Scales of the Dawn

by roflknief

The Plunge (edited)

Twilight is the hour between night and day. Most think of twilight as the time when the sun sets and night begins, but it is also the time when the night ends and the dawn comes with its hope of what will happen in the new day.

Pain. Pain and falling. Pain was something he had felt his whole life, but the feeling of falling was new. This pain was new in that it was more concentrated than the usual dull burning of his flesh and bones as it was radiating from his right wing and right foreleg.

The emotions he felt were those of fear and anger. Fear at what came after the fall and what their master would do if they lost the battle. His anger, however, was less defined as he did not know why he felt it to begin with. He felt rage towards the world and everything in it, save those of its flight.

He could feel the cold air over his twilight colored scales as he tried to regain control over the wind around him, but his right wing failed him again and again.

The tail swipe he had taken seemed it would be his end, and it may have been if another had not, by chance, flown under him as he fell. The two dragons collided with the purple drake on top of the larger green dragon and both began to fall. The impact slammed the purple one’s jaw into the wing joint of the green’s left wing. Both jaw and joint broke from the impact, sending them into a tumbling decent.

When the fall ended, both lay in the eternal snow. The purple had landed on the green and both lay still but for the pained breathes that shook both their forms. The impact had killed neither out-right, but the green’s right side had hit a rock in the snow and was bleeding heavily. The fight between the many dragons over head had raged on while the two lay below the battle, unconscious.

The smaller dragon opened its eyes to see its emerald colored companion letting out a wheezing laugh as it said “The Destroyer is no more. It has cost us great, but we have fulfilled our purpose and now leave the world in the hands of the mortal races.” Once he finished saying this, the purple drake that had fallen on him began to claw its way up his side over his damaged wing towards his head. It was a pitiful sight to see, this young one broken and battered still trying to fight a battle already lost. He pitied this corrupted and crazed drake and pondered a way to save it.

The time of dragons had passed here, but maybe somewhere else where he would be needed and could be saved away from the source of the madness that gripped him, he could find peace. When the purple drake was within reach, the larger grabbed him and pulled him close as a green light radiated from them both followed by a brighter flash that when the light faded the purple drake was gone. The green spoke again, “May you find peace little one,” then lay still.

The drake had always known pain, but this… It was as if molten rock was being pulled through him. He knew not how long this lasted, as during the pain he lost control of his other senses. When it ended, what he felt could only be described as bliss.

The dull throbbing pain and the rage he had felt his entire life were gone. The pain from his injuries was still present, but those could be healed though he was sure he would be killed as so many of his kind had been before him.

He then heard a voice that sounded as if it came from all directions, though he could not make out what it said other than its final words “…where both you and they need you to be.”

He didn’t really know why he was hated or why he was told to do what his master had ordered, but that mattered little when he had no choice but to obey. He had barely an instant to ponder his fate before he felt himself drop onto a hard surface and heard the sound of groaning wood, breaking glass and hardened clay, and the exclamations of shock and surprise of some unknown number of entities around him. The fresh waves of pain from this second fall were enough to cause the drake to slip back in to his unconscious state and knew no more.

The three friends had been enjoying a relaxing day together after Twilight had helped Fluttershy get a book from the library on animal shelters. With the help of Applejack, they build a shelter for the adorable if demanding white bunny that was now happily running around his new room.

They had just settled down to have some stew Fluttershy had made as a thank you to her friends for their help when an unexpected green flash blinded them, followed by a red drake slamming down on the table Twilight had just finished setting. A small fragment of glass cut Applejack on one of her legs from a cup that was smashed. It was a small cut and she hardly even noticed it.

Once they were able to see and the shock of what they were seeing had passed, all three cried out in fright. Fluttershy fled, quivering in the corner, while Applejack and Twilight backed up several paces before pausing to examine the red drake lying still on the table in front of them.

The sights of its sharp teeth and claws, shining ruby scales glistening in the light of the setting sun light filtering in through the window that created an awe inspiring spectrum of all the colors of the sun set and dawn, leathery wings though one was at an odd angle, and the blood that seeped from its numerous wounds and mouth petrified them with fear.

They hesitantly began to approach, exchanging looks of alarm as they wondered what to do with the fire breathing lizard in front of them. Fluttershy was, to the surprise and initial horror of the other two mares, the one to take control of the situation as she flew over to the dragon on her table and began to use a nearby towel to apply pressure to a wound.

There was an injured living being in need of help and her fear was not enough to stop her from trying to help it. Fluttershy looked at Twilight and told her “Twilight I need you to get more clean towels and my first aid kit.” Twilight nodded and scampered over to the corner of the kitchen that held the first aid kit.

Then she turned to face Applejack and told her “Applejack I am going to need your help to set the broken bones.”

Applejack was unfamiliar with helping treat injuries and seeing blood, but her friend had asked her for help so she gritted her teeth and followed Fluttershy’s requests.

With a flash of purple magic, Twilight set the first aid kit next to Fluttershy who began pulling out the needed bottles, patches, and gauze.

While Applejack was able to work through her discomfort, Twilight was unable to handle it and decided it was best for her to go seek help from the hospital. Fluttershy would need better supplies to make casts to set and hold the broken bones in place to heal.

Cleaning the wounds went as expected. Thankfully, the dragon did not wake up during the treatment, but the bandages and gauze were less effective on scales than on fur or flesh, however, it was all they had and would have to do.

When Nurse Redheart arrived, she had a typical hospital stretcher and the needed supplies to further treat the wounds Twilight had described to her. She stayed to help as long as she could before returning to the hospital. She made it clear on the way out that while they were happy to help, they would not allow a dragon to stay at the hospital. She deliberately did not ask how they had come to find this damaged dragon, as she and most of the town had realized not to be surprised by the things the Element of Harmony holders got into.

With all the treatment they give completed, the three friends moved the dragon onto the stretcher and, after struggling to get it up the stairs, set it in the corner of Fluttershy’s room. They had decided it should stay there, as Fluttershy did not want it near her animals unsupervised, even though with its mouth, wing and leg injured, the dragon was really not much of a threat.

Finally, with the chance to examine the creature, they noticed just how different it looked from the few dragons they had seen before.

Its tail, neck, and front legs were longer and its face was more like their own, with its elongated mouth and nose. The longer front legs gave the impression of it being a quadrupedal. The three major injuries it had all appeared to have been caused by blunt force, but what would have caused all of them they could not figure out.

Twilight was the first to break the silence that had settled over them since they had started staring at Fluttershy’s newest house guest.

“Fluttershy are you sure this is a good idea? I’ll send a letter to Celestia telling her what has happened and asking for advice, but I don’t know how long it will take her to respond and I don’t like the idea of you alone with that thing” she said, gesturing to the sleeping dragon.

Applejack spoke up before Fluttershy, adding “Ah agree with Twilight here sugercube, it just doesn’t seem safe. We should call the royal guard an’ have them take it” with a worried look in her eyes.

“Ah know ya want to help, but this ain’t no baby bunny or bird. It’s a wild Dragon and is probably not going to like waking up somewhere it doesn’t know and it might lash out.”

Fluttershy finally summoned the courage to answer her friends’ arguments, but responded with an unusual firmness in her voice “I know that Applejack, but oh that’s the reason I need to do this. He is probably so scared after whatever awful thing happened to him that he needs someone to help him. If it was one of you in his place, I would want the same for you.”

Seeing her friend would not be moved, Twilight sighed and turn to leave saying as she did “I will see what Celestia wants us to do, but I can’t think she will have a good place to treat a dragon.” There was then a loud knock on the front door, startling the three inside.

“News must be spreading around about the dragon.” Twilight mused as all three headed towards the door.

However it was not someone from the town as they had expected, but Princess Luna who immediately asked in a bellowing voice “Hath thee seen anything suspicious? We hath sensed a disturbance with in our realm and believe it may hath had effect hither.”

Then she saw Applejack and Fluttershy still with blood on them and her eyes widened, crouching into a defensive stance ready to punish whatever had hurt her subjects.

“WHO EVER DEAR ENTER OUR WORLD AND INJURE OUR SUBJECTS SHALL PAY FOR THEIR ACTIONS!” Luna roared as she entered the house looking for the culprit.

The friends covered their ringing ears and tried to derail Luna’s war path before she summoned the royal guard for a witch hunt.