51 days since the Nameless One’s escape
25 days since the fall of Traxti City
Afternoon, Hourglass City
“...and now I hope enjoy your permanent vacation in the void. I know I will.” Sentinel smirked showing off all of his sharp teeth for dramatic effect before he roared as much white fire as he could at the changeling queen. He didn’t want her to just be dead but to be nothing but ash, a black faceless spot on the ground. His fire streamed out for well over a minute. He panted hard once he stop the stream of flame.
*Pony hurt.* Vorac spoke.
Oh, right. Sentinel switched back to his alicorn form. If he was going to have much of chance to being able to heal the pony he needed the precision of alicorn magic. He looked up to see that the changeling hive was dying at a rapid rate. However, he couldn’t see any nearby ponies and Twixt’d was also nowhere in sight. How did these ponies get so far separated from the rest?
*PONIES HURT!* Vorac roared.
Sentinel snapped to attention and walked over to the boulder that they had been using as shelter. The guard pegasus backuped a touch at the imposing alicorn. The unicorn was too busy keeping the earth pony alive to do much. Sentinel frowned at this. He kneeled down and spoke as softly as possible. “Please relax, I mean you no harm. Chrysalis is dead and the danger from changelings has past.”
“Who.. who are you?” The pegasus guard stammered out, failing miserably at being intimidating.
“I am Sentinel, Secondclaw of the Dragon clan of Hourglass.” Sentinel stated simply. They must have been cowering behind the rock when his switched to his dragon form and they were not aware of his alicorn form yet… and he had not yet told them about the fact that he could switch forms yet. He was focusing on getting their magic back and be self sufficient food wise. The only one that knew was Captain Phoenix Wave. The plan was for him to reveal it at the next war game in two days time. It was clear, however, that waiting was an error on his part.
The pegasus’ eyes went wide in recognition of the name. “Secondclaw? But he’s a dragon and.. you are an alicorn!”
“No time to explain… Go find Quartermaster tell him to go get Scorpan from the Northern Oasis and step on it!” The pegasus guard hesitated before Secondclaw yelled out. “GO!”
Sentinel sighed as the pegasus took off toward the forge. A moan brought his attention back to the injured pony. “Hang in there you hear me?” He ordered before he started to scan the pony. He needed to access the ponies full condition before moving him or else he may end up hurting the pony more or worse killing him. The unicorn attending him had some medic training as most of the cuts and laceration were sealed and wrapping in field dressing. There was still some minor bleeding but nothing too serious. His concern was internal injuries and with the crack ribs that he noted in his scans that was very possible.
“What have you done with him so far?”
“Stopped the visible bleeding dressed some of worse wounds. I also casted a minor pain relieving spell but I don’t think it helped.”
“Doubtful, all four of his legs are shattered, and he has three cracked ribs… nevermind all of the cuts and bruises. Okay…” Sentinel conjured two poles and ropes which he created a crude stretcher. “Help me keep him stable until we get him to the makeshift infirmary. On the count of three… One, two, and three.”
The blue aura of the unicorn combined with Sentinel’s purple and green and slowly lifted the earth pony onto the stretcher. Carefully they lifted the stretcher up and was about to walk away to the makeshift infirmary being set up when Sentinel put up a hoof. He could see the telltale signs of He of Hourglass’ teleportation. An explosion of sparks alighted nearby and He of Hourglass appeared in the midst of the sparks.
“Where is it Secondclaw?” He of Hourglass growled.
Sentinel gestured to the ground a few feet from the charred remains, more like ash, of Chrysalis. He of Hourglass saw what appeared to be an amulet laying on the ground, facedown. He flipped it over to see that it was the Roc Amulet. He threw it in the air then destroyed it with his harmony magic. If Seconclaw was right, this mean only one to go...
Now that the amulet was no more He of Hourglass could focus on the other thing he noticed when he teleported, the seriously injured pony in Secondclaw and the unicorn’s combined aura. “Do you need help?” Sentinel shook his head. “Okay, I’m going to check for other injured ponies.”
“Okay, easy... easy…” Sentinel soothed as they slowly slid the unconscious pony onto a bed. “Do we have fresh clean cloths and sanitized water?”
“Here are the cloths and water…” A different unicorn medic brought over a stack of white cloths and a metal bowl with water in it.
“Hmm…” Sentinel lit his horn and quickly sanitize the water just to be sure. He dipped the end of one of the cloths into the bowl of water and slowly began to clean the blood off of the injured pony.
A commotion caught the alicorn’s attention and his head came up just in time to see the pegasus guard from before. He was attempting to push through but several medics were attempting to keep him back.
“Let him through.” Sentinel called out. The pegasus was let go and he ruffled his feathers before he rushed over.
“Is he okay?” The pegasus begged. “Please tell me…”
“He’s badly injured…” Sentinel began.
“Is he okay?” The pegasus begged. “Please tell me…”
“He’s badly injured…” Sentinel began.
“It’s all my fault!” The pegasus interrupted and started to hyperventilate, “when the changelings broke through I...I...I...I... panicked... and I…”
“Enough. No more.” Sentinel whispered with force as he took his wings and wrapped them around the pegasus. It made him feel very uncomfortable but the pony needed the instinctual calming that came with it. After a while he finally pulled away. The pony had thankfully stopped shaking as his discomfort was getting too much. “You are here to assist. We are suppose to protect you not the other way around. As guests here in Hourglass, our territory and hoard, by the code of dragons we are responsible for your safety. Your friends injuries reflects badly on us… it’s almost dishonorable... If I could go back in time and change what happened I would…”
“Secondclaw.”
“Yes, Captain?” Sentinel turned to see Captain Phoenix Wave standing at attention, his helmet off.
“Quartermaster is on approach.”
“Thank you, Captain.” Sentinel walked out of the infirmary just as Quartermaster touched down.
“Thank you for that flight Quartermaster.” Scorpan jumped down from the red dragon. “Oof…” Scorpan stumbled. “I’m getting too old to do that.”
“Harmony!” Scorpan smiled when he took the helping hoof of the alicorn. He wonder why the change in coloration. Harmony was not one to mask his shifting colors though it was possible it had something to do with the cutiemark on his flank. The last time he had seem him he had all but the one in the middle, the part that looked to him like the crest of Hourglass. “I see that your cutiemark…”
“It’s no longer Harmony, Scorpan, it’s Sentinel…” Sentinel shot a look at Quartermaster who was growling at the ‘slight.’ “I’ll explain later. Right now we have a critically injured earth pony inside.”
Scorpan followed Sentinel inside and to the bedside of the mentioned pony. Scorpan sat down and put his satchel next to the bed as Sentinel explained the situation. “I got all of his bones set and I think I got all of the bleeding stopped… but there may be deep, soft tissue damage...”
Scorpan went right to work using his claws to carefully check the injuries using his magic. “Vitals?”
“Heart rate 30, shallow breathing, blood pressure, 70 over 50 and steady..” Sentinel stated.
“Low heart rate and blood pressure…” Scorpan closed his eyes in thought, absentmindedly pulling on his mane, “means he lost a lot of blood but the steady blood pressure indicates currently no bleeding… let’s hope that doesn’t change.”
“We need to clean with more than just water.” Scorpan dug through his satchel and pulled out a jar with containing a reddish brown substance. He dumped some of the powder into a bowl and added some water. He took a clean cloth and dipped it into the mixture and began to rub it on each wound.
“What have you discovered?” Sentinel questioned as soon as Scorpan was finished.
“Besides the obvious cuts and bruises he has a bruised kidney and spleen coupled with numerous broken bones, but…” Scorpan paused. “I think he will make a full recovery. You managed to do quite well...”
“Good. I…” Soul Fire was interrupted by a letter. Immediately he could tell something was wrong. He could smell blood and not just any old blood. As a carnivore and even in his alicorn form he could distinguish types of blood and this was not pony blood. He opened the scroll to read its contents and as he did he began to shake violently.
“Sentinel? What is wrong?” Scorpan noted the shaking alicorn. Very few things ever shook the Alicorn Keeper. If something got him this shook up things were about to get very sticky very fast.
‘I…I…I… got to go…” Sentinel rushed out of the building so fast that no one had a chance to complain about the wind that he created.
“What just happened?” Captain Phoenix Wave wondered. Whatever it was he was sure it wasn’t good. He didn’t think it was possible for a white alicorn to get any paler but somehow Sentinel did.
“I have never seen him that shook up but twice… All I can say is nothing good, Captain, nothing good at all.” Scorpan stated as he looked off in the direction that Sentinel went.
“Damn it.” Phoenix Wave cursed.
As soon as he got out of the makeshift clinic Sentinel rainboomed into the sky nearly knocking over Quartermaster and his mate who were just outside. Quartermaster used to think that the ponies were weak but was now finding that he actually cared about them. His Secondclaw was once one of them and his son Twixt’d had taken a shining to them and as they were here to help guard the city every injury was a mark against them.
“Secondclaw!” Quartermaster called out in vain.
He suddenly noticed a particular smell, a smell that tweaked his interested. He looked down to see a missive half opened on the ground. He picked it up and could smell something that chilled him to the bone. He paled as he read it.
“What is it?” She of Hourglass questioned. She in turn flushed when Quartermaster showed her the letter. “No…” She whispered as she read the missive written in blood, dragon’s blood.
Hello Alicorn Keeper
I have something of yours... I’m sure you’ll want it back... now that I’m done with her.