//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Wounds and introductions // Story: Violet Fire // by Nagagon //------------------------------// Twilight used her magic to levitate the stallion, while Rainbow Dash and Applejack balanced him on their backs. Sweat ran through their brows and they grimaced at the strain to go up the stairs of the library. Their coat was dotted red from the blood dripping from the stranger’s body. Fluttershy was the guide, telling them what they should or shouldn’t do. At times like this, everypony was happy to have somepony so well-versed in medicine and animal treating. “Alright girls, keep at it. We’re just a teensy weensy farther now. This is the final step,” she said as they entered the room. Rarity had rushed in to lay a white sheet on the floor so they could place the stranger. “Now girls, be careful. He is really heavy, so try to keep him from...” As they were just reaching the cloth, Twilight lost the strength of her spell. Rainbow Dash and Applejack felt his full weight crashing down on them and quickly raised their backs to drop him on the sheet with a loud thump. “... dropping,” winced Fluttershy as the stallion let out a grunt, but stayed unconscious. “Sorry Fluttershy, but this guy is way too heavy.” said Rainbow Dash, stretching her back. “Um, guys? I don’t think he looks too good,” said Spike pointing a claw at their patient. Everypony turned and looked at the stallion. His face was turning pale and from under his body there was a pool of… “BLOOD?! GYAHHHHHHHHH” shrieked Rarity. “OhmygoshOhmygoshOhmygoshOhmygosh,” said Rainbow Dash with a hoof on her mouth. Spike looked shocked at the increasing size of the puddle. Is this guy MADE of blood?! “Fluttershy, what’s going on? Why is he bleeding so much all of a sudden?!” asked Twilight, grabbing her friend by the shoulders. “Oh, um… I think the wound was not so deep, but…,” she gulped. “The fall just now might have made it worse. Just a tiny bit.” “Ah’m sorry sugarcube, but this ain’t what Ah’d call ´tiny´!” said Applejack, trying to calm a fainting Rarity down. “What should we do?” asked Twilight to nopony in particular. Fluttershy flew in the air, hovering just a few hooves above them. “Right. We’ll need a first aid kit, clean towels and sheets and lots of water. Rarity, you’re in charge of water and bringing the sheets whenever we need. Make sure some of the water is drinkable, he might need some to hydrate himself. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, use our towels to put some pressure on his wound, we need to stop that bleeding. Twilight, you know where the medkit is, bring it to me, stat. Pinkie Pie, gather all the sugar in the kitchen and bring it here,” ordered Fluttershy, pointing to each pony as she gave away their tasks. Everypony looked at her, jaws dropped and eyes opened wide. Fluttershy blinked a few times before landing on the ground and hiding her eyes behind her mane, embarrassed. “Tha-that is… if you don’t mind.” Twilight gave her a determined look, and turned to everypony. “You heard her, move out!” And they all dashed out to perform their tasks. Fluttershy herself went to the bathroom and started washing her hooves. Which left Spike in the room, while Rainbow Dash and Applejack kept pushing the towels against the wound. What was he supposed to do? Fluttershy didn’t give him any task to perform. He looked at the two ponies with the towels. There was no room for him to help there. Without anything to do, he approached the dark-blue pony. Against the bright lights, it was far easier to see him in detail. His coat was blue, but a dark shade, just like the midnight sky on a moonless evening. His mane was very long, ending in a ponytail. It was a shade of blue darker than his coat, with some streaks of bright blue. In all, his color just screamed darkness and Spike felt unsettling that his savior was so nefarious. His whole body was covered in an amazing amount of scars. There were some small cuts, but Spike noticed that majority of them were either medium sized or large, probably caused by big and sharp objects, like a manticore’s claw or a dragon’s teeth. Part of his skin was deformed due to bad healing and some missing chunks of flesh showed he was bitten by a large animal. Burns and other bruises spread throughout his body. He also had some scars on his face, although not as many as the rest of his body, and not as ugly. Minor cuts and scratches, but not as bad as its predecessors. And there was the huge chest scar. That was the biggest one of all. It ran from the left of his neck, crossing his chest to the right, and ending near the back. It was nearly two inches wide at the widest point, in the center. But the most astonishing thing was how fresh it seemed All the other scars seemed to be at least a few years old, but that huge one could only be a few weeks old, tops. This guy is a train-wreck! How in Equestria did he get all these wounds? All along the stallion’s body, Spike noticed well-toned muscles.They weren’t large, but rather the muscles of a pony that had gone through a lot of tough situations in his life. Spike kept examining the unicorn until he reached his flank and cutie mark. It was covered in mud, preventing anypony from seeing it. Spike reached towards the unicorn’s flank to wipe the mud away. “HERE’S THE MEDKIT!” Spike snapped out of his investigation, startled by the sudden yell of the lavender unicorn. She was levitating a white box with a red cross. Following behind her were Pinkie Pie and Rarity, carrying their required items. The white unicorn trotted over to the stranger, carrying fresh towels to take place of the bloody rags Rainbow Dash and Applejack were using. “Oh, good. I’ll get started, if that’s alright,” said Fluttershy. “I think this fella here would give you the green light if he wasn’t out like a light.” commented Rainbow Dash. “Oh, right,” Fluttershy began her work. She opened the medkit and pulled a pair of pliers and a yellow bottle of Marethiolate. The mare picked a cloth with the pliers and poured some of the contents from the bottle on it, staining it with a bright red. The strong alcoholic scent of the antiseptic filled the room instantly, mixing with the smell of the blood. “Uhm, girls, if you don’t mind...” Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked at the yellow pegasus and stepped away. “Uhm, mister? I’m going to use some medicine to disinfect your wound. It’s going to hurt just a tiny bit, okay? Be a big boy now.” No response came from the stallion who kept still, barely breathing. Fluttershy started applying the medicine on the wound. Spike winced as the patient  grunted. That was a great medicine to prevent infections, but it stung like hell. “I’m sorry....” apologized the pegasus, but still applying the disinfectant. “Don’t worry Fluttershy, you’re doing a great job,” comforted Twilight. “I’m sure he’ll be glad when he...,” her words drifted away as she looked at the stallion. Spike looked at her and saw an expression of surprise on her face. Her eyes wide, mouth gapping. Curious, the baby dragon hurried to her side and looked at the stranger. He mimicked Twilight. The stallion’s eyes were open. Not much, but they could see his pupils looking at them. His eyes were grey, but not a dull, dark color. They were vibrant, alive and shining like a star. And they were pointed at Spike, once again. “Ugh...” the stranger grunted. Spike was slightly startled when everypony, except for Fluttershy who kept treating the wounds, ran to where he was but kept a distance.         Twilight stepped up to the stallion. “Sir, can you talk?” she asked.         The stranger shifted his gaze to look at the mare. His eyes piercing her, the young mare took a step back, afraid of his silvery iris.         “Where... am I?” he finally whispered, his voice was low and hoarse.         “You’re in Ponyville. The library, to be exact.”         He looked at Spike once again. The baby dragon felt his entire being judged on the spot by his piercing gaze.         “Why... are you not... healed?” the strange unicorn asked.         Fluttershy had just finished applying all of the medicine and was working on opening the sugar bags. Lucky for her, Pinkie had been smart and brought a bowl to pour it in.         “I’m sorry sir, but um... I have to heal your wounds first...,” said the yellow pegasus.         “No...” he said, raising his head and turning it to look at the pegasus, he’s eyes serious with a hint of anger. “Treat... his... wounds....” The color in Fluttershy’s face went slightly pale at his rebuke, but her sense as a medical pony was stronger than that. She poured another bag of sugar on the bowl and looked at the patient. “But... your wounds are so bad, I have to--” “Treat... his... wounds...,” he repeated, more fiercely this time. “Bu-but... I....” Suddenly, the dark cerulean pony rose to his feet. He stumbled a little, but finally stood to his full height. Everypony in the room stepped back in sudden fright and Fluttershy fell to her haunches. However, his sudden movement made his wound bleed profusely once again. In a single, swift movement Fluttershy grabbed the sugar and a cloth and resumed her nursing. She wiped the blood from his back and poured the sugar on his back. The unicorn turned his head to the yellow nurse. “Treat... his... wounds...,” he said. “Just hold on now, mister. We are treating ya with all of our care and ya’re gonna be that rude?” said Applejack. Unmoved by the cowmare’s words, he kept looking at Fluttershy. She went to the medkit, but as she reached her hooves to grab it, it was yanked out of the ground, surrounded by a dark indigo mantle.         Twilight jumped back when the stallion levitated the box and slammed it right in front of her. She looked at the box and back at the unicorn. He was serious about getting Spike treated, that was clear to the young mare.         “Mister! Please, I need to treat you! You can’t walk around with an exposed wound like that!” she said. The stranger looked at her angrily. The mare took a few steps back. "I-I-I need to bandage your... cut.” Panting, the stranger looked at the mound of sheets Rarity had brought in earlier. His horn glowed as he levitated a rather long sheet to his side and wrapped himself around it, improvising a bandage. With skill, he pulled the ends and tied a tight knot, grunting as his wound was pressed. Everypony looked at him, jaws dropped and eyes wide. “There...,” he grunted. “Now... treat... his... wou...” his sentence was lost as he fainted. Fluttershy ran towards him and checked his pulse. She looked up and noticed everypony staring at her. “Uhm... he’s alright. Just a bit of anemia and exhaustion, that’s all.” “Well, that was... interesting,” said Rainbow. “Interesting might not be the most appropriate word, darling. Something more like...,” pondered Rarity, spinning a hoof in the air, trying to come up with a better word. “Creepy. That’s what it was,” said Spike. “But why did he want you to get treated so badly?” wondered Twilight. “I don’t know dear, but I must agree with him on the matter: Spike needs treatment right away, just look at him,” said the white unicorn, pointing a hoof at the violet dragon. “Girls, I’m fine, really,” he said. Spike walked over to the medkit and bend over to lift it “I’ll just get some band-aids here and-- OW!” he dropped the box and quickly grabbed his left shoulder. “SPIKE! What happened?!” asked Twilight. She turned him towards her and started examining his wounds. “I don’t know, I just... I can’t move my arm right. It hurts when I try to lift it-- no wait. it hurts, period!” Twilight looked at his arm and lifted with her hoof. “Ow! What was that for?!” he said, grabbing his arm and turning away. The pain was intensifying fast and he sure wasn’t going to give her a second chance to yank it. “Sorry...” she said, blushing a little at her slip. Fluttershy approached Spike and took a look at his shoulder and arm. Gently, she lifted the scaly limb with her hoof. Suddenly, Spike winced when a shockwave of pain ran through his body. Fluttershy placed a hoof on his shoulder and pressed it lightly, studying the joint. Suddenly her eyes widened. “Oh Spike, I’m so sorry. I didn’t notice it,” she apologized, hiding her face behind her mane. “What do you mean you 'didn't notice'?” he said in a panicking tone. He winced when he felt a new jolt from his injured arm. “You dislocated your shoulder, that’s why it hurts so bad.” explained the mare. “That’s dreadful! Whatever shall we do?” asked Rarity in fear. “Well... I know how to fix it but... it's going to hurt. A lot.” Spike gulped. He sure didn’t like pain, but it was getting worse by the second. Best to endure it now than to suffer for a long time. At least, that was the logical approach. But still, pain is pain and he would need to be ready to suffer a little. Against his liking, he nodded in agreement. Fluttershy placed her right hoof on Spike’s armpit. The baby dragon blushed at the soft touch from the mare, but his fear of what was to come was so great the feeling didn’t last long. The mare wrapped her other hoof around his shaky arm and lifted it as much as she could. When she was set, Rainbow popped up besides Spike, carrying a book on her hoof. “Open up,” she said. “Why do I need a book?” wondered Spike. “Just open your mouth and take a nice bite at it. You’re gonna thank me later.” “Well, I don’t se the po--” whatever Spike was about to say was lost, as Fluttershy quickly sprung his arm up, pulled and snapped his shoulder back into place in one swift, experienced movement. A giant wave of pain ran through his body numbing all of his other senses, forcing him to focus on his present torture. “ARRRRRRRGHHHH!!!” screamed Spike. He snapped his jaws shut, his sharp fangs sinking deep into the covers of the book. He felt glad Rainbow did that. He would have bitten his tongue otherwise. Although it was fast, he felt strong, excruciating pain running through his body. After a few seconds, that felt more like years, the pain slowly subsided and he could only feel his exhausted body complaining of the sudden pain. I’m NEVER going through that again. Twilight walked around the him and looked straight in his eyes. “Spike, are you alright?” she said with a concerned tone. He felt wobbly and hurt, but his shoulder wasn’t so bad now. “I’m fine really. Don’t worry, it’s al-- Hey, why are you guys spinning?” Darkness engulfed his vision. The birds chirped outside with the sun rising high above Ponyville, providing a beautiful morning for the citizens of the small town, as they began working on their daily chores. Pegasi flew around town dissipating the last remnants of the storm clouds that had so brutally punished the area the night before, while ponies of all sizes and colors helped cleaning some debris that was left around town. However, some curious ponies stopped to look at the group of unicorns working on levitating the fallen tree in front of the library. Many of those bystanders already started to speculate on what had happened that night. “Was it the wind?” “Maybe a lightning bolt struck it.” “Yeah, well, what of the many different hoofprints around the area?” “Maybe they were an unlucky group of ponies that had, by chance, come across the tree while it fell.” “Maybe they were just some stranger passing by.” The sound of the chatter and gossip crossed the air all the way inside the treehouse. Spike was laying on his bed, covered with his blue blanket. He could hear the voices, but they felt more like whispers to him, so busy enjoying his dream. Spike was at a table in a fancy restaurant, a place he had never expected to be in real life. Everything was posh and elite, from the dishes to the simplest of tablewares, all made of silver, gold and silk of the finest quality. Many famous and powerful ponies were there: politicians, music stars, actors. There was a wall covered in pictures of other famous ponies, some long deceased. There was even a photo of the Princesses and a strange alicorn with them. Who would have thought Goddesses would visit... What was the name of this restaurant, anyway? Spike looked around the room until finally found a sign hanging on a wall: ‘La déesse des Saveurs’. It radiated with a sun and a moon on each side, with many stars in the middle, providing all of its radiance. But no amount of glow and shine could divert his eyes from the beautiful gem in front of him. Lady Rarity, the fairest unicorn in all of Equestria. And she sat at his table, dining with him. She wore a blue and purple dress, designed and stitched by the hooves of its owner. It had many layers that covered her body but stopped a few inches from the floor, enough for her shoes to show and sparkle brilliantly. Her tiara made of gold with a diamond in its centre was a masterpiece of jewelry, the most beautiful piece in the room. But what caught his attention was the fact she was staring at him with a gaze as passionate as his own. He felt her eyes piercing him and a sudden thirst came over him. He reached his hoof to grab his glass and-- Wait a minute, hoof? Why did he have a hoof? Panicking slightly, he looked at his reflection on a giant mirror that was placed on the wall to his left. His jaws dropped instantly at the image before him. He noticed the purple, gleaming violet coat that covered his entire body. It looked as smooth as silk, and he confirmed it did justice to the description as he placed his hoof on his neck and caressed it. Flowing down his neck was a green mane, the same color as his eyes. Big round eyes, as big as anypony he knew. A horn, a purple horn came out of his forehead, majestically pointed upwards. There was no doubt. He was a unicorn. “Anything wrong, my love?” said a sweet voice from across the table. Spike looked back at Rarity. She called him my love. She never called him that before. Sure, she always used ‘dear’ or ‘darling’, but those were friendly names she used for everypony, but never my love. He closed his eyes and felt a tear rolling down his cheek. The noise of hoofsteps reached his ears and he felt a silky cloth wiping away his tears. The violet unicorn that was Spike opened his eyes to find a worried expression on the face of his companion. He was with his lov-crush. No. This was right. He was going to say it. There would never be a more perfect time. “Rarity, I... I...,” he started. “I do apologize for saying it now of all times, but I do believe you are confusing me with this ‘Rarity’ pony,” said a strange male voice. Spike opened his eyes in a split second, only to find a dark blue face with shining grey eyes staring at him. “WAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!” Spike jumped from his bed, but got caught on his blanket. The tangle of scales and cloth fell on the floor with a loud thump. The baby dragon struggled to free himself from the the cerulean trap, only to roll on the floor and fall down the stairs, hitting each and every step, which caused wave after wave of pain to flow through his body. “Oof!” he said when he hit the end of stairs. His head was spinning along with his eyes. Spike shook his head to get rid of the dizziness. A shadow projected itself over him and the baby dragon looked up. The stranger was standing in front of him, raising a brow. He had his improvised bandage made out of sheets from last night still wrapped around his back and belly, but he wore brown saddlebags as well. “Are you hurt?” asked the stranger. His voice was deep and had a very strong presence. He pointed a claw at the stallion, “You’re the big scary pony from yesterday!” “Big and scary?” he asked raising an eyebrow. “I suppose I should have expected such adjectives to be used in my description.” Spike stood up and scratched the back of his head, embarrassed by his slight slip. “Oh, sorry.” “Do not fret over it dragonling. I am quite aware of the impact my appearance causes on others. It’s rather common, to be honest,” the unicorn said with a sigh. “Yeah, well--” “SPIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKE!!!” screamed a mare voice. All of a sudden, the door burst open and the room was invaded by five young mares. A multitude of colored ponies came crashing through the doorway, all posing in very unique fighting stances. Twilight led the pack with her horn glowing with a menacing purple light, ready to cast her spell at any moment. “Uhn... Hey guys. What are you doing?” asked Spike while he walked around the injured stallion and stood next to him. Twilight looked at Spike on the other end of the room, standing by that giant, strong, scary-looking dark blue unicorn. Spike waved at her, while the stranger just looked at the scene, studying the curious sight that was unfolding before his eyes. It suddenly came over Twilight that they were, in fact, making a fool of themselves.The lavender unicorn halted her spell, and blushed slightly at their mistake. “We, um...,” she was at a loss of what to say. “We heard some ruckus, so we decided to come up here and check if ya’ll were fine and dandy,” quickly answered Applejack. “Yes... we were so worried Spike,” said Fluttershy, her head popping out from behind Twilight, but quickly hiding again once she was done talking. “Yes, I could see your concern for your friend from all the running, shouting and war faces,” said the stranger, a sly smile on his face. “We were very worried,” replied Rarity. “Guys, I’m fine, I just fell down the stairs,” Spike thought for a moment. “Okay, maybe that’s not ‘fine’, but it’s not hurting now.” “I can assure you, ladies, it was only a...” he paused and looked at the dragon with the corner of his eye, giving him a smile, “scare.” Spike chuckled at his little joke. “Anyhow, I can see that you treated our scaly friend’s dislocated shoulder. And very well done at that,” he said while inspecting the mentioned joint. “Well, yes, we-- Wait a minute, you knew about his shoulder?” asked Twilight. “I did. That was precisely why I was so insistent on you treating his wounds,” said the dark indigo unicorn “Excuse me, ‘insistent’? You slammed the first aid box in front of Twi here and looked as if you’d choke us to death if we didn’t treat Spike!” replied Rainbow Dash. “My behaviour last night was... unsightly. For that, I am sorry,” he bowed in apology. “But treating my wounds was not necessary, I am quite robust,” “Ya gotta be. Ah mean, ya took a tree straight in the back and didn’t flinch. Ah’m mighty impressed,” said Applejack, pushing her hat back and examining the unicorn head to hoof. Suddenly, they heard a gasp and a yellow blur flashed by them. It came to a halt right above the strange stallion. Fluttershy was examining his bandage very intently. She hovered around him, placing a hoof to touch his wounds. “May I help you, young mare?” “Ahn? Oh... I’m sorry,” the pegasus took a few steps back. “But... how exactly are you standing?” “I’m sorry, I did not understand your question.” “Your wound... from yesterday,” she explained. “It was bleeding so much and it was so bad. You shouldn’t be even able to talk right now!” “Like I said,” he turned to face her, casting a shadow on her face. Fluttershy gulped at his sudden approach. “I am far sturdier than I seem.” There was an awkward silence in the room. “Which reminds me...,” he said, while opening his saddlebags and removing paper packages from inside them. “These are for all of you, as a token of my appreciation and an apology gift for frightening you all yesterday.” He placed the bags in front of the girls. Spike hurried to join them, curious at what their guest had brought. Twilight looked at them suspiciously, but the sweet scent coming from them made her open the bag. Inside of them were... “CUPCAKES!” squeaked Rainbow Dash. “APPLE FRITTERS!” hollered Applejack. “SAPPHIRE CUPCAKES?!” screamed Spike. “I was told those were the best in town. I’m guessing my information was correct?” “Hell yeah it was! And these are those limited edition ones that Mr. and Mrs. Cake only sell once a month!” Rainbow paused a little to wipe the insane amount of saliva that was coming out of her mouth. “How did you get your hooves on these bad boys?” she asked, already placing one on her mouth and munching in delight. “A pink mare, Miss Pinkamena, I believe that was her name, recommended this lovely bakery called ‘Sugarcube Corner’.” “Of course she would, that’s the best place to get cupcakes around here. She works there, in fact,” said Spike swallowing a mouthful of sapphire cupcake. “I see. I shall extend my gratitude to her later. She seemed to be in a hurry to go to that place, probably because of yesterday’s storm,” said the stallion, touching his chin. “Oh, that explains why it’s been so quiet here for the past while,” kidded Rarity. “Well, mister Die Hard, care to do a little explaining?” said Rainbow Dash. He looked at the cerulean mare. “Certainly. I was caught up in the storm last night and had taken shelter nearby, when I saw light coming out of the door of your library. I decided to approach the dragonling to ask for help when the lightning bolt struck the tree. Realizing he was about to be pulverized by the trunk, I pushed him aside and held it in place. The rest, I believe you know.” “Well, that’s all fine and all, but what I’m really wondering is: who in the hay are ya? No offense pops, but ya just sorta came out of nowhere,” said Rainbow Dash. There was silence for a moment, except for the munching of food. “I did not introduce myself?” he tilted his head. “No, you didn’t,” answered Twilight. He facehoofed himself. “Oh, by Celestia, how could I? That was a complete lack of manners, my apologies,” he placed his hoof back on the floor and looked at them, “My name is Argent Prose. I arrived in Ponyville yesterday, which was very untimely of me.” “Sure was,” said Spike, chuckling at the mockery. “Anyway, my duty is done here. If you will excuse me, I shall leave for my camp.” “You’re living in a CAMP? My, how dreadful.” said Rarity, raising her hooves to cover her mouth in an expression of astonishment. “It’s quite alright miss, I am used to it by now. I actually would rather sleep on the ground than on a fluffy bed,” he said, walking towards the door. “Well then, I bid you all farewell. And, young Spike, was it?” he looked at the mentioned dragon. “Yeah?” Spike said. “Until next time,” and with that, Argent left. AUTHOR’S NOTE Chapter 2 is finally here! Sorry for the delay everypony, this one’s been a real pain. College sure hasn’t helped. But rejoice! The fact I took so long to post a new chapter is because I wrote SO MUCH it wouldn’t all fit in one chapter. So I split it in 2. That’s right folks. 2 chapters for the price of 1! Chapter 3 will be coming up somewhere this week, just have to edit it and go through it with my Dream Team, Cheesesauce and TheWattsMan. Big shout out to them for all their help so far. I hope I answered some questions about this OC. Took me a long time to piece him together (nearly 6 months, in fact), but he is done. Who is he? Well, why don’t you keep reading and find out =D Finally, I want to thank everyone who commented, faved or sent me a message about this story. Also to everyone who started to follow me. Thank you all very much. Every single one of you give me more reason to write this story and the others to come (hint hint). And from now on, I’m going to do something I should’ve done from the beginning: I’ll send everyone who faves this story or follows me a PM. I’m sorry I didn’t started doing this before, I was too shocked with the sudden attention and too busy with college to think straight. For everyone who faved Violet Fire before, I'll post something nice on the comments, just for you all. Oh, and it's my birthday. Squee!