CHAPTER 3: LIFE IN PONYVILLE SHIMMERS (OVER A FIRE) - PART 1

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It was the light of the morning sun that aroused Derpy Hooves from her sleep, the sunlight falling directly over her closed eyes. She frowned, squeezing her eyes tightly in an attempt to hold onto her rapidly-fading muffin dream, but she soon lost the battle. She yawned widely while stretching before she slumped back into bed, a cross look adorning her face as she stared at the ceiling.

It had been blueberry muffins too...

Oh well, no use pouting over imaginary muffins; she had a job to get ready for.

She rolled over to roll out of bed, but once again misjudged the distance from the center of the bed to the edge; she rolled over too far and, with a squeal of surprise, fell out of bed with a soft *thud*, pulling down all the sheets on top of her. The silly-looking mass under the sheets kicked and struggled while murmuring muffled words of surprise before she finally poke her head out at the top of the pile, gasping comically for air. She giggled as she pulled herself out of the sheets, accidentally tripping over one and falling one again onto the floor.

"Whoops..." She giggled again as she gathered herself back up. Dusting herself off with her tail, she trotted merrily over to a mirror in her bedroom. She looked left, then right, and then back to the mirror; giggling like a little school filly, she makes a couple of funny faces in it, which were only made funnier by her silly-looking eyes; 'laugh and find joy in your own flaws and they won't be flaws anymore', her grandmother always told her...

...that way, when people laugh at you, it won't hurt as much.

Pushing aside those memories, Derpy continued her day; she quickly hopped into the bathroom, taking a quick shower and brushing her teeth...though she got the soap and toothpaste mixed up again, resulting in a nasty surprise. After rinsing the bubbles from her mouth, she reached down to the drawer with her brush, grabbing the handle with her mouth and pulling.

Nothing.

She pulled again, harder this time.

It wouldn't budge.

Scowling at the drawer and determined to open it, she steadied her footing and heaved; this time the drawer gave way, suddenly dislodged by the force of her yank. Derpy herself was sent flying backwards into the wall on the other side of her room, yanking the drawer out of its place in the process, the pegasus slamming up against the wall with a thud. Birds could be heard chirping merrily as she recovered from her tumble; shaking her head, her eyes focused for a brief moment to inspect the carnage that now surrounded her. The contents of the drawer had spilled all around, the brush she was looking for now laying at her hooves.

'Rats, not again...' She groaned mentally, sighing in frustration. 'I'll clean this up later; I don't have time now.'

After a quick brush of her mane, she trotted down the stairs to the kitchen; she grabbed a large brown bag from a nearby chair and went to the pantry, opening it up to find, in her opinion, the most beloved creation ever made by pony-kind.

Muffins.

There was just no mortal words that could describe them. Muffins were probably the most marvelous food ever created by pony chefs. So many different kinds and choices, beautiful explosions of flavor, yet with such humble and ordinary appearances. Muffins were truly a gift from Faust herself...but so little appreciation! Most ponies would take pies, cakes, or Pinkie's cupcakes over a good muffin any day! Honestly, ponies just don't know how to appreciate a good thing when they have one!

After she stuffed her bag full of muffins, she flew into the living room to fetch her professional mail-hat and mail-bag. To her surprise, she found them sitting on the couch just waiting for her to pick them up: a classic-looking mail-hat and a large brown bag full of letters and packages. Along with her things, there was also a note lying next to her hat, drawn out in the red crayon scribbles of a young filly; setting her muffin bag next to her mailbag, she picked up the note with her hooves and read it aloud.

Deer Mom

Alrudy at scholl

Dinky

Derpy smiled; it seemed like it was only yesterday she was just a baby filly with bright eyes and a wonderful little laugh...they grow up so fast, don't they? Oh well, it was good that Dinky could go to school on her own and still be safe during the day; it was tough earning enough money to feed yourself and your baby girl when you're only a mail-mare, who has to get up early to get to work and couldn't afford the time to take your kids to school. She was lucky enough to get that job to begin with, let alone keep it all this time, thanks to her...conditions.

Whistling a familiar tune to herself, the pegasus mare set the note aside and put on her mail cap; smiling proudly, she then reached for her mail bag...

...oh.

There were two brown bags on the couch. One has mail, the other has muffins. How to find out which one has which?

Mail...or Muffins?

Derpy stared intently at the two bags, trying to decide which one she was suppose to take. How on Equestria was she going to find out which bag had the mail in it?

*BONG...BONG...BONG...BONG...BONG...BONG...BONG...BONG!*

The bell tower struck eight: She was late for work! Just choose and go! Squeaking in surprise, the pegasus grabbed one of the bags and bolted through the front door, the breeze caused by her taking off sending a single letter floating out of the remaining bag...

Ah, Ponyville...the bestest best home in the world! She loved this town ever since she moved here with her own mommy back when she was a itty-bitty filly. Everypony here was always so nice, even when she messed up and broke things every now and then...except for Rainbow Dash, who always got crabby when she accidentally got the weather schedule wrong, or when she played with the fun thunderclouds. She couldn't help it though; thunderclouds were so much fun! Always going 'Zap!' and 'Boom!' whenever she bounced on them, even if things always went 'Kaboom!' if she bounced on them too close to tall things like buildings and trees.

But bouncing on thunderclouds would have to wait until after lunchtime; she had to do her job as a mailmare first! As a mailmare, it was her job, duty, and pride to make sure everypony in Ponyville got their mail delivered on time! As the saying goes: neither rain, snow, sleet or hail, would ever stop the pony mail!

...but...where were the ponies who needed their mail?

For that matter, where was anypony?

For as far as Derpy's crossed eyes could see, the entire town looks deserted; she was currently standing in the middle of the market place, one of the busiest places in all of Ponyville, and yet there wasn't a pony to be seen. Since it was early morning, it would make sense if the shoppers weren't around since they were all still getting ready for the day, but even the stalls were closed, boarded up and sealed shut. Not a single pony to be seen.

Weird.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when something grabbed her by the tail and yanked hard; hard enough to trip her off her hooves and pull her across the ground. Derpy yelped in surprise as she fell to the ground, landing with an 'oof!'; she didn't have time to straighten her spinning eyes before that something began pulling her across the street! She looked back but, to her fear, there was nopony there!

It was The Invisible Pony! The Invisible Pony was kidnapping her!

"HEEEEELP!" She screamed in fright as she was dragged toward one of the houses, leaving long groves where she tried to grab at the dirt. "I don't wanna be molesteeeed!"

"Derpy! Get down and be quiet!" A familiar voice hissed between its teeth as she was yanked into the front door, landing in the main hall on her back as the door slammed shut. The golden glow around her tail faded as she was suddenly jumped by a unicorn, who pinned her to the floor and covered her mouth.

"For Celestia's sake, Lyra!" Another familiar voice shouted before 'Lyra' was shoved off of her. "Get off of her before you smother her to death!"

Derpy sat up in confusion, finding herself surrounded by numerous ponies huddled up inside; Lyra was wrestling angrily with her assaulter, a beige earth pony with a pink and blue mane, while everypony else were huddled together or peaking around the edges of windows. Many of the = ponies here she recognized: there was Lyra, Bonbon, Berry Punch, Colgate, Sea Swirl, Carrot Top, even her second daughter Amethyst.

"Derpy! Thank goodness!" Carrot Top exclaimed as she pulled the confused pegasus in a tight hug, squeezing her until her eyeballs spun. "We thought you were a goner!"

"Mmmmmm..." Derpy moaned, her snout buried in Carrot Top's chest fluff. "Mmmwaff mmoming mon?"

Carrot Top released her grip slightly, looking down at her in disbelief. "Where have you been? The entire town's in hiding and you're out delivering the mail?!"

A lightbulb clicked in Derpy's head. "Ohhhhh! So that's why nopony's outside! Who are we hiding from?"

The other ponies started at her as if she had grown a second head...well, more so than usual.

"...are you kidding me!" A ruffled-up Lyra shouted. "You mean you don't know what's going on?! Half of Ponyville was woken up by that armageddon-ish roar and you slept through the whole thing?!"

"I went to bed early-"

"Why can't I sleep that hard?!"

"Lyra!" Bonbon snapped, bonking the unicorn over the head with her hoof. "For Celestia's sake..."

"Celestia had abandoned us!" One of the ponies, Daisy, shouted in fear; one of the flower trio, who were all huddled under the dining room table. "We're all gonna die while she does nothing!"

"We're doomed! Doomed, I tell you!" Roseluck sobbed in a comical way.

"We're all gonna be violated!" Lily screamed.

A magenta-colored hoof bonked all three of them over the heads. "Would you three shut up?!" Berry Punch hissed as they all whimpered, cradling the fresh bumps on their heads. "She's gonna find us at this rate!"

"Who's gonna find us?" Derpy asked, still tucked in Carrot's Top grip.

"The Priestess." Sea Swirl whimpered, tucking herself into a ball.

"She came in just the other night, from Sugarcube Corner." Colgate whispered, peeking out the window. "Said a dragon was coming to Ponyville today, and she's been preparing a celebration for it."

The gray pegasus paled, her eyes straightening out for a brief moment. "A D-D-Dragon?!" She squeaked, she and Carrot Top shivering violently.

"Her eyes are like balls of fire!" The unicorn continued, eyes her full of dread. "Her m-mane a mass of t-t-tentacles, and her h-hooves forged from the s-steel of t-t-tartarus itself! The s-skull of a p-princess covers her f-face like a m-m-mask, and a s-staff made from the t-torn-out s-s-skull and s-s-spine of a Draconequus w-w-wields the p-power of the d-dragons to her very whim! She's come to welcome the dragon to our town! To welcome the apocalypse upon all of Equestria!

"And to do that, she needs...n-n-needs...t-!"

*BANG!*

The door to the house was slammed open with a loud crash, the wind from outside blowing forth in a strangely sinister and frightful manner for a perfectly sunny day. The light of said sunny day silhouetted the form of a hooded figure wrapped in a dark yet strangely sparkly cape that billowed in the wind of a perfectly still day, a staff held to the side with one hoof; her face was concealed by a mask, yes, from which two bright baby-blue eyes could be seen giddily staring at them, locks of pink mane poking out from said hood and hanging over the candied top of the mask.

She pointed her evil staff at them with the horrifying, demonic sound of a squeaky toy, and with but one sentence, made all of Ponyville scream in absolute terror.

"I have come for your Virginity!"

Derpy screamed alongside the others; looks like she was going to be molested, after all.

---

It was all perfect...it had to be perfect.

If it wasn't perfect, then Equestria could be doomed...but that was silly, 'cause this was perfect!

It had to be perfect!

Though something told Twilight that it wasn't, no matter what; thank goodness this was the one time where her lust of organization was a weapon that would see her and her new friends through.

Pinkie Pie had truly, and she meant truly, outdone herself; the average Nightmare Night and even Hearth's Warming Eve festivals of Canterlot paled in comparison to what could only be described as its very own amusement park. Streamers, food tables, balloons, food stands, bounce-houses, and even a Ferris wheel had been erected to make this a spectacle to behold. Twilight also noticed that everything this time around was especially dragon-themed, in honor of their hero: the cookies were shaped like little dragons, with purple and orange icing. The balloons were all clustered in the according colors of purple, indigo, yellow, and orange, matching Spyro's colors perfectly. Paintings and paper cutouts of dragons doing different things, like breathing fire or hoarding treasure, were everywhere; on the stalls, the tablecloths, the balloons, and just about anywhere she could stick a paintbrush. And finally, she even went to make a large, makeshift table in front of Town Hall (made out of wooden crates organized in an altar-like shape with yellow tablecloths spread over them, said blankets painted to have cartoony runes and symbols lining the edges), on which sat a truly enormous plate and dish lid; Faust knows what was awaiting the dragon's stomach underneath it.

"Hiya, Twilight!"

'Speak of the little pink devil.' Twilight thought to herself. She had seen some silly things in this town, but like the party, Pinkie's outfit took the cake: A long, wavy, bright-pink cape with yellow candy wrapper tassels dragged behind her, with a matching turban-like hood tucked around her head, allowing the front of her mane to squeeze out over the smiling skull-shaped mask that she had currently pushed up to her forehead to show her face. Her upper body and forelimbs were dressed in robes that matched her cape, cookie-style plating serving as shoulder and upper arm armor, and in one hoof she gripped a tall, streamer-wrapped staff with a goofy-looking paper-mache dragon skull on top, googly eyes sticking in opposite directions.

It took all of Twilight's willpower to keep herself from pinning the earth pony down and ripping that monstrosity clean off her body.

It took her another moment to realize just how dirty that sounded.

"Ooooh, I'm so nervoscited!" Pinkie Pie squealed as she bounced to a stop next to the unicorn. "I could barely sleep this morning, so I went on a planning spree to make this the bestest best celebration a dragon could enjoy!" She whipped out a long list from within her cape, which promptly rolled a good fifty feet in front of both ponies as she read the top. "Okay, we've got all the essentials down, checked over, re-checked over again, and given a complete overhaul for good measure, from cookies to creampuffs! All we're missing is the guest of honor and friends!"

Twilight wished it was that simple. She truly, truly wished that.

---

Earlier That Very Morning:

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The mayor of Ponyville was, admittedly, an interesting mare; Ponyville was her first priority and she ruled it with a calm and soft hoof. Feats of loyalty towards the community got rewarded and she always had the right words to motivate the inhabitants. But right now, she seemed... different. Currently she was giving Twilight, a young unicorn from Canterlot who had appeared the same time Nightmare Moon had, the patented 'hoofs-together-just-below-the-lips-and-right-over-the-edge-of-the-glasses' stare.

Oh, how Twilight envied ponies with glasses! They could do so many great things with them! Curse her perfect 20-20 vision!

"Now let me get this straight…" Mayor Mare began calmly. "A dragon-"

"Spyro."

The earth pony paused for a moment, then continued: "...A dragon named Spyro defeated Nightmare Moon and fulfilled an ancient prophecy from the days of Starswirl, and Princess Celestia has instructed you and five of my citizens to watch over him and his other dragon friends as they live in Ponyville, possibly for a few years?"

"Exactly, Miss Mayor." Twilight answered the beige mare with the elegant glasses. "Order from the Princess!"

The mayor stared at the unicorn in silence for what felt like an eternity, before simply sitting back and nodding in acceptance. "Thank you for informing me so quickly. I think we can avoid a panic if we just call in a big announcement." She even gave a heavy sigh. "I guess I should have prepared for this a little better; my predecessor left me that note and map for a reason."

"Map?" Twilight asked.

"Yes. Wait a second." The mare stood up and disappeared behind a closet door for a while; there was the sound of rummaging through paper before she returned with a rather long tube. "Most ponies in higher positions have one of these. Luckily Equestrian Dragons tend to brag a lot if the borders change."

Twilight watched with interest as the mayor opened the tube and produced a rolled up piece of old parchment. Unrolled, it showed a rather basic map of the continent that Equestria and the surrounding nations were part of. Cities, as well as other landmarks, were shown, but the borders were different entirely. Most of them ran as double lines with no space between them, but some had small pockets. Mountain tops, cities, small forests, swamps...it all seemed random at first, but after a short while of looking, Twilight understood:

This was a map of the basic territorial lines of dragons that lived on the Equestrian Continent. They each had about the same amount of space and were all the same distance from each other; most of Equestria's populated areas were blank, no doubt thanks to the Anti-Dragon Military Patrols of the Royal Canterlot Army, but edges of the kingdoms and wild lands were mostly taken up. The territories had names, colors, and genders in their center; Some were very long, but others were quite short.

She glanced at Ponyville: Empty. Right at the border of the Everfree Forest was a line showing the end of a green dragon's territory. Perfect; if she played her cards right, she could avoid getting Spyro involved with the local dragons. They weren't as friendly or understanding as he was.

"As you see, we are neutral here." The mayor explained, pointing to the town's location. "And I was warned that this might lead to a dragon staying here. But honestly, they live so long, I don't think the town was half of its current size when the last one rested here." She sighed quietly. "I will set up an announcement in the afternoon. Do you have any...tips how we should tackle this problem?"

Twilight swallowed and focused her thoughts. "They are very..." She paused, shaking her head. "Nonono, that won't work." She sighed. "Spyro is so different than everything ponies believe about dragons that I don't know what to make of him. Most dragons are suppose to be greedy and territorial, but Spyro's nothing like that: he's brave, kind, smart, and just." She smiled warmly. "He's a real hero...and a good friend."

The earth pony cocked an eyebrow. "...when he arrives, should I prepare a room in the estrus stables for you two?" She asked with a coy smirk.

The lavender of her now wide-eyed face turned bright red all the way up to her ear tips. "W-W-W-What?! N-NO!" She squealed...before an idea suddenly hit her and her blush faded. "...although a maiden sacrifice might be something he'd appreciate, being a dragon and all."

The mayor's smirk immediately faded as she went wide-eyed herself. "I was only joking!" She almost shouted. "Please tell me you're not serious!"

"I DON'T KNOW, OKAY?!" Twilight finally exploded, throwing her hooves into the air. "Ponies know next to nothing about dragons, and everything we do know or have theorize for the past thousand years, he has defied just by being himself!" Her mane began to unravel as her eyes became unfocused. "And that's only regarding him, but what are his friends like?! Are they like other dragons or like him? Or are they mixed with both?! How many friends is he bringing back?! Can Ponyville even support feeding and sheltering one dragon, let alone an entire pack of them?! The entire future of Equestria's relationship with the rest of the universe could depend on this single visit, and all we've got to show for it is an old farming town full of party streamers and carnival food!"

Were it not for the gravity of the situation, Mayor Mare would've taken insult to that jab at her town, but instead she asked: "Then why don't you host it in Canterlot? Surely they are more qualified for something of this importance."

And that was the issue of the situation that had given Twilight pause from the start:

"Princess Celestia ordered me in her own worlds: 'keep Spyro and his friends away from Canterlot and all other major cities'."

Mayor Mare blinked in surprise. "Is that so?" She asked, tapping a hoof against her chin. She then shrugged. "Perhaps she felt it was best to keep a flock of dragons in the most isolated areas around, rather than throw them directly in the heart of all Equestria, where all the big and important ponies live."

The unicorn didn't answer; she simply scratched her head with her hoof.

"Miss Sparkle...how old do you think I am?"

Twilight's eyes turned to the size of saucers, completely caught off-guard by the question. Her mouth opened, but no words left it.

"Not that old, I can proudly say." The mayor told her. "I already had a grey mane when I was born, but I have seen my share of issues in this town. I have held this position for almost half my life, you know. Do you know what an election is?" Twilight nodded. "I also assume that you know how the mayor of a small community, like ours, is chosen?"

"Wait, y-y-you were elected?" She suddenly stammered. What a weird way to run such a small town!

"Yes, I have earned this job through actions and decisions." The earth pony explained. "Not by having the 'ruler' cutie mark and not by birth. I got elected. And every two years, I have to face my voters and see if I did well."

Twilight was slightly confused out by the concept. Politically, Canterlot was such a simple place: you had nobility and commoners on the one hoof and Princess Celestia, who ran the place basically by herself, on the other.

"To make this clear: For several years, I didn't even have any enemies. Ponies thought that my work was so good that they wanted me to keep doing it. That changed three years ago: for the first time in almost a decade, I had to fight hard during an election! And don't get me wrong, Miss Sparkle, I do not want to get re-elected just because I crave power or because my ego needs the stroking." A hollow look of unbridled horror filled her eyes. "I want to be re-elected because I have seen the alternative! And I refuse to allow Ponyville, the town I worked so hard to make the best I can, be turned into the chaos capital of Equestria!"

Twilight swallowed. Who could possibly be such a bad choice? And who would vote for them? "Who...?" she asked carefully.

"Think for a moment! Who has the most friends, knows almost everypony, is loved by every soul in town...?"

Hers face changed color again, this time a ghostly white. "NO, not...!"

"YES! It's either me or her!" The Mayor snapped, pointing to the map. "I would give my life to protect this town! And Miss Sparkle, if Ponyville goes down in the flames of these dragons or if you cost me the next election (which would have basically the same result), I'll make sure you go down with me! Understand?"

"Y-Yes, ma'am!"

---

Back to the Present:

---

Twilight had made up her mind: she would fake her own death, go into hiding and live as a traveling book sales pony on the run; even if she and Spike got robbed on a daily basis and ate things she found on the ground, it couldn't be any more stressful than her life as Celestia's lackey!

Speaking of which, what would Princess Celestia tell her in a situation like this?

The hard face of her mentor and teacher appeared inside her head: "Twilight, if you don't keep up that insane degree of diligence and borderline OCD, I will personally punish you! And not in the way you sometimes dream of! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"NOOOOOO!" the purple mare suddenly wailed to the heavens.

"Fine! Then you don't like my roses!" a disappointed Roseluck whined, turning to change the perfect bouquet behind her.

Twilight had walked right into the preparations. Awkwardly, she moved on. "Princess Celestia is your teacher and cares about you! She would never say something like that!" the nervous mare told herself.

Celestia appeared in her mind again: "Twilight, you are my most faithful student and I only give you such difficult tasks because I know that you can succeed where others would fail. So don't disappoint me, or I will kick you out of school and turn you into my personal slave! And not like in that other dream of yours! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"I have issues..." Twilight decided aloud, blocking out any other mental images of her beloved teacher.

It seem that nopony else really got the sheer level of what was at stake here: It would've been bad enough it had been a visit from a native dragon, thanks to the natural animosity the two races held for each other, but not only was it a dragon but a dragon from another world. Spyro may not had realized it, but by joining up with them, he had made them the first encounter between two completely different worlds...not only that, but between worlds that had once been connected in the far past (if Nightmare Moon was right); one that was full of extra big, extra powerful dragons! This was the first time their two sides had connected and interacted since the days of Dream Valley itself, the land and time that saw the very origin of ponykind, and the ones heralding their reunion and acting as the non-official ambassadors to the World of Dragons was the small, rustic, out-of-the-way town of Ponyville.

A stray hair went *boing*; she hoped Spyro and his friends really liked carnival food.

"Are they here yet?"

Twilight jumped slightly, not expecting anyone to speak to her; she turned to find Spike walking alongside her, carrying a rolled-up list under his arm. "Oh, hi Spike." She said. "I thought you were helping Pinkie with the decorations."

Spike waved his free hand dismissively. "She wanted to use my 'shedded scales' for makeshift streamer pins, whatever that meant." He frowned in confusion. "I don't even I can even shed my scales like that..." His frown turned to worry. "Another thing I might mess up, I guess."

Twilight frowned in concern. "Are you okay?" She asked, turning around to face him. "You've been acting strangely since we came back."

The baby dragon stared at her for a moment, and then gave a heavy sigh. "...I'm about to meet another Dragon, Twilight." He told her. "The first time I'll meet another dragon, another of my own kind, ever!" He stomped around a circle, going into a very Twilight-like rant. "And I have no idea what to do! I don't know anything about what it means to be a real dragon! I live in a library, for crying out loud!" Spike said, stopping dead in his tracks. "I'm the servant of a PONY!"

"You're no servant, Spike." Twilight stated, but the little dragon wasn't listening.

"They're gonna fly into Ponyville and the first thing there's going to see is a small, squishy dragon who doesn't even have his wings! I can barely breathe fire, and that's only to send Celestia letters! I don't have a hoard; every gem I can get I end up eating! I don't have any territory to speak off; dragons consider Canterlot as Celestia's turf! If I can't find a way to impress them, to show them that I'm a real dragon too, I'll be the laughing stock of my race!" He grabbed the purple unicorn by the mane and pulled her face-to-face. "MY LIFE IS OVEEEEER!"

'Is this what I look like during my freak outs?' Twilight asked herself, trying to ignore the smell of burning gases that was Spike's dragon breath.

"Spike..." She said calmly, resisting the urge to magic-slap him, as she pushed his hands out of her mane. "I understand that you're worried, and that you want to make a good impression. It's the exact same feeling I got when I began studying under Celestia." She ruffled his spikes fondly. "And I'm sure meeting Spyro and his friends will go just as well as mine did. Spyro's a nice guy; I'm sure he'd be pleased to meet you."

"You're about to get your chance! Here they come, everypony!"

Every eye in main square turn as a large shadow was cast over town, cause by a large...round?...shape with large dragon wings descending from above, darkened by the sun behind it. As the shape grew closer, along with the sound of distant flapping wings, the blackness faded to reveal the large purple dragon himself, who turned out to be the two wings...but what was that large shape behind him. It looked almost like...

Twilight's eyes widened when realization hit her; at the same time the medium-sized hot-air balloon came into view, carrying a basket full of different non-dragon creatures. The balloon was big, easily twice the size of Ponyville's local balloons, and weaved with vibrant colors of gold, orange, and blue. The basket was equally as vibrant, rimmed in fool's gold with colored threads weaved into the fabric; looped through two the basket's corner hoops were two extra ropes which Spyro was currently pulling the balloon with, the rope looped around between his teeth like a bridle's bit.

With a quick flurry of wing flaps, Spyro touched down on the large red-and-white target Pinkie had painted on the street in front of Town Hall, landing of all fours. Behind him, the balloon slowly drifted down to land with a slight thud, and out from the basket climbed or fluttered a number of different creatures: a cheetah beastman, a female half primate-half goat creature, a rabbit beastwoman, and a small insect-wing humanoid, all of whom looked about the town with varying expressions.

'Wait! So his friends aren't dragons themselves?' She asked no one in particular.

"Honored guests!" The mayor began, breaking the silence. "As the mayor of Ponyville, It is my honor to welcome you to our humble village! We have announced the day of your arrival to be a day of celebration and hope that you enjoy your stay in this fair town! While here, Twilight Sparkle, the personal student of Princess Celestia, will tend to your needs and Lyra Heartstrings, our local bard, will welcome you in the traditional music and story-telling style. Now, I will give the stage to her; have a wonderful stay and please enjoy yourself."

The mint-green unicorn levitated her harp in front of herself and took center stage; she was just about to start, when Spyro suddenly intervened.

"So..." He started with a cold voice, the very space around him darkening and trembling under his power. "You think that you can appease me with this obvious attempt to make me feel special? Fly in the best celebrity you find, turn my arrival into a carnival and tell everyone to have a good time, just so I am more inclined to behave? This is a very obvious and manipulative attempt to get on my good side, I have to say..."

With the last syllable and a loud 'SHING', he held up his right paw and extended the claws to full length.

The word silence does not even begin to describe what followed. It was as if the air simply refused to carry sound. There was no wind, no insects, nothing.

Twilight didn't feel the eyes of every pony around her burning into her body, and even if she had felt them, she wouldn't have cared. She felt her body dying of fear; she couldn't hear her heart beat, her lungs didn't fill themselves, and she was sure that her neural system was shutting down as well.

And it was wonderful! She could experience death in the way every scientist wished they could: completely aware and thinking! She would leave this world with knowledge that was in no book! Happily, she accepted the embrace of the pale horse...

...until she noticed the expressions of the other creatures watching him; the cheetah, the rabbit, and the bug-humaniod were all snickering behind sealed lips and puffy cheeks, struggling to keep from laughing out loud, while the goat-ape groaned while silently face-palming in embarrassment. Meanwhile, Spyro slowly lowered himself into a prone position and extended his arm toward a stand of apple-based treats. Coldly, he ignored the trembling mare tending the stand as he stabbed a caramel apple, before leaning back and popping it into his mouth.

He held his stern expression for about three seconds before he and the three others burst out into deep-bellied, teary-eyed laughter.

"Akatosh above, you think I'm being serious!" He guffawed, wiping a tear from his eye with a claw. "I was just messing with you all!" He grabbed another handful of treats, lifting it as if to toast. "Your princess has returned and the sun has been restored; a time celebration if I ever saw one, so let's celebrate already!"

The entirety of Ponyville either exhaled in relief, laughed with the joke, or cheered at the dragon's worlds; Twilight felt life returning to her flesh, and Fluttershy's animal friends were able to CPR their caretaker back into the world.

Let the train-wreck begin!