//------------------------------//
// RotDK Chapter 11: From Ship to Shore 
// Story: Rise of the Dragonking 
// by Scarheart 
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	Chrysalis awoke with a start. Her head pounded. Her chin felt sore. She realized she had fallen asleep with the weight of her head on it. The Queen lifted her head, moving her jaw from side to side as it too had been in an uncomfortable position for some time. Groggy, she looked at the clock, her bleary eyes adjusting as she rubbed her eyes with a hoof. The cuckoo clock on the wall told her it had only been a couple minutes since she passed out.
She blinked, staring again at the clock. Her eyes darted towards the window and the blue sky. Where was Tseng Tzu? Chrysalis found the three paper figures on the table, but they were positioned oddly. Both the changelings were lying on their sides with the dragon standing before them as if attacking them.
Or protecting them?
The Queen shook her head, not liking the nauseating swimming sensation making her feel suddenly sick. She had heard of air sickness, but had never experienced it before until now. Staggering towards the window, she swung it out an leaned on the narrow sill and retched. What was in that cider? It should not have hit her that hard.
"I'm getting too old to be drinking like that," she told herself as she pulled away from the window.
You'll have to complete his soul and make him whole. Or his sister will make him a foal.
Chrysalis swayed as the words haunted her thoughts. Splaying her legs slightly, she stiffened them, the room spinning again.
Listen well, O Changeling Queen a choice to be made, a choice of what sacrifice to grade.
Chrysalis lurched on more time before simply falling on her bed, groaning and clutching her poor head. The room continued to spin.
Old blood, new blood all flow the same, which one will come changes the game.
"Make it stop," she moaned pitifully. "Make the spinning stop." The drunk queen blithely wondered if it was she spinning instead of the room. She just lay there, feeling absolutely miserable.
The door opened. Chrysalis turned her head towards the sound, her eyes coming in and out of focus. A pale form slowly approached, the focused. Golden eyes stared down at her tilting to one side before flattening to mute disappointment, then changing quickly to helpless resignation.
"You were never like this before," Silent Wing said as he touched her shoulder gently. "How much did you have this time?"
"It was just one drink," she said with a slight slur, indicating with a wavering hoof her glass on the table. "I've made you cross with me. I've made everypony cross with me. I don't even have a kingdom anymore!" Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings began to sob uncontrollably.
"That's not true!" he said gently, awkwardly, not wondering what to do.
The colt had never seen his mother cry like this. Not since the night he nearly died. He sat down to console her, only to have the experience of his mother sitting up, looking him right in the eye with her own watery gaze, her lower lip quivering as she tried to say something. Her ears were laid back flat. It was surreal. It was pitiful. Then she started bawling again, collapsing against his chest. Her hooves were around his shoulders and she hugged him limply, then fiercely for a spell. Having no idea what was expected of him, Silent just held his mother, trying to console this shuddering form that had at one time been an imposing figure of a monarch whose name struck fear in the hearts of her enemies.
Now she was crying and apparently for no reason than due to drunkenness.
"Are you all right?" he asked when he felt the worst had passed. Silent had no idea how much time had passed. Nor did he care. Chrysalis needed him there.
Chrysalis wondered if mothers were supposed to be consoling their children like this when their children hurt and cried, not the other way around. She felt ashamed, weak, and not very mother-like. Well, to be fair she had never been motherly to begin with. Ever. Wanting to pull away from the colt and be a queen, she found she could not at that moment. She continued to cling to her son, realizing he had always been one of the two pillars she had leaned upon over the past few years. Atalanta was the other one, that dear, darling filly!
"I've been a terrible mother," she whispered when she could at last find words to speak. 
"You're the only mother I've ever wanted," he replied in a voice as gentle.
She shook her head, her mane spilling over her face. "I've belittled you in front of others, embarrassed you publicly," she snuffled, spiting herself.
"You've always had a smile for me when I needed it most," he countered. "You've defended me from those who would harm me."
Harlequin eyes went to his chest. A hoof touched the scar. "You learned to fly that day. You were so proud you flew. I was very proud of you." I tried throwing you over a cliff three weeks later because I wanted you flying again, remember that?
"Ata adores you, mother," he pressed, stroking her mane as though she were his sister when she was upset and crying.
She didn't want to tell him. Chrysalis was still struggling with what the old white griffon had told her, his strange riddle before she blacked out still playing over and over in her mind. The Queen wanted to deny it all, to make everything as it was before the nobles took over with their soldiers and took everything away. She had lost everything and had gained what, in return?
She looked at Silent Wing, his golden eyes no other changeling had ever had. She saw in him the road less traveled. His path was indeed a lonely one where in a land where greed and avarice for love in the wrong way dominated thoughts, corrupted minds. All these years, with almost no friends, little to no respect from other changelings and only tolerated by the commoners because he was hated by the nobility.
His heart had never hardened. Silent Wing had adapted and had even brought his sister to follow his lonely path, though it was far different for her, offering other challenges to be sure.
But even he could not use that word.
Chrysalis decided perhaps she should be the first. "I love both of my children," she said with a smile. It felt odd to say it in the context she meant it to be. "I always have. I always will."
She began to cry again.
"I love you to, Momma," Silent Wing replied sincerely, using a word he had not since he was small. "Ata loves you, too."
Chrysalis only cried harder.
"There, there," the colt said awkwardly, not at all thrilled to see his mother like this. "There, there." Silent again patted her on her head and resumed stroking her mane with his left hoof.
"I've kept secrets from you," she said with her face buried in his shoulder.
"You don't have to explain anything," he said soothingly.
"Silent, please!" she begged, raising her chin and looking at him imploringly. "I once told you I would never lie to you. I never have. I simply never told you the truth."
He drew his head back a bit, tilting to one side. "What truth?"
"Tseng Tzu was here earlier," she said, looking away. Chrysalis sat up and wiped her eyes, determined to get this over and done with, hating feeling weak. "He's come to know you fairly well, hasn't he?"
"I guess as well as you know me," replied the colt with a shrug. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Are you familiar with these auras he seems to like talking about?" she peered at her son, brushing a strand of mane from her eyes. Chrysalis wanted to be sure she was on the right path with this. "Good ones and bad ones all ponies have?"
The colt nodded. "Yes. It was one of the first things he taught me while I was learning how to focus and establish mental discipline."
"What did he call your aura?"
The colt pursed his lips as he furrowed his brow. "My aura?"
"Just tell me, Silent. I had a talk with him and he explained a few things to me." She was dabbing her eyes with the bed sheet.
He could not help but puff himself up proudly. "Master Tzu claims it's like an aura of a dragon's soul! He says it's the strongest he's seen in any changeling."
Chrysalis gave a brief, weak smile. She took in a deep breath and prepared herself. When she exhaled, she took her son's hooves into her own, both pony and changeling, whole with holed. It was now or never. "You are a dragon, Silent Wing, my child. You are not a changeling or a pony, but you are a dragon," she blurted it out.
He stared at her, not moving, not blinking. A long, uncomfortable moment passed. Then Silent leaned towards her slightly, his chin dipping.
"I am?" he asked, his head twitching from side to side.
"That's what your master says you are," Chrysalis said carefully. "What do you think?"
He growled, "It sounds stupid."
The colt hopped out of bed, staring at his mother and shaking his head. His wings unfurled, spreading roughly halfway as he turned so Chrysalis could see. "Do I look like a dragon to you?" he asked, his voice beginning to crack. Tears brimmed.
"That's not what I meant," the Queen jabbered quickly, realizing her mistake.
"Of all the changelings, you were the last I would ever expect to use foalish insults." The dam broke, but he glared at her in heartbroken silence.
He was gone before Chrysalis could respond, stunned as she was by his reaction.
Silent Wing had no idea what had just happened. His mother had been trying to explain something to him and he heard her say a single word triggering the verbal abuse that was his childhood. He had heart them all; half beast, pale grub, dragon eyes. Each one meant to harm and to hurt. As a young colt, he had heard them all, as well as others. Mother had told him to endure, to harden himself, to grow a thicker skin. Over time, the colt did just that.
But to hear it come from his own mother. Calling him a dragon.(1)
The observation deck of the Aurora was a rectangular platform built on top of the ship and placed just forward of the absolute center of the great airship. It was large enough to accommodate a small party, complete with a small covered bar in the center. There were several tables and chairs, a few benches for viewing the sky. They young colt sat on the raised platform at the front of the ship, where the ship's telescope was mounted at night for stargazing. Hurt, heartbroken, and completely miserable, Silent Wing stared at the blue skies beneath the noon day sun.
The colt held up his left hoof to the sun, peering through the largest hole. He shifted his gaze to see where his shadows bore gaps of sunshine, touching the bright spot on the deck with his right hoof.
He had learned to channel his emotions, to keep them from becoming self destructive. Tseng Tzu had once told him venting was good only if it was done constructively. It was so hard to do that right now. Mother said she loved him only to turn around and tell him he wasn't either a pony nor a changeling. Of course, she had been drinking. She had been doing that more and more lately. She probably would not have made that stupid comment if she had been sober.
"Silent?" came a small voice behind him.
He did not turn, did not want to hear.
"Silent, please talk to me!"
Silent knew she would try to make things right.
A tiny filly head forced herself under his right wing, bumping up against him as her little hooves went around him in a worried hug. "Momma said she made you sad and that she didn't mean it," Atalanta said. "Won't you talk to her? You're both sad right now and I don't like it at all."
Again, he said nothing, but did droop his wing over her little body and pulled her close into a hug.
"What did she say?" she asked him curiously, her eyes wide with wondering.
Her older brother shook his head. "I'm not ready to talk about it yet," Silent finally replied. "I feel like getting some exercise."
"I should practice flying, too," said the little princess seriously. "I wanna be as good a flyer as you!" She was happy to see her brother smiling. He had a nice smile and it was much better than that pouty face!
"Let's see if you can hover," he challenged gently, standing and sidestepping.
Atalanta could never keep a sour mood sour. The filly could get rocks to laugh. She bounced around her brother, her little hooves thumping against the wood beneath her. Every time she went up, her insectoid wings would buzz. Atalanta started putting more and more effort into her wings, puffing her cheeks with each jump.
"Helps if you keep breathing," Silent reminded her. Mother's words still stung him and would for a while, but this was a welcome distraction. "You'll get dizzy if you keep doing that!"
As he watched her try her best to master her wings, the colt thought about Chrysalis. Maybe he had overreacted. Maybe she really was trying to tell him something truthful and did not know any better way to go around it. To her, speaking to her children was like trying row a boat with one oar over rapids. She simply had not bee able to properly acquaint herself to the feelings of her children. Silent Wing did not yet know this, but he sensed she had been uncomfortable when she told him, almost as if she didn't want to say what she did.(2)
"Hold that wing beat!" he encouraged Ata, noting she was starting to get some lift. "Keep working those muscles. Don't think about them, they know what they're doing."
Her front hooves lifted off the ground. She had done this before. It always started her brother's heart thumping in his chest. Then, she became too excited and lost her concentration. Rather, she simply stopped buzzing her wings. She contorted her little face, her jaw sliding one way while she puckered her mouth and scrunched her brow into a determined little scowl.
She tried again, her thrumming wings finding a steady hum almost matching the tone of the airship's propellers a hundred feet below. Closing her harelquin eyes, the little princess felt something in her mind fall into place effortlessly. Her front hooves again left the ground as they had before, but then, little by little less and less of her rear hooves lost contact with the flooring. Up, up, up she lifted! One inch. Two inches. Six inches.
Atalanta opened her eyes, looked down, grew a large smile, and beamed it at her brother. "I'm doing it!" she squealed, nearly losing her balance as her legs kicked and flailed happily.
"Yes!" came a jubilant voice. It was not Silent who called out.
Chrysalis had just arrived up the elevator in time to see her daughter start her second attempt. She had asked her way to finding her son, the answers leading her to this moment. It started out as a very happy and memorable one. The Queen was happy to see her daughter flying on her own at last. Taking to wing herself she went to congratulate her daughter on even terms. Her attention switched to Silent Wing.
All she received as a cold stare.
There were no other ponies on the observation deck save for the bartender who was busy preparing for the evening. There was going to be a celebratory dinner for all the ship's guests. Dinner with the captain was expected. Chrysalis had even looked forward to it.
The colt backed away from her, his wings unfolding, his mind suddenly reminding him why he should be mad at her. Those wings began to beat faster and faster, hooves thudding loudly upon the wood. With ears laid back and a toss of his mane, Silent Wing spun on a back hoof, and was aloft with barely an effort. It was one hell of a time to suddenly decide to be rebellious, but his mind was made up. This was the one time when he did not want to see her. He felt hurt, even if it was imaginary, as the thought was also creeping into his mind. But, he wanted to cling to his stubborn and irrational idea of staying mad at the queen.
No changeling in the world could match Silent Wing's natural talent to ride the wind. No changeling in the world could match his agility nor his untapped speed. Fueled by his wanting to get away, just to escape if just for a little while, Yawing to his left, he dove out of sight of his mother and sister. Mother called out to him, but he pointedly ignored her.
He found the window to his cabin and crawled inside. He found his bag unpacked on his bed. Checking its contents, he found the map he had received from Equestria still there. He strapped the packs over his back, buckling them firmly in place. Silent Wing paused as the weight felt heavier, and examined the contents to see what was adding the weight.
It was a set of griffon claws, lightweight armor designed to strap over a foreleg, with a cleverly designed housing over the forehoof for a set of three razor sharp claws shaped like those of a griffon's. They sprang out with a certain twitching of the muscles. A user with a quick mind and focus was said to be able to 'instinct' them out as if they were part of their wielder. The colt fumbled in putting the thing on, excited as Tseng Tzu had taught him to use it, but warned it was not for those who were not ready for it. The straps and buckles were snapped and made snug after a few minutes of remembering where everything went.
It was the most awesome thing he had ever seen.
Silent Wing went to his desk and found pen and paper. He scribbled a quick note, setting it in plain sight. Stoppering the inkwell, Silent used it as a paper weight. Satisfied everything was settled here, he went back out the window.
He needed time alone and for himself. Something was telling him to go somewhere. Those dreams were still happening, the ones where he could not remember what they were, but he always woke up in a cold sweat. The dreams he did remember were normal dreams, some even quite pleasant. He dreamed of other fillies his age, that being normal for a colt. But there was something else that woke him up.
Falling through the sky, the prince allowed for the airship to fall away from him, growing smaller and smaller until he hit the low cloud bank. At that point he snapped his wings out and skimmed remained within them for a while, puffs of white all around him, drifting along the wind. He adjusted, locking his wings and gliding up until his hooves were skimming the tops of puffy white clouds. To the Silent's surprise, he found he could actually walk on them.
Silent fully intended to return to the airship. Maybe at sunset. Right now, he just wanted to fly. Feeling the wind in his mane gave him such a sense of freedom. He never had a chance to simply be a part of the sky. Back home, there were restrictions as to what he could do, where he could go. He was always watched. Any deviations from his schedule would be reported to his mother, who in turn would usually defer his punishment to the affronted instructor at that time.
They were not kind to the colt.
He was too encumbered by his bag to attempt any real speed. For now he was content to just enjoy the freedom and to clear his mind. Ahead and above him were several large fluffy clouds rolling lazily in the blue. Silent had read somewhere about weather ponies and their ability to control clouds and clear them from the sky. The colt fully intended to find out if this was something he could do just to satisfy his curiosity.
Until he heard a scream down below. It was so faint, he nearly missed it.
Silent stopped in mid-flight, his eyes darting towards the ground, ears perked forward. Sinking down, he passed through the clouds, his ears intent on seeking out what he was sure had been a scream.
There it was again! Below, to the left and beneath those trees.
Above him, unnoticed sped by the Aurora, a silver cylinder glinting in the midday sun. The colt looked up at it, realizing if he lost sight of the ship, he might not be able to find it. Magic was propelling the ship faster than her propellers could actually pull her, encasing the great airship in a field and hurling through the air at three hundred fifty miles per hour. She had been designed with long distance travel in mind. Seeing something that large flying through the air gave the illusion it was not moving all that fast. Silent did a quick mental calculation and figured the ship had already surpassed a thousand miles that morning. Impressive.
A clear scream, filled with fear and panic snapped his attention.
"Whelp," he muttered under his breath. "I'm in for it now as it is.."
Silent Wing dove, flexing and unflexing his griffon claws out to make sure he had them correctly set. They hissed out with a metallic springing, feeling solid and certifiably lethal. He hoped he would not have to use them.
He spotted movement beneath the trees, a flash of an azure coat. Large blurred forms darted after it, snarling and growling menacingly. The colt could hear them as they called out to each other, sounds not familiar to Silent Wing. They sounded almost like dogs, but bigger and far more dangerous.
Another scream pierced the air.
The colt tucked his wings and dove again, going into the canopy, his eyes sharply watching for branches of the trees. He had to slow down, as there were simply too many sticks and twigs slapping his face and body. Already scrapes and tiny little cuts were scoring his frame. So far, Silent was avoiding the boughs, even using them to land on and use to half hop, half fly towards where he thought he had heard the screams.
Again, that scream, longer this time and followed by, "Help me! Somepony please help me!" Hysterical weeping burst out, followed by more shrieks.
Silent hit the ground with a thump, the last jump hooking his wing on a hidden branch and hyperextending it. The damp smell of warm soil reached his nostrils, along with decaying leaves and other things strewn about the forest floor. It was dim, his eyes having to take a few moments to adjust. Wincing and biting his lip to step the pain, he felt one of his fangs cut. Hissing under his breath, the colt laid his ears back and slinked like a cat towards the sounds.
The colt shifted his sore wing and shook out his right hoof as he crept around the base of a large tree, slowly shuffling his legs as he started to lean forward expectantly. As his head poked around, he saw a large pile of logs smack against his cover, sending splintering wood.
"Get back, you beasts!" shouted a feminine voice, fighting panic. "The Great and Powerful Trixie will not be a meal for the likes of you foul dogs!"
Silent noted it was a bit of a clearing, with barely a break in the leaves to allow sunlight through. He saw four large wolves twice his size snarling and snapping at a unicorn who had somehow managed to get herself out of biting range by escaping up into a large tree in the middle of the clearing. The colt did a double take on the wolves. They were made of bits of wood and logs and broken branches, yet they were living, breathing wolves. There was a peculiar stench in the air, like rancid meat.
The unicorn had an azure coat and a very pale blue mane and tail. Her violet eyes were wide with fright, but she was fighting off her attackers with bolts of magic from her horn. On her back was strapped a basket with a bundle in it. The unicorn was battered and bruised, but otherwise appeared unharmed from what Silent could see.
Without thinking, he charged at the nearest wooden wolf. What they were had not come to mind yet, but he was right on the tip of recalling what these monsters were. Combining the power of his rear legs and an assist with his wings, he leapt at the wooden wolf - TIMBERWOLF! - and slashed with his right forehoof, the griffon talons flashing out in a triple hiss of steel.
Wood exploded upon impact, wrenching apart. The timberwolf was far more solid than Silent thought as his talons caught in the shoulder blades of the surprised wolf. It did not seem to register pain, but glared at him with baleful eyes burning like green hellfire. With a jerk and a hard kick, the colt pulled off his victim just as jaws snapped, not sounding at all like wood and more like a steel trap. His talons sheathed themselves with a flick of his wrist.
Timberwolves, timberwolves. Silent tried to remember what he had read about them as he landed, his mind a-whirl as he did a visual sweep of the battle field. His lessons in the military school came to play concerning being outnumbered in combat. Would it apply to beasts? Well, first thing he recalled about timberwolves was their pack mentality. If one attacked, it was more than likely another would attack from another direction, most likely from -
"Behind!" He stood on his forehooves, wound up his hind legs and kicked as hard as he could. Silent was rewarded as his hooves connected with something solid and suddenly howling with rage. The timberwolf shied away, one eye closed while it tried to protect it with a paw.
The mare was staring at him with an unreadable expression. Silent worked his way towards her, darting around flashing fangs and beneath paws reaching for him. Hooves tore up the earth, sending leaves and dirt scattering where he kicked it. Some of it was deliberate, as the timberwolves seemed to like hugging their heads close to the forest floor, waiting for a moment to pounce.
One suddenly loomed in front of him, its breath washing over the colt like raw sewage. Gagging at the stench, Silent lost his balance as he started choking. He reared and blindly lashed out with his right hoof, the griffon claws once again singing into action. Again, he was rewarded, but it was a glancing blow as the timberwolf saw it coming and dodged.
It was almost enough, but a heavy paw struck Silent in the left shoulder, sending him into a flying stumble. His balance failed him and he fell on his right side, his damaged wing hyperextending again. Snarling in pain, the colt forced himself into rolling the direction his momentum was taking him. His pack fell off somewhere during the tumble. Silent found his hooves and skidded to a stop, nearly sideways with his head low as he gagged out the last remnants of the stench from his lungs. Baring his fangs, in pain, and in a fight for his life, he screamed a blood curdling battle cry and began charging at the coming predator.
A properly trained changeling in the art of combat is, by all means a dangerous opponent. A partially trained, highly motivated young prince with years of pent up anger impossible to purge no matter how many focus exercises performed was an entirely different matter. Throw in a griffon claw he was at least adept at turned him into something lethal and nearly unheard of.
The timberwolf came, three of its packmates spreading out on its sides. A fifth one seemingly reformed from where a stack of wood had seemingly shattered against the tree earlier.
A rational Silent Wing would have tried to get up in the tree with the Unicorn. A rational Silent Wing would have sought a way out of this unwinnable battle. A rational Silent Wing would would have seen the stupidity of his own action and stopped. Red haze overtook him at that moment, blocking all thoughts, all reasoning. His blood broiled and his brain screamed for battle.
The battle was joined. Silent went berserk. His talons slashed at heads, he kicked like a madpony, screaming incoherently with rage. Claws tore into him, fangs nipped at his flanks. For a moment, he gave better than he got and for a moment, the timberwolves were stunned.
A few seconds was all that was needed as suddenly a blinding white light went off in the middle of them. Timberwolves howled in fright as they found themselves suddenly blind, and they began bumping into each other, a couple even literally falling to pieces in their scramble to escape.
Silent Wing flinched and covered his eyes, suddenly brought back to reality from the sudden brightness of the sun exploding literally in face. A body pressed against him firmly from the side, urging him to move.
"This way, you foal! Trixie will guide you until your sight returns. We must get away from this place!"
"My bag!"
"Will still be there. Nopony comes this way. Come! Trixie will help you get it later. For now, you must worry about saving your skin." She pushed him with her hoof.
"I can't see where I'm going!" He was blinking his eyes, rubbing them. Bright spots were everywhere and his vision was blurred.
"Trixie will let you take her tail in your mouth if you promise you will not drool on Trixie's tail." Her voice sounded amused both a bit annoyed.
Something smacked him in the nose. Grabbing it with a hoof, he guided the end of the tail into his mouth and clamped down. There was a tug and off he went, blindly following somepony he had just met. She broke into a trot and he was obliged to do the same as she quite bluntly told him she would have no problem leaving him blinded in the forest for the timberwolves to return and eat him.
He heard a stream somewhere up ahead. They had been trotting for a few minutes and his eyes were getting better. They were well enough for him to spit out his savior's hair.
"Clean yourself up," she suggested, pointing at the stream. "You're a mess." No, it was more of a river than a stream, with gently rolling white water.
Silent was able to make her out now. She was a pretty Unicorn, perhaps a bit worn and considerably older than him, but still more than capable of turning heads. The cutie mark on her flank was a wand with a star on it with what appeared to be hundreds of tiny little stars in a wavy pattern falling from the big star. She was taking something out of the basket, the few spots in his eyes would not let him focus quite yet. Trixie was not paying attention to the colt, her eyes becoming warm and tender to the little bundle.
"Thank you," he said to her simply as he went to the shallow river. There was no indication she acknowledged his appreciation, so he shrugged, not bothering to wait for her to react.
Deciding to just get in and let the flowing water do the work, he made his way out to a spot where the current was fairly strong and the water deep enough for him to submerge himself. He could feel his wounds stinging. The right wing complained when he tried to move it. After a half a minute underwater, he came up an snorted. Hooves crunched over the pebbled river bottom as he made his way back to short.
Trixie was playing with a foal Unicorn.
"Cute baby," he said as he began to examine his wounds. They would be easier to check now as they had been cleaned. To the colt's chagrin, he had a lot of wounds, a few deep enough to be problematic. They would have to be closed as soon as possible.
The mother Unicorn looked at him with a scrutinizing stare, her eyes moving up and down, squinting, then going back to focusing on her child. "Trixie thinks you were very brave to fight the timberwolves. Stupid, but brave.  Trixie does not have much to offer in thanks for your help," she told him, lifting her eyes from her foal just once and briefly at that as she spoke.
"Do you always speak in the third person?" Silent asked her curiously as he began checking his wounded wing. It ached painfully as he tried to extend it. Flying would be out of the question for some time.
"Trixie does," was the reply, her tone suggesting it was a tiresome question she had heard often. She set her foal back in its basket after re-wrapping the blanket it was bundled in.
Silent hissed again as nerves spasmed as he forced his wing to full extension. Oh, yes, it was going to be a while before he could fly again. Trixie watched him coolly, a curious smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
"Are you a chimera?"
Startled by the question, the colt looked up as another jolt of pain went through his wing. "Beg pardon?"
"Are. You. A. Chimera?" She stood and went over to him, looking him over as if he was a lion at a zoo. "It's a simple question with a yes or no answer. Trixie could not imagine difficulty in answering a yes or no question." She took some interest in his left side, eyeing the holes in his legs.
Taken completely off guard by her directness, he replied, "I don't think I am."
"Hmm. Trixie suspects you do not know the answer yourself." She was in front of him, having done one circuit around him, carefully avoiding the bad wing. A dramatic little sigh flared as she added, "You need a doctor. Trixie was on her way to Grazeland when the timberwolves attacked. Perhaps Trixie can repay you by taking you to the doctor? It is only an hour from here...what did you say your name is, young stallion?"
Silent told her. He then asked, "What about my bags? My map is in there and I need it."
She rolled her eyes and huffed, "As Trixie said before, nopony goes into the forest without good reason. Your property will still be there after you get patched up. Trixie thinks you need medical attention more than you need another wrestling match with timberwolves."
The Unicorn was still eyeballing him as if trying to figure out a puzzle. Obviously she was greatly interested in the colt. Silent Wing was aware it was not due to his overwhelming charm and personality. She was seeing the mix of everything he was and judging him.
Trixie noticed his ears slowly going flat as he looked away, obviously unhappy. She frowned and fished out a spare blanket from her basket without disturbing her now sleeping foal. Using her magic, she began to take strips from it until she had enough to make a sizeable bandage for a wing.
"Let's bind up that wing of yours," she told him as she put the blanket back and showed Silent the strips for him to see. "It needs to be supported or Trixie fears your wing will not be a very comfortable thing to put up with." Trixie sighed, shook her head and waved a hoof at his left flank. "That needs to be bandaged, too. You are not very smart when it comes to odds in a fight, Trixie thinks."
"Yeah, that was pretty dumb of me," he admitted as she started wrapping his wing. Silent hissed at the pain, flashing his fangs.
Trixie paused and stared at them before continuing her work. Her magic did most of the binding. Some of the open wounds simply could not be properly doctored out in the middle of the wilderness, but she did what she could. The mare was brisk in her work, even rough at times. Silent bore it with grit teeth, finding she was quick to jump on his complaining by pointing out it was his fault to begin with for jumping into a pack of five timberwolves.
"What did you use on them?" he asked her when she brought up the blinding flash of light.
She smiled. "The Great and Powerful Trixie is the most magnificent showpony in all of Equestria!" Trixie declared with a flourish. "It was a simple flash spell. Trixie used it because somepony decided to get all the timberwolves' attention and gather them in one spot. Trixie is glad she could save you from what would have been a horrible fate." She nodded to her self appreciatively.
"But you called for help," Silent pointed out.
She huffed, "Trixie was lulling the wolves into a false sense of security." Trixie thrust her flank and nose in the air and began walking off, clearly finished with the conversation. "This way to Grazeland. If we follow the river, we shall be there in just over an hour!"
Despite the pain, Silent found himself chuckling in wonder at this most unusual pony. He was clearly not going to get back to the ship any time soon. Well, he thought as he examined his armored right foreleg. At least I got to test out my claws.