Chapter 2: Bonding

Rainbow Dash kept looking back, making sure that Von was following her, as she was leading him out of the Everfree Forest and to her hometown, Ponyville. Von could only watch in awe as she was flying with such ease. My flying was nothing compared to hers, he thought. But maybe with a little more practice he could fly just like her. While they were going through the forest, the two of them chatted, sharing their own little stories about what they do everyday and started to grow closer. Not that much closer but it was better than nothing to him.

However Rainbow Dash's stories amazed Von. She told him all about how she first learned how to do her signature Sonic Rainboom, how she and her friends defeated the dreaded Nightmare Moon, when they attended the Grand Galloping Gala, used the Elements of Harmony to defeat the draconequus spirit of chaos, Discord and managing to defeat the Changeling Queen, Chrysalis. Rainbow Dash, however, corrected herself and told him that they themselves didn't beat Queen Chrysalis, but helped her friend's brother Shining Armor and his mare-to-be, Princess Cadence defeated her. Von just smiled in delight after hearing such riveting tales from her, but he couldn't help but notice something. He stopped looking at her and his eyes started wandering down to her flank as he noticed a strange marking.

He kept staring at it intently, hoping Rainbow Dash wouldn't noticed, but he jinxed himself and she looked back at him and blushed with anger. "Hey! Quit staring at my flank! My eyes aren't back there." She yelled back at him. He blushed and looked away, but the marking brought some curious thoughts to his mind.

He didn't want her to think that he was some kind of pervert for looking at the marking, even if it WAS on her flank. Von looked at her. "What is that?" She looked back at him and noticed him pointing one of his claws to the side of her flank, angering her for a moment, but she calmed down when she noticed what he was talking about. "Oh, that? That's just my cutie mark. Impressive, don'tcha think?" She smiled at him, as if she was gloating over the fact she had it, but he just stared at her and glanced at it. "Cutie...mark?" He said, confused.

Rainbow Dash wasn't prepared for what happened next. Von merely fell onto his back and laughed. Rainbow Dash felt extremely insulted, as this dragon that she just met started laughing at her Cutie mark. "Hahaha...ha...s-so...what does a cutie mark do, huh?" He managed to get out, trying to calm down. Rainbow Dash looked as though she wanted to pummel Von's scaly hide into the ground, but she started to calm down a bit so she could satisfy his curiosity.

"A cutie mark..." She started, "is a special mark that we ponies get when we discover our special talent. It represents who we are and what we can do, i guess you could say." Von looked confused. "How do you guys find your special talents?" He asked. "Well...you have to figure it out on your own. Our flanks are blank until we find that special something that makes us who we are. But having blank flanks means we're full of potential, too." She declared.

Von was surprised at her explanation. That was so...flawless, He thought. He smiled at her and looked at her in a love-struck daze, but of course, Rainbow Dash didn't notice. "That was a pretty detailed explanation." He finally said as he was getting up. She turned around and laughed nervously and scratched her head with her hoof. "Actually...I had forgotten all about how someone gets their Cutie marks since i got mine, but my friend Twilight told me. She's a real egghead. Wait 'til you meet her. She might be excited to see another dragon or she'll freak out." She said to him.

Von just stared at her with a questioning gaze. He had just heard one of the most detailed explanations in his life, only to find out that the one who told him heard it from somepony else. Just how smart is she? He thought. He could never say something like that outloud, so he kept quiet as they continued on.

Rainbow Dash looked around and saw the hut of another one of her friends. Von saw where she was looking and saw it. He looked at all the decor, inside and out, as it was all so new and strange to him. He wondered who lived there, when Rainbow Dash answered him before he could ask. "This hut belongs to Zecora. She's a zebra that makes potions and other stuff." She said. Von got confused. "A zebra?" Rainbow Dash looked back at him. "Yeah. She's like us ponies, but totally different. I would introduce you but she seems busy right now, so let's keep moving." And just as she said that, Von could hear rhythmic chanting coming from inside the hut. It freaked him out a little, so he followed behind Rainbow Dash as quickly as he could.

After about an hour, they finally make it out of the Everfree forest and into the sunlit town of Ponyville. "Here we are." Rainbow Dash said, proudly. Von looked around in awe at the beauty of it all. He had never seen such a wonderful place before, not anywhere a dragon has been to. "Come on." Rainbow Dash continued. "We need to talk to Twilight. She might be able to try and convince Celestia to let you stay here for awhile. This way!" She flew off in the direction that she pointed in. He was amazed at how fast she was at flying. However, he was more concerned with not trying to draw any attention to himself. With that, he spread his wings and took flight after Rainbow Dash, who kindly but impatiently, waited for him and together, they went off to Twilight's.

Next Chapter: New Friends pt.1 Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 38 Minutes