Fear from the Heart

by Dragon Heart

Bittersweet Taste of Freedom

The next morning, Fluttershy was feeling very sluggish, but she forced herself out of bed and downstairs. The animals took notice of her state of tiredness. They surrounded her and gave her concerned looks. Fluttershy looked at them all and simply smiled.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm alright." She said as she tried to fetch a bag of food. She performed her duties, as usual, and when she was done, she donned her saddlebag and left her house. The bag still had the opal the Dragon had given her, though she had no real use for it. She also felt that since he did not truly take them, she should give it back to Rarity. She could already picture her reaction to receiving the opal, and it was hectic. After a minute or two, she had eventually arrived at the boutique, and gave the door a few knocks.

"Coming." said Rarity in a singing tone. She magically opened the door and saw Fluttershy standing before her. "Good morning, Fluttershy, how did the gift you made turn out?"

"Oh, uh, I had it sent yesterday evening." said Fluttershy. "Also, I found something that you might like." She set down her saddlebag and opened the sac that held the opal inside. Rarity was wide eyed and speechless upon seeing the multicolored gemstone. She levitated the jewel up out of the bag and just beheld its beauty.

"Where... where did you find this?" Rarity breathed in awe.

Fluttershy's mind tried to jumble through another random thought processor, but it was taking forever just to come up with a good excuse. But after ten seconds of awkward silence, something good popped in.

"It was in a box of old foalhood stuff I found." She said.

Rarity gasped. "If that's the case, why are you giving it to me?" She asked.

"Because you're my friend, of course." said Fluttershy. "And I felt that I should give this to you in return for giving me the things I needed for a dear friend."

Rarity was about to cry tears of joy, but her formal instincts held them back and she simply hugged Fluttershy for the gift. "Thank you very much, darling. I'll treasure it like a memento."

Fluttershy formed a look of confusion, considering she was not even dead for it to be called a memento, but she did not put too much worry into it. Rarity brought the gem into her store and closed the door, but Fluttershy could hear her flip head over tail about the opal.

She then headed to Twilight's to see how much progress she might have made. She approached the library and knocked on the door. The door opened magically and Fluttershy walked in.

"Good morning, Fluttershy." said Twilight.

"Good morning, Twilight." Fluttershy said, "Anything yet?"

"No, Fluttershy, nothing yet." Twilight deadpanned, even though she was trying to hide her frustration. "I've ran all kinds of tests on this potion, and none of the answers I need are being presented."

"Well, don't give up Twilight, you can do it. I know you can." Fluttershy said, swinging her hoof across herself to help reassure her.

Twilight simply smiled and giggled. "Thanks, Fluttershy. By the way, Rarity told me you had collected a lot of spider silk in exchange for some gemstones you were giving to a friend. Who's this friend, anyway?"

Fluttershy grew wide eyed and bit her lower lip. She swiftly looked left and right, as if searching for a way to escape. She released the breath she was holding and looked at Twilight again.

"He lives, uh, far from here. I've known him for quite a while, and he has a real bad habit of getting himself hurt a lot."

"Oh dear." Twilight said, putting a concerning hoof to her chest. "Is he hospitalized right now?"

"No, just... recovering. Not hospitalized." said Fluttershy.

"Well, I hope he likes the gift you made for him." said Twilight.

Fluttershy gave a nervously sheepish half smile and rubbed her front hoof on her leg. "Yeah, maybe." She said. "I'll see you some other time?"

"Yeah, of course." said Twilight, "Take care."

"You too." Fluttershy waved goodbye and left the library. She closed the door behind her and headed back home to gather some fresh fish for her trip into the Everfree. She was kind of looking forward to meeting the Dragon again.

---

In the pit deep in the forest, Hammerheart was at it again, trying to claw his way to freedom. His claws screeched against the rock wall that imprisoned him, offering him no grip whatsoever. He fell backwards and landed with another bone-crunching slam. Hammerheart got back up on his feet and shook himself off. Deciding to take a break from climbing, he walked to the pond and crept up on a small school of unsuspecting fish. He then shot his spear-like tongue into the water, impaled one of the big fish, wrapped his tongue around it, and pulled it into his jaws.

Hammerheart had almost fully recovered from his injuries, and much to his displeasure, the wound on the bottom of his neck had now scarred over the spearhead still stuck in his throat. His leg wound had begun to heal up, and he was no longer suffering from the illness from before.

Hammerheart then picked up on a familiar scent. He looked to his left to see the Pegasus that treated his wounds.

Fluttershy had entered the pit through the small hole in the wall, and she was happy to see the Dragon up and moving about without limping or coughing or gagging.

Hammerheart approached Fluttershy and brought his head down to her height. He did not give her any form of an unfriendly look, instead, he just weakly smiled at her.

"Hello, and good morning, big guy." said Fluttershy as she took off her saddlebag and set it on the ground. "What have you been up to?"

Hammerheart released a hot sigh and sat down with his head hung low. Fluttershy then noticed some of the bruises that were on him, and realized he was still trying to get out of the pit.

"Oh, you poor thing." Fluttershy said empathetically. Hammerheart, feeling like he was being babied, made a quiet growl.

"Do you want me to help you out of here?" Fluttershy asked. Hammerheart simply gave a gruff humph and resumed trying to climb out. Even though he officially trusted her, he still felt independent. He jumped and scratched at the wall, but still could not get a grip on anything. He fell and hit the dirt hard, again. Fluttershy went over to him, concerned for the Dragon. If he kept falling and hitting the ground like this, the injuries inflicted upon himself would get worse.

"Please, you have to stop doing that to yourself." said Fluttershy.

Hammerheart kept her back with his tail, insisting to try and escape by himself. He jumped and grabbed a hold of a root. He tried to pull up, but was too heavy for the root, which broke off from the rocks. He fell down again and a loud crunch upon impact with the ground could be heard. Fluttershy gasped and went to the Dragon's side.

"Are you okay? Did you break something?" She asked.

Hammerheart slowly rolled over onto his feet and stood up again, panting in exhaustion from relentless climbing. Fluttershy got in close and petted his snout.

"Don't worry. You wait here, I'll go get some help." Fluttershy turned around and galloped back to the hole, leaving Hammerheart to be slightly irritated about that "wait here" remark, since he was trapped in a pit.

---

Two minutes later, Fluttershy had made her way back to Ponyville to search for a friend who could help her in getting the Dragon out of the pit, and she knew just who to go to first.

She cut through Ponyville and headed for the only cloud home near town. She then flew up to the front door and gave it a few knocks. After a few seconds of waiting, Fluttershy figured she was not home. She flew back down to the ground and headed back to town.

Back in town, Fluttershy watched the skies for any signs of the rainbow maned Pegasus. She soon spotted a low floating cloud, and on that cloud, Rainbow Dash rested upon. Fluttershy flew up, but did not want to disturbed Rainbow's nap, so she just flapped in place and waited.

Minutes later, Rainbow Dash woke up and looked to see Fluttershy flying flapping next to her. She yawned and shook her head like a tired cat.

"Hey, Fluttershy, what's up?" She asked.

"Hi, Rainbow. Sorry if I woke you up or anything, but I just needed your help with something." said Fluttershy.

Rainbow chuckled. "You didn't wake me up. So what do you need help with?"

"Well, a really heavy animal friend of mine is trapped in a pit in the Everfree Forest and can't get out. Do you think you could help me help give him a boost out of there?" Fluttershy was very nervous as to how Rainbow Dash would react to having to help a downed Dragon out of a pit.

Rainbow hopped off her makeshift cloud bed and was airborne. "Is that all? That should be no sweat!" She said.

Fluttershy sighed a breath of relief, but was nervous about the upcoming introduction. She flew down to the ground and trotted towards the forest, with Rainbow Dash following behind. She was going to be in for a crazy surprise.

---

Three minutes later, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had arrived at the pit, but the Dragon was nowhere to be found. Fluttershy looked around for any sign of him, and Rainbow just looked at the hole they just went through.

"Wait, why doesn't he just go through that hole back there?" She asked.

"Well, because he's too big to fit through." Fluttershy replied.

"Fair enough, I guess." Rainbow Dash looked around for the animal as well. "So, where the hay is he?"

"I'm not sure." said Fluttershy as they moved along near the edge of the pond. "I wonder if he did get out by himself."

Rainbow landed and stretched her upper back to where it crackled from the strain. "Well, if he did, I guess my work's finished before it even started." She turned towards the pond, and caught sight of the head of a Dragon surface and turn to them.

Rainbow reacted quickly. "Fluttershy!" She shouted as she lunged and pushed her to the ground.

The Dragon thought Fluttershy was in trouble, so he made for the shore and ran towards Rainbow, seized her with his talons, and pinned her to the rock wall. Fluttershy got up and had to quickly break them apart.

"No, don't, she's a friend!" said Fluttershy as she tried to pull the Dragon off of Rainbow Dash.

Hammerheart stared Rainbow in the face with aggressive intent, and Rainbow Dash just returned the look. They stared daggers into each others' eyes until Hammerheart released his grip on the Pegasus and backed down.

"Oh my gosh, Rainbow, I'm so sorry about this!" Fluttershy said as apologetic as a guilty child caught by mom and dad.

"It's okay, Fluttershy, it wasn't your fault." said Rainbow Dash. "But we'd better leave now while that giant newt's not paying attention..." Rainbow rapidly shook her head and her expression was of confusion. "Wait, how'd you make that thing stop without yelling at it?"

Fluttershy sat on her flanks and poked her hooves together. "Oh, um, well... you see..." She had to come clean with it now. "This is the friend that needed help."

Rainbow's pupils and irises shrunk as her eyes dilated. "Wait, you mean that..." She tried to ask while pointing a hoof at the Dragon.

"Yes, and he really needs our help. Please Rainbow?" Fluttershy said, hoping Rainbow Dash will not decline and just leave.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine, I'll help, but I won't like it."

They approached Hammerheart, and the Dragon growled at Rainbow Dash. She stopped and scowled at him. Clearly, though he trusted Fluttershy, she was the only one he trusted. Anyone else would have to earn it like she did.

"It's okay." Fluttershy said, "She's only here to help you."

Hammerheart shook his head and headed for the wall. He jumped and started clawing at the rocks.

"Quick, now we can give him the boost he needs." Fluttershy said.

"Okay, here goes nothing!" said Rainbow Dash as she flew up with Fluttershy and pushed against the Dragon's backsides. What they did not take into account was his weight. When Hammerheart fell down, the two Pegasi went down with him, and landed with a thud.

Hammerheart rolled back onto his feet and shook himself off. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash both got up and groaned from the fall. The Dragon leered at the two, the subliminal message clear that he still did not want any help.

"Hey, we're just trying to help you get out of this mess!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

Hammerheart facewinged himself and resumed what he was doing.

"Let's try it again." Fluttershy whispered into Rainbow's ear.

"Why should we?!" Rainbow whispered back. "He's too heavy, and he'll probably bite our heads off if we do try again!"

"But we still have to try, Rainbow. He really needs our help, even if he doesn't want it."

"Why does he need our help, anyway?! Why doesn't he just fly out?! He's got wings!"

"Rainbow, look." Fluttershy pointed to the Dragon. Rainbow Dash looked to see the Dragon stretch both wings out and reveal that they were useless.

"Oh..." Rainbow said, rubbing her head in shame for not figuring it out herself. She sighed. "Okay, Fluttershy, we'll try again. This time, more force on our part."

"Alright." said Fluttershy. As soon as Hammerheart jumped onto the rock wall, the two Pegasi flew up and pushed on his backsides again. Hammerheart felt them push on his rear, and was about to turn and smack them, but when he noticed that his efforts combined with theirs was actually getting him further towards the top, he decided to roll with it. He kept clawing at the wall while the Pegasi pushed him up until he finally got a grip on something and pulled himself up onto the edge.

Because they were pushing so hard, and the Dragon suddenly moved up, Fluttershy and Rainbow shot forward. Rainbow Dash flew further up before stopping, and Fluttershy landed on Hammerheart's back. All three were panting like overheated dogs in summer.

Rainbow Dash flew down to Fluttershy. "Hey... we did it!" She said, still worn out.

"Yeah..." Fluttershy said, "I guess we-"

Suddenly, Hammerheart began running along the riverside with Fluttershy on his back, screaming and hanging on for dear life. Rainbow Dash was surprised and followed after them.

Hammerheart kept running, with Fluttershy holding onto his wings, until he found the wrecked path he made when he fell from the sky. He made a sudden right turn and went into the forest, and Rainbow Dash still followed behind. Fluttershy kept holding on with whatever strength was left in her after the assistance.

"Uh, Mister Dragon, can you please stop and let me down?!" Fluttershy asked, but to no avail. Hammerheart kept running through the jungle until he finally came to a hard stop that nearly made Fluttershy flip over and fly into the bushes.

Hammerheart had found what he was looking for. It was his mace tail end, stuck between two rocks. He grabbed it with his talon and tried to pull it free, but it was lodged in good. With another hard pull, the body part came out. Hammerheart looked upon his once greatest weapon he was born with. Now it was nothing but a soon-to-be rotting piece of food for maggots to feast on.

"What is that thing?" Fluttershy asked as she walked up next to him. Hammerheart looked to her and sighed, then dropped the mace. Fluttershy could see how sad and angry he looked, but then had a bigger realization when she looked at the broken trees and plants around them.

"If that club use to be his, and this place is a mess, he must have gotten hurt around here." She thought.

Rainbow Dash had caught up with them and landed near Fluttershy. "Fluttershy! Are you okay?" She looked angrily to Hammerheart, "Did that Dragon hurt you?"

"No, Rainbow," said Fluttershy, "but he's very hurt."

Rainbow Dash gave a confused look to Fluttershy. "What are you talking about?"

Fluttershy was about to explain, but the sound of a growling dog silenced her. Hammerheart heard it and began looking at the direction he heard it come from while the Pegasi looked everywhere for the source. Hammerheart sniffed the air, and picked up a very repulsive scent. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash caught the stench after him, and nearly gagged. Hammerheart then stared at a bush, and a pair of glowing green eyes pierced through the shadows of the shrubbery's leaves, followed by more pairs of eyes. Then the beasts came into view.

Timber Wolves.

Even though they were made completely out of sticks and twigs and other pieces of wood, they were still deadly, predatory pack hunters.

Hammerheart spotted them, and knew he was in trouble. He could not take on a whole pack while still in his weakened state. Unable to fly or breathe fire, and only able to bite and claw, he had to flee. He started nudging on Fluttershy, urging her to run away.

"What? What is it?" Fluttershy asked. The wolf pack leaped from the foliage and barked. Fluttershy screamed and quickly ran away. Rainbow Dash, though stubborn and enjoyed a good challenge, was smart enough to know not to pick a fight with a pack of timber wolves, and flew away. Hammerheart was already in full sprint when Fluttershy took off. And the wolves began their chase.

Hammerheart ran as fast as he could, and Rainbow Dash flew at an equal speed. Fluttershy was not running fast enough. Hammerheart noticed this, grabbed her by the tail, and dropped her back on his back. She held on for dear life again as they continued to be hunted by the wolves.

They soon approached a large boulder that they knew the timber wolves could not climb up. Hammerheart went up to the boulder, looked back at Fluttershy, and pointed his head at the rock. Fluttershy figured it meant climb up onto his head and onto the boulder, so she flew up onto his head, and he pressed his snout against the rock. Fluttershy trotted onto the boulder's top, where she reunited with Rainbow.

Hammerheart was about to follow suit, but something bit on the end of his tail. He looked to see one of the timber wolves had caught up and grabbed him. Then another wolf came up and bit on his tail, and another, and another. Other wolves ran up his back and bit down onto his wings and wing fingers, others bit on his legs. Hammerheart had about thirteen timber wolves biting into his hide. Even though their teeth were made of wood, as well, they were still sharp enough to even pierce Dragon skin. Hammerheart tried climbing up, but his hands slipped and he fell backwards to the ground, crushing some wolves under his back.

Fluttershy was about to jump down and help, but Rainbow held her back.

"Don't, it's too dangerous!" She said.

Tears started pouring from Fluttershy's eyes. "But he's in trouble!" She sadly argued.

Hammerheart rolled upright and shook himself off. He had just crushed half of the pack, and their were now six wolves left. One ran in to bite Hammerheart's throat, but the Wyvern reared back, and the wolf ran into his chest. Hammerheart then closed his wings onto the wolf and crush it in a tremendous bear hug. Two wolves ran to the sides, two other wolves ran around behind him, and the other stayed put. The two wolves behind went in, bit, and held his legs. Hammerheart grunted. The two wolves on the sides bit and held the tips of his torn wings. Hammerheart growled in pain.

The other wolf had its opening, and lunged at the Wyvern's neck. But Hammerheart moved his head to the side. The wolf missed and was caught in Hammerheart's jaws. Hammerheart started to violently shake the wolf from side to side until the beast fell apart from the sheer strength of the shaking. He then slammed his wings together, and shattered the two wolves that were holding his wing fingers. He reached his head down and grabbed one of the wolves biting into his leg, and broke it in half with one powerful chomp. He lifted the other leg, the wolf's body swung under his talon, and he stomped on the beast and shattered it like glass.

All the wolves were dead, and Hammerheart was partially bleeding from the wounds dealt to him.

"Are you alright?!" Fluttershy called. Hammerheart gave a friendly sounding roar in response as he approached the boulder.

Rainbow Dash looked at the splintered remains of the timber wolf pack. "Dang, you really showed those wolves who's the beast." She complimented. As she kept examining the remains, they began to float up slightly off the ground and come together, and she caught it. "Look out!" Rainbow yelled.

Hammerheart looked behind to see the wooden pieces of the wolves very swiftly fuse into a much larger wolf. Hammerheart tried to get up on the boulder, but the wolf's form was complete, and it bit on his tail. Hammerheart roared in pain and was yanked back by the behemoth. Fluttershy tried to go after him again, but Rainbow Dash still held her back to keep her from getting killed.

The giant timber wolf pulled Hammerheart by his tail away from the boulder. Hammerheart turned over onto his back and kicked the beast in the snout. The wolf yelped, released its grip, and Hammerheart tried to get to the rock. But the wolf was quick to recover, and lunged in his way. Hammerheart then turned to the right and scurried away. The wolf chased after him and lunged into the air. Hammerheart turned around and was pinned under the monster inches from a drop off. He used his wing to keep the wolf's jaws from biting his head off. The wolf stomped a paw onto Hammerheart's belly so hard, he actually coughed out the spearhead that was stuck in his throat into the wolf's left eye. The beast yelp in pain, and Hammerheart used his hind legs to flip the wolf over himself and over the edge, but the wolf quickly bit his tail and pulled him down with him.

They both tumbled down the cliff's edge. The wolf lost a small piece of itself every time it hit the rocks, and Hammerheart was trying to flap his useless wings, hoping the membranes would just grow back and grant him flight again. They both fell into the top of a large tree. As they tumbled down through the branches, the giant wolf kept trying to bite Hammerheart every time they got close. After seconds of tumbling, they landed back onto the forest floor, and they got up to face each other off. Hammerheart charged and rammed into the beast with his head, his horns over his eyes jabbed into the wooden monster. The wolf opened wide and bit down on Hammerheart's right wing. Hammerheart released a roar of pain so loud, it could be heard a mile away from anywhere.

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were searching for Hammerheart from the sky when they heard his roar of pain.

"That must be him!" said Fluttershy.

"Are you sure?" Rainbow asked.

"I'm positive!" Fluttershy tried to pick up the pace as she flew in the direction the roar came from, and Rainbow Dash followed suit.

The wolf began to shake his head from side to side, trying to rip the wing off, but Hammerheart was not going to let it take a bite out of him. He bared his claws on his hand, and poked out the wolf's good eye. The beast released its grip when it yelped in pain. Now that it was blind, Hammerheart had the advantage. But when he went in to strike, the wolf swung its paw and smacked him across the face. Hammerheart was as confused as he was hurt. How did it know he was coming. He noticed it taking big sniffs.

It could smell him coming.

Hammerheart did not know how to deal with an enemy that could see with its nose, so he just went full-throttle assault on the wolf. They collided and began to strike at each other. Pieces of wood came off the wolf, and blood spilled from the Wyvern.

From the skies, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash spotted the beasts duking it out. They descended and landed atop a thick branch. They wanted to help, but against a leviathan like that, they could do nothing but keep their distance.

Both Hammerheart and the wolf stood upright on their hind legs, holding each other by the shoulders while trying to kill each other. The wolf began to move forward and push Hammerheart back. Hammerheart's talons were pushing up dirt as they ground against the soil. He had had enough. He began to push against the wolf with all his might, and the beast was struggling to hold its ground. When it got its footing, they both were locked in a complete stare down of brawn.

Hammerheart felt his pride as a mighty Dragon be further squelched. This beast had the nonexistent nerve to challenge him, and he could not kill it faster than he wanted to. His anger grew. A heat boiled in his heart, and begin spreading through his body like a wildfire. Hammerheart reared his head back, took in a deep breath, and blasted pent up fire from his maw into the timber wolf's face.

The flames quickly consumed the wooden monster, and it could do nothing but howl in agony as it slowly turned to ash.

Hammerheart had smoke coming out of his mouth from the sudden breath of fire. His ability to breathe fire had finally returned to him after two days of being extinguished. To look upon the smoldering remains of the beast made him feel like a real Dragon again. He had reclaimed his rightful title as a true Wyvern.

Hammerheart heard cheering, and looked up to see the two Pegasi up on a branch. Rainbow Dash was pumping her hoof in a spiral pattern, and Fluttershy jumped up and down and flailed her front hooves like crazy.

Hammerheart then heard various other noises. He looked around to see all kinds of forest animals seemingly cheering for him. As if they were thanking him for saving their lives by destroying the beast.

It felt strangely awkward, at first, but Hammerheart also felt he accomplished something much greater than his self-esteem.

He almost felt like a hero.

Hammerheart could feel primal instincts reach a boiling point, and he let out a victory roar, followed by a geyser of fire. Fortunately, the trees around him were not short enough to be set ablaze.

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash flew down to the Dragon. "That was totally wicked!" Rainbow said. "You were all like, 'ROAR'! And that thing was like, 'OW'! Then you just burned him to the ground! Not bad for a nasty Dragon." She gave a complimenting wink.

"Thank you so much for saving us." said Fluttershy. She then examined his body, and gasped at the amount of bloody bite marks and cuts and other injuries that covered him. "Oh my goodness, look how hurt you are." She said with a sad expression. "My first aid kit is back home. You're gonna have to come with me."

Rainbow flinched upon hearing that. "Fluttershy, you can't bring him with you back home. Ponies are gonna freak out if they see him!"

"They won't as long as he doesn't go into town." Fluttershy said. "He can stay at my house away from town, and that's all."

Rainbow Dash sighed. "Okay, but I still think it's not a good idea."

Fluttershy looked down. "Well, you're just gonna have to trust me."

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash started to head home, with Hammerheart following behind.

Author's Note:

On the road, again. Sing it with me! I can't believe I'm on the road, again-
What did I tell you about singing?!
Well, can I whistle?
NO.
Well, can I hum, then?
Alright...
Hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm...