Thursday came and went as Oblivion helped as much as he was allowed around the farm. Magic allowed him to help without overextending himself as the Apple Family pointed out. He was more than ready to have the bandages around his barrel removed. It was barely morning as the sun was beginning to rise and he could see a familiar light coming toward him as he made his way toward the hospital to have the bandages changed. Twilight drew up to him as he slowed to allow her to walk beside him.
“Oblivion. I’m glad I caught up with you. I finally figured it out.” She declared happily to him as she walked beside him.
“Figured out what exactly?” He asked her in return.
“I found out who paid for your treatment.”
“Oh?”
“It was Ponyville.”
The stallion halted in place and his head gave a slight tilt as she waited for him to speak in reply. “Come again?”
“Well technically the Mayor paid, but a lot of ponies chipped in.” She explained. “The Mayor found out that you went hoof to hoof with the Ursa Major and that you were hurt while protecting the town. She knew that you had protected Derpy before and had declined any form of compensation. She went to the local businesses and asked them to send any bills to her office. As a thank you.”
Oblivion stared at the mare for several seconds before he responded. “I did not do it for glory.”
“We know that. You’re not that kind of pony. But still, everypony wanted to help out in some way or another. They know that you have only been here for a short while like me but they wanted to say thank you in some way. This was easier than coming after you to thank you personally.” She explained.
“Gods below.”
“It’s not charity by the way before you get upset. The Mayor just wanted to do something for you that was less… invasive than a celebration. She asked Pinkie about a party for you and Pinkie mentioned that you did not like that kind of thing. So this was the option she went with.”
“It’s certainly better than a party or anything of that sort. But still, this is probably the more expensive option.”
“No, but I think the Mayor decided this was the best option in regards to what you did. I asked her and she said that a party would have been cheaper but didn’t seem to be enough to thank you for the courage that you showed. So this was what she decided on. Plus, you’re not the type of pony to enjoy a party.”
“How did she know when I got myself checked? She went to every business you said?”
“Yeah, every business that dealt with injuries. She assumed that even a Witcher could have been hurt in some way in a fight with a monster like that. They agreed to send her the bills if you came to them.” Twilight explained.
Oblivion growled under his breath and started walking forward. Sasa rubbed her head on his shoulder as she walked to his side. “I can’t stop this can I?”
Twilight shrugged as she kept pace with him. “You probably can, but it will require a pretty big fuss.”
He groaned and shook his head. “Next time I’m not going into town. I’ll tend to it myself as I have always done.”
“You mentioned that you had potions that could help but we agreed that you wouldn’t use them this time since you can’t replenish them right?” He nodded. “Besides this was pretty bad and you needed to have it looked at. It wasn’t bad enough to use your potions but still.”
He grumbled in reply as they walked for the hospital. He tried not to think about what treatment in Equestria cost as he neared the entrance. They walked in the front doors and Twilight stayed with him as Sasa purred. They stood in line behind a pony with a sling on his front leg. Oblivion contemplated how breaking a leg here was not the death sentence it was for horses where he was from. The pony in front of him was moved to wait off to the side and he reached the front and was told to wait for an open room. He caught snippets of conversations as they moved around him as he stood off to the side. Sasa sat close by Twilight as the mare ran her hoof over the feline’s soft fur. The mist that came off her body was steady as it flowed over her.
He looked up as Nurse Redheart came into view and her eyes locked with his. She smiled and motioned for him to go with her. He left the mare and cat behind as he fell in behind the mare as she led him down the hallway. She guided him into a room and he came to stand in the middle of it as she moved a small rolling table toward him.
“Just stay here for a moment or two until the doctor comes in to check on how your wounds are doing.” She said to him.
He nodded and she left the room, leaving him on his own. He glanced down at the small rolling table and he recognized scissors and a few other implements on the table. A few minutes passed until the door opened as Secret Heart came into the room. He closed the door behind the mare as she followed him into the room. He leaned his left hip against the exam table and waited as they moved a few things around in the room to allow them to look him over easier.
“How are you doing?” He asked the black Pegasus.
“Tolerable. The day after was the most difficult but otherwise, it has been steadily improving. Pain is tolerable.” He replied.
The doctor shook his head and a smile crossed his mouth. “You are one of the only ponies I have ever met who view pain as something to be tolerated versus fixed. “ He chuckled as he spoke. “Well let’s get these bandages off and see how it looks.”
His magic flowed as he picked up the scissors and cut the wraps off his body. Redheart pulled them off and tossed them into a nearby trash can that she had moved to be closer to them. Oblivion watched as the doctor focused on the tears in his skin and his tongue clocked as he scanned them. He looked away from the pony and to the wounds to his side, he could see that some of the stitches had pulled and were loose.
“Damn.” He cursed under his breath as he nearly groaned.
He looked at the stallion beside him in time to see him nod in agreement. “Yup. Stitches got pulled and some of them snapped. Nothing horrific but it means that we need to redo some of them. Which means they will need to be wrapped again. Thankfully we only need to wrap the worst area so it will be about half the size it was originally. The other sections have been healing well and won’t need to be tended. I’ll be pulled the stitches from those areas to allow it to heal naturally. I have to admit it seems like you have some ability to regenerate faster than most ponies.” Oblivion nodded to show him that his assumption was true. “Well, we can get these cleaned up, redone, and then get you on your way.”
Oblivion bit back a loud grumble as he nodded in agreement. “Dammit.”
“Are you all right?” Sasa asked him, worry in her voice.
“Have to have some of the stitches redone. Some of them tore and pulled. I was hoping to have this done and they will then need to be re-wrapped.”
“Ask them about how much they itch.” Sasa said to him.
“I have a question.” Oblivion voiced and Secret looked up at him, waiting. “Is there any way to take a bath with these? They are chafing my skin and they itch.”
Secret looked at his side as his magic pulled a light over to them and he switched it to flood the area with more light. “Okay, I see what you mean about chafing. So we will be removing the wrap from that area so the chafing will not get any worse. We will add a salve to soothe chafed skin and we will try to pad around the new wraps to avoid it chafing in the new space. You dealt with that until now?” Oblivion nodded and Secret chuckled. “That must have been driving you up the wall. Next time feel free to come in and we will look into it. Though I’m sure we both can agree that we would be okay with this not happening again.”
“Agreed,” Oblivion replied as a chuckle went through him.
Redheart left the room as Secret was pulling some of the unneeded stitches and she returned a few minutes later with a small container in her hoof. Secret finished with the old stitches and slowly added in the new ones as Oblivion stood still.
“Gods this is tedious.” Oblivion allowed himself to complain as he stood still.
Sasa chuckled brightly in response. “It’s all needed, Chosen. Those wounds would have been devastating on any other pony. A pony of Twilights height for example could have been killed.”
He paused at the example she gave him. “Good point. Suddenly being that much taller is not a bad thing.”
“Agreed.”
Oblivion went silent and he watched the ponies tending to him. Secret finished with the stitches and rubbed a salve on his chafed skin to help soothe it and allow it to heal. The ponies began to wrap it again and Oblivion bit back a groan at the sight of the bandages. Salves were applied to keep his skin from getting chafed as much as possible. A thick set of gauze was put under the sides of the bandages to try to avoid chafing. They finished with the wrapping and he was led out of the room after being told to try to take it easy by Secret. She led him out of the room and back to the waiting room to rejoin Twilight and Sasa. Twilight looked concerned at the new bandages and he explained that it was less than before but still needed.
“Well looks like you are stuck with it again.” She quipped merrily.
He snorted and tried not to snarl in reply. “So it would seem. Damn.” Twilight giggled and nudged his shoulder as they walked out of the hospital. Oblivion stopped and put his nose in the air. “Do you smell that?”
“Smell what? I don’t… What is that?” She asked as the scent hit her nose.
“That would be smoke.” He supplied as Sasa growled as she got a whiff of the scent as well. “Look up.” He instructed.
Twilight followed his gaze and found herself staring at a cloud of pure black smoke. “Oh no.” She looked at the Black Pegasus. “I’ll teleport us to the Library.”
“All right. I’ll summon Sasa once we get there.”
Twilight nodded and put a hoof on his shoulder. He closed his eyes and felt the magic pull him. A moment later he opened his eyes to find himself in the Library’s front room. He reached out and summoned Sasa to his side. Spike came into the room holding a scroll aloft over his head. Twilight took it from him and he watched as she blanched as she read what was written. She looked up from the scroll to the Black Pegasus.
“We are in so much trouble.” She deadpanned to him.
“Oh? Do tell.”
“Have you ever dealt with dragons? Like full-size ones?”
Oblivion looked at her. “No. Witchers are of the opinion that we leave them alone. We can fight them but it is part of our code that we try to leave them alone. It helps that they are very rare. Why?”
Twilight looked nervous as his horn lit. “It’s a dragon that’s causing the smoke.” She quickly explained before he could take the letter from her. “Princess Celestia wants us to encourage him to leave so we can clear the smoke.”
Oblivion cocked his head. “She can’t do this herself?”
Twilight’s expression fell into a glare as she looked at him. “The Princess is busy making sure nopony panics. Now I am going to tell the others to meet us here. We need to get ready to go after that dragon.”
He watched as she left through the door. The black Pegasus looked at the baby dragon who shrugged in reply. “It was a valid question in my opinion. One would assume a Princess should be able to accomplish such a thing as moving a dragon.” Oblivion commented as Sasa chuckled and nodded.
Spike laughed in response. “Told the wrong pony that.”
Oblivion shrugged. “Well, this should prove interesting.” His magic flowed over his body with his aqua aura and his swords were summoned to hover in his magic. He set them on his back as he buckled the baldric into place. A dull ache went through his back as he moved his shoulders to get them into their normal place over his right shoulder.
“Are you sure about bringing them with you, Chosen? Your back is still healing.” Sasa asked as she came to stand closer to him.
“I am not going anywhere near a dragon without them.” He countered.
“Fair point.” The cat admitted.
The front door opened as all six mares came into the room. Twilight closed the door behind them and came to stand in front of them. The mares stopped in front of Twilight as Oblivion side passed toward one of the bookshelves.
“What in the name of all things cinnamon swirl is a full-grown dragon doing in Equestria?” Applejack asked the purple mare.
Oblivion said nothing in response to her phrasing as he focused on Twilight. “Sleeping,” Twilight replied, her tone short as the others looked confused.
“Apparently he’s napping and is breathing smoke,” Oblivion said to them to alleviate their confusion. “So we have been tasked with ‘asking’ him to sleep elsewhere.”
“That’s doesn’t sound healthy. Breathing smoke the whole time.” Pinkie said aloud.
Twilight turned to them as she levitated her saddlebags. “Okay girls…” A low snort sounded and she chuckled. “And colt. We have been given this task by the Princess. So we cannot fail or Equestria will be covered in smoke for a hundred years.”
The mares gasped at the information. Oblivion looked out one of the windows and the smoke was still a fair way of but it was easily seen from town.
“Okay everypony. We need to gather our supplies quickly since we have a bit of a trek ahead of us. Meet back here in an hour or less.” Twilight said as she turned to face them once more.
“Ahh yeah. This is gonna be epic!” Rainbow shouted.
Oblivion noticed that Fluttershy appeared less than thrilled about the situation and nervously looked around as they were ushered out to prepare.
“Hmm.” Oblivion looked to the butter-yellow Pegasus as she walked out with the others.
The mares filed out to gather their own supplies. Applejack paused beside the black stallion. “Ya’ll don’t worry none bout yer supplies. Ah’ll carry anything ya need. Ah, don’t have a lot of things ah’m gonna bring. Ya can’t wear yer saddle bags anyway.” She said to him.
“True enough.” He said as he nodded at her.
The orange mare leaned into him. “Careful bout wearing yer swords though. Yer back is not healed. How are ya feelin’?”
“A bit sore, but nothing that can’t be managed.”
The farm mare left him behind with a fretting twilight. Oblivion laid down to rest his back as he waited for the others to return. Minutes passed before Twilight turned to him and fidgeted where she stood.
“Umm… Oblivion?”
The stallion raised his head to look at her as he waited for her to go on.
“I was thinking that it might be best if you stayed behind. Your wounds aren’t healed and… You’re going one way or the other aren’t you?” She replied at the look from the black Pegasus.
“Yes. I could simply teleport to you after you have left. To avoid that I am going with you. If I need to teleport back then I can but I do not anticipate that happening. If the dragons in this kingdom are anything like mine then they can be easily reasoned with.”
Twilight gave a sigh and looked at him. “Do you think this will be pretty easy?”
“Easy, sort of. Life-threatening, no.”
The purple mare smiled and went back to her preparations. “Are you really so sure Chosen?” Sasa voiced to him.
“I am not sure. I don’t feel anything out of place around us. But, I don’t think I have enough control of the World Spirit to be able to judge.”
“You have great power with it, but overextending yourself will not do you or them any good. You wield a fair portion of it, but your right, not enough to search outside of ponies that you are acquainted with.” The tiger replied. “Least not outside of your own species.”
The stallion said nothing further as he watched Twilight pack, with Spike's help.
He lifted his head after half an hour or so and turned to alert the other Unicorn. “Rarity and Applejack have returned.”
Twilight startled and turned to look at him. “How do you know it’s them?”
“He has Spirit Sight, remember?” Spike said to her.
Twilight put a hoof over her face as she nodded. “I forgot. Okay, time to go outside then.”
The mare started for the door as Oblivion pushed himself to his hooves. He walked out the front door behind her and joined the other two mares. They looked over the map Twilight had pulled out of her saddlebags and went over the route they would be using. Pinkie arrived several minutes later covered in party supplies. Oblivion looked up to see Rainbow flying over to them and landing beside the others. He looked around them to find Fluttershy’s pale yellow spirit approaching them. She joined them and he flicked his ears back as she whimpered in place.
“All right everypony. I’ve gone over the map and I have charted the fastest route to get us to the dragon's cave. We will need to keep a good pace if we want to reach it before nightfall.” She looked over her shoulder at the tall stallion that stood with them. “Oblivion. If we start to lose our way can you guide us as you did before?”
The stallion took the map from her grip and scanned it one more time. “Should be fine.” He responded as he gave the map back to her and the mare started going over it one more time.
“Umm. Twilight? I know you’re busy.” Fluttershy spoke to Twilight, who mumbled to herself as she poked at the map in her magic. “But if I could have a second...”
“Yup. Well, we could go this way.” Twilight muttered.
“So I was thinking that I could just stay here in Ponyville.” She whispered.
“Uh-huh.”
“Oh, good. I’ll just stay here and...”
“No! You have to come. Your way with animals will certainly come in handy.” Twilight cried out as the Pegasus tried to back up.
“I really don’t think I...”
“Oh, and don’t worry about your little friends in the meadow. I asked Spike to watch over them.” Twilight said to her and pointed her hoof to the baby dragon off to the side.
“Yeah, I got it covered Fluttershy.” The dragon said to her. The animals spooked and jumped off him, using him as a platform. “Hey, wait up!” Spike chased after them.
“I really don’t think he’s up to the task, so...Eep.” She whimpered again as Twilight moved away from her to face the others.
“All right, everypony! Move out.” Twilight shouted to them as she led them.
Oblivion said nothing as they passed by him and Sasa. Fluttershy followed, meekly behind the others and she glanced back as he fell in behind her.
They reached the base of the mountain and he looked up to see the top of it was obscured by smoke. He waited for the mares to make a choice about how to proceed. Sasa leaned against his hip as she purred.
“Will you be all right to climb this Chosen?” Sasa asked as she leaned gently against him.
“Will have to be. I won’t let them go alone to face a damn dragon. I’m the only one with any battle experience. I don’t doubt they can defend themselves but they do not have the experience that I can offer.”
“That is true. But my question still stands.”
Oblivion considered how to answer her for a moment. “Will find out. There is no pain it should be fine. So long as the dragon doesn’t attack I see no reason why I would need to act.”
A loud roar went over them and shook the ground they stood on. The ponies each cringed at the sound as it reverberated over them and their surroundings.
“What was that?” Rainbow voiced for them, saying what each of them was thinking.
Twilight looked at each of them and a look of uncertainty crossed over her face for a moment. “That, was a dragon snoring.”
Fluttershy looked up at them from her place in front of the black Pegasus. “It’s… So high.” She said as she cringed down into the ground.
Rainbow looked back at the other Pegasus with a scowl, though the look faded from her face after a few seconds. “Well, it is a mountain.” The pale blue pony looked up at the mountain as it towered above them. “I’ll go and check it out.”
“Hold it.” Applejack said and caused the pale blue mare to pause. “Ah think we had better stay together. Ya know, safety in numbers.”
“Fine.” Rainbow conceded as she hovered above the group.
They started up the incline as Rarity smiled at them. "I have heard that the only thing that sparkles more than a dragon's scales is the gems that it uses to make its nest.” She said as her body shook at the implications. “Perhaps if I play my cards right I can convince him to part with a bit of it.”
Pinkie trotted up to stand by the white mare. “Welcome to my cave Rarity. Care for a diamond?” She said, her voice gravely as though she was speaking after gargling rocks.
The mares laughed good-naturedly, as Twilight looked over her shoulder. “Girls. This is no laughing matter. Fluttershy, you’re the expert on creatures. What do you think the dragon will be like? How do you think it will act?”
There was no reply to her questions and she paused. She looked further down the incline to the bottom to see Fluttershy and Oblivion still at the bottom of the mountain. Her eyes went wide for a moment before she looked at the others.
“What are you waiting for? Oblivion just gives her a push.” The stallion shook his head in reply to rainbows shouting. “Ugh. Are you waiting for a written invitation?”
Pinkie went to rotting around in her saddlebags. “I think I have one of those!” She shouted as confetti erupted from her saddlebag, covering both Rainbow and herself.
Fluttershy hunkered down closer to the ground and trembled. “It’s… So… High.”
“It is a mountain. You could just FLY up here.” Rainbow shouted, her tone exasperated.
“Come on Fluttershy get those wings movin’.” Pinkie chimed to her, trying to encourage the mare.
“Okay,” Fluttershy replied as her wings lifted from her sides, slowly lifting her into the air.
A loud snore erupted from above them and Fluttershy yelped, her wings snapped back to her sides as she fell from the air and into a bush. Rainbow stared at the bush for several seconds before her hoof collided with her forehead.
“This is gonna take all day.” She complained.
“Can ya get ‘er movin’ Oblivion?” Applejack called out to him.
“Not needed.” He replied as he reached into the bush and as gently as possible pulled the stunned mare out of the bush and onto his back.
Her weight pushed his swords down into his back but it was not as painful so much as it was a bit uncomfortable. Her legs hung off to either side of him as his wings absorbed her weight and he used them to lift her just enough to get her weight off his swords. He climbed up the side of the mountain to join the mares above him. His hooves gripped the stone easily enough and he moved easily past them, headed for a flat section of the mountain above them.
“Ya okay ta carry ‘er?” Applejack asked as he went by them. “Maybe have Sasa do it.”
“It’s fine. She's not heavy.” He replied.
Oblivion walked past them and up higher on the mountain. Behind him, Sasa watched as the mares all watched him go by them. She watched as Twilight, Rainbow, and Rarity all watched the stallion’s flanks as he passed them and moved ahead. She stopped and watched them stare at his flanks and waited for them to realize they had been spotted by her. Twilight was the first to realize that Sasa was grinning wide at them as her face flushed. Rarity simply looked away in a dignified fashion or as dignified as possible. Sasa fought back a loud laugh as she moved to pass them as well.
“You are being admired Chosen.” She chuckled.
“Pardon?”
“Three mares are staring holes in your rump.” She teased.
Oblivion nearly stumbled as he heard what she said and he simply glanced over his shoulder to look at the cat behind him. “You must be kidding.”
“I’m not kidding. I have told you before that you are a handsome pony.”
“Sasa?” He said to her as he looked ahead. “Stop talking.”
The cat laughed brightly in his mind as he shook his head. He kept his pace and reached the outcrop of stone ahead of them. He reached the lip ahead and jumped to land on it. Fluttershy stirred on his back and looked down as his hooves landed under them. She gave a low yelp in surprise and looked over at him. He lowered his body to allow her to slide off his back and put her hooves on the stones. She looked sheepish as he regarded her.
“Thank you Oblivion. I’m so sorry to cause you any trouble.” She apologized.
“It’s fine Fluttershy. You’re not a heavy pony so it was no issue to carry you up here.”
The other mares reached then looked at the path he had placed them on. “Well, we are on the right path. So this should be easy to follow from here.” Twilight said to them as she angled herself to lead them down the path.
Break!
Time went by them and they reached a small jump in the path. Each of them jumped across ahead of him and he waited for them to move. Sasa stood behind him and watched them ensure that they made the jump safely. The others moved swiftly over it leaving Oblivion, Fluttershy, and Sasa remaining on the other side. When it was clear that Fluttershy was frozen in place Pinkie jumped over it again to land beside her.
“Come on Fluttershy. It’s just a little jump.” Twilight called out to her in encouragement.
“But it’s so wide,” Fluttershy replied to her.
Oblivion rolled his eyes and stepped forward. Pinkie nudged the other mare gently.
“You could just leap over.” Applejack said, her voice quiet.
“I...” The dragon snorted and she quivered. “I don’t know.”
Even Oblivion couldn't stop himself from putting his face in his hoof. “Gods below.” He muttered to himself.
Pinkie looked to the mare. “It’s not very far, just move your little rump, you can make it with a hop, skip, and a jump. See?” She sang to them.
Oblivion pinned his ears. “She starts singing, I am going to teleport to the other side and keep going until I can’t hear her.” He said to Sasa as the ethereal cat laughed.
“We don’t have time for this,” Twilight said to the others, who all nodded in agreement.
“A hop, skip and a jump, a hop, skip and a jump.” Pinkie sang out as Oblivion moved up to her and planted his hoof in her mouth. Aqua mist covered the pair of them and lifted them over the foot-wide jump and set them down. “I’m not listening to that right now.”
The mares all began to laugh at his tone and he nudged the pair of mares ahead of him. The group moved ahead of him and was back in motion down the path.
Twilight pulled the map out of her saddlebags and looked it over as it hovered in her aura. She looked over her shoulder as her magic stashed the map back into her saddlebags.
“Okay, we need to be quiet in this area. According to my map, this is an area that has frequent landslides and avalanches. So everypony keep it down.” She said to them.
Oblivion looked at Pinkie with a hard glance and she hunkered down a bit under his gaze. The other mares chuckled quietly at his look and the pink mare hustled to be closer to the others.
“An ava… ava…” Fluttershy started to speak only to be silenced by Oblivion when he put his hoof over her mouth to silence her.
The black stallion looked at the mare. “Silence Fluttershy. It will be fine, just keep walking.” He said to her and nudged her to keep her moving.
Oblivion walked slightly behind them with Sasa at his side. He looked up the slope and he could tell that the rocks were precarious but they were stable at that moment. “Would not take much to send those rolling.” He commented to the feline.
The cat looked up and gave a visible cringe. “I agree. Thankfully all of these ponies are quiet.” She said and he looked down at her for amount. “Well four out of five of them normally. But she will keep quiet since she can see that we need to be quiet right now. I would rather not run from a landslide at this moment.”
They walked along the center of the path and under several spindly trees. He looked up at the trees and ducked under them. Leaves fell off of them as Rainbow went under them. He didn’t see the one errant leaf that landed on the butter-yellow mares back. The mare stopped and her head came up to her full height.
“AVALANCHE!” She screamed out.
Applejack stuffed her hoof into the Pegasus’s mouth to silence her. Oblivion glanced up the slope to look at the rocks and he watched as they began to shake and quiver. His eyes went wide as he looked at the mares.
“Run.” He said to them.
The mares took off at a hard-charging gallop. Hooves drummed across the stone as the rockslide started above them. A series of colorful curses fell from his lips as his side burned at the hard gallop he looked up to see a boulder on a collision course with his body. He jammed his claws into the stone and gripped as much as possible to avoid being crushed. His claws strained under the sudden tension as he slid to a halt, allowing the boulder to pass by him harmlessly.
“Shit.” He growled as he started forward once more.
Sasa stayed close by his side as he once more broke into a hard gallop. He called on the armor from its place around his medallion and it lunged into its normal place on his body. He called on his magic and it lashed out to grip Rarity who was closest to him. The Witcher looked ahead of him to check on the other mares and he found that Rainbow was safely above the slide and Twilight was galloping out far ahead of him. Applejack was close by her as he saw Fluttershy was close by him and he lashed out his magic to grip the frightened mare. He pulled them close to him as a dome of aqua magic covered above and to the sides of them. Sasa huddled against his side as Fluttershy whimpered and huddled close to his hind legs. Rarity hid behind his shoulder, her eyes closed tight.
“Hold fast Chosen.” Sasa said to him as she stayed close.
Some boulders clashed against the domed sides of the shield he held above them and his magic flared as he nearly reached for Twilight as a boulder aimed for her. Applejack rammed into the Unicorn mare to save her from the boulder even as Oblivion nearly lifted her out of the way. He looked around him as he was not able to spot where Pinkie had ended up. Behind him, Pinkie was standing just inside the dome and was grinning happily behind them. He nearly rolled his eyes at the pinks mare’s antics but managed to hold back.
“Are all of you all right?” Oblivion asked as the slide went past them.
“Yes, darling, thank you. That was a brilliant idea.” Rarity said to him as he dropped the shield that had protected them and she stepped away from him.
“It was a pretty spur-of-the-moment idea. But it ended up working in our favor.”
“Did it hurt you to use?” She questioned as Pinkie joined them, bouncing happily in place.
“No, I’m fine. But thank you for your concern. Come, we should check on the others.” He said to them as he began to lead them forward.
The mares fell in behind him as he led them to join Applejack, Twilight, and Rainbow, who was now hovering close by them.
“Everypony all right?” Applejack asked as they joined them.
Pinkie bounced happily by them as a giggle broke through her. “Whee! Let’s do that again.”
“I think not,” Oblivion said to her.
Rainbow lowered herself to gain their attention to point out the now enormous pile of rocks that had settled onto the middle of the trail. Fluttershy hung her head as she looked at the group of them.
“I think we have a new problem.” Rainbow pointed out.
“I’m sorry,” Fluttershy said, her voice low.
“Aw, no big whoop, Sugarcube.” Applejack consoled her with a gentle tone of voice.
“Yeah, it’s okay. We just need to go over it.” Twilight said to her, trying not to sound as tired as she was.
Oblivion waited as the others walked ahead of him. His wings flicked gently against his sides and he realized that he very easily could have simply flown above the rock slide. Beside him, Sasa bumped his hip and a low purr flowed from her. He walked slowly up the incline with the mares and Sasa ahead of him. He reached the crest of the hill and he looked down as Twilight reached the bottom of the hill and trudged away from it to stand off to the side. Fluttershy suddenly gave a loud squeal as she slid down the hill, running into Rarity who was walking ahead of her. The two mares ended up at the bottom of the hill and Oblivion flapped his wings to allow him to jump down to stand close by to help them to their hooves. Rainbow came to the pair of them as he landed and reached out to Rarity.
“My apologies.” The pale mare said to the Pegasus.
“Not your fault,” Rainbow replied, her tone accusatory as Fluttershy whimpered.
The black Pegasus pulled Fluttershy to her hooves as they were now all assembled at the bottom of the pile of rocks. Twilight moved a few feet away from them as she led them up to a slight incline that would lead them to the summit of the mountain. Rainbow caught up with her first and hovered close by her. Oblivion trained his ears as the pale blue mare asked her if it was wise to bring the butter-yellow mare.
“We’re about to find out. There’s the cave.” Twilight said to the Pegasus as they paused at the entrance of the cave.
Twilight turned back to face the others ponies as they all clustered behind her, waiting for her to speak. “Okay, we made it up the mountain. Now Rarity and Pinkie Pie. You make a diversion to distract the dragon in case it gets hairy in there.” The two mares nodded. “Applejack be ready with the apples if he decides to attack.”
The orange mare nodded as she tossed an apple into the air and spun to kick it behind her to hit a tree a few yards behind her. The apple turned to mush as it struck the tree.
“But it shouldn’t need to worry about any of that since Fluttershy and I will be going into the cave to talk with the dragon.” She nearly spun on her heel when her eyes fell on the black Pegasus. “Oblivion?”
“Hmm?”
“You’re our last resort. If nothing else works then we might need your help. If it gets really bad then you retreat and we will follow you.” Twilight addressed him and he nodded in reply to her.
Oblivion flicked his wings and his swords shifted on his back and he rolled his shoulders to ensure they remained in place. The hilts were behind his right shoulder to allow him to easily reach them if the need came. Sasa growled in response and showed her teeth for a moment. The purple Unicorn turned after giving each of them their orders and moving into the cave mouth on her own. Oblivion looked over his shoulder as Fluttershy hid behind his tail.
“Twilight?” He called out. “You’re missing somepony!”
He heard the mare’s hooves come to a stop and then he assumed she looked back and saw that she was indeed alone in the cave. He heard her groan as her hooves began to come back toward them.
“Oh come on!”
The mare came out of the cave and looked around them. Oblivion looked over his shoulder to show where the mare was hiding. Twilight came around behind him to see the yellow mare with her head buried in the dirt. Twilight reached up and gently pushed Oblivion away from the hiding mare.
“Come on Fluttershy.” She said as she reached her head down and dug her teeth into the other mare’s wings, causing her head to come out of the dirt, as Twilight got behind her and began to push on her. “We have to do this… Now… Every second that dragons stay her is another acre covered in smoke.” She grunted through each word as she struggled to push the other mare. Twilight fell forward as the other mares got behind her and began to push them both. Oblivion nearly told her not to bother when Fluttershy spoke up.
“I… I… I can’t go into the cave.” Fluttershy finally spoke up.
“Ugh. So she’s scared of caves now?” Rainbow complained.
Oblivion kept one ear on the cave mouth and the other focused on the mares.
“I’m not scared of caves. I’m scared of…” She mumbled her reply but the last bit of it was lost.
“What?” Twilight asked from her place behind the Pegasus.
Oblivion started as he heard what she had said. “She’s scared of dragons.”
The mares all stared at him and then to the mare with them. A loud snore tore through the air as black smoke enveloped each of them. He raised his wings to encourage the smoke to clear and flapped his wings to clear the air. The smoke cleared with a few beats of his oversized wings and he found the mares all recovered from it. He saw Twilight looking for Fluttershy as he pointed behind him. The purple mare looked back and she could see her pink tail poking out from behind him.
“But Fluttershy you have a wonderful gift for dealing with all sorts of animals.” She argued with the butter-yellow mare.
“Yes. Because they’re not dragons.”
“Oh come on. You dealt with a huge manticore single hoofed like it was nothing.” Rainbow argued.
“Yes. Because he wasn’t a dragon either.”
“Spike is a dragon. You’re okay with him.” Pinkie pointed out.
“Yes because he’s not a huge, fire breathing, teeth-gnashing, sharp scale having, horn having, smoke snoring, could eat a pony in one bite, totally all grown-up dragon!” Fluttershy said to the group.
Another loud snore shook the ground under them and more smoke billowed out from the cave. Oblivion and Rainbow flapped their wings to clear the smoke.
“But if you’re so afraid of dragons why, didn’t you say anything before we left?” Twilight nearly shrieked.
“I was afraid to.” Fluttershy meekly replied.
Rainbow ran her hooves over her face as Oblivion shook his head absently. "All of us are scared of that dragon.” Applejack began as Rainbow scoffed and Oblivion glared at her. “Well most of us are scared of that dragon. But we still have a job to do. So get in there with Twilight and show that dragon what yer made of.” Applejack encouraged.
Fluttershy stared at her for a moment as tears filled her eyes. “I just can’t.” She said as she got to her hooves to leave them behind.
“Oh Fluttershy,” Twilight whispered at the mares retreating back.
Oblivion looked at the retreating mare and trotted to gain on her and then stop ahead of her. She stopped in front of him and didn’t lookup. He reached out and put a hoof under her chin to lift her head to look at him. When her eyes locked with his he dropped his hoof. “It’s all right to be afraid Fluttershy. You have the choice to let the fear overrun you or use it to your gain. You can either let it run your life or be its master. You may not think what I am about to say is true but I can see courage in you. You can choose to use that courage or let it stay hidden within yourself.” He looked unconvinced as he went on. “It’s your choice Fluttershy. They believe in you, now you need to believe in yourself. If you can do that then you will not falter.”
He said nothing further as he moved away from her to allow her to make her own choices. He rejoined them as Twilight went into the cave to try to reason with the dragon. He trained his ears forward and he could hear her talking to it. He heard the sound of a breath being pulled in and his magic erected the shield to allow the others not to be overwhelmed by the smoke. Twilight came out of the cave coughing and sputtering as she joined them. He dropped the shield as the smoke cleared.
“Thanks, Oblivion dear.” Rarity thanked him as the smoke cleared and she stepped away from him as she spoke. “Clearly this situation calls for some charm. Pardon my dears. I shall return.”
The white mare trotted into the cave and Oblivion listened closely. He cringed as he heard a snippet of what was said followed by a deep-throated roar that vibrated the mountain under their hooves. The mare raced out of the cave and came to a stop just in front of them.
“Not so effective was it?” Oblivion said to her as the mare pouted and fell silent.
"What in tarnation?” Applejack said as she turned to look behind her.
Oblivion looked back and his eyes went a bit wide at the sight of the pink mare. She was wearing one of the most ridiculous outfits he had ever seen, and he had seen many things that Dandelion wore. She had a multi-colored box around her body that was green with an orange ribbon wrapped around it. She had huge oversized glasses on her face and what looked like webbed feet on her hooves. A noisemaker sat in her mouth and several balloons were tied to the top of her tail. Oblivion stared at her and he felt ridiculous in her place.
“Darling, you look ridiculous.” Rarity commented and Oblivion nodded in agreement.
Pinkie blew the noisemaker and the others all cringed under the sound. “Exactly. Laughing is a sure-fire way to get somepony on your side.” She reasoned to them.
“Or antagonize them.” The Witcher said in reply.
She gave a wide smile and waddled ungainly back through the mouth of the cave. Oblivion followed behind her and looked into the cave. He could see the huge dragon in the back as it watched her approach. “A red dragon. Great.” He said under his breath as he watched her. Pinkie walked up to the dragon’s snout and greeted it with a noisemaker and a loud hello. He watched as the dragon stared at her for a moment before swiping its claws at her causing the pink mare to flee.
Oblivion pulled his head out of the cave mouth and watched as the mare waddled out and rejoined them. She was missing some of her outfits and the balloons on her tail had deflated. “Apparently he doesn’t like laughing or smiling.” She said and shook her outfit off herself.
“That’s it!” Rainbow shouted. “We’ve tried persuasion, charm, and whatever the hell Pinkie Pies does. No more wasting time with this!” The mare turned in the air and started into the cave.
“Oh no.” Oblivion nearly shouted as he took off after the mare.
His teeth clamped down on her tail after several strides and she ended up dragging him right into the dragon’s snout. He collided hard enough to knock the wind out of him for a moment as the dragon’s eyes went wide and stared at him. The Witcher released the mare’s rainbow tail from his teeth as he stared back at the dragon's eyes. “Shit.” He muttered under his breath. “My apologies, good dragon,” Oblivion said to him, hoping that being apologetic would work in his favor. The dragon began to snarl and he could tell that the beast was less than happy with him. He spun around and looked at the mare for a moment as he dug in to run.
“Fly, you foolish mare!” He yelled at Rainbow as he ran for the cave mouth.
The mare tore through the air ahead of him as they ran for the light at the end of the cave. A gust of wind behind them sent Oblivion skidding forward a few feet and bowled Rainbow nearly out of the air and he saw her collide with the other mares, knocking them to the ground. He heard the dragon’s claws scrabbling on the stone as it tried to come after them. A gust of air went past him again and it knocked the mares further back and into the base of a rock. He came out of the cave and found the mares too dazed to move as they were under the stone.
He spun to stand in front of them and pulled his silver blade. The red dragon came out of the cave and roared at him in anger. It went down to all four legs as he silently stared back at it. Oblivion charged it in silence and slid under its nose as it seemed almost surprised at his bold charge. It tried to back up enough to get at him as his blade nicked into its belly and it roared in rage as it got up from its belly and lashed out at him.
“Chosen jump!” Sasa shouted at him as he followed her instructions.
He leaped straight into the air, his wings spread to propel him higher as the dragon's tail swept underneath him. He chanced a look back as the mares were now cowering in silence as he once more moved to square up with the dragon. He called a challenge of his own to ensure the dragon came after him and not the more vulnerable mares behind him. He charged it once more and leaped for the animal as it stood up. His claws dug into the dragon's scales as he landed on its belly. His sword spun in his magic as he parried the dragon’s claws as they reached for him. Its paws bled as it seemed to give up on grabbing him and pitched forward in an attempt to crush him. He backflipped off its chest and onto the ground, landing squarely on his hooves. It snarled from where it had landed and Oblivion said nothing in response to its stare. The drake lunged forward and its jaws snapped shut on the spot where the Witcher had been standing.
“Sasa!” Oblivion yelled and the cat leaped to stand at his side. He had raced away from where he had been standing and she kept up easily with him. “Keep it occupied. We need to drive it away from the mares.”
“Agreed!”
“I’ll try to turn it around and you harry its flanks as we did with the Ursa,” Oblivion ordered as they both dodged the dragon’s long tail.
“Understood.”
The stallion reached the rear of the dragon and he called out to keep its attention on him. It looked back at him but didn’t turn to face him. Sasa leaped out of the shadows of its side and raked her claws along its tough skin. She couldn’t draw much blood but it was enough to annoy the beast. It spun to focus on her and Oblivion once more dodged its tail. It swung its tail once more and his wings spread as he took to the air. The dragon’s tail slammed into the ground and he watched as Sasa harried it. The tail raised from the ground and he was watching Sasa as it didn’t simply go back to the ground but swung toward him. He braced as it hit him hard in the air and he managed not to be thrown out of the air but it didn’t leave him unscathed.
He felt something in his right side give as his wings managed to keep him airborne. He wasn’t sure how he had managed to stay airborne but he was not about to be upset about it. He aimed for the dragons back as he found himself centered in the air once more. His wings flapped heavily as he aimed for the dragon's mid-back. Aqua mist began to flow off of his body as his Element reacted and the armor began to give off a gentle silver glow. He plummeted out of the air and collided violently with its back. The dragon faltered for a moment as it fought to stay standing. His wings folded back down to his sides and his claws dug into the dragon’s skin as he began to run up its back. He raced up its back and onto its long neck, heading for its head. The dragon thrashed as it tried to figure out which attacker to focus on.
He ran past the tall spines on its back and he quickly reached the dragon's head. He stood just behind its head and he could see Sasa darting out and around its paws. He knew that if he brought his blade down in the right spot the fight would be over in an instant. Instead, he released the claws on his forelegs and brought them down on the back of the dragon's head. He brought his hooves down and Aard rolled over the dragon's head. The dragon stopped thrashing as it reeled from the impact on its head. It recovered while he was considering if trying to speak to it now was a good time or if driving it into the ground would be better. He looked up as the dragon’s bloodied paw reached up to grab him and he pulled back as it gripped one of his forelegs. The dragon began to pull and his wings flared to try to free him from its grasp. The mist that billowed him began to coat the dragon's paw and it cried out as he watched the mist begin to eat through its skin. His wings tried to haul him back but a moment later had him choosing to release his hind claws and let it grip him. His wings still tried to get him away from there as the dragon pulled him forward and threw him to the ground. His wings fought to center himself as he hit the ground. It roared as he collided with the ground and he felt his world go black for a moment before his eyes snapped open. It released his leg, confident that the fight was now over.
Sasa watched as the dust was kicked up as the Witcher collided with the ground. She stared as he was still for several seconds. She watched as he began to move inside the small crater. Even she was shocked when he got to his hooves. His wings were hanging at his sides as he panted.
“Easy Chosen.” She said to him as she moved to be closer to him.
He looked up as surprise flickered over the dragon's face as he go to his hooves and stood. His body screamed at him to stop and lay down but one glance to the mares found him squaring up with the dragon once more. Blood slowly dripped from his nose as it flowed down his snout and onto the ground. He knew enough about his own body to know that he was in bad shape. Magic flowed over him as he decided that if it went after him again then he was going to kill it, a tradition among Witchers be damned. The mist that flowed off of him covered the ground around him as Sasa came to stand closer to him. The Witcher said nothing as the dragon seemed to be considering whether fighting further would be a smart idea or not.
He said nothing as the mares whimpered. He moved out of the small crater he was in and got in between the mares and the dragon once more. Sasa snarled and bared her teeth as the dragon looked between the two of them. The dragon went to its belly and then lunged his head out to bite him. He lunged forward and raked his claws across its nose, cutting deep into the dragon's flesh. It pulled its head back and put a bloodied paw over its sensitive nose. Oblivion panted as his breath tore through him. His armor had stayed with him and it had managed to absorb much of the impact but his legs were beginning to shake as he stood in front of the dragon. He was fighting to stay standing as the time ticked past him. He knew that it had only been a couple of minutes but time was dragging past him.
“I cannot fall. They need me to stay standing.” He whispered to himself as the mares cowered behind him.
“How dare you!” A voice screamed out from behind him.
Oblivion flinched and looked back as Fluttershy flew up to the dragons and landed boldly on its snout. He stared at the mare as she radiated a rage he had never seen from her.
“How dare you hurt him? Listen here mister, you may be big and scary and just because you’re big does not mean you can be a bully! You may have huge teeth, and sharp scales, and snore smoke, and breathe fire, but you do not-I repeat do not! Hurt! My! Friends! Do you understand that?”
Oblivion started as the dragon cringed under the small Pegasus and whined in something that was almost like fear. “You have to be kidding.”
Sasa walked over to him, her paws bloodied with dragon’s blood as she came to stand next to him. “What is going on?”
“I have no idea.”
“Well?” Fluttershy leered down at the dragon.
“But that black one hit me.”
“I did not! I ran into you by accident and I did apologize for it.” Oblivion shouted back, outraged at the sheer gall of the dragon. “I stopped Rainbow from hitting you harder than I did. I ran into him as I was trying to stop her.”
Fluttershy looked at rainbow, who nodded sheepishly. “He said he was sorry?” She asked as she looked at the dragon, who hesitated.
Oblivion's sword hovered in his magic as he waited for what would happen next.
The dragon finally nodded. “And you still attacked him?” Fluttershy grilled the animal, who nodded after a moment's delay. “Well, that is unacceptable. Oblivion did nothing to harm you until you attacked them. He was protecting everypony.” The mare stared at him as she spoke and the dragon lowered his gaze.
“By the Gods, she is the dominant one in this conversation.” Oblivion scoffed and stopped himself from chuckling as pain rattled through his chest.
“Now I am sorry for your injuries, but I know Oblivion and he could have done much worse if he chose to. He was trying to drive you away. Right?”
Oblivion nodded. “Yes. Where I am from Witchers do not fight dragons unless there is no choice. Even then we speak to them if we can or try to drive them away from ponies. We prefer not to shed blood.”
The dragon looked sheepish as he looked from Fluttershy to the Black Pegasus. “Now apologize for hurting him.” The dragon snapped his head to look at the Pegasus mare.
“But, but, I…”
“No buts.”
The dragon waited as Fluttershy jumped off his nose to hover just above him as he lowered his head to be level with eth stallion. The black pony wheezed slightly as he stared back at the dragon. “I’m… I’m… I’m sorry.” The dragon said to him and waited for the pony to reply.
Oblivion started back at the dragon and he could see no lie or malice in the dragon's gaze as he sighed. “Thank you for the apology and it is accepted good dragon.”
The dragon gave a little smile and lifted his head to look at Fluttershy. The mare ran her hoof over the dragon’s scales. “There you go. See? Oblivion is not scary either. Now gather your things. You need to find a new place to sleep. One that doesn’t affect other creatures. The smoke can cause a lot of harm to others.” She said as she lowered herself to the ground and came to stand in front of her friends.
“I knew you could do it,” Twilight said to her and held her in a tight hug.
“I didn’t.” She said with a soft look. “It was Oblivion who told me that I could be brave if I chose to.”
The other surrounded the butter-yellow mare and congratulated her as the dragon came out of the cave with his treasure and took to the sky. Sasa looked at the stallion and pressed her nose against his shoulder. Oblivion gave a low hiss of pain as she pressed against his right shoulder.
“Chosen?”
“I’ll live.” He whispered to her.
He looked at the mares and allowed himself to lower to the ground, exhaustion, and pain biting at him. He laid down on his left side for a moment before he rolled to lay on his belly. His wings flapped against his sides and he had a feeling one of them was in bad shape. His breath was ragged as he fought against panting as his skin trembled. Sasa came to stand by his head as his breathing became more labored, it escaped him in a sharp wheeze.
“Oblivion!” Twilight suddenly shouted, getting his attention. She broke away from the others and came to stand just in front of him. “How bad is it? I should have known you would not be okay after hitting the ground as you did.”
"I’ll live Twilight. Calm down.” He said to her, his voice was quiet but easily heard with their sharp ears.
Applejack and the others came to stand around him as she moved her head to look under the armor that covered his body. He watched as she grimaced at the bloodied bandages on his barrel. “Ya’ll be okay Pardner. We’ll get ya taken care of. Can ya teleport?”
Oblivion looked at her for a moment before he spoke in reply. “Teleport where? The farm?”
“Nah. The hospital. Ya need ta get looked at. Ah’ll meet ya there later when we get back. Twilight can ya teleport us there?”
Twilight shook her head. “I can’t teleport that far yet. Oblivion can, but I would rather he didn’t transport all of us in his condition.”
“Ah agree. Ah, don’t think he has ever teleported another pony afore. We need ta get him into town.” Applejack replied.
“I’m right here. You don’t need to talk over me.” Oblivion said to them.
“Ah know yer here. But yer spent.” Applejack reasoned to him.
“I can pull strength from my armor if needed. Should be enough to get into town.” He responded to her, his tone even.
“You’re certain? If not, then you should teleport there ahead of us if you can.” Twilight said to him as she placed a hoof gently on his mane.
“I can make it back easily. Will be a bit slow going to get there.” He admitted as Applejack looked at him and the other mares were listening in as he explained. “When he tossed me my right shoulder popped out of the socket, then back in. So it has been wrenched.”
The mares nodded as he slowly got to his hooves. Rainbow landed on the ground beside him and looked down at his hooves. “I have a question for you before we get you moving.”
“Yes?”
“When you hit that dragon on the nose there were what looked like claw marks on him.” She started to say but she paused when he looked down at her.
He debated on lying but decided that he lacked the energy to fight about it. He held out his hoof and split the hoof to allow his claws to unfold. The mares were now all staring, with the exception of Applejack, as the claws flexed in the air. “My hooves are clawed. Not abnormal for my kind.”
Twilight looked at them and she seemed to be analyzing them with reaching out to grip the hoof itself. “How do they hide? I’ve seen your hooves before and I have never seen those.”
“They hide within the hoof and unless you know where to look they are not easily seen.” He explained slowly as he turned his hoof over for them to see underneath his hoof as he folded the claws into place. Twilight stared as Rainbow gave a low whistle as he set his hoof back on the ground.
“Well, that is different. I wasn’t expecting that. That fight was epic though. How do you know how to fight like that?” She asked as they began to slowly walk back to town.
“I was trained to fight like that. Most monsters that I have fought are larger than I am. So fighting something bigger than I am is not all that shocking to me. Though I have to admit a dragon is a new one to me. I am surprised that it did not use fire.” He replied.
Fluttershy walked close by his right shoulder as he limped heavily on that leg. Twilight and Applejack led the way as Rarity and Rainbow stayed on their other side. Pinkie bounced ahead of them and would occasionally look back to smile and encourage the others. As time went by them Oblivion was forced to pause at times for a moment before he took another step. He only paused them for several minutes once and the mares all stopped with him. He tried to tell them to keep going and he would catch up but they refused to leave him behind. Oblivion focused on his armor and pulled as much power from it as he dared. With its aid, the pain lessened and his stride was improved as he walked with them. They reached town and Twilight and Applejack guided Oblivion toward the hospital. The others peeled off to go their own ways after telling the Pegasus to take it easy.
Oblivion gave a low grumble at the sight of the building a sit loomed over them. “Was here this morning.” He growled under his breath.
Twilight heard him and she chuckled at his tone. “Yeah. They’re going to wonder what you did to yourself this time.”
Sasa looked to the doors as they opened ahead of them. Her stride was fluid as the black Pegasus limped heavily into the front waiting room. She paused at his side as Applejack and Twilight stayed close by him as well. She nearly sighed as she looked down to see a small drop of blood on the floor under the Witcher. She watched as more drops fell to join the first and a small pool was created. She raised her head and she could tell that nopony had noticed aside from her.
“Chosen your bleeding.”
“I know.” He replied.
“I mean your bleeding on their floor.”
He looked down and under him to see what she had been talking about and he heaved a short wheeze before he shrugged slightly and ignored it. Sasa felt her ears pin at his dismissal of it and she sat down heavily as a growl grew in her throat. A short roar pulled from her, startling every pony within ten feet of her. She heard Oblivion curse under his breath as he looked at the now grinning feline. She nearly gloated as a nurse came running into the waiting room. The pony was a tan color with a pill bottle on his flank.
“What in Equestria… Was… That…?” He stopped speaking as he saw where the enormous cat was looking under the black stallion. “Actually, never mind. You’re bleeding on our floor so that’s more important. Can you walk?”
“Yes I can,” Oblivion informed him.
“Good, follow me.” He hurried off down the hall and Oblivion limped after him. The pony looked back after going about ten feet ahead of him and his eyes went wide at the severity of the limp from the black pony. “Okay, can you tell me what happened?”
“You’re not going to like it,” Oblivion admitted as the pony fell in beside him. “I and the others went to remove a dragon from the area to prevent it from covering Equestria in smoke.”
“I saw the smoke but I didn’t realize that somepony had been sent to tend to it.” He replied. “So you were sent to stop the dragon?”
“Yes.” He replied, his breathing labored. “The idea was to persuade him to move elsewhere. It worked but not without a fight. I am the only one battle-tested and trained to fight monsters of all sizes. I was able to stagger it once but that is when it reached back and got ahold of me and threw me to the ground. I tried to level out as I fell but I don’t think my wings helped me much.”
“Any injury to those that you know of?”
“Maybe. I haven’t tested them.”
“Did you blackout when you hit the ground?”
“For a moment or two yes.”
“And you clearly got back up after coming round.”
“Yes. The others were frozen and I needed to stand ahead of them to protect them.”
The tan pony looked away as he finished speaking and shook his head. “Have you been here before?”
“Yes. A few days ago for the first time and I was last here this morning.”
“If you were just here then who is the doctor you have been seeing?”
“Secret Heart.”
“I see. Okay in here is fine.”
Oblivion followed him into the room and moved to get away from the door to avoid being in the way. Machines and other items littered the room and none of them he could identify. He could see a light lamp and that was about the only thing that was familiar to him. He assumed that the machines were all designed to be helpful but he had no idea of their purpose.
“All right, so I need you to remove your armor and set it over there.” The nurse motioned to a counter close by.
“No need.” Oblivion reached out to the Element and it snaked across his body and back to the medallion around his neck.
“Magic?”
“No.” Oblivion quickly replied. “Just a trait of the armor.”
“Ahh, I see. I thought it seemed odd since you’re not a Unicorn.”
The Witcher set his swords off to the side and leaned them against the counter he had motioned toward. The nurse moved away from him and went to the door. His hoof pressed a button by the door that gave off a loud beep. Oblivion pinned his ears at the sound as it sounded off for a moment. The pony walked to the other side of the room and moved a bed to be on the other side on the black Pegasus.
“How about you lay down on this while we wait for the others to get here? That way you’re off that leg and we can try to get any pain under control as well.” He said to him as he maneuvered the bed into place.
Oblivion nodded and moved to lay down on the bed as he had been instructed. He laid down on his left side and rolled onto his belly on the bed. The door opened and several nurses walked into the room, he recognized Redheart as she came into the room with him. She stopped and gaped at him as the bloodied bandages stood out against the white. She looked down and saw the small pool of blood on the ground and he saw her hesitate for a moment before she began barking out orders.
“We need to start an IV line now, get the usual monitors ready for blood pressure and pulse, and get in touch with Secret Heart. He knows this particular patient and is familiar with him.” She hollered and ponies scrambled to do as she instructed. He watched as she came to stand close to him and looked over him for a moment. “What happened?”
Oblivion explained what had happened over the course of the day and waited for her to process what he had said. Her eyes went wide as she stared at him for several seconds. The doors were pushed magically open by Secret, his pace quick. He rounded on Oblivion and looked him over. He knew that he was seeing dirt and blood covered Pegasus. Dirt and blood in equal measure coated his fur. He knew that he looked tired and worn down. Oblivion watched as his eyes went from him to the assembled nurses.
“I already called for the basics for him,” Redheart advised him.
“Perfect then we can cut off the bandage and see the damage. Judging by the blood loss I’d guess that the old wound split and looks like it might have been split further than before.” Secret started.
“We might want to X-ray that right shoulder as well. It was dislocated due to being wrenched and twisted. He was also knocked out temporarily due to impact with the ground.” The tan pony supplied.
Secret looked at him and then to Oblivion. “You never make it easy do you?”
Oblivion managed a low chuckle, but he stopped as his chest tightened. He gave a hoarse wheeze before he recovered. “Of course not.” He quipped.
The doctor came up to him and listened as the black stallion breathed. “Chest X-ray as well. Seems to be having trouble breathing. All right. So I am going to suggest that we have you sleep through it this time.”
“Which means?”
“We will be sedating you to render you unconscious to allow us to clean and manage your wounds. We will be able to move your limbs around to see if there are any breaks of bone issues through x-rays.”
“Which is?”
Secret looked confused at his question but seemed to gloss over it. “An X-ray is a picture of the bone and tissue structure of your limbs or body.”
“I see. So it’s a fancy picture?”
“Pretty much.” Secret agreed.
“Okay. I suppose staying awake for it would be…?”
“A very bad idea,” Secret said to him.
“Understood. Go ahead.”
“Okay, so prep the anesthesia and adequate pain killers as a backup as well,” Secret said as he began to toss around more orders as the nurses scrambled to follow them.
Redheart was close by as Secret began to cut through the bandages around his body as he lay still. Redheart came up to his chest and forelegs and she dragged a small tray on a stand with her containing several small items. She took his right foreleg in her hooves as she rubbed alcohol onto it and inserted a small needle. He watched her as she created an IV in place and wrapped a white bandage gently around it to allow it to stay easily in place. He looked away from her as the bandages on his side were removed to reveal the carnage that had happened to the old wounds. The stitches had all been broken and the gashes had torn wide open. The biggest of them had ripped to the point where it had now sliced through to his right hip and past it. Secret clicked his tongue at the sight of the wounds as he looked at them.
“Well. I can’t say this is good. When you got thrown to the ground I’m guessing you landed heavily?”
“Very,” Oblivion responded.
“All right we need to move you and the best option is to move you after you are under sedation. So we will wait until that is done and then take care of moving you as we need to.” Secret informed him.
“So can you explain further what will happen?”
“Pain can affect the level of sedation which is why we will be pairing it with a high pain killer to ensure that the sedation stays constant. If we need to speak with you or bring something to your attention then we are able to bring you around should the need come.”
Oblivion nodded that he understood what he had been told as Redheart prepared a separate needle and waited for Secret to tell her what to do. Secret signaled for her to use it and Oblivion watched as it was injected into the IV. “Okay, this will probably hit you pretty hard since your body is already depleted a bit so don’t be surprised or fight it when you feel it take effect.” She advised.
He nodded as he laid back when she had finished with the injection. He felt nothing right away as he lay in silence for several seconds. He felt warmth go through him and his vision began to narrow and darken at the sides as he felt sleep edging up into his mind. For a moment he contemplated fighting it but a moment later he decided that it was a losing battle. He closed his eyes and let his mind slip and he felt nothing after that.