//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: A Scar and a Scarf // Story: The Forest Pony // by EverfreePony //------------------------------// Slowly shifting her weight, Princess Luna found herself lying on something soft and downy. The air felt warm and smelled pleasantly like raw wood. She rubbed her head against the soft thing below her and mumbled a few words. A sudden wave of pain shot through her whole body. The last events rushed into her mind. All her drowsiness subsided in an instance, and her eyes shot open. She couldn't see much of her surroundings. A fireplace flickered to the side, its light revealing only about half of the room she was in. She managed to make out a large bookcase accompanied by a desk below a window. Assuming it was still dark outside and the glistening glass was really a window pane. The hearth was in the opposite wall from the desk, somewhere next to her. She could hear the crackling of logs burning inside it. The one who ignited it couldn't be far. Luna felt a lump in her throat. If that pony didn't kill her when she was asleep, they wouldn't do so now, right? Right? With a groan, she turned her head to take a peek at the part of the room bathed in shadows and, by extension, at her injured wing. Her sore body protested. For a moment she just stared into the darkness, waiting for the new surge of pain to subside. After a while, her eyes became accustomed to the dimness. Her body tensed as she caught a glimpse of movement in the dark. Cold sweat budded on her forehead, and the tiny beads slowly leaked down to her muzzle. Maybe the throbbing in her head was just playing tricks. Her pupils shifted back and forth as she tried to accommodate her vision. Suddenly, the flames in the fireplace flared up and lit more of the room. Luna looked in horror at the glints of light in two large, unmoving eyes. Below the eyes shone bared teeth with their ends covered in blood. Luna gasped. The stranger raised their head from her injured wing joint and neighbouring wounds.  Adrenaline rushing through her system, Luna shot a hoof forward with lightning speed. Surprisingly, the hit never landed. The stranger hopped away just before the princess could deal a blow to their face. The pain from the abrupt movement followed almost immediately. The regal alicorn was forced to curl into a fetal position, a muffled shriek escaping her lips. Crouching, the stranger crept to the lit part of the room. Hooves shuffled on the floor, and pupils shrunk in the light of the fire, a young mare emerged from the darkness. "No. Drinking. My. Blood. Get. AWAY!" Luna stammered, shooting her a glare.  The young mare stepped out of the dancing shadows completely. She tilted her head to one side and cocked an eyebrow, the movement causing locks of her mane to bob up and down against her forehead and horn. She watched the princess wriggle and writhe for a moment. Slowly, she lifted her hooves off the ground and firmly pressed them down on Luna's shoulder and hip.  The princess twitched slightly, teeth clenched. She reluctantly relaxed her limbs and put her head back down, her gaze firmly fixed onto the glistening amber eyes of the mare. Assured the alicorn wouldn’t start thrashing again, the unicorn backed away. Calmly, she said, "I’m glad to know you are awake.” She turned her head to her side, drawing out a large, silvery-blue dagger with her mouth. The blade shimmered in the firelight, its glints beaten only by that of two blue gemstones set in the weapon’s crossguard. The hilt was masterfully crafted into the form of an owl spreading its wings, with the gemstones making up the bird's eyes. Luna would have regarded the blade with amazement, as she could easily imagine it being a museum exhibit or a prized item at one of the Canterlot auctions. However, now it was pointed at her, throwing all the beauty out the window. The unicorn bowed her head and dropped the blade. Both mares watched it clatter to the ground. “I'm not some wild savage pony,” said the mare, breaking the awkward silence. “In other words, you can talk normally to me. And to prove I pose no threat, here is my only weapon.” She nudged the dagger on the ground towards the princess. Luna nodded her head silently, wincing as the movement sent another lance of pain through her. The mare continued, "I may get away if you wish so, but that also means I won't be able to finish cleaning your wounds, Your Highness." She bowed slightly to emphasize her last words. "I-I am sorry?" the princess offered. She noticed the bits of cotton lying around her wounded wing joint. "Of course you may continue. I was just... puzzled by your look and the blood on your teeth." The mare bent her head, her hoof drawing away a short lock of dark mane from her eyes. She sighed at the sight of her coat caked in mud, topped by a filthy rag tied around her neck and a torn saddlebag at her side. "Seems like I can't really blame you for your assumptions," she muttered. A smirk crossed her features. "Making sure you are okay seemed more important than taking a bath.” The mare started chewing her lip mindlessly, tiny crimson beads shimmering where teeth met the tender skin.  Luna lay quietly, giving her a wary look. After a few moments, the mare just shrugged and shook her head.  She bent down to the princess’ side, slowly maneuvering one of the cotton pieces with the tip of her horn back and forth. "Could you try lying back and relaxing the wing? I can't get around it."  "I-I can," Luna said, slightly puzzled. "But why do you not use your horn?" The unicorn straightened back up, eyes twitching between the wound and her horn. The lump of cotton hung haphazardly from its tip. "But I'm using—heh. You mean like why don't I light it up?" The mare rubbed the back of her head. "Exactly." "Long story short, I can't... I could use my mouth, though I find it better to touch something possibly contaminated with my horn." She bent back down, carrying on wiping the edges of the wound. "Does it have anything to do with the attack earlier toda—was it even today?" "Please, Your Highness, try to lie still and don't talk.” The mare waved a hoof over her. “It was tonight, but my horn issues have nothing to do with that. Right now there are more important matters at hoof. By the way, I've already sent a letter to your sister, explaining what happened. So, worry not about your duties." "How have you managed to send a letter to my sister in such a late hour?” Ignoring the hoof waving through the air, the princess tried to sit up. “And is it not dangerous to have a fireplace in a room made wholly of wood? Would it not be better if you escorted me to a hospital?" The mare gasped, her horn nearly penetrating Luna's chest. "So much for not moving..." She sighed and rubbed her temple. "At least it's certain that your mind stayed intact after what you have endured tonight." She chuckled. Dropping the cotton, she turned around and trotted across to the hearth. "About the letter... I've quite an influence on a few postal birds who can then transfer some easy tasks onto other birds. So, I just gave a sealed letter to my owl messenger who later passed it to another bird along with information about the addressee. I guess by this time your sister's phoenix—it was her phoenix that caused the little mishap sometime ago in a nearby village, right?—should be pulling her out of bed with a letter in its talons," she said, shuffling around the fireplace with a poker in hoof. Luna nodded slowly, and the mare continued, "Your injury is something I and my companion can easily handle. In fact, escorting you now at night through the Everfree would be only asking for trouble.” She hissed as a few burning embers slid the wrong way. “My companion's an expert when it comes to fixing wing shoulders. I think I can hear him coming already.” Her ears perked up. “He was just making sure there weren’t any more unwanted guests in the forest. That's another reason why it would not be wise to send you to a hospital. I think you know yourself that you can't trust anypony now." She kicked a log in the fireplace, a tinge of bitterness in her voice. There was a rustle of leather and a gust of wind. The window burst open, clicking shut again almost immediately. "Everything safe and secured. Timberwolves surely took care of at least one of them,” said a slightly cheeky male voice from the windowsill. “I set up the protection spell around the whole tree, just to be sure." Princess Luna stared at a small dragon folding his wings on the ledge. Light blue scales shimmered in the light of the fireplace and so did the tufts of darker blue hair on his head, chest and tail. "Another baby dragon? And which spell?" The drake lifted his head and glided next to her across the room. Luna’s eyes widened at how large his wings actually were. "Her Highness Princess Luna, Regent of the Moon, if I'm not mistaken." The dragon gave her a light kiss on her hoof. He held up his claw. "It’s adult small northern dragon, to be precise. We don't grow bigger than pony foals, though we are far leaner." He smirked, then cocked his head. "I'm not sure what you mean by ‘another’." "Probably the baby earth dragon. What was his name... Spire? Pike?" added the mare, circling her hoof through the air. Luna nodded slowly. "About the protection spell, that's dragon magic," continued the drake flatly. He shifted next to Luna’s wing, scales shimmering with each agile movement. Gently, he took the bruised appendage into his claws and tugged on it, pulling the feathers apart. He ran his tail back and forth over the limb and occasionally tapped on bones and joints. "The same explanation goes for your question about fire safety in a room made out of wood; dragon magic," the mare called from a corner of the room, rummaging through a cabinet. Luna shifted her head between them, not sure which one of them would start the next sentence. "Hmm… dislocated, nothing broken… effusion?" The dragon prodded the joint with a claw. Luna kicked back with a cry. "Anything else you wanted to say?" The dragon eyed her, unamused. The princess shook her head, trying to regain what little composure she had left. In hope to direct the surge of pain somewhere, she bit down on the furry blanket below feverishly. Only now did she notice the black and yellow markings on it. She spat it out, backing to a more upright position. "Was… was this once a real living animal?" "Yes, it was a gift from our Zebrican friend. If you have issues with it, you can just throw it off and lie on the hard table below, Your Highness." The mare returned with a few bottles and bandages on a tray. "I second that," the dragon called, hanging down from her wing. Luna sighed, putting her head back down. Her bemused frown made it clear she hadn't said her last word on this topic yet. She watched the dragon twist and fiddle with her shoulder, a hiss occasionally escaping her lips. With a loud pop, the bone clicked back into place. She tried to extend her wing fully, but quickly returned it to the original half-folded position with a howl of pain. "Don't tell me you were expecting it wouldn't be sore, Your Highness. It'll be better if you let it rest under a bandage." The dragon patted her wing, smearing some sort of acrid salve over it. Her wing twitched slightly, and her eyes watered at the stinging feeling. "We are going to move on to your open wounds now." The dragon motioned to the various scratches and slashes marring her blue coat. "It's possible you'll feel a bit chilly, I need to play a little with the molecules of air around your wounds. Dragon magic can't build barriers out of nowhere, like you unicorns do, after all." "You are stating it as if this magic of yours was common knowledge." The alicorn cocked an eyebrow, biting her lower lip. The small reptile only chuckled in response, flexing his claws above the largest wound. Luna's eyes widened in amazement as she saw thin, silk-like strands form between the edges of the flesh, slowly pulling them back together. "Dragon magic," she whispered absentmindedly, a faint smile nesting on her lips. "That's not all." The mare smiled and motioned with her head. Luna looked back at the wound and saw the strands getting denser and knitting together in certain areas, creating small, branched tubes. "Veins?" Luna gave her a quizzical look, earning a nod of approval. "They are not necessary here, it's just an unskippable part of the spell." The dragon turned his deep blue eyes to her and opened his mouth. With a sharp click his two long fangs moved to a more upright position. "This is much more useful."  He turned back, letting drops of yellowish liquid form at the tips of his fangs. "What is he doing?" Luna cocked her head, pointing a shaky hoof at his head. The mare just sighed, rolling her eyes. "He’s using his venomous teeth..." The alicorn winced and swiftly covered the wound with a hoof.  The unicorn continued with a reassuring smile, "…to channel the healing solution into the wounds." She extended her own hoof, trying to gently push Luna's out of the way. The princess gave her a puzzled look and slowly drew back the limb herself. "Sorry, Your Highness—uh, would you be okay if I just called you ‘Princess’?" After receiving a hesitant nod, she remarked, "I often forget that small dragons are unknown to most ponies. Anyway, know that all of them are venomous. However, a part of the liquid kept in their venom glands can also accelerate the healing process, which comes in handy when the dragons, who are of course immune to their own toxins, get hurt. When a dragon hatches, they have only this part of the venom, the other is gathered by licking their parents' teeth or sequestering it from certain plant species in their diet. Once the venom gets in the gland, it initiates its own production. "Sev never had the opportunity to get the venom in by any of these ways. The ability can be obtained only within two weeks after hatching, so he is left with just the healing liquid in his teeth." "That's a sad truth. But since no one can guess that it isn't venom, it's still useful as a scare off." Sev grinned and turned to the mare. "What about your neck? Don't try hiding it. After all, I can smell that it is still bleeding." He licked his nostrils and tapped a claw on the table impatiently. The mare straightened up, untying the piece of white fabric around her neck, all the while muttering quietly. Luna watched the thing that looked like a thick scarf unfurl. Her eyes widened at the sight of a fresh deep slash over the neck and chest of the mare. "You dared to tend to my superficial scratches with this on your neck? I take it that living in Everfree Forest with a half-venomous dragon can harden anypony, but moving around with blood literally streaming down your chest?"  "Please, don't exaggerate so much, Princess. I made sure it's stable before I started doing anything else. I wouldn't really be of help if I passed out here on the floor, now would I?" The mare chuckled, pricking up her ears. She tried to stand up, but Sev sat her back down with a simple growl. His magic was already working miracles on the mare’s chest. She sighed and looked over to the window when its pane shook with a dull thump. "Could you please try standing up and opening the window?” She motioned with her horn, earning a huff from the dragon at her side. “It looks like my messenger has some trouble getting inside. Also, I think that letter is for you." With a hesitant nod, Luna slowly slipped from the improvised bed and gingerly took a few steps. One of her hooves was sore, the bandage pushed against her wing a little, and her right side tingled from lying still for so long, but she was able to move. Trudging to the window, she tried pulling the handle with her magic. Just a few short-lived sparks escaped her horn. She eyed her reflection in the glass. Her mane hung limply, missing any sign of the excess magic that usually overflowed it and caused it to move and sparkle. She blinked a few times and shook her head. She lifted her hoof and nearly fell to the floor from the sudden change of stability. Regaining her composure, she opened the window, immediately getting something soft right in her face. The soft thing appeared to be a barn owl that didn't lose any time after finding itself again, simply leaving a scroll slid onto her horn and disappearing into the next room. The princess shook her head and caught the falling letter in her mouth, took it to the table and then read it aloud. Dear Miss Greenlock, I sincerely thank you for saving my sister's life and letting me know about what happened. I will immediately launch a secret investigation on the whereabouts and motives of the three stallions. If they really were members of the Royal Guard, we cannot trust anypony now. That is also the reason why I would be immensely thankful to you if you let my sister stay at your place for a few days till this contemptible act receives its well-deserved punishment. I gathered from your letter that you know your way around taking care of injuries, and I believe that my sister's condition is stable now. If there is any form of medication you would need, do not hesitate to request it. I and Philomena will do our best to deliver it in the fastest way possible. Furthermore, my sister does not have to worry, I can take care of all her duties during her absence. I will inform you if we find any new piece of evidence, and I beg you to do the same. My warmest thanks to you once again, Princess Celestia P.S. Just for Luna: Does this mean I can sleep in your bed again? You know how much softer it is… P.P.S. I apologise, that was a very inane joke. Still, I hope it lifted your spirits a little. Hold on, dear sister. Luna chuckled and shook her head, then turned to the pony. "So, Miss Greenlock, am I allowed to stay here?" "This will definitely turn into a nasty scar," the mare mumbled, inspecting the now treated wound on her neck. With a flick of her head, she snapped out of her reverie. "Oh… I forgot to introduce myself." She awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck. "Please, call me Hedvika, my second name isn't something I'd like to hear every time somepony addresses me. And this is Sev." Hedvika motioned to the dragon. "To your question, well, do we have any other option? I can’t really throw you out into the Everfree. There are many… uncommon animals around and all, but you'll get used to them really quickly, believe me." She smiled. Luna gave her a quizzical look, but didn't question anything. After all, she had just endured a week with a bunch of ill-mannered griffon delegates, this couldn't be much worse. She shook her head, removing a lock of limp mane from her face. "Could you two now just sit down and explain what happened tonight, how does it come that you live in Everfree, and why don’t you use your horn?" Her eyes bored holes through Hedvika. The mare shrunk back slightly. "If you don't want to sleep, we can try to explain. I'll just fetch us something to drink and eat." Sev stood up and disappeared through the door. He stuck his head back inside the room, looking at the mare with a smug grin. "And Hedvi, you should take a bath." A few minutes later, Luna sat by the fireplace wrapped up in a blanket—this time of clearly non-animal origin—with a mug of tea next to her, ready to listen to the story she unwillingly became a part of. Quiet clings and clangs resonated through the room. A silver teaspoon slowly circled in a cup, driven by a small spark of magic. A white mare stood behind a window overlooking the capital city below. She watched the very last red hues of the day fade into the western horizon. She didn’t turn an inch when the door creaked behind her, eyes fixed to the western sky, and her horn still peacefully channeling magic. "Your Highness?" a solar guard spoke up, then immediately bent over in a fit of coughing and gurgling. His armor was scratched and crumpled like it was made of paper. Its owner looked tired, beaten and extremely dirty. The unmistakable odour of sweat and moist fur wafted from him. "What happened to your fellows?" the mare said, still intently staring out the window. "Th-there was a young mare, sh-she must control some sort of d-dark magic. The timberwolves and other creatures seemed to a-attack at her command. I at least managed to land one hit at her and then retreat, but my companions—I don't think they survived." "I must admit, that is making me curious. We better keep an eye on her…" The mare turned to the guard slowly, a hint of a smirk on her face. Her magic danced around the stallion's chin, slowly raising it. "Does this mean you don't know what happened to… your target?" The stallion sputtered over the lump in his throat, "I… don't, Your Highness. But the timberwolves probably took care of her too. She was nearly unconscious. And if they didn't, she would be out of the way for a few days for sure—" With a rattle of armor, he collapsed to the ground. “You wish so.” Her Highness turned her attention back to the scroll that arrived not so long ago, stepping over the fallen soldier.