Chapter 10: An annoyance
We used a horse, or pony drawn carriage as our mode of transportation, I jumped off of Fluttershy's back onto the soft red cushion of the seat and quickly moved over to avoid being sat on. The interior of the carriage wasn't luxurious or breathtaking, Wooden framework and a decent size to accommodate us all and it was clean too. What I was not aware of was that this was a Pegasus drawn carriage (Pegasi are the winged ponies, I learned of their name in a conversation on the way to the carriage) and we would be flying down to Ponyville. I was caught by complete surprise when the carriage hurtled off the cliff.
"Who, hey, what are we DOING!" I panicked, everyone just looked at me and I realised what was up "Oh the uh, carriage is being pulled by… Pegasi…" I was really embarrassed, everyone started to laugh. I hid my bright red face in my arms until the laughter died down, before I knew it I fell fast asleep.
I did not sleep for very long due to another nightmare, this time it was more focussed on the ponies, they all hated me for an unexplained reason and were trying to harm me, I was about to be crushed by a hoof when I shot awake and jumped, falling off of the seat and hitting the floor. I immediately stood up and felt around my body, I was alive and safe.
"what's with you? You're always so… jumpy" Twilight commented
"It's nothing" I said, and I thought back to my dream "You guys would never…"
"Never what?" Applejack commented as I was hesitant to finish my sentence
"…well, never turn on me?" I finished.
"Why ever would we do such a thing darling?" Rarity asked
"Yea, we're all your friends, friends never turn on each other!" Pinkie added
"Its just uh… never mind, thanks, for the reassurance." Everyone seemed rather confused but I just ignored it "could I get a little help back up onto the seat, if that's ok?" I shyly asked, I could see needing help with everything might get a bit annoying but no-one had seemed to have had a problem so far. Fluttershy gleefully lifted me up by my clothes and placed me back on the seat. "Thank you Fluttershy" I said "So, how come you guys are all being so nice to me, its not like I have done anything for you, I stole from you Applejack and yet you allowed me to stay in your house." I asked, this question was really bugging me.
"Well, I felt real sympathetic fer you at the time, don't worry, I'll find a way fer you to pay it back" she said with a grin
"heh, yea… anyway, back in my world, if someone came across some living thing they had never seen before, they would either completely ignore it or freak out about it. You're all just acting as if we're friends" I continued to explain my confusion.
"Well what, you expected us to be scared of something as small and harmless as you?" Rainbowdash said insensitively
"Ugh just, nevermind" I sighed, I just couldn't explain properly
"Rainbow, don't be so insensitive, imagine if something similar happened to you!" Twilight backed me up
"Eh, she would still have wings, she wouldn't have to be so dependant on others" I noted, being dependant on everyone just didn't feel right. I constantly felt as if I was an annoyance in their lives.
"We'll shortly be arriving at Ponyville!" One of the carriage pullers called.
"Alright everypony, we still have half a day to kill, what are you all up to" Rainbowdash asked
"Well, I don't have any outstanding orders at my tailor so I have some free time" Rarity said
"I got pretty ahead of my apple buckin' yesterday so I got heaps of spare time" Applejack replied
"Spike is on top of all the chores at the library so I have time" Twilight added
"As do I, there aren't any animals in care at the moment" Fluttershy also replied
"So, lets all go and have a girls night out like at the spa we haven't done that for a while it'll be really fun!" Pinkie Pie suggested
Twilight was concerned about what to do with me "but what about the little guy? He probably wont feel very… at home…"
"Twilight, all of you, you don't need to put aside any part of your lives for me" I didn't want to be an annoyance "I could go help Spike out with his chores Twilight, I'm sure he'll appreciate that."
The carriage finally arrived at the destination point, I jumped up onto Twilight's back as the ponies got off the carriage. "Well, if you're sure, Spike and you do get along just fine." Twilight said with a concerned tone in her voice
"What's there to worry about?" I commented upon detecting that concern.
"Alright, alright, we'll head back to the library so I can get ready and we'll meet up at the spa girls" Twilight finally gave in and we all separated.
We didn't talk a whole lot on the way, I was admiring the scenery of this 'perfect' landscape. Everything was just so healthy and not a single patch of grass looked unattended. "I have a question" Twilight finally spoke
"Huh, uh yea?" I replied, shaking myself out of my trance
"what where Rainbow, Fluttershy and Applejack all wanting you to do at Rarity's this morning?" She asked, more of a 'can you do it to me' tone than a 'just interested' tone.
I sighed "Its called petting, we humans do it to the horses and ponies we own to comfort them and they enjoy it." I explained, keeping it simple
"So what does it feel like?"
"Well, I have no idea, im not a pony am I? Its sort of like a, well… ugh" I reached out and began to pet Twilight's mane, only a little bit.
"Wow, that really does feel great, I can see why humans and ponies get along so well in your world" she told me.
"Uh huh" I replied
"So, why didn't you want to pet anypony at Rarity's this morning?"
"Well, if I started doing it when they just asked then they might get too comfy with it and pester me when I don't want to." I was fairly certain this would be the case, and I hated nothing more then being repeatedly pestered to do something, even if that something is a small mundane task.
"I understand, but have a bit more control over myself when it comes to things like that" she said with a smile, I looked begrudgingly at her, sighed and pet her purple mane again.
We approached the door after several more minutes of walking, I got a better look at the huge hollowed out tree which contained the library, the tree still appeared to be perfectly healthy with green leaves and strong looking bark. The circular windows had beams of light from the gaps in the leaves reflecting off looking dazzling. There was a small wooden balcony on the upper level and a bee hive hanging off a branch on the opposite side, the door had a candlestick imprinted on it. Twilight opened the door with a creak and stepped inside.
Spike was busy with chores all over the Library, there were un-shelved books, untidy furnishings and mess everywhere, it was chaotic. "Huh, looks like Spike could use a hand with these chores after all" Twilight said without seeming too phased
"This place is a complete tip!" I said rudely "I mean, because it's a mess"
"Spike!" Twilight shouted, the obedient dragon immediately came running to us
"Yes Twilight, im on top of the chores, don't threat" Spike reported as a stack of books fell in the background
"Riiight… well me and the girls are heading out to the spa for the remainder of the day…" Twilight began, I jumped off of her back onto the nearby wooden table
"… and I suggested I should come and help out with your chores" I said
"Yea, I could use a hand actually, if you just work on the small things" Spike said with a snigger "this will be much easier"
"Alright then, I'll see you in a few hours" Twilight said before turning and exiting the Library. Spike climbed up onto a table and peered out of the window, I knew what he was thinking.
"We're not really gonna do these chores, are we?" I said in a calm voice.
"You catch on quick little guy, nah, we're gonna go to Sugarcube corner" Spike replied, licking his lips
"Sugarcube corner?" I replied, confused by the un-familiar name.
"Yea, it's a bakery run by the two best bakers in Equestria, the Cakes!" Spike replied enthusiastically, real original names I thought to myself
"Sounds good, I love cake, but who doesn't?" I replied rhetorically.
"we should leave it a few minutes before we go" Spike planned, I simply nodded my head in agreement. After a few minutes of standing books up and dusting them off, since that was all I really could do, Spike was ready to go. I jumped onto his shoulder as he walked past the table and we set off out the door.
I thought I should start a conversation as we walked, me and spike had quite a bit in common. We were both males surrounded by larger and more powerful females who could force us to do anything they wished if they wanted us too since we were much smaller and weaker, especially me.
"So, what's it like living with those ponies?" I asked casually
"Well, its not all bad, they are all my friends after all but well…" he seemed a bit reluctant to speak, which I understood. "Its just weird, im a dragon who is friends with ponies living in a town full of ponies, I tried making friends with other dragons before, that never turned out too well."
"Why not?" I asked him to go on
"Well, they were teenage dragons, much older than me. Although I did gain their respect I lost it again when I refused to, uh…"
"Don't worry, I know what teenagers can be like, since I am one after all" I replied, since he obviously didn't want to finish that sentence. "Yea yea I know, it doesn't look like it, but im seriously freaked out by this whole shrinking thing."
"Im not finding it funny, I really do feel sorry for you." Spike said
"Well, its not all bad since I got friends to look after me, y'know, if I never met any of you I'd be pretty screwed" I replied, making it positive. "So, im thankful to all of you." After saying this, I felt a strange, unexplainable feeling inside myself. It was sort of like a tingle which began in my chest and branched out to my head, arms and feet. I just shivered it off, getting a concerned look from Spike. "Its nothing" I said.
We arrived at the gingerbread house modelled building which I presumed was Sugarcube corner. The roof of the bakery looked like real gingerbread but I wasn't sure if it was. On top of that was a muffin shaped room with a cupcake shaped room on top of it. The cupcake-shaped room had three large candles protruding out of the top with lights on the end of them to look like flames. It stood out from the surrounding houses, that's for sure.
When we went through the pink door I was greeted by the most amazing carpentry I had seen in a building. The professionally cut beams all around the ceiling had beautiful patterns caved into them and the columns from ceiling to floor had the same amount of attention put into them, themed like a twisting candy cane of pink and white. There were some expertly baked cakes all around the room which were interestingly shaped and an assortment of colours. Spike set me down on the only table in the room and went over to the counter, presumably to order something, a few minutes later he returned with two cupcakes, both of which were blue in colour, but one was covered in what looked like blue gemstones.
"Here you go little guy" Spike said as he placed the cupcake without the gemstones in front of me. I tore a chunk of the soft fluffy cake off and tasted it.
"Unbelievable" I stated, amazed at what I had just eaten "I've never tasted anything that good!"
"Really, these are pretty average cupcakes, I don't have much money." Spike said
"These are average?" I couldn't believe that, what would the good ones taste like?
"Well yea" Spike said with a blue mess around his mouth.
"You've eaten that already?" I commented, since I had only made a small impression on mine.
"Heh, well. Sapphires are really good" he replied
"You just ate SAPPHIRES!" I was completely shocked
"Well yea, all dragons eat gemstones." He said, relaxing. Suddenly, he jerked upright, "I'll be right back" he called as he raced through a door on the other side of the room, it had a picture of one of the more bulky male ponies on it. Toilet? I thought.
I sat on the table waiting patiently, a light cerulean pony came down the stairs at the side of the building, I hid behind the menu on the table and studied her carefully, her pink mane looked like icing and she was shorter and rounder than the other ponies. She started talking to the pony at the counter, he was a bright orange coated pony with a short orange mane and he was much taller and ganglier than the other ponies. Both of them had cakes as their cutie marks, The tall orange pony had three cake slices and the shorter female had three cupcakes. The female one approached the table so I hid behind the menu fully.
"Oh dear, someone didn't finish their cupcake" She said, her voice sounded like a stereotypical auntie. "such a shame, I wonder if they didn't like it" with that she took the cupcake away, I was so tempted to jump out and tell her to stop so I could have another bite, but it was best to remain hidden.
"Look cupcake, Pinkie Pie is back already with her friends" The Orange pony said, That's funny, I could have sworn he just said… I turned to the open door, sure enough, the 6 ponies were en route to sugarcube corner. "Crap, what'll they think if they see me or Spike here?" I whispered to myself. I considered jumping off the table and making a break for it, but the cerulean pony was still trotting around the shop so she would see me. I closed the menu around myself and sat still, breathing quietly.
Could this get any worse? I thought to myself before face-palming as I knew it could. The six mares walked in single file and sat around the table I was hidden on, talking amongst themselves. Come on spike I was hoping he would come out soon so we could make a break for it. I heard a door squeak open and peeked around, but it was Big Macintosh coming out of the room, I quickly re-hid myself and sat still.
"What a shame, I was so looking forward to a delightful afternoon at the spa." Rarity said
"Yea, I wonder why they're closed" Rainbowdash wondered
"Im sure its just renovation or somethin'" Applejack commented
"We can always try again tomorrow" Fluttershy suggested
"Plus we still get to come to sugarcube corner and eat some of the best cake in Equestria so lets eat!" Pinkie Pie said before rushing off to the room behind the counter, presumably the kitchen. She returned moments later with six small cakes, the aroma from them was amazing.
"I wonder how spike and the little guy are doing back at the library" Twilight pondered
"Probably slacking off, the little guy is pretty lazy, don't ya think?" Rainbowdash answered, So that's what she really thinks? "I mean, he doesn't do much, he rode on us for most of the day."
"What would you expect him to do?" Rarity argued "Walk on the ground? He would be so slow!" making everyone giggle
"I do worry about him an awful lot because of how easily he could get hurt" Fluttershy said "sometimes the worrying distracts me from other things"
"Also, he's always so shy and jumpy, its understandable sometimes because he is so small but it's a bit over the top" Twilight added. So, talking about me behind my back huh? This made me really angry, if Twilight doesn't want me to be shy then… I lost my cool and threw the menu off of the table.
"You think im lazy? You think I can't take care of myself!" I started shouting "I didn't ever ask for any of you to help me, I didn't get a say in anything! Maybe I am shy, but you would understand if you were my friends!" I fumed
"W-What are you doing here! Where's Spike?" Twilight said, shocked.
"Are you even LISTENING TO- Oh forget it" With that I leaped off the table and landed on my feet, I couldn't care less about the pain. I stormed off too the door and sat on the doorstep. Behind me I heard Twilight, Rainbowdash and Applejack scalding Spike for "Putting me in danger" Please, there is no danger, there never is. This must be the safest place in the universe.
Fluttershy, concerned as usual, fluttered over to where I sat and she lay dawn beside me. "What do you want Fluttershy" I said, still rather annoyed
"What was all that about?" She asked "you don't need to get all angry like that"
"Jesus Christ, you're not my mother Fluttershy" I fell into sadness "Mother…"
"What's wrong? Do you miss your-"
"Yea, I miss my mum, my dad, I miss everyone, and Im stuck here with a bunch of ponies who think I can't take care of myself" I began to tremble "Look, I just need a quiet place to-"
"You can go back to my house if you'd like" Fluttershy said understandingly. I looked up at her and smiled
"Thanks" and with that I walked off towards Fluttershy's home near the forest.
It was a great feeling, finally being allowed to roam by myself, like I just escaped some kind of friendship prison. I had memorized where Fluttershy's house was from the centre of the town, and the centre was easy to find so I just went that way. Ponies were still giving me odd looks but this time I smiled at them instead, sometimes waving and saying "Hello!" Often they replied with friendly smiles and waves of their own. "Huh, the peop- err ponies of this place really are quite friendly" I said to myself as I strolled along. I eventually reached the outskirts of the town and Fluttershy's house was quite close. After walking over the small bridge over the stream I climbed up to the door, fortunately it wasn't locked. I pushed the wooden door open just enough for me to fit through and slipped inside before closing the door behind me.
The house was not completely empty, there were a few birds and small animals sleeping and eating, but they didn't seem too bothered by my presence. I climbed up onto the larger green chair and lay down, though I didn't feel all that tired, I slowly began to drop off, probably because of just how soft the cushion was.
I seemed to have returned to the black limbo which sent me to this world, though this time I was not relaxed, predicting something bad would happen.
"You have acknowledged your weakness and thanked those who have helped you…" It was that weird voice again "But you still have much to learn, if you wish to return…"
"HEY! Just what are you? Is this some kind of sick game?" I shouted, the voice laughed softly and then there was silence, I was stuck in this endless black void.