//------------------------------// // Chapter 35 - Haflax // Story: Shackles and Friendship // by Zaibatsu //------------------------------// Shackles and Friendship Chapter 35 - Haflax Edited by Hollyhock Pre-read by Hollyhock 　 In an isolated clearing, far from Ponyville; bound by at least a hundred meters worth of cold, hard, spell-empowered chains...lay a massive green dragon. There were a multitude of wounds strewn all over the drake’s body and nearly half of his entire body showed exposed flesh rather than scales. Fortunately, none of these were life threatening to such a gargantuan being. The wounds could have still been considered superficial and would heal easily on their own. Without a doubt the most severe injury had to be to the left wing. While some parts of the webbing had been stitched back together; most were simply cut off. There were far too many damaged. More harm would be done trying to heal them, rather than to grow new webbing. In order to further quicken the healing process, the dragon was wrapped in thick layers of cloth dipped in various ointments and medicines. The exposed wounds were kept disinfected and clean. His broken wing was bound together with long metal pipes to keep it properly aligned. "P....please....." Celestia watched as the green dragon continued to beg and plead in a wheezing voice. "Please.....don’t...don’t take her away..." Though Celestia had come to tolerate and even accept dragon kind to live in Equestria. Somewhere deep down, she still felt somewhat apprehensive towards them. Memories came and went throughout her immortal life, but certain experiences had made impressions on the demi-god that were harder to forget. The term ‘dragon’ had only just come to existence after the treaty was signed less than two centuries ago. Originally their kind had been called ‘drakes’. Following the treaty, the term dragon began to be used to refer to drakes that had left their homeland to live abroad. Drakes, as they themselves preferred to be called, were those that choose to remain to live the same brutal and violent life from centuries past. There were even a few ancient drakes, most of them clan leaders, who had battled Celestia herself and lived. Their wanton desire to expand their territory and influence amongst each other, often at the cost of life, was something she loathed. Their entire culture was based upon subjugating and standing above one another. The fact that their race had existed for so long with such a barbaric culture, was simply due to how powerful they were as a species. The violence and brutality made it clear that only the strong would survive. It eventually came to a point where a great number sought refuge in other lands. Thus, the Treaty of Brakas was created. Brakas v’Sana was the drake matriarch who first proposed the peace between drakes and all the greater nations of the world. Many ponies mistakenly assumed that Brakas v’Sana sought peace. But in truth she merely wanted to rid her lands of drakes she deemed too weak to serve her purposes. Unlike the traditional power struggle with numbers, she prefered quality over quantity. This idea gained popularity amongst the other matriarchs and the treaty was established not a decade later. Today Braka stands as the Grand Matriarch and rules over the largest and most powerful drake clan. Of course the drakes talked of this treaty under a different name. The Prideless Peace. For in the eyes of the drakes, those who took the treaty as an opportunity to migrate had all but abandoned what it meant to be a drake. Too weak to fight, too weak to protect what was theirs, and too weak to even live in the land where they hatched. Centuries before the treaty between Equestria and the collective drake clans was established; the sight of a wounded drake was a common thing. Especially in the southern coasts where ambitious drakes would often attempt to expand their territory into Equestria by invading settlements. There the Equestrian Guard and citizens were forced to live in constant danger with one eye to the sky. Always ready and alert to repel one attack to another. After many hard won battles the small settlements eventually grew to what is became known as the prospering city of Baltimare. But this was different. Though the green dragon was looking towards her. He wasn’t really looking at her. In fact he really wasn’t looking at anyone or anything in particular. His eyes were watery and glazed over. A pool of saliva gathered near his open mouth. Before she arrived, the guards stationed on watch reported that he constantly mumbled the same thing over and over again. It didn’t matter whether or not anypony was present to listen, as if he didn’t even register the world around him. It had been centuries since Celestia last battled a dragon, yet she still remembered and respected them as worthy adversaries. For a dragon to be reduced to something so piteous, the sun monarch couldn’t help but feel slightly disturbed at the sight. "I had him restrained after Luna subdued him," Celestia spoke in a hushed tone. "Do not worry, we have tended to his wounds and his life is not in any danger. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for his state of mind." "Was he like this before? During the fight?" Celestia turned and craned her neck back to gaze up high. Right next to her, sitting on her hind legs was a massive silver scaled dragoness. Even under the moonlight her scales gleamed beautifully, creating an aura of soft white light; but the sight of the dragoness soaring high in the sky under the radiant sun was even more spectacular. Dragons and ponies in general were both, socially female dominant. In Equestria’s case; it was mainly due to the imbalanced ratio between mares and stallions. Though having the head of state being female for over a millennia might have also been a factor. For dragons, the females simply outclassed males in terms of strength, magic, and sheer size. Of course dragons have vowed to forsake their culture and subject themselves to the law of the land, but despite that females still act as the ruling power in almost every dragon community. This silver dragoness for instance; was the current head of the dragon clan in Equestria. "No, Luna and my guards that confronted him reported nothing of the sort," Celestia answered. "Other than the sudden aggression of course." There was silence as the dragoness eyes linger over the dragon’s many injuries. "Some of these appear to be....over excessive." "I apologize. Luna’s....contempt for your kind is still fresh. She has yet to adjust to the many changes of the current age. Before her banishment a peace treaty between Equestria and dragons was a far-fetched idea." "I see," replied the dragoness dismissing the topic. "Allow me." Celestia watched as the silver dragoness stepped forward, shaking the ground with each stride until she stood right in front of the wounded dragon. "Falnor," she called with a voice of authority. "Don’t take her, please....," he replied in that same wheezing voice. The dragoness turned to Celestia looking for an explanation but the alicorn merely shrugged. "Falnor," she called again in a more demanding tone. That time he didn’t reply, he merely gazed off into the distance as more saliva oozed out of his open mouth. "Falnor d’Zayak!!" the dragoness suddenly bellowed, causing Celestia and the guards nearby to flinch in surprise. For several seconds the thundering voice echoed in the distance. For the first time since he awoke, Celestia noticed some clarity in Falnor’s eyes as it focused on the silver dragon in front of him. "....Neval," he grumbled in a weak voice. The silver dragoness let out a low threatening growl. "Neval Quinarth," Falnor called a second time in the proper manner. "Now answer me; why did you attack the Ponies?" "Neval, please. I couldn’t...don’t let them take her from me." Neval lowered her head till it was only a few feet away from Falnor before speaking in a calm tone. "Take who? Who is ‘she’?" "My....daughter." Neval’s eyes widened while her body flinched slightly surprised by the answer. "Rest assured we had no such intentions," Celestia quickly added. "We were merely reacting to his actions and our records show he had no family." Neval ignored her and continued. "Falnor, listen to me," she waited for a moment letting her words sink in. "You have no daughter." "No....she’s...I" "Falnor! You have no daughter!" "You lie!" For the first time since his capture, Falnor suddenly flexed and squirm against his restraint. All the guards nearby immediately leapt to action only to be halted by a raised wing from Celestia. Even if Falnor somehow undid his bindings there was nothing he could do, not with an Alicorn and a dragoness present to stop him. "Falnor!!" shouted Neval hoping to calm him down but failing as Falnor continue to thrash about causing the ground to tremble. Celestia noticed blood started spewing forth from his wounds, while red blotches started to spread all over the cloth wrapped around him. "You won’t take her! None of you will take her!!" This time Neval placed one of her massive claws on top of his prone body, pushing down and forcing him to remain still before his wounds worsen. "Still yourself Falnor!!" Neval shouted louder than ever. Despite being bound, wounded, tired, and struggling against the might of a dragoness; Falnor kept resisting and was actually starting to overpower Neval’s grip. Realizing that this was quickly getting out of control, Neval suddenly took a deep breath before her chest started to glow slightly. Celestia watched as white smoke resembling mist started flowing out of Neval’s maw like an icy fog. "Sle~ep," she spoke in a long soothing tone as the smoke flowed and coated itself over Falnor’s head. Within a few moments his movements quickly dulled as his mind slowly drifted away as the white substance invaded Falnor’s lungs. With a final deep growl Falnor fell to the ground, shaking the earth one final time with a loud thud sending a cloud of dirt to blow outwards. Neval continued to press her claw down on Falnor’s body until she finally felt the rhythmic rise and fall of his breathing. Seeing the threat neutralized, the guards around the clearing went back to their place and resumed their vigilance while Celestia watched as Neval slowly pulled back her claw. She waited for the dragoness to turn around, but after awhile it was obvious that the dragoness was deep in thought, remaining in place and staring down at the unconscious green dragon. "From what we can determine," Celestia started after some time, "his unusual behavior resembled those who suffer from an addiction. His state of mind certainly suggested mental instability." "Be careful what you say Celestia," replied Neval in a low tone before turning around to gaze at the alicorn. "Falnor may have been an....oddity amongst us. But I consider him a trusted advisor and one of my closest clan mates. He was the first to join me when I choose the path of exile." "I meant no disrespect. But the question still remains; what could affect him so? Is it a disease then? Some sort of mental affliction?" "There are very few sickness or disease than can overcome a dragon’s vitality and I know most of them. But in all my knowledge and experience I have never seen or heard of anything that would result in....this." Neval turned once again to stare at Falnor’s sleeping form. "And this daughter of his...." "What of it?" "Do you know why he came here?" asked Neval after a sigh that kicked up the surrounding dust. The question caught Celestia slightly off guard. "Self preservation," she answered. "The only reason the drake clans agreed to the treaty was so that it encouraged the less...‘successful’ to leave." "You mean the weak," replied Neith in a flat tone. "It’s true, for many the choice of living a peaceful life to that of strife and servitude was a simple one. The competition was simply too much for them. But for a few it was also a matter of honor, preferring exile rather than serving under a new clan head. Even rarer however, are the likes of him." Neval paused as Falnor let out a low growl in his sleep, his eyes darting about as he dreamt. "Had he chose to do so, Falnor could have easily remained a drake and lived comfortably. He was, and still is, as mighty as he was odd. His mind simply worked differently than most of our kind and he could conjure flames few knew were possible. Which begs the question how Luna was able to overpower him so easily." Neith let out another sigh as she looked sympathetically at the green dragon. "But that is not important." "Then why did he leave?" asked Celestia. Neith turned and looked at the alicorn in the eye. "Nightmares," she answered in low tone. "He came here to flee from his nightmares." 　 　 =========[The next day...]========= 　 　 "Rodney!!" "GAH!" I yelped in pain as Sweetie Belle suddenly jumped right at my chest. Worse yet, her horn poked me squarely in the center and would have stabbed me through had it been any sharper. Should’ve seen it coming when her face suddenly lit up with glee. "Ah Sweets!" My body assaulted me with pain in protest as I tried to forcefully pry the filly off me, which took a lot more effort in my weakened state. My shout stirred the other ponies in the room arousing them from their sleep with several groggy mumbles. "Uhh, Sweetie Belle?" Rarity called as she roused herself up. Even half asleep her voice still carried her usual air of elegance. "He’s awake!" shouted the filly excitedly. "And in pain!" I added as Sweetie Belle kept trying to wrap her small yet strong hooves around me again. Unfortunately the filly was listening in at the moment, probably too engrossed and happy. "What, aaaahhhhh....what was that?" asked Twilight with a yawn as she woke up as well, followed by the light brown earth mare. With another happy squeal from Sweetie Belle, and another loud painful yelp from me, everyone realized what all the commotion was about. "Rodney!!" shouted Twilight and Rarity in sync. Both mares jumped right up and bolted to my bed, I could tell they were tempted to jump right on top of the bed like Sweetie Belle but luckily they had more self control. After managing to pry Sweetie Belle off me a second time she suddenly erupted in bluish flames as I quickly levitated her away from me, and the pain slowly started to ebb away. I then carefully moved the filly off the bed and down to the floor next to Rarity. "Nobody do or say anything," I quickly ordered just before either mare could speak. "Just...just give me a minute." With a sigh I let myself fall back to the bed, causing me to groan audibly as pain sprung from every corner of my midsection. I was honestly surprised that they actually listened and kept silent for a moment while I closed my eyes and waited for it to fade away again. It didn’t disappear completely, waves of it from kept rolling through my entire body endlessly. "Alright," I finally spoke after another long sigh. "Before any of you ask; I’m fine. Actually no, that’s not true. I feel like crap right now, but I’ll live." "Good," replied Rarity before suddenly feeling a sharp pain on my side as she jabbed me with a hoof. "Aagh!" I shouted in pain before getting back up to a sitting position and glaring right at her. "The hell was that for!?" "That is for taking Sweetie Belle out without first informing me!" Rarity shouted angrily matching my glare with her own. "Do you have ANY idea how frightened I was!? I searched every corner of the town dodging ponies left and right trying to find you two!!" My anger quickly disappeared when a tear trailed down her cheek and her voice started to crack. "It wasn’t his fault," Sweetie Belle spoke while leaning on one of Rarity’s hooves trying her best to console her. "I-I was so worried. I thought the dragon might have....nopony knew where you two were!" I saw her raise a hoof for another jab but after what she said I could only remain silent and just take it. I braced myself for the pain but instead of jabbing me Rarity got up on her hind hooves and pulled me into a tight hug. "Thank you for keeping her safe," she whispered. I could feel how truly grateful she was, never in all my life had I heard such sincere gratitude aimed at me. "I’d never let anything happen to her," I replied in a solemn tone. It was all I could say to her and surprisingly enough I find myself determined to uphold every word of it. Eventually though the pressure from the hug was becoming too painful to bear, but before I could say anything Rarity suddenly pushed herself away and poked me hard on my shoulder. "You better not mister!" she shouted in a playful demanding tone. "It’s improper to worry a lady so much, think of the wrinkles!" "I think that’s enough of that Rarity," said Twilight. "My turn." Before I even registered what she said one of the giant pillows on the floor suddenly soared across the room right for my face. "What were you thinking taking on a dragon all by yourself!?" Twilight yelled in tandem with the impact of the pillow. Just as I pulled that one off my face another hit me. "Who would even think of doing something like that!?" "I thought that-uff!" "No! You weren’t thinking at all! If you did you’d realize how unimaginably outclassed you were in every sense. A dragon Rodney!!" "Will you just sto-oph! Twilight I swear-phf! Stop it!!" Only after she threw the last pillow did the barrage finally ceased. This was not the ‘we’re happy you’re ok’ moment I expected. "You know something like; ‘Oh Rodney, thank you so much for saving the town’ would be nice," I said irritably while badly mimicking a mare’s higher pitched voice. "Or how’s about ‘Oh we’re so happy you made it out alive’, is that so hard? At least Rarity-ugh!" I carefully grasped my right side when stabbing pain far more painful than anything else so far suddenly assaulted me. "Are you ok?" spoke an unfamiliar voice. I turned and looked to the far wall where the light brown earth mare stood. All the while she had stood in the sidelines and I could tell from her expression that she hadn’t meant to speak out like that. I saw her mark; an ivory dish plate sparkling clean, it brought about memories from back in the castle. She was the maid who lied to protect me when I burned off Blueblood’s tail. "Uhh, Shine....Bright?" I asked a bit unsure. "You remember?" she asked with eyes widening in surprise. "Phoenix poo," I said referring to her lie she told to cover my ass. "Sorry, I didn’t recognize you back when you gave me the gem, what with the dragon and all." "No I...I under-you were occupied with uhm... I’m just glad you remember." "That gem, it really helped a lot. In fact I’m pretty sure I’d be dead if you hadn’t brought it to me. Thank you so much for saving my life." The last sentence carried as much feeling of gratitude as I could muster. "Oh but I just....I was only, uhm.... You’re welcome," she replied shyly. "What are you doing in Ponyville?" I asked before turning to Twilight. "How’d she get the ge-ngg!" Another flare of pain shot up my side forcing me to curl up. "I’ll go find the doctor," spoke Twilight before she trotted towards the room in a hurry only to stop momentarily to look around the room. "Where’s Spike?" =========[Elsewhere...]========= "You ok there?" asked a passing stallion. Spike looked up and recognized the brown pony as Dr.Whooves; the clock tower’s caretaker and operator. “I’m fine,” replied the baby dragon sourly. "If you say so. Holler if you need anything." With that he trotted on down the road pulling along a wagon full of rubble and various broken furniture along with a large blue box. Like everypony else he was busy helping with the town's cleanup and recovery. Spike continued watching the many ponies around him going about their work as he sat atop a piece of rubble next to a half demolished building. A few were still in shock at the whole event, especially those that lost their homes. You could tell who they were based on Whether they lingered out in the open staring at what remained of their property or busy trying to recover any valuable possessions that were still salvageable. There were also quite a number of new faces in town, most were were part of the relief group sent to help the town recover while a few came wanting to help when they heard what had happened. It was different from when Spike lost control of his greed; spurred by uncontrolled desire he practically grew to near adulthood in less than a day. It took a long time, but eventually through hard work and a lot of apologies he was able amend for the damage he caused. However, back then everypony pretty much went straight back to their lives as if it were nothing more than an inconvenience. Spike felt something brush against his legs and looking down he saw a large piece of paper snagged into one of his scales. EQUESTRIA DAILY dragon Attacks Town Right Outside Canterlot ‘Where’s my front page special!?’ thought Spike with a scowl revealing his fangs. The sight of the newspaper sparked more anger and fouled his mood even further. He tried kicking the paper off but that only made it wrap around his leg. With a growl he huffed and blew out a stream of green flames incinerating the newspaper leaving only grey ash that drifted away in the wind. Looking around Spike realized that his action had attracted some attention as ponies nearby stopped to stare at him. Considering what happened the night before, Spike decided it was probably best to be wary of his actions for a while. With a sigh he dropped to the ground and started making his way back to the hospital, hoping that something might cheer him up along the way. Within a few steps he paused feeling irked at the thought of returning to the hospital. He stood there staring off into the distance wondering why he felt so sour when he heard a familiar chirping sound nearby. “Peewee?” Turning back he followed the high pitched chirps around the corner and sure enough he saw the bright yellow and orange flames of the the baby phoenix next to a massive pile of rubble and debris. The town was using one of the piles as a temporary dump site to clean and gather trash that would be picked up later. “What are you doing outside the library? How did you even get out?” asked Spike as he made his way to stand behind Peewee. Spike couldn’t help but raise a brow in confusion as he watched the phoenix busy clawing and pecking at ground, kicking up dirt and stone behind him like a dog. “C’mon,” spoke Spike in a tired tone, “can’t leave you out here. Let’s go home.” Despite his tone Spike actually felt relieved that he had found a reason not to go to the hospital. He bent over and gently picked the phoenix up off the ground. “Hey stop that!” he shouted as Peewee suddenly started scratching and biting on Spike’s claws. “What did I tell you about throwing a tantrum like that?” Peewee ignored the dragon’s word however and kept trying his best to break free of Spike’s grip. All the while the bird kept staring at the mound of rubble where a small broken piece of a sapphire stuck out of the dirt. If anypony had seen the bluish glint, none would had thought twice about it, it was nothing more than a broken piece of gem not worth salvaging. But to Peewee’s keen eagle-like eyes the slight glow was as clear as day. There was still the faintest flicker of blue fire dancing inside. =========[Back at the hospital...]========= “NGH!!” I clenched my teeth as a stabbing pain shot up from one of the ribs on my right side. I watched in pain as the hoof continued to lightly prod me while I lifted the thin garment up. I thought it was odd that they’d go to the effort of finding something for me to wear, after being stipped of my clothes I expected to be left in bed naked with only bandages to cover me. But looking down at my body I understood why. My entire midsection was nearly covered with bruises ranging from mild to severe. It was difficult to find any patch of skin that didn’t show discoloration, either being red, blue or black. The largest mass was on the right side of my chest, where I was currently being prodded. “Definitely fractured,” concluded the golden furred pony pulling back her hoof. Her mane and tail had two distinctive shades of blue making it look like toothpaste. She also wore a white shirt similar to the one’s used by the doctor’s in the hospital but slightly different. Apparently this doctor, Dr. Mane Goodall, had been the one in charge of studying me; I should be grateful since someone is actually making an effort to learn about my physiology. Problem is, just like her mark suggests she’s not technically a doctor, but a veterinarian. I guess it does sort of make sense, after all doctors in this world meant they deal specifically in ponies. But the idea of being taken to a vet..... I could tell from her small smile that Twilight knew what I was thinking, and she was apparently enjoying it. After the doctor came everyone except Twilight left to deal with the aftermath of the attack. Rarity and Sweetie Belle went to check on the boutique while Shine Bright, who I’d been told would be staying with Twilight, was on her way back to the library. So only Twilight remained with me, waiting and watching with interest as she stood in the far wall. I had been informed about Shine’s reason for being in Ponyville, solely me. Not quite sure how I should feel about having someone else watch over me twenty-four/seven. I could understand the incidents I’d been involved in, and accidently caused could make Celestia or Luna worry; but was not sure it warranted something like this. I was beginning to suspect that it was Celestia who gave the order, could probably be her payback for that explosive letter. Though how this mare was supposed to be her revenge eluded me. Having to be chaperoned was a rather weak payback, I had expected something....well; more. “How far can you twist your body?” asked the vet. “Not much,” I answered while twisting my body to the limit before the pain became unbearable. “How bad is it?” “Don’t worry, like I said it’s only fractured and not entirely broken through,” she replied in a light tone. “You probably fell on your side and landed wrong.” 'Or being squeezed like a lemon by a dragon.' “I recommend you stay in bed till you recover but if you must move about I suggest keeping your movements slow and tight.” “How did I not feel anything before?” Far as I could remember I didn’t felt pain this strong back when I fought Falnor. “I can’t even remember when it got fractured during the fight.” “If I had to guess I’d say adrenaline had something to do with it,” the vet answered. “It’s been known to....wait what fight?” I was about to mention the dragon but before I could utter a word I noticed Twilight shaking her head about in silence while her eyes looked directly at mine. The message was obvious but I couldn’t understand why. Still for now I decided to go along with what she wanted. “I meant fright,” I answered going for the first lie that came to my head. “When the dragon came and I started running in fright.” “Oh, well as I said it’s likely the adrenaline. Much like us your body releases adrenaline in extreme situations. Or it could simply be your brain blocking out sense of pain in order to better cope with the situation.” “I see,” I replied ending the conversation there. I shot a glance at Twilight waiting for some explanation but she merely mouthed the word ‘later’ back. “Alright, time to change those bandages,” I heard from motherly voice. I looked towards door to see nurse Redheart entering the room pushing a cart with two bottles on top. Both bottles looked identical to each other except for a symbol on the side that I didn’t recognize, a warning of sorts if I had to guess. As soon as she brought the cart in front of the bed, Redheart took the other bottle and popped it open with the edge of her hoof. Within seconds the entire room was filled with the same foul smell as the stuff under my bandages. “The heck is that stuff anyways?” I tried my best to avoid using my nose to breathe. “Crushed oterian flower petals. The other one contains haflax seeds.” I looked at the nurse with a cocked brow. “The petals will helps with the pain and the seeds will promote healing,” Redheart explained as she took what looked like a mortar and pestle from under the cart. “But first we need to crush the seeds and mix them with the petals.” “Each of the flowers have their own uses individually,” added Dr. Goodall. “They have beneficial effects when applied directly to the skin, though most ponies prefer not to since it requires one to be shaved before use. But that shouldn’t be a problem for you.” “Right then, take that garment off and undo your bandages while I start grinding the seeds.” Immediately after the words came out of Redheart’s mouth I noticed Twilight jerk slightly while trying her best to stifle a laugh. “No,” I answered in a flat tone as I grasped the tablecloth-turned-gown and held it tight. “What’s wrong Rodney?” Twilight asked feigning ignorance with an innocent smile. Twilight continue to shiver and jerk still trying her best to keep a straight face. I gave her a ‘you-know-damn-well-what’s-wrong’ look which only made it harder for her to control. After the flooding of Golden Oaks Library - the incident where I ended up naked out on the street in broad daylight - Twilight have been nagging to explain why it was so embarrassing for me. Eventually her stubbornness won out and during one of our theoretical sessions I explained why clothes were required in human society beyond physical needs. “I’m not stripping,” I answered in a more defiant tone. “What’s wrong?” asked Dr. Goodall confusedly with a slight look of worry, probably misunderstanding the problem with something health related. “Nothing. Here I’ll put the stuff on myself.” I was about to reach out and take the bottle of petals from Redheart when she slapped my hand away with a hoof. “And how do you go about doing that with a fractured rib?” Redheart asked in a scolding tone before pouring a decent amount of seeds into the mortar. “This’ll be over the sooner you stop fussing about.” “That’s what magic is for,” I argued before casting a levitation spell on both mortar and pestle causing the two to erupt in blue flames. “Here I’ll even grind them myself. “Rodney stop!” I turned to Twilight just in time to see another pillow soar across the room knocking the mortar out of the air and out of my spell’s grip. “You can’t use magic on haflax seeds!” Soon as the contents of the bowl spilled to the floor I witnessed the impossible. In a matter of seconds roots started growing right before my eyes, spreading out like tentacles as they burrowed into the floor. Small thin branches started growing upwards gaining roughly an inch every two seconds until they were roughly up to Twilight’s neck. Tiny pointy leaves started sprouting like wildfire from the many branches creating a massive group of bushes. From the size of just one of them I’d have guessed it would take at least a month for something like that to grow, yet they had grown in just a matter of minutes on top of a tiled floor right in before my very eyes. “Holy.....” I was completely dumbstruck at what I had just witnessed. It was beautiful and awe inspiring, I had just caught the tiniest glimpse of creation. 'That...was pretty damn impressive.' I turned and was just about to ask Twilight for an explanation when I noticed the look in everyone’s eyes. “Twilight,” I called slowly, “what’s-” “Don’t move!” Twilight shouted in a hushed tone. She, along with Redheart and Dr.Goodall, stood perfectly still staring at bushes with a fearful expression. “Haflax belong to the same category of plant as Poison Joke,” Twilight began taking a step towards the door. “There are some plants that have a unique reaction when exposed to magic. Aside from growing like any other plant, haflax can also live off magic. But if they come into contact with condensed magic such as a spell for example....” “It grows violently,” finished Dr. Goodall in a whisper. “And the ‘not moving part’?” I asked warily. “Haflax has a defense mechanism to ward off threats.” Twilight started sliding her hooves inch by inch as she neared the door. “Not only does it absorb the ambient magic around but it also detects the flow. Think of it like air, if anything nearby moves too fast or causes a disturbance it’ll-” “Hey monkey you in there!!” Before any of us could react the door suddenly swung violently open to reveal a bronze pegasus standing in the doorway with his right hoof pointed forward. “Look what I sneaked in!” he shouted while trotting into the room without a care in the world. His right wing was encased in what looked like a cast while the other held a large, unlabeled, half-empty bottle of an unknown liquid. With that stupid smile on his face it was easy to figure out what was in that bottle. “Now that ain’t fair,” he said finally noticing the plantation so very much out of place in front of him. “How does your room have a garden and mine don’t?” I turned my gaze back at the plants to see them all vibrate and shiver madly until suddenly every leaf started to split right down the middle to reveal something brown and sharp. What had once been a plant with beautiful shades of green, turned to a dark menacing brown with sharp pointed thorns aimed in every direction. “Buck,” was all Dr.Goodall could say before all hell broke loose. Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Like machine guns, every bush opened fire on the room, a hail of thorns flew in every direction, some even impacting hard enough to embed themselves in the wall. Twilight disappeared behind a fort of pillows while nurse Redheart and Dr. Goodall made a run for the door galloping right past the drunk pegasus. The funniest thing was how Bronze simply ignored the hail of thorns, tilted his head back, and started gulping in the contents of the bottle as if everything was fine while thorns bounced off his fur. As for me, well.... Out of pure reflex I cast a levitation field in the air between me and the plants creating a wall of fire that captured the thorns in midair. The thorns floated in front of me like the bullets from that one scene in The Matrix, thickening as more and more got caught in the spell. “Rodney you idiot!!” Twilight shouted with her head sticking out of her wall of pillows. “Don’t worry I didn’t touch the plant,” I assured her. “I only caught the thorns.” “The thorns have seeds inside them!!!” I quickly looked back at the floating wall of thorns in front of me. There were hundreds of them and every single one had cracked open and small brown roots were starting to grow out of each one. What was once a wall of thorns a second ago, had turned into a wall of vines and roots spreading in every direction. “Well shit....” =========[Sometime ago, outside...]========= “The train will be arriving with more relief supplies around noon tomorrow,” continued the unicorn mare as she trotted on with several pages of reports floating in front of her. “What of the construction crews?” “A few are already here Your Highness, but the majority won’t arrive for several days.” The mare paused her report in order to speed up and trot alongside the white alicorn. Aside from the mare, Celestia was also accompanied by two guards following along from behind. “Those that arrived had begun cleaning and removing debris as well as preparing the town for reconstruction. According to the latest report the damage was more than what we expected, especially those in Highwind street.” “And housing?” “Nearly all of the residents that have lost their homes in the attack are living with either friends or relatives. The rest are currently living in temporary tent camps in the apple farm nearby, the family that owns it has opened the entire property for aid.” Celestia couldn’t help but smile at that, friends or perhaps even strangers were ready to help and open their homes to the unfortunate. Even more so in a small town like this where everypony was likely acquainted with one another. “How goes the press? How have the citizens reacted to the news?” “As expected, most are unsure if the treaty still holds. They fear the drakes are attacking again, I have reports that some have already left the major cities. I highly suggest a public address to calm the situation as soon as possible before it escalates.” “I will in due time, for now this town requires my attention.” Celestia could hear the papers shuffle about in the air beside her as the mare brought more out of her saddlebag. “There is another problem Your Highness, there are reporters in town asking question regarding the attack.” “Are they bothering the townsfolk?” Celestia was well aware how competitive these journalists could be at times, ravenous for a juicy story. “Not so much as to be a concern at the moment. However, I overheard one interview on my way that caught my attention. The resident apparently witnessed a great explosion during the attack. What’s interesting is how she described the flames.” “They were blue.” Celestia let out a sigh as she stopped in her tracks, she knew this had been bound to happen but didn’t expect it to come so soon. Rodney’s existence would soon be known to the mass public, likely to the neighbouring nations as well. Celestia had taken this matter into consideration when she allowed the human to reside in Ponyville. Despite the wild events that had befallen the town in the recent past, it was still a small town that nopony really payed any attention to. Aside from the production of zap apples, Ponyville was a small as a rural town could get. She knew the townsfolk weren’t the type to report the strange unknown creature to journalists for several reasons. One; he came into town in a royal carriage, which would make everypony assume that the government knew about him already. Second; his arrival had been public and in broad daylight giving the impression that his existence was nothing secretive; most, if not all, would simply believe he was some exotic creature from the far fringes of the known world. The idea was simple, allow Rodney to live amongst the populace for a certain amount of time without his existence being public knowledge to all of Equestria; this would accomplish two things. First it would eliminate some of the surprise factor, meaning that his existence would have already become public knowledge. Even if it was only to the residents of Ponyville. Second, and most importantly; it would help everypony to accept his existence. Hearing that he’d been living amongst ponies all this time would immediately give him a less threatening reputation. Questions such as “Is he dangerous?” wouldn’t need to be addressed, the fact that he had lived amongst ponied for some time would answer that question. But with the dragon attack bringing so much attention to the town, Rodney’s existence would no doubt be discovered ahead of time. Tomorrow's newspaper would likely mention him in some way, it wouldn’t be surprising if it even included a picture of him. She could only hope the time he’d lived there long enough to have the effect she wished. Something she’d have to discuss with him. “What would you like me to do?” asked the mare. “Nothing,” answered Celestia after a pause. “It would have happened sooner or later. But make sure his involvement with the town’s defense is known.” ‘At least that way he’ll be seen in a more positive light,’ thought Celestia as she continued on her way. Celestia soon spotted her destination when Ponyville Hospital came into view. For a small town like Ponyville, a medical building of that size was adequate. It served as a single stop for everything from birth care to life threatening injuries and illness. Celestia doubted it even had a full staff during normal days, but with the additional doctors and nurses from Canterlot the entire building was buzzing with activity. “Where is the human now?” Celestia asked as she neared the front door. “Uhhh,” mumbled the mare trying to remember that particular detail. “I believe the nurse mentioned he was in room two-” Before the mare could utter another word, they heard the loud sound of breaking glass from somewhere to the right. Celestia turned just in time to witness something green suddenly explode from one of the large windows, shattering it and sending broken glass raining down on the lawn. But what caught her attention was the flying hospital bed that flew out from the window being pushed it out with considerable force by the green mass. Rather than tumbling over, the bed had fortunately managed to land on it’s legs several meters away from the building, revealing the current occupant. The human. He wore what looked like a tablecloth along with bandages that wrapped around him underneath. Additionally he was covered in tiny leaves and thorns as if he had fallen through several tree-sized rose bushes. “Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh....” groaned the human in a weak voice, laying on the bed with his eyes closed. The way it all happened out of the blue caused the alicorn to pause and blink several times as she tried to comprehend what had just happened. It was at that point that she heard Twilight’s muffled and panicked voice shouting from within the mass of green. “RODNEY!!” “Never mind,” sighed Celestia just as several hospital staff rushed out to see what had just occurred.