Chapter Sixty-Three: The Secret is Out

Fluttershy and Smokey smiled as they passed by a small stage that had an informal band playing. The pink-maned pegasus took note of the fiddler, the harmonica player, as well as the ponies playing the banjo and piano. The party was just as lively as when she and her dragon companion had left, and it didn't seem like anyone noticed their absence.

Little did the pair know that they were being watched. A chestnut stallion eyed them from his spot within the crowd. The earth pony weaved through several ponies, often stretching his neck to peer over others' heads as he tracked them. As they entered the dense crowd, he waited for them to pass. Making sure no one was looking his way, he made his move, lurching forward and stomping his hoof on the faux hairs sprouting from the end of Smokey's fake tail, tearing it from the base and revealing his red scales. After this was accomplished, he removed himself from the scene.

The first few ponies noticed Smokey's shining scales out of the corners of their eyes and screamed, attracting the attention of more. The dragon himself, unaware that his tail had been exposed, was startled and confused. After pointing it out, a unicorn stepped forth and tore and peeled the rest of the costume off, much to the reptile's bewilderment.

Knowing that his true identity had been revealed, he stood straight up, his ear frills pinning from the piercing screams.

Fluttershy gasped in astonishment upon noticing the tail, befuddled as to how the fake one had been torn off. Had it been an accident?

It did not matter, as shortly thereafter, a couple of rather brave ponies decided to step up.

"Dragon! Get out of here!" one bellowed, tossing the closest thing at hoof at him - which happened to be a large slice of cake. Another yelled out his assertion, throwing another.

"Sneaking in disguise!" Roseluck cried out. "How horrifying!"

"Terrifying!" Lily followed.

"Ghastly!" Daisy contributed.

The yellow-pelted mare's eyes widened, finding herself ducking a particularly wildly aimed piece of pie that sailed a little too close to her head.

"Oh, no… Um… Everypony… please… Please, stop…" she attempted to request, though her soft imploring was drowned out by the frightened screams and outraged shouts of those present. A few even called out for Twilight Sparkle to vanquish the beast.

The dragon opened his mouth to attempt to convince the crowd that he meant no harm to anyone, but was struck in the face with an entire apple pie. Wiping the pastry from his visage, he was pelted several times with slices of cake and pie. While he was trying to clean himself off, an earth pony managed to find a rake and he lunged forth to strike him in the back, knocking him onto his belly where a full barrage of cake and pie rained on him.

Fluttershy cried out as Smokey went down. Reaching out to him, she tried to throw herself on top of him to protect him from the flying pastries. Shutting her eyes, she didn't care that her coat, hair, and feathers were being soiled, and opened her eyes again as she felt hooves grasp her forelegs and sides, prying her off.

"Miss, what are you doing?! That's a dangerous creature! Get away from it!"

The pegasus grit her teeth, struggling against the ponies dragging her away from her friend.

"No… no, let me go! Let me go!"

Recovering from the blow, Smokey slowly rose to his feet and spread his wings to block a good portion of the pastry missiles. Fluttershy's voice rang through his ear holes, alerting him, but he knew she would be fine. He needed to get out of here.

Choosing a direction, he charged through the crowd, pushing ponies out of his way - though, most of them stepped out of the way. Bursting out of the mass of equines, he made a mad dash down the path that led him out of Ponyville.

Even though Smokey had fled, some of the more vociferous ponies demanded he should be hunted down. Twilight Sparkle, rising to a vantage point over the crowd, attempted to calm them.

"Everypony! EVERYPONY! EVERYPONY, PLEASE CALM-" she exclaimed, but was drowned out by the collective voices of the panicked and incensed. Spotting torches being lit and pitchforks being hefted, she realized it was time to make use of her royal position.

"QUIIIIIIEEEEEET!" the lavender mare bellowed, her magically amplified Royal Canterlot Voice reverberating through the town.

Everything instantly went dead silent. All eyes now on Twilight Sparkle, all movement ceased, she heaved a breath and mentally made a note to thank Princess Luna for the private lesson. Fluttershy, now realizing everyone was distracted, took advantage of the moment to yank herself free. Spreading her wings, she jettisoned off after Smokey as fast as she could.

"Leave her!" Twilight Sparkle ordered, as the two stallions previously holding Fluttershy moved to pursue. They halted, obeying. "What in Equestria is the MEANING of this?!"

Fluttershy did not hear Twilight Sparkle lecture the crowd as she searched frantically for the dragon.

Smokey was seated at the edge of the lake, gazing into his cake and pie smeared reflection. Sighing in distraught, fresh tears pooled in his eyes.

'I was a fool to think that I could fit in… Maybe I should just stay in hiding… They will never have to be afraid of me ever again…'

"Smokey?!" Fluttershy called out as she continued her search. "SMOKEY?!"

Coming around the bend, she paused, spotting him at the edge of the lake. Heaving a sigh of relief, she came down for a soft land and cantered over to him.

"Oh… There you are. Smokey, I was so worried…"

The thought of leaving this wonderful, sweet mare, their beautiful, adorable baby, and the friends he made tore at his heart. He had grown so attached to all of them - especially the former two. Holding back a sob, he brought a hand to his eyes to wipe away the tears pooling at the corners, but new ones took their place.

"M-Miss Fluttershy… I… I c-can't fit i-in… They'll n-never a-accept me…" Unable to even meet the mare's eyes, he allowed fresh tears to slide down his cheeks. "I… I should j-just l-leave… Y-you and Chenoa w-will be b-better off w-without m-me…"

The pegasus gasped, an icy shock piercing her chest.

"… Leave? Wha…? Smokey… Smokey, no… No, you don't have to-" She slid her forelegs around his torso, attaching herself to him. "No, you can't… You can't leave!"

The intonation in Fluttershy's voice further tugged at his heartstrings painfully, more tears streaking down his scales. Choking and sniffling, he curled his own arms around her to hug her tightly.

"W-what a-am I s-supposed t-to d-do? E-everyp-pony e-else d-doesn't w-want m-me h-here… Th-they h-hate m-me…"

The mare's lip quivered, and she pressed her head against his chest.

"I don't hate you. I could never hate you! And everypony doesn't hate you! Twilight doesn't, nor Spike, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, or Applejack! And… Pure Heart…" She paused to bite her lower lip. "Pure Heart admires you!"

"Sure… our f-friends d-don't h-hate m-me, b-but e-everypony e-else d-does."

Allowing himself to softly sob once, he lowered his head to touch his chin to the top of his companion's head as he stroked her mane with one hand.

"I won't let you go," she said, holding him tighter. "I won't. I don't - I can't let you. I… Chenoa needs you! What… what will Chenoa do without her Dada?"

"Sh-she h-hasn't e-even c-called ma 'Dada' y-yet…" Nuzzling his chin against her cranium, he gave her a gentle squeeze. While the child in question did look upon him with affection, he was far into a melancholic state. "I… I d-don't think… sh-she l-loves m-me…"

"Of course she does. I've seen her nuzzle you. Hug you. Heard her squeal and laugh when she's around you!"

"That… d-doesn't m-mean sh-she l-loves m-me… Sh-she could j-just l-like m-me," he countered, a few more tears escaping his eyes.

Fluttershy pulled away from him, tilting her head up to meet him in the eyes.

"You can't say that. You can't honestly say that. Not with the way I've seen her snuggle against you, the way she looks so happy being around you. The way she babbles t… t-trying to t-talk to you…"

"Y… you can find somepony e-else sh-she w-will l-love m-more…"

Saying those words turned his insides cold. While he loved his child very much and longed to stay with her and Fluttershy… the rest of the town wanted him gone. A pony had even struck him down with a blunt object. Who's to say that wouldn't happen again? What if a pony decided to do worse?

And Fluttershy… The thought of leaving her broke his heart. He felt such an attachment… Such affection for her… Right now, he couldn't even bear to look her in the eyes. Seeing those blue-green pools so upset churned his stomach and broke his heart all over again.

Not to mention their friends. Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pure Heart, and Spike… his little brother. He didn't want to leave them either.

Tears in her eyes and her lip quivering, Fluttershy flapped her wings to raise herself to his eye level.

"No!" she spoke, her voice shaking and her tears spilling down her face. "No! I won't let you go! I don't want you to leave me!" She pulled him into another and surprisingly strong hug. "I don't want you to leave US!"

That look in her eyes ripped at his heart again. Holding the mare close, listening to her sobbing, he remained silent for several long moments. Was leaving really the right answer? If telling Fluttershy he was leaving evoked such a reaction… It was then he realized how much she cared about him. It made him cry again.

He didn't wish to cause such pain in the mare. She was so special to him. Just thinking about her made him feel emotions he had never felt before. How happy she made him. How comfortable he felt around her. How she made his heart flutter…

The dragon didn't want to let go either, and ultimately decided he wasn't going to. He would endure anything if it meant being with her and Chenoa.

"A-alright… I'll stay…"

Lightly sobbing, she buried her face into his neck, her mane draping over his back. Upon hearing he would stay, she broke out into a smile - her tears now shifting from those of sorrow to those of relief.

"Thank you, Smokey… We'll… we'll figure out something. I know we will," she assured, pulling away. "Why don't we just go back to the cottage and get cleaned up? I'll go get Chenoa from the Cakes."

"Sorry to scare you, my darling." Smokey blushed heavily after uttering that last word. He had never called her that before. In order to distract her from possibly bringing it up, he jumped into the lake. Surfacing, he rolled over to float on his back. "Uh… Care to join me before you pick up our baby?"

Fluttershy paused, sitting on the bank as the scaly being dived into the water.

'Darling,' she thought, blushing. 'Does that mean…?'

She smiled softly, pressing her front hooves together for a moment. Slowly and gingerly, she stepped into the water, shivering at the cool temperature, but pushed forward until she was roughly neck deep.

Positioning himself right-side up again, he observed as the pegasus got in. Putting on an enticing grin, he motioned for her to come closer with a jerk of his head.

"Come here, you."

Blushing a bit a bit, her heart thundering against her breast, the pegasus paddled up to him. A bit of cake and frosting washed off as she did so, falling out of her fur, feathers, and hair in chunks. Swimming to his side, she lifted a hoof to grasp one of his hands, pulling herself closer.

Taking her hooves, the dragon pulled her right up to him and dipped back. Positioning himself onto his back a second time, he lifted her up onto his abdomen and chest. Utilizing his wings and tail, they drifted off into the deeper region of the lake as he let go of her hooves to slip them around her.

Fluttershy sighed and relaxed her muscles, her hair partially submerged as she dipped her forelegs into the water to curl them around the draconian. Lifting her eyes to the sky, she noticed the moon was bright and full, illuminating the lake in a bathing white glow. Feeling the warmth from his body and listening to his heart thump against his chest, she closed her eyes, allowing herself to bask in the safety of his arms like she always did whenever they shared a hug.

It was a wonderful feeling, she thought, just being held by him. It was a sensation she never wanted to give up. She didn't care how the other townsponies felt. She cared for him too much to let them drive him away.