The Kobold of Ponyville

by Mr101

First published 17th of October, 2013

A kobold turns up in Ponyville after leaving his clan in search for adventures, but gets more than he bargained for when he runs into three mischievous fillies and a motherly pegasus.

Kobolds have a knack for cowardice and sadism. But not Tak.

Tak disagreed with how his race acted and yearned for something more out of life. After finding a book about a certain daring pegasus who had a thirst for adventure, Tak dreams of having his own adventures. Armed with his favorite spear, a makeshift bag and a determined soul, he abandons his clan and ventures forth into the unknown.

However, when he runs into a mischievous orange filly, a motherly pegasus and their friends, he soon finds himself caught up in something far bigger than he could ever imagine.

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Thanks to my pre-reader and editor Vexy go give some of his work a look!

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Cover art by me, background found on Google.

The Definitive Guide to Equestrian Races - The Kobold.

Entry 502~ The Kobold.*

Although Equestria is home to a wide variety of creatures, few are quite as curious and elusive as the kobold. Unlike most other species - including their much larger cousins, the dragons - kobolds are not inherently social beings and prefer to avoid other civilizations due to what can be only be described as an instinctive distrust for most other creatures. Kobolds are reptilian creatures, typically standing at an average of between 2’-4’ in height and 30-40 pounds (14-18kg) in weight. As with the majority of species in Equestria, male kobolds have a slightly higher average height and weight than females.

Kobolds favour dark places such as underground caves or overgrown forests to build their homes. This is largely due to having a high susceptibility to changes in luminosity, and as such, they have a incredibly high sensitivity to bright lights and light spells. Living in tribes or small clans, kobolds are dangerously territorial. It is not uncommon to see them sending out patrols in a ten mile radius of their lairs, and they are never hesitant to capture any small creature that is foolish enough to wander too close. There have been the occasional reports of ponies being assaulted by travelling too close to a clan. A group of ten kobolds can swiftly overwhelm even an adult pony if they’re caught unprepared.

Much akin to the inherent affinity that all ponies have with magic, kobolds have the unique ability to see in the dark, which has proved vital in ensuring their survival over the years. The small size of a kobold can also be regarded as a beneficial trait as they have a much higher agility than their foe should they be forced into open combat.

Conversely, the kobold’s small size also puts them at an obvious disadvantage in combat, and as such kobolds will only hunt alone as a last resort; a lone kobold can be easily defeated by most larger foes. For that reason, kobolds are never seen alone when it comes to hunting, instead favouring large groups of up to ten members. When alone, kobolds become very cowardly when dealing with a foe that is stronger and will usually run away or resort to crude tricks to evade their pursuers such as leading them into thick undergrowth or towards uneven ground where their small size works in their favour.

Due to their unethical habits and the gratuitous distrust they have towards other races (the only exception being, bizarrely, the changelings), kobolds are rarely, if ever, seen in civilized society. Despite this, kobolds have been known to occasionally establish tenuous trade agreements with other races, a rather famous example being the Griffin-Kobold trade pact of DB49**. This is more likely down to a mutual benefit as opposed to any desire for diplomatic association.

Not much else is truly known about the kobolds as the records of their species vary greatly depending on the source. After much cross-referencing (and many close-encounters), this entry is a complete summary of what we know about the kobolds.

Author's Notes:

* - Before anyone asks, yes the Kobolds in this story are basically based off the Kobolds of Dungeons and Dragons.

** - DB stands for Discord's Banishment.

Chapter I - Adventure is out there!

Tak let out a loud yawn as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and smacked his lips, his eyes easily adjusting to the dimness of his room. He’d been awoken from his dream by a loud bang that had come from outside of his hut. Grumbling to himself, he pushed himself up and headed to the door to investigate what had caused it.

Upon opening the door, Tak shivered as the cold winter air hugged him and a quiet sigh escaped his lips. As he looked about for the source of the commotion, he saw the rest of his clan arguing over what was now a mostly destroyed cart. Walking over to the others, Tak inspected the cart for himself. Sure enough, it was an Equestrian cart, the type that belonged to ponies.

“Latest raid then?” he asked one of the others.

“Yer,” the kobold grinned. “We caught them sniffing around the edge of our territory, so we took der cart!”

“And the ponies?”

“Nah, got away,” he sniffed nonchalantly. “Doesn’t matter, dis cart is worth more than them, anyway.”

“True, Tak will go get the chief,” Tak replied with a nod.

The kobold grunted as Tak turned and started to make his way to the large hut in the clearing. The clan wasn’t that large. In fact, it was a subsection of a much larger clan that was situated several miles north of where they were. The boss of the clan, Riddek, had sent Tak and the others south in order to have more security on the border of his territory.

Tak smacked his fist on the door of the large hut and waited. After a few seconds of silence, a loud grunt sounded from within, giving the signal that Tak was allowed to enter. Opening the door, he strode in.

The chief was a fairly plump kobold who was barely small enough to fit into the armor that he wore at all times. He raised his eyebrow and waved his spear in acknowledgment as Tak entered.

“What does Tak want?” he asked.

“Tak comes to tell you we got a cart with some goodies in it,” Tak replied.

“Good. Salec will go with Tak and see what we gots.”

With a nod, Tak led the chief out of the hut and towards the ruined cart where the others had already begun to relieve it of its cargo.

Tapping his spear on the ground authoritatively, Salec grinned as the others quickly stopped what they were doing and stepped away from the cart’s cargo. As he casually walked around the looted items, he carefully inspected each in turn, making crude comments occasionally and chucking smaller objects to the onlooking kobolds.

As Tak watched, he sighed quietly to himself. Raising his head upwards towards the sky, he let his mind drift away into a daydream that was not unlike his dream which had been rudely interrupted.

He’d been walking through the forest that he called his home. In one claw was his trusty spear, and in the other was an iron buckler. Instead of his normal attire - a basic tunic and a pair of shorts - he was wearing some beautifully crafted iron armor that was perfectly tailored to fit his small frame.

He’d been tracking down a strange, mysterious creature that had been spotted in the area and had decided to take it up upon himself to claim the bounty that had been placed upon its head. In the dream, he had tracked the creature to what he had assumed to be its lair inside of a large, dark cave. Tak barely even noticed the darkness surround him as he boldly strode inside, his eyes easily adapting to the lower light levels. He readied his spear and shield as the darkness swallowed him whole.

Before he’d even taken a few steps, the beast attacked. He couldn’t quite see the creature clearly as it attacked so fast. However, from what he could see, the thing was huge! Larger than anything he had ever seen before. Bravely, he had charged towards the beast, ready to plunge his spear into it - when his dream was shattered by that loud bang.

As Tak continued to smile at the sky, he was suddenly knocked over by an object colliding with him at high speed.

“Can’t Tak even catch a book?” someone called out as the rest of the clan laughed. Tak let out a loud groan as he shook his head. On top of to him was the large, green book that had recently smacked him in the head.

“Pay attention, Tak. Boss Riddek doesn’t like slackers,” Salec grunted. “Now go get rid of that. S’not worth anything to us.”

Tak sneered as he pushed the book off him. Being only 2’8”, a book - especially seeing as how this one was bigger than most - was almost the same height as him, and judging by the thickness, it was a very long and detailed book. Tak continued to grumble as he dragged the book beside him towards the edge of the small clearing where he and the others would throw their rubbish away. This was mostly just leftover bones from meals or items that they had deemed not valuable after one of their raids.

“An’ don’t be all day, you’s got a lot more work to do!” Salec’s voice sailed after him.

Tak sighed and walked past the others as they laughed at him. Unlike the other kobolds, Tak didn't just dislike going on raids or patrols, he hated them. Something inside of him just didn’t feel right when it came to doing the job, and instead he would remain at the camp and prepare for the arrival of whatever the raiders brought back. This meant cataloguing anything they wanted to keep and items that were to be sent to the boss. On the rare occasion that they captured a pony, griffin or any other creature unfortunate enough to get ambushed by their clan, Tak had also refused to take part in anything to do with the prisoner, simply ignoring them and leaving his kin to deal with it. Due to his reluctance to participate in nearly anything, he was always the one who had to dump every item that the chief deemed ‘useless’ in the nearby dumping ground.

As he came to the dumping ground, he was about to simply toss the book away when he caught sight of the cover. Curiously, he sat on his rump and settled the book between his legs and studied it.

Kobolds weren’t as stupid as most races thought they were; whilst being naturally gifted in the language of their cousins, the dragons, kobolds were not unfamiliar with the common tongue that was spoken in all corners of the known world. Even if they did speak in third-person most of the time.

On the front cover of the book, Tak could see three reptilian creatures he didn’t quite recognise swimming in the water. What he did recognise however was a pegasus in an odd-looking getup while she held onto a vine and a very beautiful sapphire stone. He squinted his eyes as he read what was written in big, bold letters just above the picture.

“Daring Do… and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone…” Tak read out loud softly.

Tak felt a grin form on his face as he looked around. Satisfied that none of the other kobolds were watching him, he quickly stood up and ran to a nearby bush and hid the book.

“Tak will come back and read you later,” he murmured to the book.

“TAK! WHERE ARE YOU?” Salec bellowed, his voice shattering the tranquil silence.

With a startled yelp, Tak turned tail and quickly darted back to the village in order to continue his job.

As night fell, the small kobold settlement was quiet, save for the few guards on night watch. Tak rolled over in his makeshift bed, unable to sleep; all he could think about was the book. After what seemed like an eternity had passed, he slowly got out of bed and crept over to his door. Turning the handle, he peeked outside. He could see where two of the four guards were standing and decided to try and sneak out of the camp and back to where he’d hidden the book.

As quietly as he could, he slipped out and made his way around to the back of his hut. When he was certain he was out of earshot of the guards. He scurried out of the camp and towards the dumping ground.

It wasn’t long until he arrived at his destination and, after a quick rummage in the bushes, he found his prize. With a happy cackle, he carried the book under his arm and carefully made his way back to the camp. Just as he was about to slip back in unnoticed, he heard a twig snap to his right and his head quickly spun in the direction of the sound. Taks eyes widened slightly upon seeing one of the guards.

“Tak? What you doing out?” the guard asked as he spotted him.

“Tak was just uh… going for a piss!” Tak quickly lied.

“Oh… well then… eh, whatever,” he grunted and turned around, heading back to his post.

Tak waited until he was out of sight before letting out a sigh of relief. Thankful that the guard didn’t spot the book, he made his way back into his hut without any further incident. With a big grin he picked up the blanket from the floor and made his way over to his chair. Sitting down, he wrapped himself up in his blanket and began to read.

“As Daring Do trekked through the tropical jungle…” he began.

As the sun started to rise over the land, the camp began to slowly awaken and prepare themselves for the new day. Inside Tak’s hut, however, the young kobold was still sitting in his chair, eyes glued to the book as he skimmed down the last page.

“And so, with Ahuizotl defeated, and the sapphire stone secured… the world was safe and sound once again, thanks to Daring Do!”

Tak gently closed the book and blinked a few times.

“That was… unbelievable!” he whispered to himself, hugging the book to his chest. “Why would Salec want Tak to throw this out?”

Loud banging on his huts door startled him from his daze, causing him to jump and drop the book with a thud.

“Tak! Get your scaley arse out here! We got work to do,” he heard one of the other kobolds yell from outside.

“Tak’s coming, keep your scales on!” Tak shouted back.

He yawned and quickly hid the book under the covers of his blanket before heading outside to get on with the day’s jobs.

The day went on as it normally would for Tak. He was always given the simple and boring tasks to complete around the campsite that the others wouldn't do themselves. Usually, he would grumble about being treated like a slave, but today it was different; despite the lack of sleep, he couldn’t stop thinking about that book.

He’d often stop to simply look out into the forest and sigh happily to himself. He imagined himself off on an adventure like Daring Do, fighting off vicious monster or recovering long-forgotten artifacts. Each time he slipped into a daydream, one of the other kobolds would have to give him a smack or sharp jab with the back end of a spear to wake him up.

Tak sighed as he took a seat on a nearby tree stump and looked back at the camp. As his mind wandered, he began to question why he was there. Why was he there? He didn’t enjoy his daily life, so what was keeping him there? Was it because of some strange loyalty? Or something else? Was this really all there was to his life?

Tak rested his head on his hands and yawned loudly, mumbling to himself as he closed his eyes. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he was pushed backwards suddenly and he let out a startled yelp.

“If you’re gunna fall asleep, Tak. Then jus’ go back to bed,” a kobold said.

“Really? Tak can go sleep?” Tak asked.

“Yeah, but your gunna do double your work tomorah!” he snickered.

Tak hissed at him and slowly made his way back to his hut, trying to ignore the jeering and laughing from the other kobolds. He growled angrily as he entered his hut, slammed the door shut and roughly grabbed the blanket from the floor, forgetting the book was under it. As he started to wrap himself up, he spotted the book and stared at the front cover. He felt as if Daring Do’s eyes were looking straight into his. In that split second, Tak came to a decision, one that would change his life forever.

“Tak will run away and have his own adventure!” he decided, hugging the book close to his chest. “Tak doesn’t need his stupid clan.”

As the moon shone down over the forest, the camp was as quiet as it was every night, save for a few guards. Tak, however, was not asleep. Having slept throughout the day he was now wide awake and full of energy, he’d already packed a small bag with some bits and bobs such as a few berries, a slab of deer meat, a single strand of cloth which he was fond of and a few gems.

He picked up his Daring Do book and stood it upright, tying a cord of rope around it before fastening it to his own body.

“No way is Tak going to leave this behind…” he murmured.

Once the book was securely onto his back, he hoiked the bag over his shoulder and retrieved his trusty spear from the corner of the room.

“Definitely no way is Tak leaving this behind,” he chuckled.

Satisfied he was ready, Tak made his way to the door and carefully opened it. Giving a careful glance out, he spotted all four of the guards near the other end of the camp happily chattering away to one another. Tak slipped out and made his way around to the back of his hut before silently slipping out of the camp and into the forest. The chilly air sent small shivers down his spine.

He was soon clear of his camp and smiled to himself with glee as he strode as quick as he could in order to put as much distance between him and the camp.

“Next stop, adventure!” he declared.

The sun slowly rose into the sky, covering the land in its first rays. The morning birds began to wake up and the sunlight penetrated through the leaves, leaving a distinctive shadow on the forest floor. As Tak walked through the woods, he began to whistle a merry tune to himself that seemed to echo off the trees around him.

Tak’s foot made contact with the snow as he entered a clearing, and he shivered from the cold touch. The fresh blanket of snow glistened in the brilliant sunlight, stinging his eyes a little. He’d never seen snow before; the thickness of the trees where he lived meant that snow rarely made it past the dense canopy.

He stared down at the white substance and bent down, cautiously poking it with his claw. Although it was cold, it was soft and light. Tak grinned mischievously as he grabbed a handful of the stuff and rolled it into a ball. Throwing it as hard as he could against a nearby tree, he laughed with glee as it exploded on contact and sent snow flying in all directions.

Tak rested his spear on his shoulder and began to march through the snow, kicking his legs up so the snow would go flying and over swinging his arms. Closing his eyes and listening to the sounds of his song and the crunch of his feet on the snow.

After walking for what seemed like several hours, Tak was now bored.

He had long since overtaken the winter’s snow and was now in a part of the forest that was instead damp with dew. Somewhere along the way, he had also stopped whistling his tune. Since leaving the clan, nothing had actually happened. Tak had expected that the second he entered the unknown that dangerous creatures would jump out of nowhere and he would have to fend them off, or at the least he would discover some form of cave where he could explore for hidden treasure. Instead, all that had happened was some time playing in the snow.

“Maybe… maybe Tak should go back…” he sighed. “This seems like it was a bad idea.”

His musing was interrupted when his stomach growled loudly, indicating it was time to eat something. Tak walked over to a downed tree and took a seat on the large tree trunk, whisking off the bag in order to retrieve his slab of meat.

Before he could sink his fangs into his tempting meal, he heard the bushes rustling behind him and instinctively dove for cover. Keeping himself hidden, he listened out for any more disturbances. Just as he summoned up the courage to poke his head out above the tree, an orange filly emerged from the foliage. What caught his attention was the attire she was wearing. It was the same as the strange clothing Daring Do wore on the cover of the book.

“Stupid Diamond, stupid Silver. So what if I don’t have one? I’ll show them!” she muttered to herself.

His attention on the filly was short-lived, however, when a second bush began to rustle. Both the filly and Tak glanced uneasily at the source of the commotion when a chicken popped its head out. Instinctively, Tak growled as he recognized the beast.

“Huh? A chicken? Maybe Fluttershy’s lost one—”

The small pony’s eyes suddenly widened in realization and fear as the ‘chicken’ stepped out, revealing it’s very unchicken-like body.

“A cockatrice!” the filly gasped and took several steps back until her flank hit a tree. The filly desperately looked about for a way to distract the cockatrice, but she was frozen in place with fear.

Tak trembled as he watched the cockatrice advanced on her. His mind screamed at him to do something - anything - but his legs had turned to jelly.

“What would Daring Do… do?” he hissed to himself..

The filly screamed as the cockatrice’s wings flared out, and Tak pushed all of his fears to the back of his mind. Letting out a loud, furious roar that startled both the filly and cockatrice, he leapt over the tree and charged at the demonic abomination.

Chapter II - The Kobold and the Pony

The class was abuzz with noise as colts and fillies chattered or gossiped with one another. They had been separated into groups for a small project using crafts to make a final project for Miss Cheerilee when the bell suddenly rang out, signalling the end of the lesson.

Cheerilee smiled, “Okay, everypony! Please remember to clean up after yourselves, and I’ll see you tomorrow for the annual Ponyville Relatives Sports Day!”

The class excitedly tidied up, the chatter in the room only increasing in volume.

“I can’t wait until tomorrow!” Sweetie Belle squealed, “I get to spend the whole day with Rarity!”

“Well, you sure ain’t gunna beat me and Big Mac in the races!” Applebloom grinned.

“What about Applejack?” Sweetie asked.

“One of us has gotta stay on the farm to do the work, and Applejack took part last year, so she asked Big Mac if he wanted to this year,” she replied.

“Oh, that makes sense, I guess…” Sweetie Belle said.

“Can we just get this over with?” Scootaloo grumbled, “I wanna go home today.”

“You still mad ‘cos your parents aren’t gunna be here for the event?” Applebloom asked.

“Well yeah!” Scootaloo replied, “I mean, I know my dad’s got important business in Manehatten tomorrow, but my mum could’ve at least gotten one of the other veteran Wonderbolts to cover Spitfire at the academy!”

“Uh… isn’t that because all the senior Wonderbolts got food poisoning last night from that party thing they were at?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Well yeah… but… GAH!” Scootaloo groaned, “Rainbow could’ve gone with me but she’s busy as well!”

“Uh, Scoots?” Applebloom started, “Rainbow’s got food poisoning as well...”

“Right…” Scootaloo replied, blushing.

“Well, there’s always next year though, right?” Sweetie Belle said, trying to comfort her.

“Yeah I guess… I suppose—”

“Well if it isn’t the loser blank flanks.”

The three fillies looked over to see Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon walking over to them. They rolled their eyes as the two fillies approached and turned away to ignore them. Scootaloo, however, ground her teeth as the duo walked over.

“Hey! Don’t you losers ignore me!” Diamond sniffed.

“Look, Diamond Tiara,” Scootaloo started calmly, “we’re kinda busy here so can you go be rude and annoying somewhere else? Thanks.”

Diamond’s eye twitched as Silver Spoon’s jaw dropped, shocked by the response.

“How dare you talk to me like that!” Diamond snapped.

“Well, it ain’t any different to how you treat us!” Applebloom retorted.

“Yeah,” Sweetie Belle added.

“Well, you all deserve it!” Silver Spoon interjected.

“Why? Just because we don’t have a cutie mark yet?” Scootaloo asked.

“Exactly,” Diamond smirked.

Scootaloo was about to rise up to Diamond but remembered something Rainbow had told her.

“Whatever, just go away, annoying little fly… buzz… buzz.” Scootaloo replied, lazily waving her hoof.

Diamond and Silver stared at her in disbelief as Sweetie Belle and Applebloom burst out laughing. Scootaloo smirked, making a mental note to say thank you to Rainbow. The two fillies returned back to their table, grumbling to themselves as everyone else finished cleaning up.

“Okay, class,” Cheerilee sang, “I’ll see you all tomorrow!”

The class quickly dispersed out of the classroom, eager to get home for the weekend. Just as the Cutie Mark Crusaders were about to leave, Cheerilee called out to them.

“Scootaloo, can we talk for a moment?”

“Err,” Scootaloo looked at her friends. “I’ll see you later, I guess.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll wait for you just outside,” Sweetie Belle said and Applebloom nodded.

“Thanks, girls,” Scootaloo said with a smile and walked over to Cheerilee.

“Miss Cheerilee?” she asked.

“Are you okay? About tomorrow, I mean. I know how much you love taking part in the games each year and—”

“It’s okay, Miss Cheerilee,” Scootaloo interrupted, “my parents have already offered to take me to a wonderbolts show next week to make up for it. And besides, I can always take part next year.”

“Oh, well, I’m glad to hear that, Scootaloo,” Cheerilee smiled at Scootaloo, “I hope you will still come along.”

“Mhm, gotta support my friends, haven’t I?” Scootaloo grinned.

Cheerilee smiled again as she said goodbye to the orange filly who ran outside to rejoin her friends. The three crusaders then made their way through the town, discussing ideas for cutie mark schemes they could try after the following day’s races.

As they passed the Carousel Boutique, Sweetie Belle came to a stop and rubbed the back of her head in slight embarrassment.

“I forgot to mention... I said I was going to help Rarity this evening, as a thank you for her taking part in the games.”

“Oh, come on!” Scootaloo groaned. “We were gonna go to the clubhouse and brainstorm.”

“I know. I’m sorry! You two can still do the brainstorming though, if you like. I’m sure you two can think of something cool to do.”

“Yeah… ah guess,” Applebloom replied.

“Sweetie, is that you?” Rarity called as she opened the door, “ah! Hello girls, I’m so sorry for stealing her this evening.”

“Nah, it’s okay, Rarity,” Applebloom smiled, “like she said, we can do the brainstormin’ ourselves.”

“Yeah,“ Scootaloo sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Alright, well goodbye, girls. Have a good weekend, won’t you!” Rarity smiled. “I’m sure Sweetie will see you tomorrow at the sports day.”

“Later, girls,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Bye,” the Scootaloo and Applebloom mumbled in response.

They watched as Sweetie Belle disappeared into the Carousel Boutique before they started to head off towards the path from Ponyville to Sweet Apple Acres. As they headed down the road, they ran into Applejack who has been loading up barrels of apples ready to be shipped out. She wiped her brow before spotting the two fillies and waved over to them with a smile.

“Afternoon, girls!” she called.

“Howdy, sis!” Applebloom replied.

“Hey, Applejack,” Scootaloo said.

“Say, where’s Sweetie Belle?” Applejack asked.

“She’s helping Rarity,” Applebloom replied glumly.

“Ah see,” the mare grunted as she hauled another barrel onto the cart. “Well, ah hope you haven't forgotten about your chores, little missy.”

“Oh, hook a fish and slap me silly, ah completely forgot!” Applebloom groaned.

“You gotta be kidding me…” Scootaloo sighed.

“Ah’m sorry, Scoots… ah gotta—”

“It’s fine, Applebloom,” Scootaloo interrupted.” I’ll just do some brainstorming and go home, I guess.”

“Alrighty, I’ll see ya later?”

“Sure.”

The two said their goodbyes as Applebloom and Applejack headed back to the farm, leaving Scootaloo to walk to their clubhouse alone and annoyed. She soon reached the clubhouse and entered the building.

“Who needs them,” she complained, “I can get more brainstorming done then they ever could!”

“Why is this so hard?” Scootaloo wailed.

She had only been brainstorming for ten minutes and already she was out of ideas. Scootaloo walked over to one of the bean bags and flopped onto it, groaning loudly. Her eyes darted around the clubhouse in search of inspiration when they fell upon the bookcase they had filled with their favourite books. The girls all enjoyed very different books, but there was one series that all three of them enjoyed.

Scootaloo glanced at the cupboard that was near the bookcase and a small grin formed on her face as she remembered the present that she was given as a birthday present the previous year, and an idea popped into her head.

“There is no peril the brave and fearless Scootaloo won’t face!”

Scootaloo entered the Everfree Forest with a grin of determination on her face. She had picked up a fairly large stick and was wielding it like a machete in her mouth and was swinging it against the tall grass and bushes.

She was pretending she was Daring Do.

“The brave and fearless Scootaloo surveys her surroundings,” she announced through the stick, “even when danger lurks in every direction and only her skill with her trusty machete stands between her and her certain doom!”

Scootaloo swung the stick around her as if she was fending off wild animals and yelped slightly when it collided with a tree and snapped in half. She looked at the stick and groaned, discarding the piece in her mouth and sighed.

“Stupid stick, stupid Diamond Tiara, stupid everything!”

Scootaloo kicked a nearby stone into a tree and nodded as a satisfying ‘clunk’ came from her target. She trudged a bit further into the forest in the hopes of finding something exciting. She knew she wasn’t supposed to this far into the Everfree Forest, but right now she didn’t care.

“It’s not as if I even need to be at the sports day tomorrow,” Scootaloo sighed.

She continued to walk through the thick forest, marking trees so she know which way she came and occasionally tripping over the odd root.

“Stupid roots. I’ll show them. I’ll show everyone! Maybe I’ll get a cutie mark just like Daring Do’s! Mum and dad would be so proud, and it would make Rainbow so jealous!”

She chuckled to herself, lost in her fantasy. She imagined Rainbow Dash asking for her autograph instead. She leapt out of a bush, pretending to pounce on an invisible foe. She hissed when she toppled a little ungracefully and hurt her hoof.

“Stupid Diamond, stupid Silver. So what if I don’t have one? I’ll show them!” she muttered to herself.

She didn’t even notice the two little eyes watching her from nearby. There was a rustle that came from beside her in one of the bushes and she saw a chicken’s head poke out.

“Huh? A chicken? Maybe Fluttershy’s lost one—”

Her eyes suddenly widened in realization and fear as the ‘chicken’ stepped out, revealing it’s very unchicken-like body.

“A cockatrice!” Scootaloo gasped and took several steps back until her flank hit a tree. The filly desperately looked about for a way to distract the cockatrice, but she was frozen in place with fear.

Scootaloo screamed as the cockatrice’s wings flared out, but stopped when she heard a strange barking coming from nearby. Her eyes widened when she saw a small reptilian wielding a spear leap over a fallen tree and charge furiously at the cockatrice.

The cockatrice was as startled as Scootaloo was and didn’t react in time before the small lizard swung the spear it was holding into the head of the creature, causing it to squawk in pain and surprise. The little lizard didn’t give up and kept striking the cockatrice using the wooden pole of the spear, all the while barking out like an outraged dog.

Soon, the cokatrice recovered and pushed the lizard back with a strong gust of its wings. Just as the strange lizard prepared for a retaliation, the cockatrice turned tail and fled into the bushes. The small reptile panted as it glared after its fleeing foe before adopting a heroic pose and turning to Scootaloo.

“Are you okay?”

Scootaloo blinked at the lizard. It was yapping at her and appeared to be waiting for an answer. Was it trying to talk to her?

“Huh? A-are you trying to talk?” she asked.

“Oh yeah! Tak forgets ponies don’t speak same language,” the lizard replied with a laugh.

Scootaloo blinked again, not sure what to say to the creature before it spoke again.

“Tak said, you okay?”

She jumped up in surprise as she stared at the little lizard who tilted its head at her.

“U-uh yeah… w-who are you?” she asked.

“Tak, the greatest adventurer in the world!” he replied. “You?”

“Scootaloo…”

Scootaloo and Tak stared at one another for a while, Tak was waiting for her to say thank you to him and tapped his foot impatiently. Meanwhile, Scootaloo was trying to think of something to say.

“Well?” Tak said.

“Well, what?” Scootaloo replied.

“Aren’t you even going to thank Tak for saving you?” he asked.

“Huh? Oh! Yeah sorry, dude… uh… yeah thanks, you know?” she said.

Tak grinned and his tail wagged as he gave her a thumbs up.

“So… what are you, exactly?” Scootaloo asked.

“Tak is kobold,” he replied.

Scootaloo was walking alongside Tak as the two headed back out towards the edge of the forest. After a second brief silence, Tak’s stomach had growled loudly, and he searched his bag for his meal.

“Hey, where’s Tak’s meat?”

“You eat meat?” Scootaloo asked.

“Mhm. That nasty chicken-demon must have stolen it!”

“You mean the cockatrice?”

“Yeah, the cock-a-triss!” Tak said, testing the word.

“Hmm well, I think Fluttershy has some meat for her animals. Maybe we’ll find some there,” Scootaloo offered. “C’mon, I’ll show you.”

By now the pair had reached the edge of the forest and Tak had paused at the edge, “Who is Fluttershy? Is she part of your clan?”

“Er, she lives in my village, yeah. She lives just on the edge of the Everfree forest. You’ll like her.” Scootaloo paused as she realized that Tak suddenly looked very nervous. “Are you okay?”

“Tak is just… nervous,” he replied.

“Over what?”

“Meeting ponies… Tak isn’t exactly sure how they will react.”

“Fluttershy? She’s one of the sweetest and nicest ponies you’ll ever meet! She’ll love you!”

“Tak’s not so sure…” he mumbled.

“Come on, I thought you were the greatest adventurer in the world,” Scootaloo teased.

“Tak is! Tak fears nothing!” he snapped, pounding a fist to his chest.

“Then let’s go!” Scootaloo ordered.

“Onward!” Tak cried.

Tak charged ahead of Scootaloo out of the forest with a war cry that would have every dog within a mile radius howling with him. The filly watch in amusement as he suddenly stopped running and turned around.

“Uhm… where does Tak go?”

Scootaloo giggled and trotted over to him.

“Come on, Tak,” she instructed, poking him with a hoof, “climb on.”

With a soft grunt and a small leap, Tak clambered onto Scootaloo’s back with a grin and pointed his little wooden spear forwards.”

“Onwards! Adventure awaits!”

Scootaloo shook her head as she started walking. Tak quickly got distracted by the surroundings as he stared in awe and fascination at everything around him, and the pair began walking down the path towards Fluttershy’s cottage.

Twilight was making her way back to the library from the marketplace. She had just finished purchasing some more scrolls and ink when something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. She looked over at the bridge that lead towards Fluttershy’s cottage and saw Scootaloo, she squinted her eyes and spotted the small creature on her back.

“What in the… that’s odd,” she muttered.

She rubbed her eyes and looked again, only to see that both Scootaloo and the creature had gone.

“Where did… I must be imagining things, Spike did say I was up too late last night with that study session,” she mumbled to herself.

She yawned and continued on her way back home, making a mental note to check any of her books to see if the creature she thought she had seen could possibly be in one of the volumes of Equestrian creatures she owned.

Chapter III - Mothershy

“So why are you here anyway?” Scootaloo asked Tak.

“Tak is great adventurer, what do you think?” he replied with a snort.

“Yeah, I got that,” Scootaloo said with a roll of her eyes, “I mean, why Ponyville.”

Tak gave a nervous chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head.

“Tak… just walked in a straight line, Tak didn’t know where he was going.”

“Isn’t that a little reckless?” Scootaloo asked.

“Oh, and a filly going into a forest alone isn’t? Tak would’ve thought that was pretty dumb.”

“Hey, I’m not that young!” Scootaloo protested, “I’m thirteen!”

“And?” Tak asked unimpressed.

“Well, how old are you then?”

“Tak is…” he paused as he slowly counted using his claws, “fourteen, nearly fifteen… Tak thinks.”

“You’re only a year older than me!” Scootaloo cried.

“And?” Tak asked, “Tak doesn’t understand.”

“But... you... what? URGH!” Scootaloo groaned loudly. “Never mind! We’re nearly at Fluttershy’s house.”

Tak blinked and shrugged his shoulders, putting it down to some silly pony thing. A short distance away, he could see a small building residing on the top of a hill. He assumed this was the home of Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy!” Scootaloo called out as they approached. “Are you home?”

Tak heard a squeak coming from nearby and looked over to see a yellow pegasus poke her head out from behind a tree.

“O-oh, Scootaloo it’s just you,” Fluttershy smiled as she slowly made her way over. “How are you?”

“I’m alright,” Scootaloo replied. “I, uh, have a friend I want you to meet.”

“I-is it a new f-friend from school?” Fluttershy asked, nervously retreating behind her mane.

“No, I met him in - I mean, near the Everfree.”

“Oh my!” Fluttershy gasped, her expression changing nearly instantly. “Is it a little critter?”

“Uh…” Scootaloo paused for a moment, “kinda?”

“Where is the little critter?” Fluttershy asked, a smile on her face.

“Tak? This is Fluttershy,” Scootaloo said turning her head.

Fluttershy tilted her head as she tried to peek at what was on Scootaloo’s back, but she could only see a tail dangling off the filly’s side. The tail was attached to a body that was currently hiding in Scootaloo’s mane, or at least, it was trying to.

“Tak, you okay buddy?” Scootaloo asked.

Tak poked his head out and glanced over at Fluttershy. The mare gasped loudly which prompted Tak to retreat back into Scootaloo’s mane.

“Is that your clan leader?” Tak asked with a quiet, nervous mumble.

“What? No, she’s a friend,” Scootaloo giggled.

“Oh…”

He slowly looked over to Fluttershy whose eyes were wide and alert. Tak chuckled nervously and gave a meek wave before he was suddenly grabbed by a yellow blur and held onto tightly.

“A kobold!” Fluttershy squealed in delight. “Oh my goodness! you poor, poor little thing. What’re you doing so far away from your clan? Did they kick you out?”

Tak gasped in surprise as Fluttershy cuddled him close to her, he looked over at Scootaloo who was looking at him with a matching expression.

“Tak is confused,” he mumbled softly. “Is this normal for ponies?”

“I’m… not actually sure…” Scootaloo replied.

“You must come inside at once, I’m guessing you’re pretty hungry?” Fluttershy cooed.

“Tak is hungry… Tak hasn’t eaten today…” Tak murmured.

“Oh, we simply must get you some food. Would you like some fish?”

“You’d give Tak fish?” Tak gasped in awe.

“Of course,” Fluttershy giggled. “Come on, let’s get you inside.”

Scootaloo chased after Fluttershy as the mare carried Tak into her cottage, closing the door behind them.

“Spike? I’m home!” Twilight called out.

She closed the door behind her and took a few steps into the front room of the library before she noticed the rubbish had yet to be taken out.

“Spike, I thought I asked you to take the rubbish out before I got back.”

“Making toast!” Spike called from the kitchen.

“What but— fine,” Twilight groaned.

She was too tired to argue with the dragon. Ever since Spike had turned thirteen last year, he had developed some typical teenager traits that fillies and colts would often display.

“Butterin’ toast!” Spike replied.

Twilight rolled her eyes as she took a seat on one of the sofas.

“At least make me some,” she sighed.

Spike eventually came out with two trays of buttered toast. He handed one to Twilight and took a seat next to her, hungrily devouring his share. Twilight levitated a slice to her mouth and took a nibble just as Spike finished his.

“Sheesh, Spike,” she giggled, “you really should slow down, you’ll get the hiccups.”

“Nah, I’ll be fine. Dragons don’t get—” Spike was interrupted as he hiccupped with a loud squeak.

They stared at one another in complete silence, Spike’s eyes widening. Twilight grinned smugly.

“Don’t hiccup, eh?” she teased.

“I’ll go throw out the rubbish now…” he muttered.

She burst into a fit of giggles as Spike blushed. With a grumble, the dragon grabbed the rubbish bags and quickly walked out into the kitchen.

It wasn’t long before Twilight had finished her toast and Spike had left the library to go and help Rarity out over at the boutique. He had done the rest of his chores, at least. Twilight took her plate into the kitchen and put it into the sink before returning to the front room.

“Okay, time to find that book…” she muttered to herself.

After an hour of searching, Twilight had gone through several books on Equestrian races and hadn’t found anything of use.

“Come on, there has to be something that has what I saw in it!” she groaned in frustration.

She pulled a book off the shelf that caused her to cough as a cloud of dust assaulted her. After she was done with her fit, she looked over the cover and a large smile formed on her face.

“The Definitive Guide To Equestrian Races by Starswirl the Bearded,” she read aloud. “This is perfect!”

Twilight trotted back over to her seat, the book levitating behind her. As she sat down, she opened the book and began skimming over the contents page.

“Let’s see… ‘Giant’... ‘Human’... ‘Ibiki’... ‘Jackalope’... ‘kobold—” she stopped after seeing the entry picture and blinked, “ah, here we go!”

Her eyes scanned over the text as she muttered the entry under her breath, squinting as she came to the end. Suddenly her she jumped up in alarm.

“Oh no! If there are kobolds living nearby, it could cause some problems,” Twilight gasped. “Ponyville could be under attack! I must get a letter to the princess at once! The town guard must be alerted, just in case!”

Twilight rushed to the door, but suddenly she stopped herself. “Calm, Twilight,” she muttered, taking a deep breath and relaxing her shoulders. “I should go and see if that really was a kobold I saw with Scootaloo before I do anything rash.”

“Are you enjoying your fish, Tak?” Fluttershy asked.

Tak could only nod in reply and wag his tail happily as his mouth was stuffed to bursting with fish. He was sitting at the table in Fluttershy’s cottage, and in front of him was a plate of steaming, cooked salmon that she had made for him. Scootaloo and Fluttershy were sat opposite him at the other end of the table and eating some salad. The filly watched Tak with fascination, despite his lack of manners.

“Still weird to see somepony eat meat,” Scootaloo said.

“It takes some getting used to, I know. But we do live in a world where many creatures like griffins, dragons and even diamond dogs eat meat,” Fluttershy replied.

“True, some ponies seem to forget that a lot.”

Tak interrupted their conversation with a loud belch, causing Scootaloo to burst out laughing.

“Nice!” she smirked.

“What? Tak is just showing appreciation for good food,” Tak replied. Scootaloo only laughed harder as she realised he was being sincere.

“Aww, thank you, sweetie,” Fluttershy smiled to him, “I’m glad you like it.”

“Best meal Tak’s had in ages!” Tak grinned before digging in again.

Fluttershy giggled at the kobold’s large appetite, yet watching him carefully at the same time.

“You okay, Fluttershy?” Scootaloo asked as the mare stood on the spot for a few moments. “You kinda zoned out there.”

“Hmm? Oh yes, sorry, Scootaloo. I was just thinking,” Fluttershy mumbled.

“What about?”

“I was just wondering about his clan,” she sighed, quiet enough that Tak couldn’t hear her.

“What do you mean by ‘clan’?” Scootaloo asked with a tilt of her head.

“Well, from what I know of kobolds. They live in clans and very rarely ever leave them. If you find a kobold by themselves, it usually means they’ve been abandoned by their clan,” Fluttershy breathed sadly.

“How can you tell?” Scootaloo continued.

“When kobolds hunt or travel outside of their camps, they travel in groups rather than alone,” Fluttershy replied, “Going out alone is often very risky for them.”

“But why?”

“It’s because there are bigger things then kobolds,” Tak answered, making the pair jump, “Things that can smash kobolds into pulp.”

Scootaloo cringed at the idea of a kobold - or anything for that matter - being reduced to a pile of mush.

“How do you know so much about kobolds anyway, Fluttershy?” Scootaloo asked her. “I don’t think even Miss Cheerilee knows as much as you do.”

“Well, I’ve read a lot about them,” she replied.

She walked over to one of her bookcases and scanned over the books before pulling out a finely leather bound tome. Fluttershy returned to the table and placed the book down for Scootaloo to look at.

“The Definitive Guide To Equestrian Races by Starswirl the Bearded,” Scootaloo read aloud.

“Mhm, I saw it in a bookshop on one of my trips to visit my parents in Cloudsdale,” she explained, “I was curious and started reading it in the shop and simply had to buy it, I never knew Equestria had so many fascinating creatures and races.”

“So the book isn’t just about races like kobolds and ponies?” Scootaloo said, flicking through some of the pages.

“That’s right, Starswirl wrote entries about almost every living creature in Equestria. Even after all these years, the entries are surprisingly accurate. It’s one of Starswirl’s less well-known works. I don’t even think Twilight has a copy.”

At the mention of books, Tak stopped eating, and his eyes widened.

“Oh no! Tak forgot his book in the forest!” he cried in alarm.

“Whoa, calm down, dude. What’s the matter?” Scootaloo asked.

“Tak’s book! Tak must have left it in the forest,” he replied. “That nasty chicken-demon must have taken it along with Tak’s meat!”

“Chicken-demon?” Fluttershy asked. “You mean a cockatrice?”

“Yeah! That,” Tak nodded.

“Oh, you poor dear, what book was it? Maybe we can go to the library and—”

Tak didn’t wait for her to finish and instead hopped off his chair and bolted for the door.

“Tak won’t be long!” he shouted as he ran out.

“Tak, wait!” Fluttershy called out after him as she rushed after him. Pausing at the door she turned around. “Scootaloo, can you keep an eye on my animals for me? I want to go after Tak to make sure he’s okay.”

“Alright, Fluttershy,” Scootaloo nodded.

Fluttershy quickly left her home and flew in the direction of the Everfree forest. She could just see Tak sprinting away in the distance.

“I hope there isn’t a cockatrice this close to Ponyville,” she murmured under her breath.

Twilight quickly made her way through the town and towards the main bridge out of Ponvlle with the book sitting comfortably in her saddlebag. She’d decided to hurry to Fluttershy’s as she figured that that was where Scootaloo had been heading for. She still hoped that she had simply been seeing things due to her lack of sleep the previous night. That would make her day a whole lot easier.

However, a niggling thought sat in the back of her mind like a parasite. She’d only ever read about kobolds a couple of times many years ago - back when she lived in Canterlot - but she didn’t really give the entry much thought. She’d actually skimmed over it as she searched for more information about dragons, hoping to glean some knowledge from one of their close relatives.

She soon quickly found herself at Fluttershy’s house and knocked on the door, waiting for a response.

“H-hang on!”

Twilight blinked, recognizing Scootaloo’s voice. She jumped when she heard a loud crash come from within followed by the sounds of squawking and Scootaloo crying out in alarm. Twilight quickly used her magic to force open the door and rush inside.

She was stunned into silence by what she saw.

Scootaloo was in the middle of the room, clinging onto a rowdy-looking chicken who didn’t look very pleased. The filly sheepishly smiled at Twilight who raised her eyebrows in amusement.

“I was trying to feed her…” Scootaloo chuckled nervously.

Twilight giggled as she helped the filly by levitating the chicken from her and placing it on the ground. The chicken huffed and fluffed its feathers before quickly running out of the front door and back to its chicken coop.

“So, where’s Fluttershy?” Twilight asked.

“She’s out chasing Tak,” Scootaloo replied.

“I see,” Twilight frowned, “Wait, who’s Tak?”

“Our new friend! And I think Fluttershy was being oddly motherly to him…”

“You’d better start from the beginning,” Twilight sighed.

What in Celestia’s name is going on…

Tak had arrived at the spot where he and Scootaloo had met, already searching desperately for his book. He clambered over the fallen tree with a grunt, using his spear to boost him.

“Tak knows it was around here somewhere...” he muttered.

Scanning the area, he spotted the book in question leaning against the tree he had been sitting on earlier. He grinned and quickly hopped down from the log he was on and ran over to the book, hugging it to his chest.

“Now Tak can go back and—”

He was interrupted by a hiss that came from behind him. Turning around he came face to face with a cockatrice. Tak glared at the abomination, noticing the bruising around its face. It was the one from earlier.

“What do you want? You already took Tak’s meat, you’re not taking Tak’s book!” he growled.

The cockatrice squawked loudly and charged at him suddenly, Tak barely had enough time to cry out before it rammed its head into him. He gasped as he was knocked back and collided with the tree log. As she got up, he goaned and rubbed his head. Glaring back at the cockatrice, he swallowed the lump forming in his throat as his earlier confidence started to fizzle away.

“S-stay back! Tak means it!” he shouted, trying to sound threatening.

The cockatrice gave another loud squawk and flapped its wings at Tak. The kobold panicked and threw his spear at it, hoping to kill it. The cockatrice, however, merely dodged the projectile as it sliced through the air. The pair watched as it embedded itself into a nearby tree.

Returning his gaze to the cockatrice, Tak’s heart sank as he realized he was completely defenseless. With his back pressed against the log, Tak gasped as he looked into the eyes of the cockatrice and started to feel a tingling feeling in his legs.

Tak looked down and began to panic as his legs slowly turned grey, the tingling feeling slowly running up his body. He whimpered as he tried to will his body to move, but it was to no avail. He shut his eyes tightly and gritted his teeth, waiting for the embrace of death.

“HEY!”

He opened his eyes as he heard Fluttershy’s angry voice. Looking up, he saw his saviour standing on the tree he had climbed upon before and glaring down at the cockatrice.

“What did I tell you last time, mister?” she roared.

The cockatrice - much to Tak’s surprise - began to shake with fear and back away slightly.

“Now, unpetrify my friend this instant!” she commanded

The cockatrice nodded frantically and turned back to Tak, and the kobold felt the feeling stop and instantly vanish. Looking down, he realized his his legs had been freed.

“Now, go back to your home and think about what you’ve done!” Fluttershy scolded.

The cockatrice once again nodded frantically before it took off into the forest, disappearing into the distance.

“Are you okay, Tak? You’re—”

Fluttershy squeaked as Tak interrupted her by tackling her and hugging her tightly.

“Tak is free! Fluttershy saved Tak’s life! Fluttershy is best clan leader!” he cheered happily.

Fluttershy smiled and picked him up, returning the hug.

“You’re welcome, sweetie. But don’t run off like that again, okay? You might not be so fortunate next time.”

Tak nodded and quickly pulled out his spear before grabbing his book. Fluttershy saw the cover and giggled to herself.

“A fan of Daring Do are we, Tak?” she asked.

“Uhuh, she’s the best adventurer in the world! You know, besides Tak,” he replied with a grin.

She giggled once more and picked him up, allowing him to ride on her back as she started to make her way back to her home.

“Well then, seems we will have to go to the library at some point. Twilight has all the Daring Do books.”

“Wait, there’s more?” Tak gasped.

“Mhm,” she replied.

Tak cackled in glee as he cuddled into Fluttershy’s neck excitedly. She couldn’t help but smile to herself as the two reached the edge of the forest.

I can’t wait for the girls to meet him.

Chapter IV - A Fellow Fan

“So you’re telling me that Tak is a kobold?” Twilight asked.

“Mhm, I was walking in— I mean near the edge of the Everfree forest,” Scootaloo quickly corrected herself, “and we just bumped into one another before this cockatrice appeared!”

The filly grinned sheepishly at Twilight as the mare raised her brow in suspicion. “I see… and did he say anything about his clan?”

Scootaloo paused for a moment and tapped her chin with a hoof, “I don’t think so, Fluttershy said that kobolds are rarely ever alone. And if they are, that usually means they’ve been abandoned.”

Twilight frowned at this; on one hoof she wasn’t one hundred percent satisfied that there was no kobold threat to Ponyville, but on the other she felt sorry for Tak if he had indeed been kicked out of his clan.

“I think it’s best if we keep Tak hidden from the rest of the town in the mean time,” Twilight said.

“Why?” Scootaloo asked. “He isn’t going to hurt anypony.”

“That may be,” Twilight started, “but do you remember how they — we — reacted to Zecora?”

“Oh yeah… all the adults acted like she was evil or something, right?” Scootaloo asked her.

Twilight winced at the memory of their first encounter with Zecora, “Yeah… anyway, I want to avoid that incident again and try to introduce him to the town in a slow, sensible, non-alarming manner.”

Scootaloo nodded as the front door opened and Fluttershy walked in with Tak sitting happily on her back, holding onto her neck with one claw, and holding the book and his spear in the other.

Fluttershy saw Twilight and smiled at her, “Oh, hello, Twilight.”

“Hello, Fluttershy. Is that Tak?” Twilight replied, tilting her head to try and get a better look at Tak.

“Mhm, sure is,” Fluttershy smiled, “Tak, this is our friend Twilight.”

Tak’s eyes widened slightly and he hid himself in Fluttershy’s mane; he was a little nervous about the unicorn. He had seen what they could do first-claw and had learned to always be careful and cautious around them.

“Tak? Are you okay, dude?” Scootaloo asked.

Tak mumbled something into Fluttershy’s mane, refusing to show himself.

“Sweetie, it’s alright,” Fluttershy cooed reassuringly. “Twilight’s not going to hurt you.”

“Promise?” Tak mumbled.

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” Fluttershy said with a smile.

Tak was confused by this, given that Fluttershy had wings and therefore could fly and didn’t need to hope. But her tone was reassuring and he slowly peeked out to look at the unicorn who was watching him with fascination.

“Oh my…” Twilight whispered.

“Hello…” Tak replied with a slow wave, forgetting he was holding his book and dropping it. “My book!”

The book landed with a thud on the ground, the cover facing upwards. Twilight couldn’t help but giggle as the kobold leapt for the book and held it to his chest protectively.

“Tak, you should be more careful,” Fluttershy tutted. “You could’ve hurt yourself.”

“Tak’s fine, Tak just doesn't want to lose his book again,” he muttered.

“I see you’re a fan of Daring Do then?” Twilight giggled.

Tak forgot all of his nervousness and his tail wagged as he grinned at her, “How could Tak not be a fan?! She’s the best adventure ever. That is, until Tak replaces her.”

Twilight smiled, the fears she had of Tak were starting to slowly ebb away. However, she still needed to reassure herself that there was no danger to the town from kobolds nearby.

“Fluttershy, can I have a private word?” she asked.

“Of course, Twilight,” Fluttershy replied before turning to Tak. “Why don’t you and Scootaloo go outside and play for a bit?”

“Yeah, come on, Tak,” Scootaloo grinned. “We can pretend we’re in a Daring Do book!”

Tak grinned and quickly ran outside, taking the book with him. Scootaloo giggled and chased after him, leaving the two mares alone.

Twilight turned to Fluttershy looking a little concerned, “Did Tak happen to say anything about his clan? Scootaloo mentioned that you said they tend not to be on their own and that usually means they’ve been abandoned.”

“I didn’t want to intrude,” Fluttershy frowned slightly, “I can’t imagine what the poor dear must be feeling if he has been kicked out of his clan…”

Twilight noticed Fluttershy glance at the door in concern, “Well… I’m sure everything is okay. I mean, he looks happy, doesn’t he?”

“I suppose so… but I can’t help worry about him.”

“Why though?” Twilight asked, “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I think it’s lovely that your trying to help somepony. But I don’t understand what’s so special about Tak.”

Fluttershy smiled warmly at Twilight, “Because, he’s like a lost foal who needs somepony to watch over him. I don’t think I’d be able to forgive myself if anything ever happened to the poor thing.”

Both mares turned their heads as they heard the sounds of Scootaloo and Tak happily playing what they figured was a game.

Twilight smiled at the pegasus, “I think I understand, Fluttershy. But I’d like to ask him some questions though… just so I can be sure of a few things.”

“Alright, but if he starts getting uncomfortable, you need to stop,” Fluttershy replied before smiling nervously. “I mean, if that’s okay…”

The unicorn giggled at her friend and nodded, “Of course, I wouldn’t dream of going over the borderline like some madpony.”

Twilight and Fluttershy shared a laugh at the preposterous idea. They decided to go and speak to Tak when they heard a loud cry coming from outside.

“What in Equestria was that?” Twilight asked as she rushed to the door.

“And so, the brave and fearless Tak finds himself at his destination. The tree of Azakoph,” Scootaloo said with a low voice.

Tak stood in front of her, wearing Scootaloo’s replica Daring helmet and glared confidently up at the tall tree that was nearby, “Tak will find the lost amulet of the Elders, no matter what terror awaits Tak!”

Tak began to head towards the base of the tree when Scootaloo spoke again, “But, our hero fails to notice the dangerous creature lurking behind him!”

The second Tak turned round to see what she was on about, Scootaloo suddenly pounced on Tak with a giggle and began to relentlessly tickle him. The kobold began to laugh loudly as he squirmed in the pegasus’ grip.

“N-no!” Tak laughed, “y-you can’t d-do this to a brave a-adventurer!”

Scootaloo giggled but didn’t let up on her attack, “The mighty Tak, with no escape, must yield to the keeper of the tree. Scoota-zuul!”

“N-never!” Tak declared.

Using his smaller size to his advantage, he managed to wriggle out from under Scootaloo and reverse tackle. Relentlessly, he began to tickle her.

“W-what? N-no!” Scootaloo giggled uncontrollably.

“Tak will defeat you, foul creature! Tak will return the amulet to the Elders!”

“I-I surrender!” Scootaloo giggled before crying out dramatically, “Somepony help!”

“Stupid food poisoning…”

High above in the sky over Fluttershy’s cottage, Rainbow Dash was grumbling to herself as she flew towards her home.

“That cook’s cutie mark clearly didn’t know what ‘cooked’ meant… least the worst is over now,” she grumbled.

She groaned again as her stomach grumbled and she hesitated for a moment, “I think I should go back to the hospital, Nurse Redheart did say—”

“Somepony help!” a voice cried from below, interrupting her.

“That sounded like Scoots!” she gasped.

Peering down below, she could just make out the filly being attacked by something. With a growl, she suddenly dive-bombed towards the ground, all feelings of nausea disappearing as she focused on her goal.

“Hold on, Scoots! I’m-a comin’!”

“Okay, o-okay!” Scootaloo giggled, “I give! You win!”

Tak grinned in triumph as he got off Scootaloo and strode over to the tree proudly to collect the ‘amulet’. The amulet was the Daring Do book which he proudly took under his arm and marched back to Scootaloo who was still giggling, albeit slightly less.

“Tak told you, Tak is best adventure!” he smirked.

“Yeah, yeah,” Scootaloo smirked, giving him a pat on the back. “You just got lucky.”

Tak stuck his tongue out at her and she did the same back, “So what adventure do you want to do now? Want Tak to be the bad guy?”

“Sure, alright. Why not—”

Scootaloo was interrupted as she heard a whooshing sound getting louder and louder above her. Both Tak and Scootaloo looked up to see a blur coming at them, and at speed.

“Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo squinted in confusion.

“Don’t worry!” Rainbow shouted, “I’ll get that monster away from you!”

“Monster?” Scootaloo muttered, before realising she meant Tak, “NO, RAINBOW. WAIT!”

Tak’s eyes shrunk as the blur known as Rainbow Dash got closer to the point where running was futile. He raised his book up to use a shield and closed his eyes, shaking in fear as he waited once again for the embrace of death.

He felt the ground vibrate slightly as the aforementioned Rainbow Dash landed, however, nothing happened. Tak slowly opened his eyes to see he was somehow still alive!

“Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!” Rainbow Dash squealed in a single breath. “You like Daring Do?!”

Tak slowly peeked over the book and saw a mare grinning at him, who only squealed again in delight seeing him wearing the helmet “Uh… y-yes… Tak l-likes Daring Do.”

Rainbow squealed and grinned goofily as she stomped her hooves in excitement, “That’s so awesome! You have to join my Daring Do fan club! What story do you like best? Ohmygosh, this is so awesome! I can’t believe I haven’t met you before! Do you have other friends who are also Daring Do fans? Do you wanna read my fanfiction? Ohmygosh! You’ll totally love it. I mean, it was written by me, duh, but also it’s got zombies and vamponies in it! What about your favorite book? Did you read about the time she—”

Rainbow Dash cut herself off as somepony coughed, interrupting her ecstatic fangasm. She slowly turned her head to see Twilight smirking at her and Fluttershy giggling quietly behind the unicorn.

“Uh… h-hey, Twilight, Fluttershy…” Rainbow chuckled nervously.

“I see you’ve met Tak,” Twilight replied.

“Who? This little guy?” Rainbow asked, pulling Tak into a hug and giving him a noogie. “We’re practically best buds now I know he’s a fan of the awesome Daring Do!”

“Tak is so confused…” Tak whimpered.

Scootaloo struggled to hold back her laughter as Tak wriggled from Rainbow Dash’s grip and face planted into the ground, eliciting a loud gasp from Fluttershy who rushed over to the kobold to see if he was alright.

“Oh my goodness, are you alright, Tak?” she squeaked, helping him to his feet.

“Tak is fine, just confused.”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at Fluttershy. As the demure pegasus fussed over Tak, the kobold dusting himself off.

Rainbow edged closer to Twilight, “Hey, Twi?” Rainbow asked. “Why is Fluttershy acting all… you know.”

Twilight watched Rainbow twirl her hoof, trying to think of a word.

“Acting motherly?” she asked.

“Yeah!” Rainbow whispered, “‘That. Normally she ‘d have run for the hills at the sight of her own shadow, let alone seeing whatever the heck Tak is.”

“Kobold,” Twilight replied.

“Gesundheit,” Rainbow said.

Twilight rolled her eyes, “Don’t you remember what she was like with Spike back when we first moved to Ponyville?”

“True… maybe she just likes scaly things?” Rainbow shrugged.

“She said she felt sorry for him, as he may have been abandoned by his clan,” Twilight replied.

“Seriously? That sucks,” Rainbow frowned, “I can kinda understand being abandoned, sorta...”

Twilight nodded, “I think that’s why. You know how she is when it comes to those in need.”

Rainbow nodded as she and Twilight turned back to watch Tak — who was now riding on Scootaloo’s back — chase after a giggling Fluttershy as she ran away with the Daring Do book on her back. Twilight tittered as the scene finished and waved over to Fluttershy who nodded back at her.

“Tak, sweetie. Is it okay if Twilight asks you some questions?” she asked him.

Tak shrugged as he slipped off Scootaloo’s back and stretched, “Okay, what does she want Tak to answer?”

“Well, would you like to talk inside?” Twilight asked.

“Doesn't matter where Tak talks, as long as Tak can play again soon,” he replied, walking towards the cottage.

“I’ll try not to be long,” Twilight smiled, her horn glowing as a quill and parchment appeared.

He nervously took a step back as he watched the intimidating display of magic, “You sure you’re not going to… hurt Tak?”

“Of course not,” Twilight smiled warmly. “Would you like it if Fluttershy was with you?”

“Tak would like that,” he mumbled.

The trio entered the cottage, leaving Scootaloo and Rainbow outside.

“How you feeling, Rainbow?” Scootaloo asked with a little hope in her voice.

“Still not great,” Rainbow sighed, “After that getting so excited over Daring Do, I feel kinda tired. I’m gonna head home soon. I really could do with a nap after the whole ordeal with the hospital.”

“Oh… okay,” Scootaloo mumbled in disappointment.

Rainbow saw this and frowned, then an idea came into her head, “I know you’re sad about tomorrow, but you can always spend the day with Tak.”

Scootaloo’s head lifted quickly and a large grin found its way onto her face, “You’re right! Maybe I can bring him to meet everypony too?”

“Sure, sure,” Rainbow replied nonchalantly as her stomach groaned softly, “Want me to drop you off at Sugarcube Corner?”

“Okay!” Scootaloo grinned.

She clambered onto Rainbow’s back and held on tightly as the mare took off towards the town.

Twilight settled herself down on the armchair in front of the sofa and levitated a scroll in front of her. She smiled invitingly at Tak, “Okay, Tak. Are you ready?”

He was wedged comfortably into a pillow with a grin on his face, enjoying the softness the pillow provided, “Yes, yes. Tak is ready.”

Twilight floated the quill over her scroll and scribbled a question down as Fluttershy went into the kitchen, “Could you tell me where you clan is?”

“In a forest,” Tak replied.

Twilight blinked at his answer, “Okay… do you mean the Everfree?”

“Eh-ver free?” Tak tilted his head, “What’s that?”

“The… forest you came out of with Scootaloo?” Twilight asked.

“Oh!” Tak replied. “No.”

“So, do you know where your forest is, or what it’s called?”

He tapped his chin with a claw as he tried to think, “Tak came from small clan south of where main kobold clan was. They called the forest... ‘Palethorn’, I think.”

“Palethorn?” Twilight asked, “I’ve never heard of such a place.”

“Ponies call it something else,” Tak said.

“Which was?” Twilight pressed him.

His eyes widened as he watched Fluttershy walk back in carrying a small plate of fish, and he licked his lips. He wagged his tail and ignored her question. The unicorn coughed to regain his attention.

“Tak doesn’t know,” he replied, his eyes never leaving the fish, “Pony name for forest didn’t matter to Tak.”

The unicorn blinked again and sighed as Tak began chomping on the fish.

It was going to be a long, long evening.

Rainbow chuckled as Scootaloo explained her story through a mouthful of cupcake. They had arrived at Sugarcube Corner meeting up with Sweetie Belle and Applebloom, who had since finished their respective chores and were sitting in awe, listening to Scootaloo talk about her day with Tak. Rainbow’s stomach complained loudly and she bit her lip..

“And then, we played Daring Do at Fluttershy’s!” Scootaloo grinned.

“That’s so cool! Can we—”

“Sorry, Applebloom,” Rainbow interrupted before looking to Scootaloo, “you gonna be okay here, squirt?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Yeah, I’m gonna head home soon anyway. Don’t wanna freak out the foalsitter when she comes over later and finds me not there.” Scootaloo replied.

Rainbow snickered, knowing full well that Lily had a knack for overreacting sometimes to simple things. Even if it was a filly returning home one minute late after an agreed time.

“Alright, well I’ll see you guys later.”

She gave Scootaloo’s mane a ruffle before taking off out of the shop, leaving Scootaloo and the other two cutie mark crusaders to continue talking.

“So, when’re we gonna meet him?” Applebloom asked, leaning in.

Scootaloo took another bite of her cupcake, spitting out crumbs as she spoke, “Tomorrow. It’s getting kinda late and I wanna get back before my foalsitter gets grumpy with me for being late.”

“Ah guess so, ah needs to get up... early anyway…” Applebloom said looking to Sweetie Belle, cringing slightly.

“Yeah… me too,” Sweetie Belle added.

“Guys, it’s okay,” Scootaloo said, swallowing what was in her mouth, “I’ll bring Tak with me to cheer you guys on and introduce him!”

“Really? That’s awesome!” Applebloom grinned.

“I can’t wait to meet your new coltfriend!” Sweetie Belle giggled mischievously.

“W-what, he’s not my coltfriend!” Scootaloo protested.

Applebloom and Sweetie Belle giggled as Scootaloo crossed her front legs in a huff,

Unbeknownst to the three fillies who continued to giggle and chat away, a pink mare’s ear began to twitch as it honed in on their conversation. Her eyes went wide and twitched slightly when she heard the forbidden words ‘new’ and ‘friend’ and ‘introduce’.

That was her job.

With a sudden dash, she leapt over the counter and ran out of the building. The three fillies felt a gust of wind rush past them.

“Did… did you girls feel that?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Yeah… what was that?” Applebloom said, looking to the door.

Scootaloo winced as she realised she had been talking about a newcomer to the town, in direct earshot of the one pony who would probably terrify Tak with her behaviour, “Guys,” she panicked, “I think we need to head to Fluttershy’s house. Right Now!”

Chapter V - The Devil wears Pink

Tak yawned loudly as he rubbed his eyes. He was getting bored now as Twilight’s questions seemed to never end. Twilight, on the other hand, was getting more and more wound up.

“Okay, Tak,” she sighed. “One last time. Do you have any idea how far away your home is?”

“Tak already said,” he grumbled. “Tak doesn’t know!”

“Twilight, I think that’s enough for today. Don’t you?” Fluttershy said, giving her friend a stern look.

“Yeah… I guess you’re right. I’m sorry, Tak,” Twilight apologised. “I’ve just never gotten a chance to speak with a kobold that’s so friendly before, in fact, I don’t think anypony has.”

Twilight offered her hoof to Tak who looked at it and bumped a curled hand on it with a smile, “It’s okay, Tak understands.”

Fluttershy smiled as Twilight got up and headed towards the door of the cottage before she stopped and turned around. “Do you think it’s best we introduce him to everypony else tomorrow, or should we hold off for a couple of days?”

Fluttershy tapped a hoof against her chin as she pondered the questions, “Tak, what do you want to do?”

Tak replied with a soft snore as he leant against Fluttershy's body, snuggling into her wing slightly. Fluttershy smiled down at him and held back a giggle before looking to Twilight.

“We’ll ask him tomorrow,” Twilight whispered. “Goodbye Fluttershy.”

“Bye,” Fluttershy replied.

“No, Ahuizotl, no...” Tak mumbled in his sleep.

Fluttershy gently extended her wing and covered the kobold with it as she closed her eyes and made herself comfortable.

“How in the hay is she this fast?!”

“Ah thought ah told y’all never to question how she works!”

“Girls, come on! You’re too slow!”

The cutie mark crusaders panted as they ran over the bridge towards Fluttershy’s cottage as fast as they could. They had lost all sight of Pinkie Pie and were dreading the worst. As they came around a bend in the path, the girls ran slap bang into Twilight and fell to the ground in a heap.

“Girls! Are you alright?” Twilight asked as she helped them up.

“Y-yeah, sorry about that, Twilight,” Scootaloo mumbled.

“Where are you girls heading off to in such a hurry?” the unicorn asked.

“Well, we were talking about Tak and cooing at Scootaloo because of her new coltfriend but then Pinkie overheard and ran out of the shop so we ran after her then we bumped into you and we really need to get to Fluttershy’s cottage!” Sweetie Belle squeaked out loudly in one breath.

Twilight’s eyes went wide as she stared at the filly, “Wait… Pinkie Pie?!”

“Uh-huh,” Applebloom replied solemnly.

Twilight immediately turned around and took off back towards Fluttershy’s house, followed closely by the three fillies.

Fluttershy’s eyes blinked open as a series of knocks came from the front door. She yawned and looked down to see Tak had moved from her body and was lying flat on his back and softly snoring. She smiled as she rose from the seat and walked over to the door as quietly as she could.

Fluttershy carefully opened the door to see Pinkie Pie standing on the doorstep with a large grin on her face. Her mane was flat against her side slightly and her pupils were the like pinpricks.

“Oh, good evening, Pinkie. What are you doing here?” she asked in concern.

“Hiiiiiii, Fluttershy…” Pinkie giggled. “I was just in the neighborhood and thought I’d drop by to see if I could meet your new friend!”

Fluttershy saw the twitch in Pinkie’s eyes and felt a feeling of concern for her pink friend, “Uh… Pinkie I-I don’t want to b-be rude but… he’s had a long d-day and… I wouldn’t m-mind if y-you came back tomorrow… if you d-don’t mind…”

“I promise I won’t be long, I just want to ask what kind of cupcakes he likes!” Pinkie giggled, ignoring her friends request.

“P-Pinkie…” Fluttershy started as she focused her confidence. “I said, no.”

Pinkie was about to continue begging when she caught sight of Tak’s sleeping form out of the corner of her eye and gasped, suddenly barging past Fluttershy who squeaked in surprise and darted to the sleeping kobold.

“OHMYGOSHYOU’RESOOOOCUTE!” Pinkie practically screamed at Tak.

Tak yelped as he jolted upright from the sudden noise and cried out in alarm at the pink face that was dangerously close to his. His little eyes widened in alarm as he stared into Pinkie’s eyes. Something about them terrified him and he could feel his body going cold.

“S-stay back!” Tak squeaked as he backed up into Fluttershy’s sofa.

“Oh don’t be like that!” Pinkie giggled maniacally as her eye twitched again. “We’re gonna be beeeeeeest friends!”

Tak’s eyes began to water as tears formed, “N-no!”

Something about this mare completely terrified him more than anything he had ever seen in his life. As he stared into her eyes, Tak felt all of his warm thoughts slowly vanish and a wave of dread and hopelessness take over him as if death himself stood before him. He scrambled for a pillow to hide only to cry out in panic as Pinkie grabbed his tail and tried to pull him back towards her.

Fluttershy—who had been dazed when she fell to the floor—shook herself off and gasped upon seeing Pinkie pulling Tak’s tail and snorted loudly as she glared in anger at her friend.

“PINKAMENA DIANE PIE!” Fluttershy shouted.

Pinkie jumped and dropped Tak’s tail and looked over to Fluttershy, her eyes and hair returning to normal once more. “Yes, Flutter—”

She stopped mid-sentence once she saw just how angry Fluttershy was, and her ears flattened to the sides of her head as the yellow pegasus stormed over.

“How dare you just barge in when I specifically asked you not to! And how dare you terrify my little Tak like that! You should know better, Pinkamena!”

Pinkie winced at Fluttershy’s words and lowered her body slightly. She backed up as Fluttershy continued advancing towards her.

“The poor dear has had a very tough time! He was nearly killed by a cockatrice! Tak is only just getting used to his new environment and you have not helped by terrifying him!” Fluttershy screamed.

Pinkie’s eyes filled with water and she sniffled before sobbing, “I-I’m sorry, Fluttershy… I-I just wanted to meet him…”

Fluttershy frowned and gently pulled Pinkie into a warm cuddle which the pink mare returned tightly, “I know, Pinkie. And I’m sorry for yelling at you like that.”

“I-I’ts okay,” Pinkie sniffled. “I was a big meanie and I deserved it.”

Fluttershy smiled and wiped a tear from her friend’s eye, “Will you apologise to Tak?”

“Of course!” Pinkie beamed as she suddenly returned to her usual self. “I’m sorry Tak—”

Before she could apologise, the front door was opened and Twilight ran in with three tired fillies behind her.

“Fluttershy!” she shouted. “Pinkie’s on her way and—” she paused upon seeing the mare already present. “—oh… hey, Pinkie.”

“Heya, Twilight,” Pinkie giggled.

“Is… everything okay?” Twilight asked.

Fluttershy nodded and smiled, “For now. Pinkie was about to apologise to Tak for her behaviour.”

“Sure was!” The pink mare grinned and turned to where Tak was sitting. “I’m sorry, Tak, for—”

She stopped mid sentence as Fluttershy's eyes went wide. Tak wasn’t on the sofa anymore.

“Where is he?” Scootaloo asked.

Fluttershy scanned the area before they heard a slight bang coming from the kitchen. They all ran in to see the back door was open, banging against the frame.

“Oh no…” Fluttershy whispered, covering her mouth with her hooves. “He’s run off...”

Tak panted as he ran as fast as he could away from the cottage, his chest heaving as he struggled to keep his breath. He had no clue where he was running and he didn’t care.

“Gotta get… away… from… pink… devil!” he said in between pants.

He pelted it over the stone cobble bridge that led into town without stopping and soon had darted into the middle of the town and hid behind a crate, panting heavily as he tried to catch his breath.

“Okay… Tak… thinks he… got away…”

Tak smiled as he rested his claws on his knees and looked up. He had run directly into an alleyway but now faced a calamity. He had no idea where he had actually run off to, nor knew how to get back. Tak nervously made his way to the other end of the alley and peeked around at his surroundings.

He immediately regretted it.

Everywhere he looked, there were ponies. Ponies on market stalls, ponies milling around, ponies going to and fro, everywhere. Tak felt his heartbeat increase as he stared at the large and imposing crowd of ponies and whimpered, his fears increasing by the second. He backed up slightly into a box that was larger than him.

“T-there’s so many… w-what i-if they’re like the pink devil?” he whimpered to himself.

Tak slumped down against the box and brought his knees to his chest and hugged them close, “Tak will wait here… wait here for Fluttershy… Fluttershy will come, come help Tak…” Tak looked up to the sky, seeing it was starting to get a little darker.

“Tak hopes…”

“Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!” Fluttershy panicked as she flew just above the ground and scanned her surroundings. “Ohh… Tak, where are you?”

She bit her lip and lowered her ears as she desperately tried to spot any sign of the little kobold. Nearby, Pinkie, Sweetie Belle, Twilight and Applebloom were searching towards the border of the forest to see any signs of Tak going back into the forest.

Scootaloo was near to where Fluttershy was searching and carefully scanned the ground for any signs of Tak. She gasped when she saw a distinctive foot print in the mud and spun around.

“Guys! I think I know where he went!”

Everypony turned to Scootaloo and gasped. Fluttershy’s eyes went wide. She knew exactly where he had gone.

“Oh no…”

Fluttershy took off as fast as she could towards the town, soon being followed closely by the others. Praying to Celestia that he hadn’t been seen by the other ponies and hadn’t come to harm.

Hold on Tak, we’re coming.

Tak jolted upright when he heard a bang and the sound of glass breaking coming from behind him. He peeked over the box and quickly hid again hearing the sounds of ponies nearby, clearly male from the sounds of their voices.

“You got our money, Pipsqueak?”

“Yeah, ‘fink we weren’t gonna come for ya, jus’ cos ya was in the classroom at lunchtime?”

Tak slowly peeked over again as the voices laughed, and he saw two tall colts towering over a smaller colt who had a cream coat with brown spots. The latter was shaking from fright as he tried to back away.

“Look, mates…” Pipsqueak started. “C-can’t I just pay you tomorrow?”

“Hmm…” the taller colts pretended to think. “Nah!”

The little colt shrunk back more as the two older colts started to advance on him, clearly intending to rough him up. Tak glared at the two, his fears starting to disappear as his anger increased. The two colts reminded him of the kobolds from his village who from time to time would pick on him, and he had longed for the chance to get his own back.

And now, he had his chance.

“Tak will show them… Tak will stand up to bullies everywhere, just like Daring Do does to Ahuizotl!”

Taking a deep breath, Tak pulled himself up on top of the box just as the first colt was about to strike the little one, “Leave him alone!”

All three turned to look and blinked in confusion at the small reptile. The two colts then looked to each and back to Tak before laughing to each other.

“Oh man! Dat lizard’s so tiny!”

“He’s smaller than that wimp, Spike!”

Tak growled as they continued to laugh, jumping down from the box and storming up to them, “Tak is not a lizard, Tak is kobold! Now leave him alone or else!”

“Or else what, runt?” one of the colts snorted.

“Or else you’re going to find out why Tak is the greatest,” the kobold replied with a confident smirk.

Pfft… as if!” the colt brushed him off with a wave of his hoof. “Green Leaf, get rid of the runt whilst I deal with this one.”

“Right,” the other replied as he smirked down at Tak.

He brought his hoof up and slammed it down onto Tak who quickly rolled out of the way surprising the colt. Before he could react, Tak launched himself onto his back and slapped the side of his face with his tail making Green Leaf yelp. Tak grinned and leapt off of him and darted away as Green Leaf tried to stomp on him again, before he darted under his body making the colt stamp again in frustration.

“Hold still!” Green Leaf snorted.

Tak smirked as he ran circles around the colt who desperately tried to stomp on him to no avail. Soon, Green Leaf found himself feeling dizzy, noticing this, Tak jumped and rammed into the side of his body making Green Leaf yelp and fall to the ground.

“Hah! Take that, no one can defeat the awesome—”

Tak cried out as he was struck by the other colt and sent flying into the wall. Pipsqueak on the floor gasped as he watched the creature that stood up for him fall to the ground.

“Wimp…” the colt snorted and turned his attention to the smaller one. “Now… your turn.”

Pipsqueak shook in fear as the colt came over to him slowly and closed his eyes. He opened them again suddenly when he heard the bully scream in pain and looked over to see Tak—some blood dripping from his snout—latched onto his leg with his teeth and growling.

“Get offa me, you freak!” the colt wailed as he shook his leg roughly.

Tak refused to let go and clung tighter with his teeth. Eventually, the colt was able to fling Tak off his leg and into Pipsqueak who was able to catch the kobold. Tak shakily stood up, standing between Pipsqueak and the colt and growled at him.

“Leave him alone!”

“You’re dead!” the colt screamed.

“TAK!”

The three looked round to see who had cried and saw a yellow pegasus staring back at them. The colt’s eyes widened when the pegasus looked from Tak to him and glared at him with a face like thunder.

“Oh… Tak… where are you?” Fluttershy whispered as she looked around the town from the sky.

All she could see were the ponies who were still shopping at the market stalls and the ones who were heading off home for the evening. She began to worry more and more as she tried to find any sign of her little kobold.

A crash from a nearby alleyway caught her attention and she swooped down to investigate it.

What she saw made her blood run cold.

Tak was standing in front of Pipsqueak and glaring at a larger colt, but that wasn’t what she had caught sight of immediately. Tak’s left eye was slightly swollen it appeared and he had blood coming from his snout. Fluttershy quickly put two and two together.

“TAK!”

All three turned to look at her and she could now clearly see the injuries on Tak’s face. She turned to look at the offending colt who was in turn looking back at her with a terrified expression.

“Dandelion!” Fluttershy snapped. “What have you been doing?”

“N-Nothing! I s-swear!” Dandelion lied.

Tak held back the urge to snicker at such a ridiculous name as Pipsqueak—having had enough—glared at Dandylion.

“You liar!” he cried.

“Quiet, runt!” Dandelion hissed.

“I think you better apologise and get home, Dandylion,” Fluttershy said with a stern look as Green Leaf groggily got up. “And you too, Green Leaf. I’m going to speak to your parents about this tomorrow.”

“Course you are… Shy Mare,” Dandelion grumbled.

“What was that?” Fluttershy growled.

“I-I said, I’m sorry Pipsqueak and Lizard guy!”

“M-me too!” Green Leaf added.

“Tak’s name is Tak,” the kobold glared.

“R-right!”

Dandelion then quickly took off, followed closely by Green leaf. Just as Dandelion got to the end of the alley, he gave Tak a look that said ‘this isn’t over’. Tak huffed and smirked triumphantly then winced as Fluttershy landed in front of him wit a very disapointed expression.

“Care to explain, mister?” Fluttershy asked.

Before Tak could say anything, Pipsqueak rushed to his side, “Please, Miss Fluttershy, s’not ‘is fault! Tak saved me from a bashin’ from those oiks!”

“Is that true, Tak?”

“Uh-huh… Tak hates bullies more than anything and he just wanted to help... er... Pipsqueak.”

Fluttershy’s eyes narrowed, but she quickly forgot her anger and pulled him into a tight but careful hug “I’m glad you did something good, Tak. But don’t you ever, ever run away again… you scared me to death.”

Tak could see she had some tears in her eyes, and a pang of guilt washed over him as he returned the hug, “Tak is sorry… Tak just got scared by the pink demon.”

“It’s okay, Tak,” Fluttershy giggled and poked his belly. “And the ‘pink demon’ is called Pinkie Pie.”

Tak wriggled from the poke and grumbled before feeling a little tug on his tail and looked down to see Pipsqueak grinning up at him.

“Hey uh, Tak? Thanks mate! You’re awright in my books!”

“You’re welcome,” Tak grinned back.

Pipsqueak quickly raced off out of the alley leaving the two behind. Fluttershy carefully flew at ground level out of the alley, making sure to go the back way and towards her house carrying Tak in her arms.

“Would you be willing to give Pinkie another chance?” Fluttershy asked him.

“Only if you’re there… pink demon—” Tak paused as Fluttershy gently coughed. “I mean, Pinkie Pie still scares me…”

“Of course, Tak,” Fluttershy smiled. “I’m always going to be there for my little Tak…”

“Your little what now?” Tak asked, tilting his head.

“O-oh nothing, come on. I reckon we should get an early night, don’t you?”

Fluttershy’s answer came in the form of a soft yawn as Tak snuggled into her chest and closed his eyes, making the pegasus smile warmly down at him.