Hope

>You are not anon
>You are a normal Drake
>Well not exactly
>A normal drake should be safe in his cave right now and not running like a a lunatic in a fucking forest pursued by some wood wolf or whatever it is
>They attacked you as soon as you enter this cursed place, you manage to wound some of them but they were so many and too coordinate to let you have a chance against them
>Except the ones you received on your right wing, your scales did a good work to protect you from the bites howerver
>You managed to escape the fight and distance them
>You check behind you and see only the dark depth of the forest… no more ravenous wooden dog
>You stop your race in a litle glade and catch your breath
>You smirk proudly
«Seems like I outrun them»
>A sigh escape your mouth when you realize your current situation
«A good news... at last….»
>Normally you could have slay them easily with your strengh and dragon breath or at least flee the combat with your wings
>But you are hungry, thirsty, tired, your wings are broken ... You don't know where you are, you lost your armor and chiefly you are desperate
>You need to calm down
>In the corner of your eyes, you see a tree trunk lying onthe ground
>And despite the fact you are in the most dangerous forest you have witnessed
>You sit on it and close your eyes
>‘Whatever happens you take 10 seconds to pull yourself together‘
>You breath in and breath out, breath in and breath out, breath in and breath out…
>Although you start to feel better, you can’t ignore the sadness dwelling in your heart
>A tear roll down on your cheek… and another one… and another one… and anoth-
>’Wait what ?!?’
>Quickly you open your eyes and look at the sky
>It’s full of dark cloud who greet you with raindrops
>You feel like you’re about to explode
« ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW !?! IT CAN NOT BE WORSE !!! »
>In answer to this, a lightning descended from the storm and hit the tree close to you
>Shocked you stare at it, until it collapsed on the ground
>You have to move your ass out of this damnable forest before it kill you
>But right now you’re too scared to move, your legs are shaking like hell
>However, another lightning hit takes you out of your trance
>You shake your head and start running deeper in the forest

>You pursue your quest into this nightmare
>It must be 11 pm now and the storm don't seem to soothe
>The downpour and this gusts of wind slow down your progression in this jungle, and your only light source come from the regular lightning
>If you encounter a predator, you will not be able to flee this time
>A part of you just want to give up...
>Yeah that what you are going to do, just lay down on the ground and let the mud cover your dying body
>You don't have a purpose anymore, you just want to sleep, stop feeling...

>And then you see it, the end of the forest... and a house!
>You can't believe what you see, a house? like that? in the middle of nowhere?
>A spark of hope light up inside your heart while you run toward the cottage
>You can't contain your excitement, you are no longer in this hell made of tree, and maybe you will find someone who will be able to help you
>You take a last look of the forest who is now behind you and stick out your tongue
"Looks like I'm not dying tod-"
>You don't have the time to finish your sentence, your right feet slips on a puddle and you lose your balance
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!"
>Is the only thing you manage to say before your head crashes on a random rock
>You lay on the ground and your vision begin to blur
>you touch your forehead and the last thing you see is your right hand covered of blood until consciousness failed you

>You are Fluttershy
>And right now you try your best to calm your friends
"Don't worry, everything gonna be alright, Rainbow Dash said the storm will stop in a few hours"
>But a new lightning is enough to put back the chaos among your animals
>The squirrels started to eat the sofa for some reason
"No no don't do that... plea-"
>"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!"
>You and your pets stood still
"Wh-what was that?"
>You look out the window and you see something red lying down in your garden
"Oh dear, a pony has been caught off guard by the storm, we have to help him!"
>Your pets stare at you puzzled while you walk toward your door
>Barely open, a gust enters in the room and most of the animals went to hide behind furniture
>You place your hoof in front of your eyes and try to see something despite the tempest
>Two of your dogs jumped outside and ran towards the dying body and began to drag it
>You're waiting for your two friends to enter in the house before you close the door and take a proper look on the one who need your help

>Back to our protagonist
>And right now you're in heaven
>Yeah that's it, the fall kills you and you're now relaxing on your cloud
>But something was wrong...  Something was bouncing on your chest?
>You slowly open your eyes and see a little bunny waving at you
>You straighten your body and analyze the surrounding
>No you aren't dead, you're in a bed... in a room...
>Of course the cottage! Now you remember it
>The owner of this house should have find you and saved your ass
>Your attention get back to the bunny who seems happy to see you
>You consider at him for a moment,  you aren't tired anymore but you're still pretty hungry...
>In fact he seems very delicious... Maybe just one bite?
>As if the animal read your mind he points with his pawn something on your left
>You turn your head and spot a bowl fill with some sort of soup
>You stare at the bunny who was expecting your reaction
"Th-that's for me?"
>In answer to this, he simply nods at you
>You slowly take the bowl with your claws and inhale the content
>Vegetable? meh, you'd rather eat some fresh meat but it isn't the time to be picky
>You take a first sip and savour every drop
>And in fact, even for vegetables it was delicious
>You devour your meal and appreciate the feeling of being full

>You wanted to thanks the rabbit but he wasn't here anymore
>You analyze once more the room and spot something interesting on the wall... a mirror
>Despite the pain in your legs you get up off the bed, you want to look at yourself
>And well you aren't disappointed
>Bloody hell, you look terrible, months of roaming have ravaged you
>You're skinny as fuck, you're scales usually bright are now gloomy, even your eyes have lost their color
>Your body was covered with some spots of dried blood and mud, plenty of scars are here too, fresh wounds however have been bandaged
>You touch the one on your forehead as you remember your fall...
>Fucking random rock...
>Your savior did a amazing job, you owe him your fucking life
>Well time to check your wings... but you think you already know how they look like
>You begin to spread them and the pain at the base of both wings tell you it isn't good at all
>Ignoring your suffering you pursue your effort until you reach your maximal wingspan
>Well, it's not bad... IT'S FUCKING TERRIBLE!
>Too many holes are decorating the membrane of your wings
>There is now way you could fly with this soon
>You take a last look at your reflection in the mirror
>It seems you came back from the dead...
>And that's what probably happened

>"You shouldn't do that"
>You spin in the direction of the voice and stare at a yellow quadruped with a pink mane
>You can see the bunny on her back too
>"I-I mean, spreading your wings like that, they're still broken, y-you know"
>You slowly fold your wings on your back while thinking about the creature in front of you
"You are a pony, right?
>You spot her wings on each side of her back
"A pegasus more exactly?"
>"y-yeah"
>You remember to read a book about them when you were a kid
"So am I in Equestria?"
>She doesn't respond to you but you don't really need it
>She shakes like a leaf... You're scaring her obviously dumbass
>Maybe you should change the subject
"So I assume you're the one who save my life back there"
>"Well... yeah..."
>You slowly walk toward her and  lower at her level
>And then you did something you have never done before
>You hug her
"Thank you so much, without you... I will be dead by now"
>She seems to relax a bit
>"Oh it's nothing, I love taking care of animals... I-I mean everyone"
>You break the hug and chuckle a bit at the embarrassment of your new friend
"Anyway, I owe you one"
>She indicate you the bed
>"Well maybe you should get some rest, you have still a lot to recover"
>The idea to return in your paradise seems good to you
"I guess you're the doctor"
>You start to walk toward the bed
>"Oh and my name is Fluttershy, what's yours?"
>You stop your walk and can already feel the sweat forming on your face
>You keep your back turned and simply say
"Hope... Call me Hope"

>You're Hope and you're relaxing on your bed
>It's the middle of the night and you're staring the ceiling in the dark, thinking about your situation
>How long have you been wandering since you left your homeland? 3 months? Maybe more
>You kinda lost track of the time during your exile...
>You wanted to explore new lands, defeat fiends and learn about the world and his wonders
>So you just took your armor and say goodbye to dragonland
>And oh boy you weren't disapointed
>You have seen a lot of place, some astounding... Some deadly...
"Plain, forest, swamp, desert, mountains, badlands, waterfalls..."
>You have fought countless of foes, most of the time you won... Sometimes you had to flee...
"Bear, Yeti, giant spider, elemental spirit, reanimated skeleton, wood wolf..."
>The start of your journey was exciting, discover new things everyday
>But after a while, the adventure caught you...
>The lack of proper meals and rest have weakened you
>At the end of the day, you couldn't even fight a bunch of wood dogs...
"You're weak Hope"

>And now you're in Equestria, home of the pony
>You have always heard a lots of tales about them
>They put an importance into the words, friendship, kindness, and selfless
>While the dragon was more interested in the idea of strength, bravery and honor
>You guess both side have their arguments, but you never understood the hate of the dragons against the equines
"Maybe we're just too different"
>So what are you going to do now?
>Stay here a while, you guess, just the time you fully recover from your wounds
>You are pretty seriously injured now, but nothing impossible for your young body
>Every scars fade away eventually
>In a few week you'll get your sexy body back and will be able to go away
>You don't want to stay here forever
>You're in this bed since 3 days and already feel like shit
>You still have to find a way to pay back Fluttershy too
>You close your eyes, you need fresh air
>Tomorrow you'll go out

>You are Twilight
>And you just wake up after a good night
>The book of the eve have left you weary
>But now you are ready to tackle the day
>You jump when you feel your butt vibrate
>A quick look on your rump confirm your suspicions
>A new friendship mission... Great...
>You had another plans for today, but as the princess of magic, you have to bring harmony in all equestria
>You leave your room and take a quick shower before heading to the kitchen
>Your student was here, lazily reading the newspaper with a cup of coffee in her left hoof
"Good morning Starlight"
>"Hi Twilight"
"I will not be able  to ensure your friendship lesson this afternoon"
>"What's the matter?"
"Another friendship mission"
>"I guess that explain why all of our friends are in the map's room"
"All of them?"
>She just nod and get back to her reading
>You get out of the kitchen and start running in the direction of the main room
>You hoped to eat something first but you don't want to keep your friends waiting
>When you arrive at the doors, you take a moment to catch your breath and open them
>You enter in the room and see all your friends, Rarity and Fluttershy sit quietly in their  throne, Pinkie Pie was bouncing around the table and finally Rainbow and Applejack was on the map and seem to arguing

>RD:"I'm telling you the beam is on the town hall"
>AJ:"Nope sugarcube, I'm sure our cutie marks want to indicate the park"
>RD:"Eh? Are you sure it's not more on the left?"
>AJ:"Hmm, now you say that, I don't know anymore"
>RD:"Gah, this is hopeless, why ponyville is so small on this goddamn map"
>R:"Well darling, all Equestria is on this map, if you wanted Ponyville to be more visible, Manehattan would have taken half of the room"
>RD:"Whatever, we aren't going to hang out in the town and ask everyone if they have a friendship problem"
>PP:"Aww come on Rainbow it will be fun"
"Hey girls, what's wrong?"
>R:"Oh hello Twilight, the problem is..."
>RD:"The problem is the fact we can't see where we have to go"
"I think I have the solution"
>While summoning a magnifying glass, you jump on the table, and start to inspect the spot where yours cutie marks are floating
"Hmm, it isn't in the town... just near the everfree forest... Fluttershy's house?"
>All of you turn toward Fluttershy who hasn't say anything since you are here
>F:"M-my house?"
>AJ:"Discord needs our help?"
>R:"I thought you asked him to stop living with you for a while
>F:"Yes, you are right, he doesn't live with me anymore..."
>RD:"So, who needs us? Angel?"
>F:"I assume it must be Hope..."
"Who?"

>You are still Twilight and right now you are confused
>You are on the way of Fluttershy's house and she just finish to tell her story
>AJ:"So you helped a dragon?"
>F:"Yes"
>R:"And she was nearly dead when you find her?"
>F:"Yes"
>RD:"And she is living with you since the last 4 days"
>F:"Yes"
>PP:"And she seems to be super hyper kind?!"
>F:"Well... yes?"
>RD:"I don't know what you are thinking about all of this, but it remind me a lot about the episode with your brother..."
>F:"Oh no no, she promises me that she will leave when she will be healed"
"And you didn't ask her from where she came from?"
>F:"No, I didn't want to be intrusive..."
>All of this looked suspicious...
>A dragon coming from nowhere? Covered in blood? And she was nice? And why did the map was activated?
"Well keep an eye on her until we know what this all about..."

>You reach the cottage and enter in the living room
>F:"Don't forget, she must be a little lost so don't scare her"
>RD:"I know I can be a little impressive but I c-"
>AJ:"Don't worry sugarcube, everything gonna be alright"
>F:"Well, she must be resting in her room, so I will go find her and-"
>PP:"LOOK! THERE SHE IS!!!"
>After you recovered of your heart attack, you check out the view through the window
>And indeed Pinkie was right, you can spot a red figure sitting in the grass
>You open the back door and enter in the garden,
>"Hope" sees you coming and quickly get up
>She doesn't say or do anything, she just standing here while you make your approach
>Judging by her size, she must be a bit younger than Ember and even have the same shape and spikes on her head
>But the ressemblance stop here
>Her red scales shine like a ruby, while her belly, spikes and wings are pinkier
>Despite their conditions, her wings are bigger and her white horns find their base on her forehead and going backward
>Now you are just in front of her and can see something you have never see on a dragon, some of her scale were white. Not a lot, but enough to be visible
>She is staring at you with her deep blue eyes and waiting for you to make the first move

>You are Hope and you are a bit anxious as you see the group of ponies approaching you
>What was their intention?
>Maybe they just want you to leave. They surely don't want you around the town
>Dragon are well know for their... bellicose behavior
>Nonetheless, they don't seem to be aggressive but you can say they were on their guard
>Except Fluttershy and the pink one who is bouncing happily like a kid
>However, the sight of your savior allows you to relax a bit
>She has been nice with you since you are here, maybe everything gonna be alright
>Your look stops on the purple one
>Something was weird with her, she has both a horn and a pair of wing
>An alicorn?
>You always thought they were only two in this world
>But maybe they were more common
>Well it's not like dragon's books are pretty recent or accurate...
>Now they are in front of you and remain silent
>It's pretty obvious they don't deal with reptile of your size everyday
>They stare at you
>You stare at them
>...
>Ok now this is akward, someone had to break the ice before the silence kills you
>F:"Hello Hope, let me present you my friends. So here is Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity and here it's Twilight Sparkle the princess of friendship"
>They all greeted you but your attention stay on the last one
>Princess of friendship? What the hell is that?
>...
>Oh shit, she is a princess!
>You bow before her
"I'm honored to meet you Princess"
>She seems to be surprised by your manners but she quickly pull herself together
>TS:"Oh forget formality. Actually I'm not here as a princess but as a... Friend?"
>Ok now you don't understand what the fuck is going on

>TS:"You see me and my friends have the duty to bring harmony in all Equestria by helping the other with their friendship issues"
>She keeps talking about some magical map, elements of harmony and butts shaking...
>You are not sure if you understood the last part...
>You rub your eyes with your right claw, and organize your thought
"So, what you are trying to tell me is, you are here to help me with my friendship's problem because a map tells you to do it?"
>TS:"Yeah that's it"
"I don't want to be rude with you but I think your map is broken, I don't have any friendships problem or something like this"
>TS:"A-Are you sure? I mean, the map activated just a few day after your appearance and it bring us in this area, it can't be just a coincidence. You must be the one who need us"
>You let out a sigh of annoyance
>All of this starts to upset you
"Listen princess, I don't need your help because dragons don't do friends. You can't help someone with their friendships problem if they don't have friends, right?"
>You look at the alicorn who was struggling to find a response
>But it didn't come from her
>A pink horse jump in front of you and start shooting
>PP:" SILLY! THAT'S YOUR PROBLEM! So now, you're staying with us and we will teach you how to have a lot of friends. But first I have to throw you a welcome party! I'm already late of four days!"
>Fucking hell, she scared the shit of you
>You completly forgot the other 5 pony
>Well 4 now the pink one is already gone
>TS:"Apparently, Pinkie find your problem. So what do you think? You let us help you with this. It's not the first I take someone under my wing"
>You consider the offer
>Why did you acted like this? They just want to help you
>Don't need to be such a bitch
"Can you give me some time to think about it?"

>You are now sitting on the grass of the garden
>The girls have been gone for awhile
>"She just need some time"
>You heard Fluttershy say that to the others
>And she was right
>You really don't know what you want right now
>Three paths are offered to you
>First you can return in your homeland
>You can also resume your life of adventurer
>And finally there is the offer of the Princess
>Your attention get back to the stone in your hands
>You found it earlier in the morning
>It was the stone on which you fell few days ago
>Some of your blood was still on it
>A stone covered of blood...
>It brings you back bad memories for sure
>Not like you have good ones though...
>Thunder...
>This fucking dude
>Even if he died a few years ago, you can perfectly remember his face
>The memory of his lifeless eyes was enough to make you shiver
>First option wasn't possible
>You don't want to go back in your country
>You're not welcome, and plus there was literally nothing to do back there
>Dragonland was just an endless country of rock and lava
>And nothing else
>Sure lava bath was comfy as fuck but that's it
>So no you aren't going to come back to your country
>You glare at the forest in front of you

>What about option 2?
>The life of adventurer was amazing
>Each day you saw new landscapes and animals
>Even if the daily of a dragon is more, loot, eat and sleep
>This way of life suits you perfectly
>Also you had the chance to fought a lot of foes
>For a warrior like you it was pretty cool
>Wandering across the world was the first in your life you can tell you were happy
>There was just one problem...
>You nearly got yourself killed
>Even if you have learned a lot about survival
>You were very lucky to find Fluttershy's house
>And the next time you will be in need of help, you're not sure if you'll have the same luck
>Without Fluttershy, you will be dead by now...
>Suddenly, you're in no hurry to go back to adventure
>However you still have to go back in this jungle to get your armor
>You miss it
>Without the sensation of the steel and leather on your scales, you're feeling weak and vulnerable

>Last option...
>Do you really want to stay here?
>Sure, life here is quiet and after all that happened to you, you need this
>But you have this weird impression of being cut in two
>When you spoke to Twilight earlier,a part of you wanted to act like a bitch, almost like you wanted to hurt her
>But there was also something else
>Since you are here, a new feeling has settled in your heart
>And this feeling, you wanted to explore it
>The fact that you can now rely on someone was unusual
>You remember the moment when you hug Fluttershy
>Why did you do this?
>You never acted like this before
>A moment of weakness perhaps?
>But you wanted to do it...
>You had to do it
>Every time Fluttershy came to see you in your room...
>That makes you feel so weird
>And you liked it
>You are lost in your thoughts until you feel a hoof touching your back
>You already knew who it was
>That sweet scent of lilac...
>You turn your head towards your savior
>She greeted you with a smile
>You don't know pony standards but you could tell she looks beautiful
>And the sun in her back gives her an angelic aspect
>You force a weak smile
"Hey Fluttershy"
>"Come home, I didn't change your bandages today"
"Sure, I'm coming"
>She winks at you and head back to her house
>You slowly get up and contemplate the yellow pony
>Ahh Fluttershy
>The embodiment of kindness
>Always here to take care of your ungrateful ass
>Speaking of, she has a nice rump
>You stare at the stone who still remain in your hand
>Maybe it was time for you to forget the past and move forward
>Have a fresh start
>You drop the stone and join your "friend"