Scales of the Dawn

by roflknief

Dream of the Dawn

                “Princess Luna, we are all fine. There was a dragon that—” Twilight began to explain before being cut off my Luna.

                “A DRAGON HATH ATTACKED?” Luna cried out in shock, looking at Twilight again and noticing that she and her two friends were covering their ears in pain. “Why has the guard not yet been called? If the dragons are trying to start a war, we must prepare for it.” Luna continued in a quieter and calmer, though still urgent tone, remembering her lessons on modern speech.

                At this point between the loud noises and Luna’s rage, Fluttershy cowered behind AJ crying.  AJ was looking to Twilight for guidance about what to do, worry plain in her eyes.

                “Princess Luna, please, there was no attack. Every pony is fine that blood is not theirs.” Which was true, as no pony was injured, just the dragon upstairs.

                Luna looked questioningly at the three and asked “If no pony was hurt, then where did the blood come from and what happen to the dragon?”

                It was Applejack who spoke up this time to answer Luna’s question “It’s the dragon’s blood your highness. We don’t know what happened to it before it got here, but we helped it best we could.”

                Fluttershy had begun to calm down and peered around Applejack and said in a barely audible tone “Yes it was very, very hurt and I just had to help the little dragon.”

                “Little? Fluttershy, that thing was bigger than y’all are” replied Applejack, looking behind her to see at the still hiding pegasus behind her, causing Fluttershy to withdraw back behind Applejack.

                “Where is the dragon now? I will need to deal with this to ensure there is no political backlash that could cause a conflict between Equestria and the dragons, as well as find out what it is doing here and what happened to it!” Luna said this while wondering how her sister would handle this and making a mental note to inform her of the situation once it was under control.

                Twilight stepped forward “It’s currently upstairs in Fluttershy’s room. We couldn’t take it to the hospital, couldn’t convince Fluttershy to put it outside in one of her animal shelters, or think of anywhere else to put it.” She shot a glance over to Fluttershy “So in the end, Fluttershy convinced us it would be best to let her keep it nearby, after what happened to it. It must be terrified and if one of us was in its place, I would want as much kindness too.” She finished with a small smile at Fluttershy, causing the pegasus to smile and come a bit farther out from behind Applejack and her long pink mane. Applejack also showed her support of her friend’s decision by placing a comforting hoof on her shoulder and giving her a small smile and nod.

                Luna nodded her head, thinking over the possible alternatives. She could have the dragon taken to Canterlot where the palace doctors could tend to it, but that would have the negatives of causing possible political issues.  Taking the dragon to the palace could be seen as imprisonment and put many ponies in danger if it did not enjoy waking up in the middle of a hospital far from where it may have been trying to go.

                “How much experience do you have treating injured creatures?” Luna asked Fluttershy who promptly lost all the boldness her friend’s encouragement had given her and she hid behind her mane as she responded in little more than a whisper.

                “I-I’ve been taking care of the animals around Ponyville and the edge of the Ever Free Forest ever since I left Couldsdale years ago” she responded from behind her mane, looking at the worn, wooden boards under her hoofs.

                Luna pondered this and she began to ascend the steps to the upper floor. She had experience taking care of injured creatures. She was the element of kindness holder that yelling a dragon in to a crying fit, maybe she could handle this if the injuries did not require more serious medical attention.  Celestia has shown faith in them, so I too shall trust her judgment.

                Once Luna saw the slumbering dragon wrapped in casts and bandages with a thin hospital blanket draped over it, her brow furrowed. She had never seen this kind of dragon before and was finding it difficult to think of how it obtained these injuries. It was small and young by dragon standards, but was still the size of an average earth pony with large wings loosely held to its sides while it slept. Stopping next to the side of the cot, Luna closed her eyes and her horn began to glow.

                Fluttershy nervously asked from behind her mane “Princess Luna, I was wondering, if that’s ok, what you are doing” clearly concerned for her newest patient. She did not receive an answer, as Luna’s horn continued to glow slightly and she made no move to respond.

                The sun would soon rise over the horizon, but for now the opening to the cave and the small rock ledge jutting out of the cliff face lay shrouded in twilight as the dragon stared off toward the growing light. He was sitting still, simply enjoying the calm of the exposed cliff face and the cool breeze till a regal female voice from the dark cave behind caused him to turn and lower into a crouch, ready to fight as he had been created to do.

                “It is rare to see someone perceive themself so different than how they appear” Luna stated as she walked over the hard rock with grace. “Dragon, I am Princess Luna, raiser of the moon and protector of the night. Who are you and why have you come to our land?”

                Appraising the equestrian creature before him, the dragon noted that it did appear to be female and larger than him, though slimmer. It had wings, a horn, and four legs, giving it few weapons in a fight, but what did he have to fight for?

                He remained in his ready stance as he considered the questions. Had he been asked that by one of his superiors, he would have answered ‘a tool of the master’s will’, but he did not know if his master was even alive and the pain and threat of more seemed to, for the first time in his existence, been removed. As for the second question, he had no idea where he was or how he got there and as this strange looking horse appeared rather intimidating, he decided to go with the course of action that had become his way of survival, submission.

                “I have no name nor do I know where I am or how I got here” he said as slide to the hard ground in a submissive position as he lowered his eyes to stare at the rocky floor.

                Luna was taken aback by such a display by a dragon, one of the fiercest creatures in all of Equestria. ‘What could have happened to this poor soul to change him from the nature of most dragons?’ Luna wondered as she reevaluated the situation after this unexpected turn of events.

                Luna, deciding she needed more information, then asked “Do you know how you obtained the injuries you currently have?”

                This caused the dragon to look at himself. He had no injuries as far as he could see, but did remember the broken bones and bruises he had gained from the battle and wondered how he could have healed already. It was then that he realized he had no idea when he started staring at the horizon or how he had gotten there.

                “What happened to my injuries and where are we?” He questioned.

                “Your wounds are still fresh; we are in your dream which is why you currently appear unharmed” Luna informed him as she moved to stand beside him, staring at the light in the distance and evaluating the dream before her. “You realize the change you currently face and hope to see the light. You find yourself in twilight, unsure if you are about to plunge into darkness or feel the warmth of dawn.” After a pause, she continued “What is it you fear will come and what do you hope to achieve?”

                Another pause followed Luna’s evaluation of his dream and the question she had posed, until the dragon rose from the ground and turn to face the edge of the cliff once more.

                For the first time he was able to think clearly, as though the haze of anger and madness had been lifted from his mind. He pondered what he valued and what brought the cold dread to his being. He could think of many things he feared:  the return of the burning sensation he had always felt, the wrath of his master and superiors, and what would come if the plan succeeded. ‘The things I fear not happening’ was all he could think of for what he hoped for.

                “I would look into your mind if you will allow it so that I may better understand what has happened and who you are. I understand this is a large request, but I can sense there is something coming, a great change and I believe you may be linked to it or at least have a part to play. Having the most information possible will help me protect all of Equestria. As such, I feel compelled to ask this of you.”

                When she spoke of protecting others, he felt himself instinctively nod his head in consent. ‘Why do I feel so eager to help? I have hurt many, so why does it feel different now’ he contemplated before he felt his sight fade as memories flashed before his eyes.

                His youth spent being taught the necessary skills and information for serving in the master’s plan. The missions he had been sent on to further prepare him, though Luna quickly withdrew from those as many of the acts he had been twisted to commit horrified her, and finally to the battle where he had sustained his injuries in. She spent a long time examining the information about his world and the types of dragons, specifically the emerald, ruby, and twilight dragon flights. Each of the flights was charged by the titans to be the guardians of a part of creation.

                The emerald dragons were the keepers of The Emerald Dream realm, seemingly without bound and of unimaginable depth that influenced the world. He knew the Titans, or the creators of all life, had used the dream as a place to store pieces of their creation they chose not to use or lost interest in, but little of what it actually was.

                To guard all life was the task given to the ruby dragons. They were to be the eternal watchers of the balance between life and death. It was in their nature to protect others and their very tears and blood have healing properties. They possessed magic capable of shielding others and themselves.

                The Twilight dragon flight was created from the unhatched eggs of the other orders by changing the eggs with magic, corrupting and denaturing them. Once complete, the process was irreversible. The dragons of this flight had the ability to drain magic energy and store it in themselves, empowering them, but if too much energy was absorbed, they became unstable. This was the type of dragon he had become.

                 Once she finished her examination of his life, pity, sorrow, and slight wonder at the magic of a different world filled her eyes as she looked sideways at him.

                “Thou hath endured much in such a short life and hath been twisted to committed many atrocities, but no longer will the hardships be force upon thee or those who wish to use you be allowed to. We will not allow such grievances to come to pass” she said in a gentler voice, compared to the more royal tone she had first greeted him, though slipping back into her old speech patterns. She reached out with a wing to rest on the drake’s twilight scales of his back.

                She did not feel it was necessary to worry him, already so scared with the potential problems her glimpses into his mind had confirmed. They would all learn soon enough.

                Tearing his eyes away from the vista in front of him, he turned to look up hopefully in to the eyes of the one next to him and as he did, a small smile played across her face. Her horn began to glow as she broke the eye contact to look to the view off the cliff. The sun finally rose over the edge of the world, creating an awe inspiring dawn covering all the hues from pale yellow to lustrous ruby as it crested the horizon.

                Sombra walked through the cold snow drifts of the far north as he dwelled on his failed attempt to take the Crystal Empire with rage. ‘Who would dare take from me what is mine? It had been the work of the two that had imprisoned me; I know it was their meddling again! It had to be them and I will make them pay along with their pathetic subjects!’

                He had been reduced to a mere specter. A shade held only to this world by magic, hatred, and his will for revenge. In the material realm, he would have been no more than a shadow, but here in the dream he could take physical form and it was here he felt a great power, as if calling him. He had heard its words as it whispered to him, calling him to it and promising him the power to crush all who opposed him, as it had for over a thousand years. They were always speaking to him till he could not distinguish between his own thoughts and the whispers.

                It was here in the far north, farther than the Crystal Empire, in this realm that the whispers had sent him. The voice grew louder the farther he went, growing far clearer than ever before and it was here they told him that he was to lay the trap. After failing to regain the crystal heart and it being shielded from him, they needed a new way to free the whispering one. The self-proclaimed guardian of this realm had the power to free him. All it needed was her within its reach…