//------------------------------//
// Awakening 
// Story: Amongst the Stars 
// by everydaydude 
//------------------------------//

	Twilight stared the still form at her hooves. She bent down and nudged it gently with her muzzle. It was still breathing, and its heart still beat inside of it. She looked back towards town. Nearly every light was on, the towns-ponies rudely woken from their sleeps by the commotion. She sighed. Now at least someone would be up to help her take care of this...thing. 
She used her horn magic to lay it across her back (it wasn’t to heavy, though parts of its body were hard and dug into her back) and began a steady gallop towards Ponyville. Ponies were already gathered in the center of town, asking each other what had happened and to see if anypony was hurt. The first pony to take notice of her was Rainbow Dash. The pegasus was clearly tired, but seeing her friend come running into town during a possible disaster with red streaks on her coat shook the fatigue from the Element of Loyalty. 
“Twilight,” she called out, flying over to her. Twilight slowed down as dash approached to keep from crashing into her. “Are you alright? Where were you? Do you know what’s going on?” Dash bombarded her with questions until she noticed the form slumped on her back. “AND WHAT IS THAT!” Dash flew up a few feet, either disgusted or trying to get a better look at the creature. The commotion attracted quite a bit of attention. She was asked more questions as the crowds pressed around her.
“I have no idea what it is, no idea how it got here, and no idea where it came from, but I do know that it's clearly hurt, and if you ponies don't quit crowding me then we can't help it!" 
	
“Yall heard her now, git,” Came Applejacks drawl. A “Scram” from Rainbow Dash came afterwards, causing the ponies to back off a little bit, giving Twilight some breathing room. She turned to the crowd control. 
	
“Thanks. Could one of you find Fluttershy? She might know what it is and how to treat it.” 
Rainbow Dash flew off in the direction of Fluttershy’s cottage, leaving a rainbow in her wake even though it was night. Meanwhile, Applejack approached Twilight. 
“Hey now sugarcube, why don’t you let me carry that for awhile. You look right tired out. Just tell me where you want it to go and I’ll take it there.”
Twilight hadn’t realized how exhausted she was until Applejack mentioned it. “Alright, Just be careful with it. Put it in the hospital, and I’ll tell Rainbow Dash when she returns with Fluttershy.” Twilight used her magic to transfer her load, and then sat down in the square, exhausted. Some of the ponies began to disperse, while others stayed and waited with her. 

Meanwhile, in the Everfree forest, a clawed foot broke down the steel shutters, loosened by the emergency explosive release system. Vra’sta pulled himself out of the gap he created. His lower back was in searing pain, as was his top right shoulder. His chest burned, but he could breathe and move fine. Somehow he survived the impact. He looked around himself, his slitted, reptilian eyes piercing the veil of darkness and allowing him to see where most could not. His ear twitched as something slid through the brush to his left. 
He reached down with lighting speed, pulling up a creature that had a feathered head, but a scaly body and tale. He stopped its twitching with a flick of his thumb, snapping the creatures thin neck. He turned it around, and gazed into its red eyes. He felt his body begin to stiffen, and he broke eye contact. He dropped it, then turned around and wrenched open a small compartment behind the cockpit but in front of the engine. Inside was a rifle, a long knife, and three days worth of survival equipment. 
He grabbed the bag and crouched low in the brush twenty feet from his crashed ship, waiting and listening to make sure nothing was nearby. when he was content that nothing was stalking him, he stood up and broke into a run, due south of his position. He jumped over several tree stumps and rocks, passed through a small stream, and ducked several branches before seeing a break in the treeline. He felt pain all over his body, and stopped to inject a light painkiller. After that he slowed to a walk, more carefully to make sure the painkiller didn't cause him to injure himself further. He saw a break in the trees ahead. 
Crouching onto all fours, he surveyed the area outside the treeline. There was a house in the clearing, with a smaller, fenced in house in its yard with several feathered creatures running around it. A four legged yellow creature with feathered wings was running around, trying to calm them down. 
	Vra’sta recognized this as one of the residents of this planet. They weren’t hostile, but they also didn’t know that the Dracos were looking out for them, keeping other races from taking over their planet. It would be better to appear before many than one though. The last thing he wanted was to be seen as a monster on a planet his race protected. 
He sank back into the treeline, just in time for another creature, very similar to the first but with a blue coat and multicolored mane, to fly up to the first. Vra’sta’s sensitive ears picked up fragments of their conversation. 
		“Fluttershy,” the blue one was easy to hear, “we need your help.”
	He had to strain to hear the yellow one. “I’m sorry I have to calm down my animals after that loud bang. It was louder than your sonic rainboom even.”
“Yeah yeah I know it woke up everypony in town. But Fluttershy,Twilight sent me to get you. Something's hurt and we just can't sit back and let it die. We know you're the best chance for it.” Vra’sta tensed at this. If he survived the impact, Clark could have too, though he would likely be on the edge of death.
“How badly hurt is it?” 
	
“Twilight says it will die if it doesn’t get help soon.” Vra’sta smiled a toothy smile. Just as he thought. As the two creatures sped off towards town as fast as their wings would take them, he smiled in quiet victory. 
As he turned to sink back into the forest, he misplaced his arm and slipped. With a loud pop, the minor fracture in his right shoulder turned to a major one, and the bone burst through his shoulder, with a spray of blood and a howl of pain. As he picked himself up, a bone in his right side, splintered, it’s fragments tearing through tissue. He coughed, and a clump of rusty red mucous splattered on the ground. 
He gritted his teeth against the pain, and fumbled with his survival kit, seeking the lifesaving materials within. 

Rainbow Dash appeared with Fluttershy trailing behind. Fluttershy wore a concerned look as Twilight pointed them in the direction of the hospital. She followed them at a slow trot, some adrenaline returning to her tired body. Applejack was waiting for them, and they followed her at a quick walk to where it was kept. All the while Fluttershy was asking question after question.
“Does anypony have any idea what it is? How hurt is it? What does it look like?” The questions were asked rapid fire in a very un-Fluttershy like matter. Leaning over, Twilight whispered to Rainbow Dash “What did you tell her to get her so fired up about this?”
“Told her some unknown animal was badly hurt. You know how she gets.”
Twilight laughed quietly despite the situation. Then the nurse opened the door.
Fluttershy gasped in horror, and immediately rushed over to it and began examining it it from various angles, softly talking to it. “Oh you poor thing, what happened to you.” It stirred in its unconscious state, mumbling slightly, then half opened its eyes, slowly glancing around before focusing on the source of the voice. Fluttershy continued. “Well do you have a name? We just can’t refer to you as it.” It mouthed silently. Once, Twice. On the third time a word was able to be heard.
“Cla....ark..” and its eyes closed again, but kept breathing. Fluttershy smiled and nodded.
	“Okay Clark, I’m going to take good care of you.” She turned. “Twilight, I know animals, but I don’t know what this is, or if I can help it. The best I’ll be able to do is treat his bleeding and set his bones, but I think he may be hurt on the inside too.”
 	
Twilight was confused at this, having not looked into the more gory details of death. “You mean like...broken hearted?” 
	
Fluttershy shook her head. “No, as in whatever hurt him like this also broke some of his ribs, which collapsed inwards and began to crush his internal organs.” The other ponies winced in the gruesome detail, with the exception of Rainbow Dash, who mouthed a silent ‘cool.’
Realizing what she had said, Fluttershy winced back herself, using her hooves to cover a small blush spreading on her face. With a second wince, she snapped back to the reality at hand, and turned around and began to ask for the nurses assistance. 
	
“Do you need us to help you with anything?” Rainbow Dash asked, hovering above her friends. 
Fluttershy shook her head. “No no it’s fine. You’ve all helped me enough. The nurse ponies and I can take it from here.” 
“Awright there,” Applejack drawled again, her exhaustion becoming apparent. “Don’t go and push yerself to hard.” With a nod, and other formalities the others were dismissed and said goodnight. As they settled in for the night, worry for the creature nagged at them. 

Meanwhile, in Clark's semi-unconscious state, his mind was busy processing the events of the past hour or so. He was aware of his surroundings, but he was unable to move his body. He dismissed being paralyzed, because he felt every pain, from his feet to his head. His memory was intact, as far as he knew. 
He remembered the explosion that ripped through and killed his team, luck the only thing that kept him alive. He remembered falling into the gravity well, and he remembered being stuck in what felt like a centrifuge as he fell to the ground. He remembered the impact, and how a loose object splintered his hands, and landfall itself shattering his pelvis. Looking at it, he was amazed he survived. It was all luck. 
	
“That’s war,” he thought, “No matter how skilled, now matter how practiced, the only thing keeping you alive is if you’re lucky enough your number doesn’t come up.” He’d been lucky for 15 years, and he’d been lucky for one more day. Lucky enough that something had saved him after he emerged from the wreckage.
	
“Let’s just see how long this streak lasts.” That was his last thought before he lost consciousness completely. 

“My my, what have I stumbled upon? Maned like a pony, yet horned like a dragon,” A deep voice, thick like honey but still clearly feminine, flowed through the night. Vra’sta snapped to attention. He hadn’t heard anything approach, and the voice was almost right on top of him. He jumped to his feet, unsheathing his claws on his one good arm and taking a quick look around. Nothing was to be found. 
	“Now there, don’t be alarmed. I am one who means you no harm,” The sound came from behind him, but when he turned, his gaze met empty forest. 
“Who are you, and why do I understand you?” He asked the dark, keeping his guard up. A bulbous form appeared before him. It was his size, and seemed to have no form other than that of a large oval stretching up from the ground. 
“Zecora is my name, and why you understand me, I cannot say. But I insist, come with me now, for much of your blood lies on the ground.” Vra’sta looked at his feet. He had indeed bled a lot, and the dressing he had applied was soaked and leaking. On top of that, he was bleeding into his abdominal cavity, and his lungs were slowly beginning to bleed. He had used the last of his blank tissue doses, but there weren’t enough to seal his injuries. If he didn’t get help, any help, soon, he would be dead before morning. 
He reasoned he could trust her. He was clearly bigger, and even in his condition he could still easily kill her. And if she did cause him harm, then she would’ve done it already. Injured prey is stricken early. But he could still be harmed later. One slip up could be the end of him. You don’t survive long enough to be a warlord by taking risks. Then again, you don’t get the respect to command others if you don’t take risks.
“Zecora, if I may, I humbly ask for your assistance, for if I don’t, my passing will not be swift.” 
“Come with me, my home is not far, mighty creature from the stars.” The form turned and began walking deeper into the forest. Vra’sta was compelled to follow. Using his rifle as a crutch he stumbled through the brush, his former grace gone in the face of his injuries. His bag jostled at his side, lighter now due to the massive use of all medical supplies. 
Zecora told the truth when she said her home was not far. It wasn’t longer than ten minutes before a tree, hollowed out with windows spaced along it, came into view. A small candle was lit above the door, the only light and recognizable sign of inhabitance. 
Zecora pushed the door open, revealing it to be totally dark within. Vra’sta stood at the entrance as Zecora hunched over something in the center of the room. Soon, a fire roared to life, the room cast in flickering shadows. Zecora turned and removed her cloak. Vra’sta took in her and the decorations of the room silently as he carefully made his way into her home.
	
“You’re different from the others in the village over.”
“Not important at the moment. You need to be eased from your pain and torment.” She nudged him down onto the bed in the corner, then opened and rummaged through a cabinet as he lay down. She set aside several viles and jars, filled with different liquids and concoctions, ranging from muddy brown to light brown. After that, she pulled out poultices, bandages, and then a hinged metal box. She bent down and dropped a large vial into his good hand. 
	
“Quickly, drink this,” she said, as she opened the box, revealing several rows of surgical equipment, “because i’m pretty sure you don’t want to be awake for this.”