Zikel slowly opens his eyes, not hearing the shrieks of fear and panic coming from the group. But, they still had that same expression on their faces. The first one to react was the lavender colored alicorn that came around with glare that could pierce plate armor. Zikel would arch a scaley brow and watches her walk around him, studying his form. He looks down at the other dragon.

"Hey bud...I can understand that seeing me is rather...unsettling. But I didn't do anything wrong...did I?"

"The name is Spike by the way, and the reason why they are acting the way they are is because..well we had a run in with some dragons awhile back. Turns out they were quite the jerks. That's why Twilight here is starring you down. Though from what I can already tell. You don't seem like a bad dragon...you are dressed is very intimidating clothes, but we don't judge by looks here. Right Twilight? After all, he is like no dragon I have seen before. Maybe he is different than those mean ones from the migration."

Twilight continued to circle around him, he looked at the others sitting in the other chairs, three of them wide eyed still. But two of them with the same kind of glare that Twilight had. Zikel crossed his arms and lets out a sigh "Look, if you want me to leave, just say it. I am simply a lost hu-dragon who doesn't know where the hell he is nor what kind of world this is. Everything is so brighter...and talking equines isn't really common from where I am from. Or talking dragons to..."

He turned to Spike and crouched down in front of him offering his hand out to the little dragon. They both shook hands, a smile across his face formed under his scarf.

"Thanks for trying Spike, but I don't think I am welcome here. Perhaps it was a mistake for me to think I could find help here. I saw a city on the cliff side here while I was wandering about. Perhaps I could find some help there.

As Zikel begins to walk out the way he came, he felt himself being tugged on his tail with a strange magical aura, he looked at it then seeing the same aura around the alicorn's horn and quickly pieced it together. He looked at her with a look of confusion.

"Uuuh, if you want me to leave, you gotta let go first."

"I am sorry sir, its just as Spike said, we have had some bad experiences with dragons. But I need to take into consideration that you don't look like you aren't from our world. So again, I am sorry for jumping to conclusions."

"It is fine. Honestly I have grown up being judged upon all my life ever since my parents died. Its been nine years and I have made it perfectly okay. That doesn't mean I don't miss them terribly though."

The other ponies' expression softened a bit as they heard him talk, especially about the part when he lost his family. Twilight came to him first and lightly placed a hoof on his leg.

"What happened to them? If that is okay to ask?"

"Bandits came to our village and set our homes on fire...they killed my family and friends. I was the only one that got away from it all, thanks to my father's secret room."

"I...am really sorry to hear that sir...and I am guessing you were still just a child then?"

"Indeed, no older than nine years of age. I survived on my own from stealing food from market stands and such when I was little. I didn't have any family to go to, so I had to find a way or starve."

One of the other ponies with blond hair and orange fur came up to Zikel and placed a hoof on his other leg, her emerald green eyes looking up into his eyes for a moment,she then patted him gently.

"Ah am sorry to here about that sugarcube, losin' ones family isn't easy.Ah am lucky to have my brother and sister and grabbeh. But you lost whatever family you had...you have muh sympathies. Life will only get better."

Zikel looks between Twilight and the other pony, she had a strange accent for sure, but he didn't mind it at all. He saw the other ponies coming towards him,i with one being..absent. Wasn't there one with a pink mane and pink fur with them? Ah well, maybe she had other business to take care of. The others came in closer as well, first, it was a white unicorn with a purple mane, she was a little heavy on the eye shadow, but she was a beautiful mare non-the-less. Then a yellow pegasus with a pink mane timidly hid behind the white unicorn. And lasrly, another pegasus with a rainbow mane and cyan blue fur. He shifts his eyes between the group, getting a bit nervous at how quiet the room had become. Then white unicorn finally spoke up first.

"Darling what is it that you are wearing? By the looks of it, it is some kind of robe.  with pieces of armor  on your vital spots. Are you a warrior from were you are from?"

"Well, I wouldn't consider myself a warrior. Just a rogue and performer mostly."

Twilight's eyes seemed to sparkle at this new information, here was a new kind of dragon she had never seen before, he stood seven feet tall, seemed fully matured, but he wasn't like any dragon she had ever seen. His body was too different, other than the scales, wings and tail. His legs and arms were more uncommon, like he was a mixture of a creature she hadn't seen before and dragon.

"And what is it exactly you perform? Do you put on some kind of act or something?"

Zikel smiles under his scarf, snapping his fingers as two shadow copies of himself drift from his body, both seemed to have taken on his new form as well. He would see the shocked expression on the ponies' faces. Zikel chuckles lightly at this.

"Do not worry, they are merely copies I created from my magic. I am a Shadowmancer."

Twilight clapped her hooves together in excitement, the others just continued to stare at him and his copies. Whcih were now walking around the room at their own free will. They began to peek around at things in curiosity, like a canine exploring a new area.

"Don't mind them. They are....kind sentient beings in their own way, even though they are part of me and my mind. They won't bring harm unless I tell them to. Though I believe I should introduce myself. I don't want to be a rude guest in your presence. My name is Zikel. A pleasure to meet you all."

He said as he placed a hand over his chest and bowed slightly

"Oooh what a gentlestallion. he has such good manners, especially for a grown dragon! I am Rarity, a pleasure to meet you as well good sir."

The cyan pegasus flew up in front of him and starred at him with a cocky grin

"And Iii am Rainbow Dash. The fastest flyer in all of Equestria, and the toughest pony around!"

Zikel crosses his arms and arches a brow, offering a playful smile under his scarf.

"The toughest around huh? I think me and my shadows will test your theory. See, I am also good at pranks as I am with my performances...shadows can hide in places you would never think to look."

She grins wider at him and glares.

"You are on dragon boy..."

The orange pony catches his attention now by grabbing his hand and shakes it firmly within ehr grip.

"And ah am Applejack. It's a pleasure to meetcha Zikel. Ya should come by muh farm sometime. I got the best darn apples ya ever tasted in your life. Ya won't be disappointed, partner."

"And I am Twilight Sparkle, princess of friendship. It is a pleasure mister Zikel. You seem like quite the honorable dragon to be around."

Zikel smiles a bit and bows his head.

"Well, I am a firm believer in the old saying, "Treat those the way you wish to be treated.". Something my mother always told me when I was younger."

All the ponies smiled when he had told them this. Zikel noticed the yellow pegasus, hiding behind Rarity, he crouched down and rests on his legs, lowering his scarf to reveal his face fully now. She looks up at him with uncertainty in her light green eyes.

"And what might your name be my adorable little pegasus?"

She blushes at being called adorable, and quietly whispers out her name.

"I-I am...fluttershy...its nice to meet you as well, Zikel."

"N'aww...and adorable name for an adorable pegasus. Nice to meet you as well Fluttershy."

He said as he reached out a hand in front of her. she seems to tense up a bit, but he offers ehr a warm smile as reassurance. She nods and lightly places a hoof in his hand, he gives it a gentle shake.

"Now then, I seem to recall there being six of you here. Did your friend have some other business to attend to?"

They all giggled lightly and looked up to him

"Oh that was Pinkie Pie. And she is probably getting your welcoming party together. She does that for everypony who comes here to Ponyville."

Zikel arches a scalely brow

"Every...pony? I guess you mean everyone. But then again, this is a different world..."

Twilight reached up and lightly pulled on one of the hems of his robe, that hunger for knowledge clearly evident in her eyes.

"So...what exactly is a shadowmancer, Zikel? You said it was a form of magic. Is it an evil kind of magic?"

Zikel chuckled lightly, then rests his arms on his thighs as he gets comfortable.

"Well, shadowmancy can be an evil magic. But it usually depends on the user's heart. As my father once said, "Its not the magic that kills people, its the people behind the magic, that kills people.". And I took that to heart as I was growing up. Though I did have to take another's life to save another. Before I was brought here, a soldier from back home was being out numbered. So I stepped in and helped him. But I do not enjoy killing, I want you to know that.. As for what shadowmancy is. It is mainly illusion magic, Like those copies wandering about. They are an illsuion, but an illusion that can interact with objects and beings.Or I can cast a black smoke spell to make my getaways if I am in trouble. I did that a lot when I was back home. They called me the 'Living Shadow'. I was hard to catch, and even harder to track down. And when night fell, it became my playground. I have an ability called shadow crawling, where I can sink into the ground and travel through whatever shadow may be near. But in total night. I can go anywhere, and be anywhere. I also have a few snare spells and things like that. But ntohing to powerful. I mainly rely on my speed and strength, but being able to squeeze through tight spaces and even keyholes has its perks, considering being a rogue requires such skills."

"And did you use these skills to survive on your own?"

"Indeed I did. I had to steal from merchants in order to eat and drink. But I did give them the money I owed them evetually. Which came from the shows I performed."

Twilight nodded repeatedly at the new information. The others seemed to be interested as well.

"You also said you weren't always a dragon? Did you used to be something else?"

"I did,I was a regular human male."

"What is a....human?"

They all asked at the same time. Zikel motioned his copies to him, they combined into one and took the form of his human self, showing them and pointing out the features, Twilight nodded as he gave her the rundown of humans, grabbing her quill and notepad and writing down everything. Rarity seemed to be lost in thought at how Zikel looked, she looked back to him and smiled gently

"And even now, you still look extremely handsome, Zikel. Be careful, you may end up with a bunch of mares here fighting for your attention!"

She teased him, this making Zikel blush. He pulls up his scarf to hide his muzzle and looks away.

"Awww look at him, such a big tough dragon and yet he is shy..."

They all laughed at him playfully, he even let out a bit of a chuckle himself.

"Come on guys...I just get like this when I am around females is all..."

Suddenly there was a knock at the door, these sound like they meant business. Flags were going up in his mind as he shifted his eyes. Something was coming...and coming for him. He throws his hood back up and quickly dives under the table, sinking into the shadow of the structure and vanishing from sight.

"Wait, Zikel its alright!"

Twilight shouted to him. Guard busted through the door after they heard the commotion

"Where is the dragon princess?! Are any of you hurt?!"

Shouted a deep male voice

Next Chapter: Act 3: You Cannot Catch A Shadow Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 3 Minutes