Chapter 5: New World, New Friends
The next morning, Spyro stirred around, waking up from his dreamless sleep and opened his eyes, only to be blinded by the morning light. He closed them quickly and raised his arm to block the light, opening his eyes again, but saw that his arm was the foreleg of an animal, making his eyes open all the way in surprise. He got out of bed, but fell down as soon as he did, face planting into the floor and grumbling to himself as he got up, finding he has fore legs instead of two and no arms.
"Ok, this should be simple." Spyro said to himself. "Just remember how you were back in the Pride Lands and you should be ok."
He took a few wobbly steps forward, making sure he got the rhythm of how to walk, foreleg first followed by the hind leg and repeat. After a couple of minutes, he was able to walk without too much trouble and went over to the mirror in the room he was currently in, a somewhat spacious room with green walls, a single window, dresser, nightstand and other pieces of furniture from chairs to the bed itself. He found a full body mirror and asked over to have a look at himself, but saw that he was a mixture of a horse with a dragon, causing his eyes to widen in horror.
"The people who live here better look something like this ." He said to himself. "Otherwise, blending in is gonna be a seriously massive problem."
He looked over his new form, noting the different dragon features from the horns to the wings, then the tail and the legs. He raised one of them and looked it over, still trying to figure out his new body. He then thought back to the Pride Lands and how long it took him to get used to being a lion cub, shivering at the memory and at the reminder of how wrong it went when he accidentally turned into a dragon for the first time. But as he thought about that, he felt his right foreleg go numb and looked down to see it change from a horses foreleg into a dragons leg, scales and all.
"At least my ability to turn into a dragon still works." Spyro said, lifting his leg and watching it turn Bach to a horse leg. "But I might want to keep that on the down low. Don't want to scare everyone here."
He looked around the room, getting a feel for the environment when he realized he didn't have his coat on, making him panic as he looked around frantically to find it and the rest of his belongings. He found the bag on the chair near the door along with his box of alchemy and synthesis tools and his shoulder guards on the dresser, freshly cleaned and polished. Before he could walk over, he heard a knock at the door and turned to see it open, an orange pony walking in with a cowboy hat on.
"Oh good. Ya'll are awake." The pony said, catching a hint of a southern accent in her words. "Ah was comin' to check to see if ya'll was doing ok."
"Well, I've been better." Spyro replied, feeling nervous around her. "So, if I may ask, who are you and where am I at?"
"Why yer in Sweet Apple Acres!" She replied while smiling. "The best gosh darn farm that ever produced the sweetest, most delicious apples ya'll could ever eat."
She then crossed her legs, smiling proudly as she talked about her farm and how proud she was of her crops.
"Mah name is Applejack." She continued. "This farm has been in mah family since the founding of Ponyville. Mah family has run this farm for a long time and is our pride and joy."
She looked at Spyro, tilting her hat a bit to get a better look at him as the hat itself along with her blonde, near unkept mane, made it difficult to see him while she talked.
"So, what's yer name Sugarcube?" Applejack asked.
Spyro's face turned a bright red at being called 'sugarcube' and felt his legs turn to jello as he felt embarrassed to be called something like that, even though they don't know each other, He shook of the initial shock and took a deep breath, calming himself down, and returned his gaze to the farm girl pony.
"I'm Spyro." He replied. "Spyro VanVickle."
"Spyro VanVickle?" Applejack said, trying hard not to laugh at his name. "Ya'll got yer self a funny name."
"Oh thanks a lot." Spyro responded. "And you can just call me Spyro. Not by the full thing."
Applejack nodded her head, agreeing to call him by his first name as his last name was somehow funny to her as she could think of a lot of jokes for it. The both of them then heard something ringing downstairs and someone shouting something about soup.
"Ah, breakfast is ready." Applejack said. "Would ya like to join us? Ah bet ya'll might be famished."
As soon as she said that, they both heard his stomach growl as it was empty, letting everyone know that he was really hungry. Without saying a word, he nodded his head and walked behind her as he picked up his bag and put it over his shoulder so that he wouldn't loose it. As they walked down the stairs, Spyro could smell something sweet and delicious before even reaching the bottom of the stairs, even with his nose being strong due to his dragon side, his mouth was watering as the scent invaded his mind. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, he followed his nose to the kitchen where an entire table was filled to the rim with food, all of which looked like it was made of apples from pie, to fritters and more.
Before he could more to the table, he was tackled by a ball of brown fur, which turned out to be a Collie Carrier, licking him and yipping as it tussled with Spyro.
"Ay, help! I'm being slathered by kisses from an adorable dog." Spyro said, laughing as he enjoyed being attacked by the dog.
"Winona, down girl down." Applejack said, making the dog get off of Spyro. She helped him up and dusted him off with her tail, which he tried not looking at as she did so. "Sorry about that. She's never this friendly with strangers when she first meets them."
"Guess it's because I'm good with dogs." Spyro said. "Guess I have a certain charisma that attracts them."
"Then why is yer Cutie Mark in the shape of a key if yer good with animals?" Spyro looked to the table and saw a yellow filly run up to them, stopping just inches from the two of them. "Also, who are ya? Where are ya from? Are you a dragon or a pony?"
"Apple Bloom!" Applejack said, making the filly flinch. "Where are yer manners? It ain't polite to ask those kinds of questions without getting to know him first."
"Sorry Applejack." Apple Bloom said. "Ah was just curious about his Cutie mark and how he got it, that's all."
Spyro looked to his flank, seeing his Keyblade on his rear as plain as day, freaking out internally as his weapon was being displayed like a picture on a billboard. He then returned his gaze back the sisters as the filly was being scolded for being intrusive with personal questions and about her obsession with these marks. He couldn't help but look at Applejacks flank and see that her mark had three red apples on it, which seemed to him like she is a good farm mare if she is working here.
"Ah told ya many times, ya'll get yer Cutie Mark when ya discover what yer good at." Applejack said. "It ain't gonna appear over night."
"Sorry." Apple Bloom said.
"Um, pardon me if this sounds like a crazy question, but what is a Cutie Mark?" Spyro asked, making the sisters give him a dumbfounded look that read 'Are ya serious?'
"Are ya serious!?" Apple Bloom said. "Did ya'll hit yer head and forget everything ya'll knew?"
"Apple Bloom!" Applejack shouted, making them both wince. "What did Ah just say about being nice?"
Just then, a large red stallion with short orange hair and a a cutie mark in the shape of another apple, but this one was sliced in half and was revealing the inside of the apple. Before he could say anything or get into the conversation, an elderly green mare with gray hair and a pie for her mark walked in and looked at the group.
"What ya'll doing in here youngin's?" She asked, getting everyone's attention, but her eyes fell upon Spyro as she squinted, but then became concerned as she walked over as quickly as she could. But as she walked, Spyro could hear her bones creeping and cracking, making him wince as his ears could hear all of that. Before he could say a thing, she grabbed his cheeks and pulled them like an over excited aunt happy to see her nieces and nephews during a family reunion.
"And who is this feller?" She asked. "Did Applejack invite a colt friend over fer breakfast or did she ask ya to spend the night with her?"
Both he and Applejack's cheeks went red at the comment as it made both of them feel a little uncomfortable and embarrassed. But the ones who got the most enjoyment from it was Big Mac and Apple Bloom as they both stifled their laughter at their embarrassment.
"Granny, he ain't mah colt friend!" Applejack said, her face still red from the blush. "Mac and Ah found him last night in the place where that fallen star had hit."
"Oh." She said, letting go of Spyro's cheeks, which were sore from her stretching the. She then looked him over, seemingly not disturbed by his look and started to push him into him kitchen, using her head to push him from the rear, making him yelp in surprise and disturbed that she was alright doing that. But the sounds he made seemed to have broken the two giggling siblings as they burst out laughing at his discomfort, even Applejack couldn't help but laugh at his disturbed look, getting over her initial surprise. "Well, whoever ya'll are, yer nothing but skin and bone. Let's get some food in ya, ya must be starving."
"Alright, alright already. I can walk on my own!" Spyro said. "I don't need to be pushed!"
After the family, and their invited guest Spyro, got seated at the table, everyone dug in and ate whatever they liked. But Spyro was a little hesitant as, even though everything smelled good, he didn't know what to eat first, so he picked the closest item to him and took a bite out of it. As soon as he did however, his eyes shrunk to pin needles and his taste buds danced a merry jig as he tasted the most delicious thing he had ever eaten and soon started stuffing his face. Everyone else watched as he stuffed himself and were surprised at how hungry he really was as he took a bit of everything and just ate until he rubbed his stomach showing he was full.
After everyone was finished eating, the old mare took the dishes and walked over to the sink, balancing them like an expert waiter in a high end restaurant trying to make sure he didn't break a single one. After a second, Applejack cleared her throat and got everyone else's attention.
"Well, now that breakfast is out of the way, Ah think some more introductions are needed." She said, addressing the family, but most addressing Spyro. "Ya already know mah name. The yellow filly with the pink bow and the over obsession for cutie marks is mah little sister Apple Bloom."
"Hey, Ah'm not obsessed with Cutie Marks!" She said in defense, but got her mane messed up by her big brother.
"This big fella here is Big Mac." Applejack continued, pointing at the red stallion. "He's mah big brother and a hard worker, but doesn't say much as he's a colt of few words."
"Yup." Big Mac said.
Spyro looked at the giant stallion as all he said was yes and nothing else, wondering why he didn't talk much as it seemed to him that he was well educated enough to him. Before he could say a thing, the green mare walked over and sat back down, her bones creaking as she sat down.
"And this here is Granny Smith." Applejack continued. "She's the oldest member of our family and knows more about anything here on the farm and in Ponyville."
Spyro looked over to Granny Smith and watched as she tried to take a sip of water, but only gummed the glass as it was completely empty as there was no water in it, making him doubt what she said, but decided to take her word for it.
"And this fella here is Spyro." Applejack said, introducing him before he could do that himself. "He's the guy who we found in the middle of the orchard last night. Though Ah'm curious about why ya'll were trapped inside a crater, covered in amethyst, and magic was surrounding ya."
Spyro knew that was something he probably couldn't explain as it was a spell he read on his way here as a protective shell that also healed whoever was inside of it, which he could tell them that, but couldn't explain to them that he's from another world or else risk messing up the world order. He tried to think of something, but the rooster then sounded that it was morning and that it was time to get to work, saving him from trying to explain.
"Time fer work." Applejack said.
"Hey, before anything, is there something I could do to say thanks for your hospitality?" Spyro asked. "I'd hate to eat and run as it would be disrespectful of me."
"Well, we could use an extra pair of hooves around here." Granny Smith said. "We would also be happy to pay ya."
"Oh, that's not necessary." Spyro said. "I'd-"
"Fiddle sticks to that!" She exclaimed, using her hoof to silence him before removing it. "Ya'll gonna be a worker here, and ah don't want yer hard work to go unrewarding."
He looked at the siblings to see if it was ok and the three of them nodded their heads agreeing to what she was saying. He looked back at Granny Smith and smiled, nodding his head agreeing with her.
"Good. Now tell me, where ya'll staying?" She asked. "Ya must have a home close by to be in the orchard."
"Actually, I don't have a place of residence." Spyro said, rubbing the back of his head, shocking everyone. "I just got here and-"
"Ya'll don't have a home!?" Apple Bloom said. "Ya'll can stay here in our home. We'd be more than happy to happy to house ya!"
"Yup." Big Mac said, agreeing with his little sister. Even Applejack nodded her head agreeing to the idea, which made the decision unanimous. The family and Spyro got up from the table and walked out the front door and into the wide open fields, which caught Spyro off guard as there were hundreds if not thousands of acres of apple trees producing delicious, sweet red apples ready to be picked. Before they left, he felt something yank his tail and he was pulled back, looking to see it was Applejack who pulled it. He was disturbed that she didn't have a problem with yanking pony's tails as it seemed to him to be rude and possibly disgusting.
"Hold on there partner." She said. "Before we go about havin' ya start workin' we need to go into town and pick a few things up. Plus, since ya'll just got here, Ah want to show you all of Ponyville so as to get ya familiar with the area."
"Well, if it's not too much trouble." Spyro said. "Plus, I might find my missing coat as it wasn't in the room I woke up in. Or my arm guards."
"Oh, Ah know where they're at." Apple Bloom said, running to her room and bringing the arm guards to him on her back. "Ya'll were wearing them when Applejack brought you inside and Ah took them off ya to check them out."
"Apple Bloom!" Applejack said, ready to scold her. "Ya'll took his things without permission? Ya know better than that!"
"Hey, it's ok." Spyro said. "She was just curious is all. Can't blame her for that."
Spyro was about to reach for them to put them on, but a golden aura surrounded them and floated to his forelegs, strapping on instantly. Spyro was surprised at what he saw, but looked up to see the sister's eyes wide with surprise as they looked at his horns and then back at him.
"Ya'll got magic!" Apple Bloom asked. "Ya'll an Alicorn or somthin'?"
"A what?" Spyro asked, but turned to the window and saw the same glow that surrounded his arm braces was around his horns, but faded a second later. He returned his gaze to the girls, but before he could say anything, Apple Bloom jumped onto his back and stood on her hind legs to get a better look at them.
"This is so cool!" Apple Bloom said, tugging on his horns and making him wince as she did. "Ah've seen unicorn horns use magic like that, but never dragon horns. What yer mother a unicorn? Is that why your horns can use magic? What else can you do?"
"Well, I can do this!" Spyro said, using his magic to tickle Apple Bloom, making her laugh uncontrollably, but the joined in on the laughter.
Applejack however shook her head while she smiled at how childish Spyro was despite his age and how well he got along with Apple Bloom. Spyro used his magic to levitate Apple Bloom off his back and back onto the ground so she wouldn't try to grab his horns.
"I'll answer your questions if I'm able to later." Spyro said, patting her head. "Right now, I gotta go with Applejack into town. Plus I need to find my coat."
"Oh, I took it to town this morning." Applejack said, earning an angry look from Spyro as she had just said it was rude to take someone's stuff. "It was torn and damaged when we found ya, so Ah took it to Rarity so she can fix it up."
"Whose Rarity?" Spyro asked.
"Ah'll tell ya everything as we go into town." Applejack said. "Come along now. The walk is actually enjoyable. Especially on a good day like today"
"And if yer with a boy!" Apple Bloom said, smiling as she saw her sister's face turn bright red again.
"Ya'll keep yer muzzle shut!" Applejack shouted as she blush. "We're just gonna run some errands! Nothing else!"
Applejack then grabbed Spyro's tail, causing him to yelp in pain, and ran off to avoid anymore of her sisters teasing, which Apple Bloom enjoyed as she got to mess with her big sister for once. As soon as the pair were far enough away, Applejack spat Spyro's tail out and helped him back onto his hooves so he could walk.
"Sorry about that." She said. "Just wanted to get going before she said anything else."
"That's alright." Spyro said, dusting himself off. "But next time, just use your hoof to get me to move instead of biting my tail. That ain't hair you're pulling there."
They began walking towards town,which by what Applejack tells him is a very friendly and colorful place filled with lots of ponies of all the three species: Earth Pony, Unicorn, and Pegasi. As they walked, she then started talking about the Cutie Mark and that it represents what everyone's talent is and how they appear on the ponies flank once they discovered it, which didn't make a lot of sense to Spyro, but he just put that thought into the back of his mind and looked up to the sky, admiring the beautiful day today.
"Wow. It's nice out today. Not a cloud in the sky." Spyro said.
"It sure is." Applejack said. "Them weather pegasi did a good job for today. And there is a storm scheduled for tomorrow. It'll be good for the farm."
"Oh, really?" Spyro asked, still looking in the sky. "Did they predict a storm would be coming tomorrow?"
Applejack suddenly stopped in her tracks, letting Spyro go ahead of him until he realized that she wasn't walking next to him and turned around, seeing a very confused mare standing there.
"No, the Pegasi are in charge of making the clouds and controlling the weather." Applejack said, making Spyro face hoof himself mentally. She the walked over and pulled his head down, checking on the bump on his head and for any other injury he might have. "Ya'll sure yer ok? Everypony knows the Pegasi are in charge of weather."
He knew he needed to come up with something to make it seem in order to explain his lack of knowledge about their world, or else he was gonna be in for a long and very complicated explanation. He then felt Applejack touch the bump on his head as she examined him, causing him to yelp and instinctively through her off and cover the bump, making her land in a puddle of mud.
"OW!" Spyro said. "Why'd you hit me like that?"
"Ah didn't." Applejack said, shaking the mud off. "Ya'll got a nasty lump on the back of yer head. Ya'll might have a case of amnesia because of it."
As soon as she said the word amnesia, an idea popped into his head and hoped that it would woke. he rubbed the bump a bit, ignoring the pain, and looked back at Applejack, giving as good of a confused look as he could.
"Now that you mention it, there does seem to be some holes in my memory." Spyro said, letting go of the bump. "Maybe from that crash you were talking about."
"Could be possible." She replied, walking back to his side. "Maybe if I talked a bit more about our history, and looked around a bit, it might jog some of that memory of yers."
"Maybe." Spyro replied. "It's worth a try."
They continued walking as Applejack explained more about her species and about her world, responding with a nod every now and then, pretending to remember things about them as they talked. After a little while, they walked over the hill and looked down to see a town full of color with many different ponies walking the streets of the village. Some going into shops, others to stalls and food vendors, while the fillies and colts just ran around playing and having a blast. Spyro was amazed by the beautiful city, finding it to be something far better than what he saw previously when going to other worlds and walked down the dirt road with Applejack into the town itself, taking in the sights and marveling at some of the houses.
"Ya'll remember anything else sugarcube?" Applejack asked.
Spyro just shook his head, pretending not to remember, but at that point, he was already familiar with some of what's going on in this world and was more prepared to try and blend in with the crowd. But as they walked down the streets, some of the ponies were staring at him, wondering what he was or marveling at how different he looked. He lowered his head, trying not to stand out, but Applejack caught wind of his discomfort and smiled.
"Ya'll don't need to be afraid Spyro." She said. "Everypony here is friendly. They don't judge a pony by their looks."
"Doesn't make it easier as I stick out like a swore thumb." Spyro said, face smacking himself mentally again as he said that. "Hoof! I mean hoof. Sorry. Use to hearing that from others back at home."
But that one word and the end of that sentence was enough to make Applejack look at him, another confused look, but was now catching onto something about him as more questions formed in her mind. Before she could ask him anything, Spyro got tackled by something pink and looked back to see him on the ground with a pink earth pony with fluffy cotton candy mane and tail with her cutie mark being off three balloons, two of them blue and the third yellow, eyes wide and smiling the biggest smile, happy at meeting someone new.
"I knew it, a new pony!" She shouted happily, immediately giving him a bear hug, lifting him off the ground and squeezing so hard his eyes popped out to the size of watermelons. "My names Pinkie Pie and I'm here to be your brand new friend! What's your name?"
She then set him down, allowing him to breathe as he cough, trying to get some oxygen back into his lungs.
"S-spyro." He said, still coughing a bit. "My name is Spyro."
"Spyro? Huh? That's a strange name." She said, but smiled. "Sounds more like something a dragon would name their child. Well, a matter of fact, you look like a pony dragon hybrid and that kinda explains the name and I never got to meet a hybrid before, so this is a new experience!" She kept talking, hopping in place, all excited, about meeting many different ponies before him and some of them having stranger names than him while also talking about some of the different places they came from before talking about parties, the different places she's been, something about a rock farm, and then something else completely random. He looked over to Applejack for some help in understanding what she as talking about, but she just shrugged it off and kept quiet. "Oh, and there was this time with me and Rainbow Dash -"
"Alright alright." Spyro said, walking past her. "You're excited to see me, I get it. Anyway, we need to go. We need to take care of something."
"Wait, before you go, I have a question and it's super important." Pinkie said, somehow appearing informs of him, her face inches from his. "What kinda cake do you like?"
"Uhh... Chocolate?" Spyro replied, confused as to why she'd ask that.
"Okie Dokie Lokie!" She said before speeding off away from them, leaving behind a dust version of herself as she ran. Spyro was at a loss because he has never someone like that before and looked over to Applejack for an explanation, but all she did was shrug her shoulders and kept walking. After a second to try and process what had happened, he ran back to her side and followed her, hoping to at least get an answer from her.
"Don't ya'll worry about Pinkie." She said. "She's just being her normal, fun loving, party throwing self. This is basically her on a daily basis. Just be ready for one her special Pinkie Pie welcome parties as she will throw you one. She does that for everypony new"
"Wait, she's like that everyday?" Spyro asked. "And she throws parties whenever someone new arrives in town? Cause if that's the case, keep her away from the coffee."
Applejack laughed at his remark, which made him laugh with her as they walked. About a minute later, they came to a building that looked like a carousel, but it had white walls all around it with a black roof top and windows all around.
"This here is the Carousel Boutique." Applejack said. "This is where Rarity makes her liven making dresses and all sorts of fancy clothes and accessories. It also doubles as her home, so she doesn't need to travel far to work."
They both walked in through the front door and a small bell rang, letting her friend know that someone was at the counter. Before Applejacks friend could come, Spyro walked to the left and went into the room next to them, looking at some of the dresses and suits that were on the horse shaped mannequins in the display and all around, marveling at how elegant and beautiful they were.
"One moment." Came a female voice from upstairs, A second later, a white unicorn with a purple mane and tail, styled in an elegant curl and had three diamond on her flank for her Cutie Mark. "Welcome to Carousel Boutique. Where everything is, oh Applejack. Good morning. I didn't expect you back so soon."
"Oh, sorry." Applejack replied. "Ah was just showing the new guy around the town. Also, about them clothes I brought ya, are they repaired yet?"
"Oh yes. Just finished them a little while ago." She replied, turning to the room Spyro was in, walking in. "I must say that it was the most sophisticated jacket I've ever seen. Not to mention the enchantments on it. I had to be very careful when repairing it."
"Enchantments?" Applejack asked. "What are ya talking about?"
"She must be talking about the magic that was put into my coat." Spyro replied, making both mares turn to face him, only for Rarity eyes to widen in shock and her face turn red from just seeing him. "My jacket has some powerful enchantments on it to help protect me from any kind of harm, whether it's physical or magical. It's also very durable and very difficult to be torn, but it is still prone to wear and tear, which is why I added a special enchantment to make it last, even if it's torn. In addition, when I use my magic, at certain times, I can change myself into something stronger and far more powerful to help me out of a pinch if the time arises."
Applejack just nodded her head, pleased to get an explanation from her new friend about what Rarity was talking about there being magic in the jacket, albeit curious about his changing forms when he needs to. But Rarity was just staring at Spyro, her face completely red as she starred at the hybrid and at his frame as she could see his muscles and the six pack that he had. She was too entranced by how he looked, thinking about her being asked out on a date by the handsome looking gentlemen and the life they would have together, that she didn't hear Applejack call her name until she shook her to get her out of her thousand yard stare, snapping back into reality.
"Huh, what?" Rarity said, snapping out of her daydream. "Oh, sorry Applejack darling. I was distracted with, something?"
"Uh huh, sure ya were." Applejack replied, trying not to laugh at her friends blushing. "Anyway, where's the jacket Rarity? Ya said it was ready."
"Oh yes, it is" She replied. "One minute please."
She walked to the rack near one of the platforms that had a mannequin, picking up the purple jacket with her magic, the aura a perfect blue hue, but on the back of it, instead of it being all purple, there was multiple black onyx's and white diamonds on it and on the sleeves, sown into the back expertly and not seeing a single tear on it at all. In addition, he examined the coat and found that the enchantments on it were still there, unaltered and remaining strong.
"Masterful tailoring." Spyro said, making Rarity smile. "I can't see any kind of tear whatsoever. And the enchantments are still there, remaining as strong as ever. But what's with the jewels? I didn't have those on here earlier."
"Oh, I added those." Rarity said. "You see, I saw the black and white lining on the sleeves, but the entire coat seemed so bland with it being mostly purple, so I added some chic to it, giving it a bit more taste to go with it. Though, it took me some time to figure out the material and to get it as it is quite rare as it is rather light, yet very strong."
"I'm just amazed by the fact that you put these jewels in without damaging the spells on the jacket itself." He said. "I might need to commission more of your clothes in the future because it looks better than when it was earlier."
"Well, in that case." She said, her horn glowing as she brought over a measuring tape and notepad. "If it's not too much of an inconvenience, could I get your measurements? So that I can work on your clothing in the future."
"Why not." Spyro responded, removing his armor with his new found ability. "If that isn't a problem with you Applejack."
She shook her head, letting him know that it was ok and Rarity got to work, measuring his legs, his waist, wing length, and whatever else she needed, but she seemed to take her time as she did so, making him think she was thinking of something else. She also took her chances to feel his muscles whenever she measured everything as if to either see if she could get a date with him or or figure out the kind of material she needed so that everything didn't tear.
"And that should do it." She said after writing everything down. "And I do apologize if I was making you feel uncomfortable with how I was feeling your muscles. I wanted to get a feel for what kind of materials I might need as you are very muscular, despite your frame."
"Ah it's alright." Spyro said, putting the jacket on, amazed with how it felt after it was repaired, and buttoned it up before putting the bracers back on, getting Rarity's attention to the pieces of armor. "You're not the first mare to want to get a feel for my muscles."
"Yes, quite." Rarity said, trying to hide her blush with her mane before looking back. "Anyway, I should have something for you in a few weeks. And don't worry about paying as the first piece of clothing from my shop is free for friends."
"Oh, well thanks." Spyro said, surprised at her business practice. "Can't wait to see what you make."
He and Applejack walked to the front door with Rarity behind and as they left, Rarity closed the door. They walked for a bit as Applejack showed him around the town, helping him to get familiar with the town before he was to come into town on his own. As for the next place they visited, they arrived at a bakery that looked like a Gingerbread house, complete with icing and sprinkles on the roof and along the walls. It took Spyro every ounce of his being to resist the urge to eat the building as it would not only break his teeth, but also give him a stomach ache if he was successful in doing so.
"And this here is Sugarcube Corner." Applejack said. "This is the town bakery where it is owned by the Cakes. Some of the best bakers in Equestria."
As she said that, he could smell the baked goods. So sweet and tantalizing that he was ready to just run past Applejack and devour everything they had in stock, but he restrained himself from doing such as he would probably be sent to jail if he did so since he couldn't pay for it all. The two of them walked in and saw multiple display cases full of baked goods and sweets that could make anyone reach over and snatch them. But as they walked in, a familiar pink pony popped up in front of him, causing him to jump and do a backflip, almost hitting Pinkie by accident, but she ducked as he kick before it could connect.
"Wow. Nice flip." She said. "I wasn't expecting you to be that athletic."
"And I wasn't expected to be jump scared by somepony who asked me what kind of cake I liked." Spyro said. "Where'd you come from anyway?"
"Best not to ask that dearie." Came a female voice. A chubby blue earth pony walked to the desk carrying a pink box filled with what he could guess was some kind of sweets as he could smell it from inside the box, making his mouth water. "She's a random one dear. Anyway, how might I help you?"
"I'm just here with Applejack." Spyro replied, watching Pinkie bounce away from him and into the kitchen as a yellow stallion with an orange mane came out with more baked goods. "Is she even allowed back there?"
"Oh yes she is." The mare answered. "She works here. She's good at her job, despite her being a little silly."
"You mean loco in the coco." Spyro replied, making his eyes spin in opposite directions, getting some laughs out of everyone.
Seconds later though, Pinkie shoot out from the kitchen and tackle him again, but this time when he landed on the ground, he fell down hard, feeling like something might have bruised against his ribs. He looked back up to see her looking down at him while standing over his entire body, still smiling her biggest grin at him like the one Goofy would give when he and Donald would mess around with Sora.
"I forgot to ask you something when we first met." She said. "What kind of icing do you like on your cake?"
He groaned a bit, feeling a little sore after being tackled a second time by the sugar high earth pony as he could feel the bruise form from where she tackled him.
"Chocolate icing." He replied.
"Okie Dokie Lokie." She said, hoping off of him so he could get up and hoping into the kitchen.
"Does she always tackle new comers?" Spyro asked. "Or am I just special?"
"Oh don't worry about it." The blue mare said. "You'll sleep better if you don't try to figure her out. And one dozen cupcakes as ordered."
She then pushed the pink box of pastries to Applejack and she picked them up with her mouth and put them on her back, somehow balancing it perfectly to keep it from falling off.
"Thank ya kindly Mrs. Cakes." Applejack said, tipping her hat.
As the two of them left, they walked through to the town hall where they saw a bunch of Pegasi preparing some clouds and putting them in places that he thought to himself will mark where to put the clouds. As they walked, Spyro sensed something was about to happen, something coming from above and looked up to see a pony zipping around in the sky, moving so fast that she left behind a rainbow trail as she flew. But as she did, he noticed that she was speeding out of control as she flew, making him nervous as he watched.
He then saw her starting to fall towards them and watched as she tried pulling up, changing her trajectory a bit to where she wouldn't hit them, but followed it to see a yellow Pegasus with a pink mane that covers most of her face and almost touches the ground with three pink butterflies for her Cutie Mark. He saw that where that Pegasus was walking was gonna be where the out of control flier was gonna hit, so he took the armor bracers off his forelegs, which Applejack noticed at the last second, tossing them up and ran towards the soon to be victim of a possible hit and run, running at a kind of speed that made him a black, white, and purple blur, surprising her as he sped off with speed that would rival that of someone else's.
The yellow Pegasus looked up and saw a rainbow blur swiftly approaching her and screeched, closing her eyes, waiting for the impact to come, but felt nothing but rushing air and then a crash. She half expected to feel pain, but felt nothing but cloth and jewels underneath her and opened her eyes to see what happened, only for her eyes to widen to her surprise as she found herself on Spyro's back. She looked down at him and felt her entire body tremble as she never saw a pony like him and was wanting to get away from whoever he was, but couldn't move out of fear while also hoping not to get off at the same time.
"You ok there?" Spyro ask, getting the mares attention, which she hid her face behind her mane and whimpered timidly at meeting someone new. "Oh, you're a shy one. Sorry if I spooked you."
He lowered himself to allow for the Pegasus to get off and turned around to face her. She got a better look at him and his features as her timid behavior faded, replaced by wonder at just seeing him. She reached up and tugged his horn, earning a yelp from him, but then started to circle around him, touching his wings, then his tail, followed by sliding her hoof on his body to feel for any scales, which she didn't feel, but earned a disturbed look from him, making Applejack laugh.
"Wow." She said. "A-are you a... a hybrid?"
"Yes I am." Spyro replied, his skin crawling as she kept rubbing her hoof on his side. "And why are you petting me like a dog needing attention?"
"Oh, sorry." She replied, backing away. "I-I've never seen a hybrid before. T-this is a new experience for me."
"Yeah, I get that a lot." Spyro said, turning his attention to the three foot crater in the ground. "Hope whoever was flying is ok. That was a nasty landing there."
"Oh don't ya'll worry yer scales about it." Applejack said, heaving and huffing trying to carry the cupcakes and his bracers. "I-if it's who Ah think it is, she'll have survived that."
A second later, she collapsed and fell down, looking very exhausted and barely able to walk any further. Spyro shook his head, surprised that she was strong enough to carry them a few feet before collapsing. He walked back over to her and pulled out the screen from the wrist section of the right bracer and tapped the screen twice, shutting them off and letting Applejack get back up.
"Dang AJ, you're definitely strong." Spyro said, putting them back on and tapping the screen to turn them on again. He slide the screen back into the bracer and helped her back up as she panted. "You basically lifted 80 times the planets normal gravity on your first go."
"E-eighty what!?" Applejack exclaimed, panting heavily and in more confusion now than before. "What the hay ya talkin' about?"
"I'm talking about my bracers." Spyro replied. "They increase the amount of gravity that affects my body, allowing me to build up my strength and speed while I'm training or exercising."
Before Applejack could mutter another word, the yellow Pegasus walked up to them and tried to muster up the courage to say something, but hid behind her mane, too shy to say anything. When she did find the courage to say something, she looked at him, but immediately hid behind her mane again.
"Is something wrong?" Spyro asked. "You hurt?"
"N-no, thank you for asking." She replied. "M-my name is Fluttershy. A-and, thank you for saving me."
She wanted to say something else, but lost her nerve and started shaking uncontrollably. Thinking she was cold, Spyro walked over and wrapped his wing around her, using his ability to warm himself up to warm herself up. But Fluttershy's face immediately lit up bright red as she wasn't used to being around pony's, let alone a stallion trying to comfort her as her heart raced. Sensing her discomfort and her fear, Spyro looked at her with a smile, trying his best to make her feel more comfortable.
"It's ok. You don't need to be afraid." Spyro said. "You are fine. Calm your heart and let go of your fear. Take some deep breaths. In and out. In and out. In and out."
As he said that, Fluttershy took some deep breaths, listening to him and finding his voice somewhat comforting as he talked. After the fifth deep breath, she was completely calm and was no longer nervous around him.
"There. That better?" Spyro asked.
Fluttershy nodded, feeling relieved as he calmed her down before she could have a panic attack. He then removed his wing and went over to the crater, looking in to see a cyan Pegasus mare with an unkept, short rainbow mane and tail climb out of the crater, rubbing her head. Spyro reached a hoof down to her and she took it without looking up to see who was helping her until she was out of the crater and saw him, her eyes going wide in surprise and wonder.
"Whoa." She said, taking her hoof away from his. "Who the heck are you? And what are you, a pony who got a transformation spell wrong?"
Spyro shook his head at the comment, ignoring that and was about to talk when he felt a breeze of air pass him and looked behind to see her examining him like Rarity and Fluttershy did, except she wasn't as touchy freely about it, which he was thankful for and waited for her to finish before swiftly turning around to face her with the same speed he used to get to Fluttershy before she got hit, catching her off guard with his speed.
"You know that question was very rude, right?" Spyro asked, giving her the stink eye. "I'll have you know I am one hundred percent pony/dragon hybrid, thank you very much."
"Wait, for real?" She asked. "And that turn just now, was that you who ran by and got Fluttershy out before I crashed?"
"Yes ma'am it was." Spyro answered, smiling proudly. "And I gotta say, your speed is impressive. Though you need to work on your maneuverability a bit as that could be avoided."
"Oh, so you're an expert on flying are ya?" She said, leering at the new comer. "Well, I'll let you know that I'm the fastest flier in Ponyville. No, in all of Equestria!"
"Bold words coming from somepony who seems better at crashing than at flying." Spyro retorted.
They both got into each other's face, a bolt of electricity in between the two of them as they looked into each others eyes, trying to gauge each other to see if the other would back down. A second later however, Spyro started to chuckle a bit, catching the rainbow Pegasus off guard for a second and the chuckle turned into full scale laughter, which then became contagious as everyone around started laughing at the two of them having their staring contest, even the cyan Pegasus couldn't help but start laughing. As the laughter died down, Spyro extended his hoof, ready to shake hers as a gesture of friendship.
"Names Spyro." He said. "And yes, I just got here today."
"Rainbow Dash." She replied. Taking his hoof, but noticed how strong of a grip he had. "Say, you got a good grip. You an athlete?"
"No. Not at all." Spyro replied, the two of them releasing their hooves. "I'm actually a warrior and a protector. Came here to relax a little and await my new mentor to continue my training."
"You're a soldier!?" Rainbow Dash shouted, getting everyone's attention and putting her face into Spyro's. "Who are ya waiting for? What's your rank? Where do you come from!? What kingdom do you serve? Oh I have some many questions. Tell me, please!"
"Sorry Ms. dash, all of that information is a secret." Spyro replied, annoying Rainbow Dash and because he didn't know who he was expecting and didn't know if they knew where he was. She crossed her forelegs, pouting that she didn't get to know who he was waiting for as it would probably be someone very important to train somepony who's a soldier. But she then remembered his speed when he saved Fluttershy and when he turned around and a mischievous grin formed on her muzzle, catching Spyro's attention.
"Alright, if you won't tell me who you are waiting for and you won't answer my questions willingly, then how about a bet." She said, smiling. As she said that, Spyro's ears perked up as he was a sucker for a dare or any kind of challenge, so hearing that she wants to make a bet got his immediate attention. "If I win, you tell me who you're waiting for, answer all my questions and everything else about yourself."
"And if I win?" Spyro asked. "What then?"
Rainbow Dash looked at him, grinning as she was confident in her ability to win that she just shrugged her shoulders, letting him know that it was his choice of what she did. It was Spyro who was smiling now as he turned to face Applejack, who was talking with Fluttershy.
"Yo AJ, can I ask you something?" Spyro asked, catching her attention. "Did Rainbow Dash break something on your farm that she hasn't replaced or fixed yet."
"Now that ya mention it, yeah, there is something she broke." Applejack responded. "She still owns me for a new pig pen she broke a month ago."
"Oh come on, you're still miffed about that?" Rainbow Dash said. "It was an accident."
"Then it's settled." Spyro said, looking from Applejack to Rainbow Dash. "If I win, you're gonna spend your day off fixing Applejacks pig pen until she finds it satisfactory. Deal?"
Rainbow Dash looked at Spyro, as he spat in his hoof, which meant that no matter what, win or lose, the losing party has to uphold their end of the bargain, no backing out no matter what. Rainbow Dash smiled and spat in her hoof, and shook it, agreeing to the terms of the bet with a smile.
"You are on." She said. "Meet me here at Town Hall. At four o'clock, we race. Don't be late."
She then took off into the sky, leaving him, Applejack, and Fluttershy alone as she flew off. He turned back around and walked to Applejack and Fluttershy, smiling to himself the biggest goofiest grin he had as he walked towards them, feeling good about himself.
"A-are you really going to race against her?" Fluttershy asked. "She's pretty fast and might be a challenge for you."
"Yeah, but I prefer a challenge." Spyro responded. "Besides, I enjoy a good race. It's good for you, ya know?"
He walked past the two girls, leaving them behind for a moment to talk to each other, but as he did, he could sense through the Force that something was amiss, feeling a sudden cold type of despair wash over him, close by like it was watching him, yet far enough to not be noticed by the naked eye. He looked up to the roof tops and then to the ground, trying to see if he could locate it, but found nothing but ponies and clouds all around. thinking it was his imagination, he waited for Applejack to catch up before the two of them left the town, failing to notice a pair of yellow eyes watching him from atop the roof of Town Hall, watching him with malicious intent.