//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: A Strange Savior. // Story: The Last Healing Dragon // by Gearsmash King //------------------------------// Fluttershy entered the Everfree Forest, flashlight tucked under her wing and shaking with fear. The dark forest was even more frightful under the cover of night. The trees loomed over and strange sounds surrounded her, making Fluttershy's ears twitch at anything. But she was paying more attention to the sound that brought her there. AAAARRRROOOO! From what Fluttershy could understand, the cry for help hadn't changed from it's painful tone, nor did it move from where it had come from. Which was a good and bad thing for her. It was good, because it made it easier to follow the direction it was coming from. But it was bad, because as she got closer, Fluttershy realized that the sound belonged to something relatively big. "Oh. I hope that whatever's in here, doesn't try to eat me." Fluttershy whimpered, turning around to see how far from home she was. To her surprise, Fluttershy unknowingly had ventured further into the forest than she wanted to. Fluttershy was so far away from her home, she could barley see the light coming from her kitchen. Aaaarrrroooo! The cry had been reduced to a low howl. And it sounded very close. Turning around, Fluttershy turned off her flashlight and parted some bushes. "My goodness!" Fluttershy gasped, staring at she found. To her surprise, Fluttershy had found a manticore tangled in a very big net, in a clearing. The poor creature had blood dripping from the wounds, caused by the ropes. It's tail was pinned under a large log and it seemed to be mangled very badly. The ropes were wrapped around the manticores neck and claws. It tried to cut itself free, but the ropes were to thick and very breath it took, was very raspy and shallow. It was dying and Fluttershy knew she had to do something, otherwise, it would suffer a slow and painful death. "Maybe, I could-" Snap! Crack! Fluttershy didn't even have time to come up with a plan, before she heard the sound of tree branches being broken nearby. "W-What was that?!" Fluttershy asked herself, alarmed by the sounds. Fluttershy didn't have to wait long to get her answer. From the opposite side of the clearing, Fluttershy saw the head of a very big creature emerge from the darkness. And it didn't take long for her to figure out what kind of creature, the head belonged to. "A dragon!" She whimpered, answering her own question in fear. Slowly, the dragon entered the clearing and approached the trapped manticore. Fluttershy froze in fear as she watched it. The dragon had a big crest that ended with sharp tips on it's head, a thick whip-like tail, large claws, red scaly skin that was covered with scars, white glowing eyes, and no wings. Then it opened it's mouth and Fluttershy saw razor-sharp teeth. She watched the dragon raise a claw to the net and quickly closed her eyes turning away from what could be a terrible sight. Snap! Snap! Snap! Fluttershy's eyes reopened to the sound of ropes being cut and looked back into the clearing. She was in disbelief by what she saw. Instead of seeing the dragon turn the manticore into dinner, Fluttershy watched as the dragon pulled the net off the creature and grab the big log. Seeming to use little to no effort, the dragon lifted the log off of the scorpion-like tail. Revealing the tail to be badly crushed and poison oozing from it. "The poor thing." Fluttershy watched the manticore try to stumble away, but it fell from exhaustion. Then she saw the dragon's mouth begin to glow a light shade of blue and flames emerge. Fluttershy watched in horror as the dragon opened it's mouth and shower the manticore in blue flames. Then the dragon stopped it's assault and Fluttershy gasped at what had just happened to the manticore. "How is that possible?!" The manticore stood up on all four legs, without struggling to keep itself from collapsing. The wounds were fully healed, in fact, they were non-existent, and the tail was in it's proper shape, with the stinger hanging above the once trapped creature. Then it ran for the trees and disappeared into the darkness. The dragon remained where it was, breathing deeply with it's eyes closed. Amazed by what she just witnessed, Fluttershy's wings went limp, letting the flashlight fall to the ground. C-Clack! The flashlight hit the ground with a terrible clattering sound, making the dragon's eyes fly open and whip it's head in the direction the sound had come from. Fluttershy remained frozen as the large head loomed closer to her. They stared at each other, without making a single sound. Fluttershy wanted to scream and run as fast as she could back to her home, but the dragon's gaze kept her hooves planted firmly to the ground. Then the dragon opened it's mouth and Fluttershy turned her head away from the razor teeth, she was expecting to clamp down on her. "Go home, little pony." A deep voice boomed at her. Fluttershy turned her head back to the dragon and watched as it slowly turned away, vanishing into the black shadows of the forest. "You don't need to tell me twice." Fluttershy said, grabbing her flashlight and galloping aggressively home. Fluttershy burst through the front door and quickly slammed it shut behind her, locking the pin into place. Then she closed the windows and turned off the lights. Raced to her room and dove under her bed, where Fluttershy would spend the rest of the night. The next morning, Fluttershy awoke safely curled up in a blanket, under her bed. The sun shone brightly and flooded her room with a pleasant light. But it wasn't enough to have Fluttershy wake up with a smile. The night before had Fluttershy tossing and turning in her sleep. "I've never, in my life, seen a dragon behave like that. Or do that." Of course she was thinking about the blue flames that healed the manticore. But what Fluttershy was really confused about it, was the fact that the dragon she saw last night, looked exactly like the dragon she saw in Twilight's book. "I thought she said those were extinct." Fluttershy said, crawling out from her hiding place, "And aren't they supposed to burrow underground and not breath fire that heals other creatures?" Fluttershy went into the kitchen and quickly got everyone breakfast. Afterward, she left for Twilight's castle with Angel on her back. "I don't know, Angel, but that dragon I saw last night isn't like anything I've ever seen." Angel just shrugged and sat comfortably on her back as the castle came into view. Knock, knock, knock! Urgently knocking on the door, Fluttershy waited for it to open. After a moment, the door opened and Twilight greeted her with a grin. But Fluttershy didn't grin back at her, causing Twilight's expression to change. "Twilight, I need to talk to you!" Fluttershy said urgently. Twilight invited her inside and Fluttershy began explaining everything that had happened the night before. But the more Fluttershy explained, the harder it was for Twilight to believe. Then Fluttershy told her about the blue flames that shot from the dragon's mouth and what they did. "Okay, back up. You saw this happen?" "Of course, I saw it happen! I wouldn't be telling you about it, if I didn't!" Twilight put a hoof on her shoulder and made a sympathetic expression. "I not saying, I don't believe you, Fluttershy. But I've never heard of such a dragon." Then Fluttershy grabbed the book, she saw the dragon in and opened to the page it was on. "I think you have, Twilight." Fluttershy said, pointing at the picture. Twilight looked carefully at the dragon, trying to understand that this was the creature Fluttershy saw. "That's a Burrowing Dragon, Fluttershy. They never had any magical abilities. I don't know of any dragons that had magic." Twilight insisted. "What about Spike?" "What about him?" "Spike can send messages to Princess Celestia, using his fire-breath." "He got his magic, when I used my magic to hatch him." Fluttershy went silent and looked at the picture. She wanted to know more about the dragon she saw, but she didn't know how to do it. After a while, Twilight spoke up. "Why don't you take me to where you saw this dragon. Maybe, we can find a clue as to what it actually is." Fluttershy's ears perked up at that. However, she didn't want to go back into the forest. Even in the daylight, it wasn't a pleasant place. But Fluttershy got a hold on her nerves. "Alright." Fluttershy sighed, "But can we round up the girls? It might be safer and easier to find anything." Twilight nodded and they left to get their friends.