Consciousness returned slowly to Cliff Runner. There were flashes of light; images, and sounds that he couldn't quite make sense of.
Slowly, the flashes grew closer together until they became one, and Cliff found himself lying in a bed somewhere. The ceiling was leaf green, and the walls were blue, just a few shades darker than the sky. He sorted through these two facts until his sluggish mind had to admit that he had no idea where he was. More importantly, every inch of his body seemed to be screaming in pain all at once.
Cliff tried to move his right arm, but a sharp poke at the front of his elbow stopped him. He turned to see a tube of some kind attached there. The young dragon stared at it dumbly, but it didn't provide any answers either. Turning to the left, Cliff gingerly tested that arm. A flare of pain told him that his wrist was probably broken. He tried to hiss in pain, but a much larger burst of agony in his chest left him speechless. It seemed only the most shallow breaths would let him avoid that.
Considering that Cliff hadn't expected to wake up at all, he didn't think he had room to complain.
He embraced the Stillness, which helped him ignore the pain as he inched his hand up onto his chest. Exhaustion threatened to claim him, but Cliff fought it down. Inside of the Stillness, he allowed hope, wonder, and love. It was a good thing he knew how to create those emotions at will, because he wasn't feeling any of them naturally.
He felt relief to still be alive, of course, and joy that the children were most likely safe, but the strongest emotion around the edge of his heart was anger that nopony had bothered to help him. At least Rainbow Dash had been doing something useful. Sending the fastest flier in Equestria to get reinforcements just made sense. Princess Twilight Sparkle, on the other claw, had flown off for a planning session, leaving Cliff to face the threat alone.
Refocusing on his current situation, Cliff imagined an opening flower. He pushed through the wall, and felt sweet relief as healing magic flowed into his chest. Weak and groggy as he was, Cliff only managed to heal a small amount of the damage, but it was enough that he was able to slip into a deeper, far more rejuvenating sleep.
-_-_-_-_-_-
When Cliff awoke, he was still alone, and somepony had moved his arm back to his side. With a sigh, he endured the pain of moving it back to his chest. His mind still refused to clear, for some reason, but at least he had some willpower for his spells. This time, he was able to heal his entire chest, wincing as the ribs snapped back into place. Even so, it felt wonderful to breathe without pain.
Time to deal with that wrist. He gently moved it under his other hand, and cast the spell through that one this time. So much better, Cliff Runner thought. The rest of his body still felt like it had been dropped off a mountain, but at least nothing else seemed to be broken. He closed his eyes, and let sleep take him once more.
-_-_-_-_-_-
Gentle voices stirred Cliff from his slumber. He opened his eyes to find Spike, Twilight, and some pony in a white jacket standing at the door.
“Cliff!” The baby dragon shouted, running to his brother's side. “I was so worried about you!” He grabbed onto the older dragon's arm, and smiled at him with tears in his eyes.
Cliff mustered a smile of his own. It's a good thing I healed that wrist. “I'm just glad you're safe, Spike.”
The pony in the jacket excused himself, leaving Twilight alone with the two dragons. She smiled nervously. “The doctors say it's a miracle. All of your worst injuries have disappeared.”
“Healing magic,” Cliff replied, his smile faded as he looked away. He wasn't in the mood to talk to her. It looks like it's early night outside.
“Oh, I... I kind of suspected...” She sighed. “I'll just leave you two alone.”
Once she was gone, Cliff gently squeezed his brother's shoulder. “I'm sorry for scaring you.”
Spike tried to force himself to smile as tears began to trickle down his cheeks. “I thought... I thought that... I'd lose you.” He buried his face in Cliff's arm. Gentle sobs rocked the little dragon.
There wasn't much that Cliff could say. Death had been a real possibility when he chose to face that monster. If it had been Fire Eyes, or Grandma, they would have beaten it easily, but because it was me, Spike nearly lost the only dragon family he's ever known. He silently vowed to be more diligent with his combat training.
After several minutes, his little brother let go of the arm and wiped his eyes. “Are you going to be okay?”
Cliff gingerly pushed himself into a sitting position. “I'll be fine. I just need to finish healing myself.” He activated the healing spell again and started going over his head, neck, and arms. “What about you, Spike? How are you holding up?”
“I'm fine.” The younger dragon climbed up next to him, staring at his brother's glowing palms intently. “The hydra never got anywhere near me.”
“No, I meant...” Cliff sighed. He never knew how to say these things under the best of circumstances. Let alone now, when it felt like his head was packed with sand. “The first time I saw Grandma get hurt fighting a berserker, I couldn't sleep well for days. I just didn't feel safe anymore.”
“Oh.” Spike sat down and leaned back against his brother. “Well, yeah, I guess I'm doing okay. It was pretty scary to see you all beaten up like that, but Twilight has made it through some pretty tough spots too, and Zecora promised that you'd be fine.”
“Okay.” He hugged the younger dragon with the arm that didn't have a tube sticking out of it. “Just remember that you can talk to me about anything.”
“I will.” Spike hugged him back.
Cliff started healing his lower body. “What happened after I passed out?”
“Twilight brought you here after you... uh, fought the hydra. Its been two days since then. Most of the town has calmed down now.”
“Calmed down?”
“Well, the ponies around town kind of panicked.” Spike shifted uncomfortably. “They were afraid that you attacked the hydra because you just like fighting.”
Cliff stared at his younger brother in disbelief. “Did they miss the part where it almost killed me?”
Spike hugged him again. “I know... you just did it because you were protecting the Crusaders, and all of us, really, but some ponies saw you running out to meet it, and they started saying things.”
Cliff's thoughts were too fuzzy to ponder the implications of that. “What have you been up to these last two days?”
“Twilight and I oversaw removal of the hydra's, uh, body.” Spike took a deep breath, and looked his brother in the eyes. “She promised everypony that she would talk to you after you woke up, and figure out exactly what happened. They'll probably hold a town meeting about it tomorrow.”
“Why do they care so much?”
“Well...” Spike looked down. “Some ponies were saying that we should ask you to leave, but Twilight wants to show everypony that you were just protecting the four of us.” He rushed through the last bit.
Cliff took a moment to let his mind wrap around this latest revelation. Nothing about this town makes sense! Why would they want to get rid of somedragon who just fought to protect them? Maybe he could understand it all if his head wasn't still so foggy. “Hey Spike, I hate to say this, but maybe I should talk with the Princess alone for a bit.”
“Oh... okay.” Spike slid off the bed. “I'll see you soon.”
“I won't be long,” Cliff promised as his brother left.
A few moments later, Twilight entered. “You wanted to see me?” She looked nervous.
“Yes.” Cliff pulled on the tube connected to his arm, removing a thin metal needle that had been embedded between his scales there. He healed the small wound, and turned to the Princess. “I've had a rather difficult couple of days, and I want to know two things.” His voice was soft, but angry. “First, why did nopony try to help while I was fighting that monster by myself? Second, why do you ponies want me to go after I nearly died protecting you all?”
Twilight shrank back from the venom in his voice. “Cliff, you have to understand that these ponies aren't fighters. They were all just trying to get their families away from danger. I tried to help when I realized that you were fighting it, but by the time I got there it was nearly over. I don't want you to go, and most of the other ponies in Ponyville don't either. There are just a few that got scared, and started saying hurtful things.” She bowed her head. “I'm really sorry that we made you feel this way.”
Cliff took a moment to reign in his emotions. Getting mad at her wouldn't accomplish anything. “Apology accepted.” He took a long breath. “You kept it from biting me there at the end?”
She nodded. “And I caught you when you broke out of its mouth.”
“Then you saved my life.” Cliff sighed. “Thank you.” He couldn't even be angry at her after hearing that. “Will you please tell me why everypony is freaking out?”
She took a moment to respond. “Ponies don't usually... kill. Most of them had never seen an intelligent creature kill something before two days ago; let alone in a way that was so violent.”
“You think I did the wrong thing by killing it?”
Twilight didn't need to answer. The look on her face said it all.
It hurt Cliff more than he wanted to admit to see his closest pony friend second-guessing him. “Do you think I enjoyed it?”
She shook her head. “No, I know that you were only protecting Spike and the Crusaders, but... did you really have to...?”
“Yes.” He didn't look at her. “Trust me when I say that sometimes bloodshed is the best of bad options.”
“No it's not!” Twilight surprised herself with the firmness in her voice. “I'm sorry,” she added immediately, “but killing is never the best option.”
Cliff closed his eyes and calmed his heart. I have to find a way to make her understand this! Opening his eyes, he said as gently as he could, “I tried to lure the hydra away, but it refused to leave. In fact, it was going straight for the palace. Straight for Spike and those three fillies.” He paused for a moment. “I don't know any spells to create shields, or to control the mind of another creature. What better option did I have?”
“I... don't know,” she said.
“I don't either,” Cliff got off the bed so he could be at eye level with her. His limbs were shaky, but managed to hold him up. “A more powerful dragon would have had more options. A wiser one would have seen ones that I missed. For me, however, my choices were to either kill the thing, or let it kill four young ones.” He felt tired in a way that had nothing to do with his body. “Twilight, I'm trying, but I just don't understand why you think that was the wrong decision.”
The alicorn closed her eyes and stood perfectly still. Cliff realized that she was using the technique she had learned to clear her heart. “I didn't know that you tried to lure it away,” she said at last. “The first thing I saw was when the hydra had you in its mouth. Other ponies told me you had attacked it, and I believed that it was your first option.” The Stillness slipped away and a few tears coursed down her cheek. “I'm a horrible friend for assuming the worst of you.”
Was this really just a misunderstanding? Cliff shook his head to clear it. “Do you think it was wrong of me to kill it as a last resort?”
She shook her head.
A weight lifted from him. “I was assuming the worst of you too.” A chuckle escaped his lips at the stupidity of it all. “I thought you were a fool who wouldn't even fight to defend her friends and family.” Cliff sank to the floor as relief washed through him. “I have never been so happy to be wrong.”
Twilight laughed too as she wiped away her tears.
“Would you still be my friend, even though I just made such a jerk of myself?”
“I'd be honored," the alicorn replied immediately, "as long as you're willing to forgive me for being so judgmental.”
“Of course.” Cliff climbed shakily to his feet. “So what's going to happen now?”
Twilight watched him with concern. “Are you sure you should be getting up?”
“Yes.” Cliff stretched his limbs. They were strong enough to get him back to the palace, at least. He motioned for Twilight to continue.
“We'll hold a town meeting tomorrow. After I explain the situation, I'm sure everypony will realize that they were letting their fears get away from them, and calm down.”
Cliff moved past her to the door. “What happened with Rainbow Dash?” He went through to a hallway with the same colors as the room.
Spike and Rainbow Dash were standing next to the door. They both grinned when they saw him.
“She got back not long after it ended.” Twilight said, coming alongside the dragon. “She flew to get Zecora as soon as we realized you were hurt. Her potions saved your life.”
The blue pegasus feigned nonchalance. “Well yeah, I couldn't let my workout partner go and, you know, die on me.”
Cliff gave her a short hug. “Thanks Rainbow, I owe you.” He made a mental note to thank Zecora as well.
She coughed a little. “Y-yeah, no problem. Just don't go all sappy on me.”
He lifted his little brother onto his back. “To the palace?”
The others nodded and led the way.
“What is this place anyway?” He asked as they walked.
“It's a hospital,” Rainbow Dash explained. “The most boring place in the world.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “A hospital is a place where sick or injured ponies are treated, and can rest and recover.” She glanced back at Cliff. “Don't dragons have them too?”
“Why would we need them?” Cliff replied. “Our magic can heal nearly anything.”
“Which is totally awesome, by the way,” Rainbow Dash said. “If I ever break my wing again, I'm coming to see you.”
Spike tousled his older brother's head spikes. “Yeah, my brother is pretty awesome, isn't he?”
“Thanks, Spike,” Cliff said while the two ponies laughed.
Their light mood only lasted until they got the young dragon checked out, however. The streets were far from busy, but nearly every pony they passed stared openly at Cliff. Expressions ranged from surprise, to fear, to hostility, and whispers seemed to follow their every step.
Twilight and Rainbow Dash moved a little closer to him, both looking around like they were daring anypony to say something.
Against his better judgment, Cliff used a spell to improve his hearing.
“I heard that he was locked up because he wouldn't stop attacking ponies.”
“Why is the Princess keeping such a dangerous creature?”
“Isn't there somewhere else he could go?”
Cliff ended the spell, wondering what he had expected to hear.
-_-_-_-_-_-
They reached the palace after a short walk, which had taken several eternities. “What is wrong with them?” Rainbow Dash demanded. “You were protecting them, for pony's sake!”
Cliff Runner remained silent as he set Spike down. He was wondering about that as well.
“Everypony is just frightened because their town was in danger, Rainbow,” Twilight said. “I read all about this kind of reaction in my books. They need an outlet for all that fear and frustration,” she turned to Cliff apologetically, “even if that target has nothing to do with the problem.”
“Nopony treated me like that after I attacked the town,” Spike pointed out.
“I know, Spike, but we had both lived here for a while when that happened. You had a lot of friends who stood up for you. Cliff has only been in town for two weeks. He's...” She hesitated.
“An outsider,” Cliff finished. They all tried to disagree, but he cut them off. “It's okay. I'm different, and it's easy to be frightened of anything that's different.” He took a deep breath. “They scare me a little. I shouldn't blame them for feeling the same way.”
“Are you serious?” Rainbow Dash stared at him in disbelief. “You beat a hydra with your bare claws. How can you be scared of a bunch of ponies?”
Twilight glared at her. “Rainbow! That's not the sort of thing-”
“It's okay,” Cliff repeated. “I don't get it either.” He led the way to the living room, and flopped onto one of the couches. “I'm not going to cause you problems by staying here, am I?”
“Actually, Spike and I had an idea about how to prevent that.” Twilight took a seat on the adjacent couch. “I want to hire you to be my official tutor for all things dragon related.”
He shook his head. “You don't have to pay me to teach you, Twilight.”
“It would involve more than that,” she assured him. “I sent a letter to Princess Celestia, and she says she'd like to get written copies of everything. Ponies know next to nothing about dragons. This could be our chance to educate all of Equestria!” Her smile was so large that it threatened to jump off her face and take on a life of its own. “Once they understand dragons better, I'm sure everypony will be more willing to accept them.”
As far as he could tell, money was their society's way of thanking an individual for benefiting it. Teaching Spike and Twilight didn't really help the town at all, but teaching a country... “Okay,” Cliff decided, “but if you want to know about dragons, I should go back to the Redstone Coven and get a copy of Egghead's notes.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Rainbow Dash laughed. “You know a dragon named Egghead?”
“He actually likes his name,” Cliff chuckled, “but yeah, it's pretty silly.”
“What about going back to your coven?” Twilight asked over her friend's laughter. “Won't that take a long time?”
Spike grabbed his brother's arm. “You aren't going to leave me, are you?”
He gave the little dragon a hug. “Of course not. I'd bring you along if I could, but that would make the trip take several weeks, instead of one day.”
His brother looked down, “O-okay...”
“Where do you live?” Rainbow Dash asked over the baby dragon.
Cliff squeezed his little brother again. “Do you have a map of the continent?”
“Of course.” Twilight ran to one of the bookshelves in the room and came back with a scroll. She unrolled it on the table in front of them.
The dragon pointed to a spot near its center. “This is Ponyville here, so...” his claw trailed down to a mountain range far south of Equestria's borders. “Redstone is here.”
“Whoa,” Rainbow Dash stared at the map. “No offense, Cliff, but there's no way you could cover that distance in one day.”
“Actually, Rainbow,” Twilight said, studying the map intently. “If you were to use a sonic rainboom, you could go that far in just over five minutes.”
“Well yeah,” the pegasus rolled her eyes, “because I'm awesome.” She paused. “Wait a minute, Cliff, do you have some sort of sonic dragonboom you can do?”
“I wish,” the young dragon replied. Spike had told him all about the sonic rainboom a while ago. “With all of my spells at maximum power, I could probably make it in fifteen or twenty minutes.”
“Really?” Twilight looked up. “You would have to be going at least mach two point six to accomplish that. I've never heard of anything without flight moving so quickly.”
He shrugged. “It's not that impressive. Rainbow Dash is still much faster.”
The mare in question grinned. “You're darn right I am, Cliff!”
“Anyway,” Twilight said. “Are you sure this will even be necessary? We can just write everything down ourselves.”
“Trust me, Egghead's records will be far more complete than anything I could teach you on my own. Besides...” he looked down, “it might be a good idea if I left for a few days.”
Spike looked like he was about to say something, but then a look of determination crossed his face. “Okay, Cliff, but I'm going to talk to every last pony in town while you're gone. By the time you get back, they'll want to throw a parade in your honor.”
“Me too.” Twilight nodded. “Uh, when will you leave?”
“Tomorrow after lunch.” Cliff told her. “I should get back around nightfall the day after.” He turned to Rainbow Dash. “Sorry, but I'll have to cancel our next few runs.”
The pegasus shook her head. “Nu-uh, we'll get them in on our way to your home and back.”
Spike and Twilight immediately burst into objections, but Cliff just stared at her with an amused smile. Once the other two had calmed down, he spoke. “You actually want to come along?”
She scratched the back of her neck. “Well the last time I left you hanging, you wound up in the hospital. I figure I owe you one after that, so I'll come along and keep you out of trouble.”
“What about your job?” Twilight objected.
“What about Tank?” Spike added.
“I'll ask Fluttershy to take care of him, and I already finished the weather plan for this week. As long as it's only a few days, Cloud Kicker should be able to handle things without me.” She turned to Cliff and puffed out her chest dramatically. “So don't bother arguing. I'm going to keep you safe whether you like it or not.”
“It looks like I don't have a choice.” Cliff bowed in his seat. “I graciously accept.”
-_-_-_-_-_-
The next morning was bright and clear... again. Cliff reflected on how nice it would be to see real weather once more. After his morning stretches, he checked the door. Truth be told, he wasn't sure if he should expect anything, but a paper bag was waiting there as usual. The young dragon smiled. At least some ponies haven't changed their minds about me. He fried the fish and eggs to go with Spike's breakfast of pancakes and fruit smoothies.
“I packed some saddlebags for you,” Twilight told him over their food. “They have three days' worth of rations, some blankets, and room to hold Egghead's notes.”
Cliff thanked her as he plowed through his eggs. Healing magic always left him starving for days after he used it. “Do you want to try some, Spike?” He gestured at his plate.
Spike shook his head. “No thanks, I like my pancakes.” He took a large bite to emphasize his point.
His little brother was an odd one, to be sure.
Once breakfast had finished and cleaned up, Cliff spent a few minutes going over Twilight's map. He was fairly confident that he knew the way, but it was surprisingly easy to get lost while traveling at supersonic speeds. Satisfied that he knew all the major landmarks, Cliff rolled up the map and put it away before pulling his cloak on. He still needed to grab a potion for Fluttershy before he left. It would also give him a chance to thank Zecora.
Cliff Runner paused at the door. It was already late enough in the morning that the streets would be filled. It would be like the night before, only without Twilight or Rainbow Dash to serve as buffers. Well, I'll have to face it eventually. He pushed open the door and walked outside.
It was all he could do to walk calmly around the edge of town, avoiding eye contact with any ponies he passed. Cliff could almost feel them taking aim with a spell or a lightning bolt. Shifting uncomfortably beneath his cloak, he reminded himself what he had felt in the hearts he read, and told himself to stop being paranoid.
Even so, he didn't start to feel comfortable until the town disappeared completely behind the trees of the Everfree Forest. Sure there were monsters in the forest, but at least Cliff knew what to expect out of them.
Zecora smiled when she opened the door for him. “Ah Cliff, young dragon friend, so good to see you on the mend.”
Cliff smiled back and followed her inside. Fewer potions were scattered around the house than usual, but not much else had changed. He had to wonder if she ever took a break from mixing new potions in that cauldron. “Twilight said you mixed up a special potion for me while I was at the hospital. I wanted to thank you for that.”
The zebra took a sip of her potion. “Protecting the young is a noble cause. That mix was my way of giving applause.” She tossed a few flowers into the cauldron and began stirring.
“Thank you for that too.” Cliff sat down and shook his head. “The rest of Ponyville seems to think that I attacked the hydra just because.”
She paused for a few moments before responding. “Most ponies have never had to take a life. They cannot see value in strife.” Zecora took a seat in front of Cliff. “Their path is different, that is true, but it does not mar the path of you.”
Sometimes it took a bit of work to translate what Zecora said. “In other words, ponies are herbivores, and so they can't see the point in killing anything. Their way of handling things is different than mine. Neither superior nor inferior, just different.”
Zecora nodded. “To try and be something else, would rob the world of your own self.” She gestured to a group of multicolored vials. “A one colored world would be very sad. That there are many makes me quite glad.”
Thinking about the metaphor made Cliff chuckle just a little. “I guess it would be pretty silly to call red inferior to blue... Thank you, Zecora. You always know what to say.” He fished a bag of bits out of his cloak. “I'll be out of town for a few days, so could I get an extra large potion for Fluttershy?”
-_-_-_-_-_-
After making his purchase, Cliff left Zecora's and made his way to Fluttershy's cottage. He was feeling better after his conversation with the zebra, but there was still a lot that he needed to think about. For starters, just how different were the minds of ponies from those of dragons? Was it all to blame on them being herbivores and omnivores respectively, or was there some other factor? Most difficult of all, if he wanted the ponies to accept his culture and ideals as equally valid to their own, then he would need to do the same for them. He wasn't sure if it was even possible to be that objective.
When he reached the cottage, Cliff found himself hesitating. The normal procedure was to leave the potion at the front door and walk away, but it had meant a lot to see her gift at the door that morning. Should I thank her, or would that embarrass her? Even though they had been giving each other gifts for nearly as long as he had been in Ponyville, Cliff had to admit that he still knew very little about the timid pegasus.
After rolling the issue around in his head, Cliff knocked on her door. He would rather have something bad happen in spite of his best efforts than because of a lack of effort.
…
…
…
Just when Cliff was about to knock again, the door creaked partway open. “I... uh, hi Cliff.” She muttered, looking at her hooves. “It's good that you're out of the hospital.”
Cliff was a little disappointed. She was still as uncomfortable around him as ever. He put the potion on the porch between them. “I just wanted to say thank you for being a friend. I'll be gone for the next two days, but I'll bring more potions when I get back.” He turned back to the path. “Take care, Fluttershy.”
She didn't say anything, and so Cliff walked away. He wondered if things would ever be less awkward with that mare.