//------------------------------//
// Chapter 8: Recovery 
// Story: The last egg 
// by PaladinponyT 
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Sunblade slowly woke up in what appeared to be the room of a large cabin. He looked all around; the cabin was furnished with old furs and carved wooden figures. There were old pieces of armor on the walls, and a lot of them were helmets. Sitting in an old oaken chair was a pony. He was a young stallion, his coat was a red rust color, and his mane was a light blond. He was stirring a pot of orange soup. The smell made Sunblade's stomach growl; he sat up and the young pony stopped and looked at him. 

"Oh, you're awake," The young stallion said nervously. "Would you like some?"

He pointed to the soup. Sunblade tried to moved a little, but his body was pierced with pain. He groaned and bent over, he felt dizzy. He looked at the burns on his legs, chest, and sides. Sunblade could feel the ones on his neck and back, and his horn felt sore from overuse. He was a quick healer, but this would still take days.

"Yes, thank you sir," he finally said to the mysterious pony. "What happened?"

The rust colored pony poured two bowls of soup. He walked over to Sunblade and placed the warm wooden bowl in front of him. Sunblade leaned down and blew on the hot soup as the young pony began to speak.

"Well, I was at my post keeping an eye out for trouble. Suddenly, I heard this terrifying roar and half the mountain lit up like a huge candle. I stood there just watching. Not long after the fire went out, I went inside, grabbed my lamp, and went to see what happened." 

Sunblade drank some of the soup, it tasted like roots and fish. 

"I got down there," the red pony continued, "And right in the middle, was you and a dragon."

Sunblade finished the soup and raised a hoof for the stallion to stop, "What happened to the dragon?"

"Oh, well when I checked it, the dragon was dead."

Sunblade took a long moment to let that sink in, he cared nothing for Blackfire. However, he felt sorry for him. The naive dragon had died without love or friendship.

Sunblade looked at the red pony, "Thank you for helping me sir, what is your name?"

"Rusty Bucket," he said proudly and saluted. "I'm the guardian of this here mountain."

Sunblade chuckled a little, despite his pain, "And why are you protecting this mountain?"

Rusty Bucket had a look of deep thought for a moment, but in the end he only shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, it's just been my family's job to keep anypony from going up. Beside, only thing up the mountain is dangerous wind, ice, and beasts."

Sunblade considered that, to his knowledge there was nothing of any value on Mount Everhoof. He would need to review some of the old lore after he got back to Canterlot. He got up; the burns hurt badly, and he stopped after just a few hoof steps. Rusty Bucket brought some aloe vera that he kept for emergencies. He poured it on some clean rags and gently placed them on Sunblade. The ranger hissed in pain as the medicine stung.

Rusty Bucket brought more soup, "I really don't think you should move mister. You are really hurt, and it's not just those burns."

Rusty Bucket showed Sunblade some of the bruises that marked where Blackfire had punched and kicked him. The ranger knew he was in no condition to leave. However, he needed to go. The egg was waiting for him and he needed to report back to the princess. He gave Rusty Bucket some clear instructions; the young pony left the cabin. Sunblade drank more of the soup that was given to him. Rusty Bucket returned with the Alicorn blade wrapped in Sunblade's burned gray cloak.

"Thank you," said the injured stallion. "I promise to return and repay you someday Rusty, but I need to go. Farewell."

Rusty Bucket waved a hoof goodbye as Sunblade used what power he had regained. In a flash of silver light Sunblade disappeared back to the dragon lands. He found his saddlebags right where he left them. Sunblade checked them making sure that they had not been touched. To his relief the egg was still there.

Sunblade's story came to its end, after all Celestia knew the rest. They both sat there in silence for a long while. Celestia once again touched the egg lovingly.

"So, what now?" asked Sunblade,"What should we do with this egg?"

"Do you wish to keep it?" asked the princess.

Sunblade shook his head, "This egg will need somepony to look after it, and to love it when it finally hatches."

"And you can't do that?"

Sunblade looked at the princess sadly, "No, my life is full of turmoil and danger. This unborn dragon needs a home and family."

Celestia nodded her head, "I will think on this very carefully and consider what to do."

The princess was drawing many possibilities in her mind. Having a dragon live in Equestria could have unseen benefits, but only if the dragon was raised well. Such responsibility, Celestia started to think that no pony would be up to the task. She did not close her eyes to the risks of birthing a dragon outside of its homeland, but they had very few alternatives. 

"Well, whatever we do," said Sunblade gravely. "It's sad to think that this unborn dragon will grow up never knowing its parents."

Celestia smiled with regret, "Maybe in some way that might be a good thing. If it never knows, then it never has to define itself by them."

"So we hide the truth from it?" asked Sunblade.

"Not forever, but maybe when it's ready."

Celestia, still smiling, leaned down and kissed Sunblade's forehead, and her horn glowed a beautiful gold. Sunblade's body felt warm as his bones, cuts, and bruises were mended. He and the princess knew that the burns would take more time, even with magic. Once she finished, Celestia took the egg and left the medical wing. For the next two weeks, Sunblade remained in the castle to heal and rest. He often wondered about the egg and what Celestia had done with it. Finally, the doctors came to remove the last of Sunblade's bandages. The ranger was happy to see his skin and coat back to normal. Suddenly, the whole castle shook. Out of the nearest window, Sunblade and the doctors saw an explosion of colors. Sunblade then felt a powerful surge of magic. Suspecting trouble, Sunblade jumped from his bed and ran.

He followed the magical surge all the way to the examination tower; however, as he arrived the powerful surge stopped. Worried, Sunblade ran up the tower. In the exam room he found a strange sight. A group of startled teachers were in a corner whispering to each other. The princess was talking to two unicorns in another corner; the mare and stallion looked very excited as Celestia spoke. But the one thing that caught his eyes most was a small purple unicorn holding a newborn baby dragon. Sunblade slowly walked over to the filly and dragon.

He smiled at the young unicorn, "Hello, what's your name?"

The filly looked at him with uncertainty, but she answered, "Twilight Sparkle, the princess just made me her personal student."

Sunblade now looked at her with astonishment; this child had to be very special indeed. His eyes then fell on the newborn dragon, "And what's his name?"

Twilight had a thoughtful look on her face, then she said, "I think, I am going to call him Spike."