story about Alex.”
I sat there in total disbelief as Pinkie said that somepony was writing Mister Roberts’ life. The crusaders had said something about the the bearers of the Elements having some sort of following where he came from, but I thought they were just making up a strange, twisted ponytale. Now Pinkie was telling us that Mister Roberts was being watched by some sort of inter-dimensional spy? It was right out of my magic fiction books.
Luckily for his sanity, Tallic didn’t ask any more questions and Pinkie made the screen show these cool moving pictures. Some of the fights I saw made me want to curl up and hug my tail, but I still saw some pretty cool moves.
I should try eating fire like Natsu ate the other stuff... nevermind, don’t want to get that sick.
I looked up to see Tallic smiling and looking like he was gonna cry when the three dragon slayers (ugh) teamed up and fought side by side. Sadly, the language switched to neighponese and there were these strange almost-runes at the bottom.
“That’s how they write,” Was Pinkie’s response when I asked. “Their writing is really different from ours.”
I guess Tallic could read them just fine, because he was totally into it and was even muttering to himself about it. I was glad he sounded more happy than angry.
Even though I couldn’t understand it anymore, I still watched, hoping I could keep myself from remembering that spear...
Pinkie Pie showed us multiple episodes, detailing the adventures of Igneel’s son. The brash, reckless, yet loyal to a fault kid was definitely the disciple of Igneel.
I noticed Steelskin shudder at a few of the violent points, but he was entranced by it and kept asking me “Can I do that?”
When we finished, as she closed down the programs, a picture of Twilight Sparkle’s face grinning maniacally popped up.
“Oops, didn’t mean for you to see that,” She said with an unconvincing grin.
She trotted out after packing up her devices.
“Hope you come back soon,” She said enigmatically before disappearing from sight.
I couldn’t decide whether to be relieved or disappointed when Pinkie Pie finally turned off her box and left with a disturbing goodbye. It was like she was expecting us to leave, but nopony was saying anything about us going anywhere.
“Steelskin, I apologize. I truly wanted to spend more time with you and was hoping to complete the adoption and spend at least a decade with you.” Tallic’s sudden statement got me seriously scared.
Where is he going? Why is he leaving me?
“I am a ‘jumper’ as Alex and the others call it. I feel the start of a jump coming.”
Moments after Pinkie Pie left, I felt the pull of a jump in my belly. There was no reason to pretend that I was not leaving this reality in just over a week, so I began to say my goodbyes to Steelskin. He, of course, did not take it well and started to beg me not to leave.
“I wish there was a way to keep from jumping, for I truly wish to spend multiple lifetimes in this gentle and peaceful reality,” I said in a broken hearted rumble as I held his chin up with a talon. “But-”
No!
This is progressing much too quickly!
“Steelskin! Get away quickly!” I almost screamed.
In a matter of minutes, the pull of the jump grew in intensity like a full week had passed. I tried to push him outside the radius of my pull, but he held on to my talon so firmly, I would have to hurt him to get him off.
”I’m not leaving you!” He screamed at me in desperation.
Before I could muster the determination to throw him from my cave, everything turned the familiar, burning white.
“Tallic?” I called out to my surroundings.
I was blind and felt like I had puked all over myself... and did other things.
“I am here.” His voice calmed me and I tried to get to my hooves. Before I could, he had wrapped his talons around me and pulled me close. “Do not worry, the effects of the jump will fade quickly.”
He was right. Soon, I started seeing blobs of grey and red, and soon after was able to see again. When he could see I had recovered, he got angry with me.
Well, I did disobey him, so I guess I’m in for a lecture. I flattened my ears back and tucked in my tail to let him know I was already sorry. But not so sorry that I wouldn’t do it again if it means staying with him.
“You do not realize the dangers that await you. Those videos we watched were nothing compared to most realities that I have experienced. I demand that you listen and listen carefully.”
He was scary in his anger, but it was a lot like when dad had pulled me out of the way of a carriage when I was crossing the street once.
“I did not want to lay this guilt on you, but now it is vital that you understand and obey without question when I tell you something.” His voice got a little more gentle as he continued. “You were the cause of both my injuries when the donkey attacked. I had to land in an indefensible way to keep you from getting killed by that lance of his. Then, if I had dodged the thunder pearl, you and your fellow ponies could have been killed by it.”
He, again, forced my muzzle up so I had to look him in the eyes. “When I tell you to do something, you must do it immediately, no matter how much danger I am in. If you disobey, one of us will probably die.”
I wilted under his fierce gaze and wouldn’t have been able to relax my ears even if I wanted to.
“And I refuse to let it be you.” I was overwhelmed by the pain and determination in his voice.
I mumbled an ‘okay’ as my eyes blurred with tears.
He moved his talon to gently run it down my mane as his voice grew soft and gentle. “I am the bigger and tougher one, so I need to protect you. Someday there will be someone weaker that you will get to protect, but for now, I am your armor.” He touched my breastplate. “Remember what that is made from and know that you are the most precious piece in my hoard.”
Pinkie heard the snap-crack of a large teleportation and frowned. She turned around and went back to the cave to find a large sphere missing from the inside of the cave and a large circle of polished steel where the floor used to be.
“Well, at least they’ll have plenty to eat,” She whispered quietly to herself. “Now to tell everypony the sad news.”
With that, she trotted back down the mountain with a sad smile on her face and a tear in her eye.
I landed in yet another Everfree Forest in yet another Equestria.
I sat as the effects of the jump wore off. The familiar smells of the Everfree forest greeted my nose. The magic was the same as the first Equestria, and, as my vision cleared, I could see the same trees that greeted me in most all of these worlds.
But this was it. I no longer had the will to keep going. It was not worth the effort to stand. It was not worth the effort to look for him. Not worth the effort to have my hopes shot down again.
There was no point. No point to gathering a hoard, No point to defending what would rust away or be consumed.
All that ever mattered were... Gajeel, George, and Steelskin. Each one that came into my life brought something to make me better and give me purpose.
A tear rolled down my cheek.
...And every time they were ripped from me.
I had been functioning only through instinct ever since I had been pulled from Steelskin, but now, even that was not enough to keep me going.
I sat and watched the moon as Luna, or possibly Celestia guided it across the sky.
So this is what The Emptiness feels like... not too much different from normal... more just the lack of those things that kept me moving... yes, The Emptiness is a good term for it... much better than ‘depression’ or such nonsense like that. I wonder if I will meet anyone before I waste away completely.
Probably. These ponies are quite social... especially The Pink One. I do not believe I would ever be able to escape her in any of these realities.
After a while, I heard voices and footsteps.
Let them have the metal and gems.
“We should be getting close to whatever caused the flash. Twilight, can you sense anything?”
My body was just too heavy to move, even to prepare for a fight.
Maybe they will kill me quickly.
As they approached, I caught the scent to go with the voice.
“Greetings, Alex. Do you come in friendship or domination?”
He looked at the others in confusion before turning back to me.
“Ah... friendship? Are you friendly too?” I was glad to see his ‘I am nervous, but will make you a friend’ smile rather than his ‘oh good, another conquest’ smirk. It would not have been a problem if an evil Alex would kill me, but, sadly, they were the type that would lock me in a cage and torment me.
“Metallicana! I’m-so-happy-to-finally-meet-you! Don’t-worry-Gajeel’s-doing-great...” The pink fireball stood on my nose and assaulted me with her normal explosion of words.
“Uhm, have I done this before?” She hopped down and gave me personal space.
Ah, Pinkie Pie, the one constant in these jumps...
For some reason, this time she did not scare me.
“Yes you have. Multiple times.” Despite my tiredness with life and fate, she managed to put a smile on my face.
Pinkie Pie paused for a minute. “Oh, for a second there, I thought I came on too strong.”
“Every other time, it was, my pink fireball, but today...” I shook my head tiredly.
For once, she was an anchor of stability rather than a font of insanity.
“Today, you are just what I needed.”
“I’m glad.” Pinkie Pie hugged my foreleg as the others sat there with the normal look of someone watching Pinkie. “You seemed so sad when I saw you... Oh!” She jumped back and her grin was back to its manic state. “I just remembered! I need to tell you about a colt named Steelskin!”
The mention of his name filled me with a bittersweet feeling of wistfulness. “Yes, tell me about little Steelskin.”
I do not think I shall train him, but I shall watch over him and be glad of his safety and happiness.
I closed my eyes and listened. I was still unbearably tired, but, ironically, this creature of raw insanity that I had feared for so long was now the bit of strength I so desperately needed.
Apparently, the ponies were concerned by my demeanor, as they started nuzzling my head and sides before laying down against me. I found a new sense of strength and purpose that was greater than anything I had felt before. I no longer needed a son to adopt because I now had an entire town to protect. With a smile, I vowed to protect, defend and avenge any Ponyville I jumped to.
On second thought, I shall pledge my protection to any town willing to consider me a ‘friend’.
I laughed quietly to myself as I carefully got to my feet. I wondered if I could have found this earlier if I could only have been courageous enough to get to know Pinkie.
“Would anyone-anypony, I mean, be willing to help me carry my hoard to the smoker dragon’s cave?”
“Somepony’s coming! Somepony’s coming!” Pinkie Pie was galloping through ponyville.
She saw Twilight and charged over, grabbing Twilight’s head in her hooves. “The ‘somepony we lost is coming back’ combo! Get everypony together and follow me while I figure out where they’ll be arriving!”
After a bit of running around, Twilight found her in the field just outside town. A crowd gathered around Pinkie as she staked out a circle of grass, warning everypony to keep their distance as they waited.
With a crackle of energy, a white bubble appeared in the space Pinkie had marked off. A half second later, it exploded in a wave of pure force, knocking everypony back. Acrid smoke wafted from the scorched earth that now stood before them. Inside the circle of destruction...
A pony. He was steel grey in color with a short cropped teal mane. He was covered from neck to flank in metal barding. It was scorched, scratched, and even dented. The chestplate had a crack in the center, running halfway down its length. His face bore multiple piercings. He also had dermal spikes, a style of piercing unseen except in the most warlike warg tribes of the Griffon Empire. What could be seen of his coat had multiple scars and scorched patches of hair.
As everypony sat there, trying to understand what they were seeing, multiple fillies tackled him with shouts of “Steelskin!”, “You’re back!”, and “We missed you so much!”
The pony slowly got back to his hooves, both happy and uncertain as he looked from the fillies to the crowd of ponies before him.
As my vision cleared, I heard voices. I wondered what hellish version of Equestria waited for me here. I could already feel that I had reverted back to my pre-jump age yet again, though my scars and piercings remained.
Apparently, a crowd had gathered around me without my hearing. I got to my hooves just in time to be bowled over by four fillies.
“Steelskin!”
“We missed you so much!”
“We thought you were dead!”
What happened?
I sat under the crushing embrace of what I soon recognized to be the Crusaders. I was glad that they seemed okay here.
“Hey, girls, you should really let him breathe for a minute.”
My vision finally cleared up enough to see an Alex that seemed to be kind. Well, at least he only has his sword and not the magical armor. Also, Dash isn’t on a leash and both her and ‘Loo seem happy and healthy.
~~~
They half-carried me back to Twilight Sparkle’s library tree as the Crusaders peppered me with questions. I stuck to the ones that only needed a single syllable answer since that was all they gave me the chance to do.
“You need help getting out of that armor, or do you need to leave it on?”
The last came from Matt Brennan, speaking in a gentle voice. I nodded my head with a thin smile, thankful to put my effort into keeping from being sick from the jump. I gratefully stood still while they gently undid the clasps and removed my saddlebags and armor.
“Uhm... Where’s Tallic?” I barely heard Fluttershy whisper.
“Oh, they got separated a few jumps in.” Pinkie Pie tilted her head sideways like she had confused herself, then smiled in that same Pinkie smile.
“Uhm...” Twilight turned to me, questioningly.
I closed my eyes and mustered the strength to talk. “Yeah, that’s pretty much it. I think I’ve been jumping for about thirty years. Most of that was alone.” I gave a small, resigned, smile. “The first one without him was pretty rough, but we’d been through a lot by then and I was pretty much an adult.” I decided not to bother saying that I still hoped I’d see him again.
Through it all, Scootaloo was hanging on my every word.
She’s still awesome, but she’s still a kid and I’m a war forged veteran. I’d better let Alex Roberts know I can’t be interested in her yet and need to make sure she has time to make sure she’ll be okay with me. Well, if this world is peaceful, I might be able to be a kid again.
Better ask that.
“Mister Roberts, Twilight Sparkle, who is the ruler here and are they benevolent?” My question threw them for a second.
Alex was the first to respond. “Celestia and Luna, and, yes, I can wholeheartedly say that they’re good and kind.”
“Does this mean you’ve been in alternate Equestrias where they weren’t?” Twilight looked horrified.
Mister Roberts looked down and smiled a sad, regretful smile. I was sure he’d understand anything I told him and probably already had a good idea of what I’d seen..
My smile at the news that both sisters were together and kind faded as I remembered all the different ways Equestria had been destroyed. “Yeah, I don’t think you want to hear about them... They were pretty nasty... Let’ just say there’s lots of ways the jumpers could’ve... done bad things.” I decided to leave it in the air about the multiple insane Celestias I had met.
“Oh! You poor dear!”
Apparently Miss Sweetheart had come in while I was talking because I was pulled up into a rib cracking hug.
I never enjoyed a hug more than that one.
“We need to find you a cat now!” Pinkie Pie did another of her verbal explosions, ramming her face half an inch from my own.
Everypony stared at her in confusion.
“You beat yourself to the punch,” I said with a smirk. “Come on out, Ginsu.”
