It had been three days since the ponies met the strange dragon. Frightened by what he had said, they quickly left the Everfree Forest and decided that it would be for the best if they just tried to forget about him. However, Fluttershy couldn't just simply forget him. She still had so many questions about him, but was afraid of charging back into the forest to find him. The forest was still a very dangerous place for one pony.
"I wish I could ask somepony about him." Fluttershy said, brushing Angel's white fur.
She ran the brush down his coat and pulled off clumps of rabbit fur from it. Then Fluttershy's ears perked up as an idea raced through her mind.
"Wait a minute!" Fluttershy urgently said, "I don't need to ask anypony at all. I'll bet Zecora can tell me something about him."
She set the brush down on a table and put Angel on her back. Fluttershy left her cottage and proceeded into the Everfree Forest, bravely. She wasn't as afraid of the forest, whenever she went to see Zecora, but it still had her on edge. Luckily, Zecora's hut wasn't far away and Fluttershy knew that she was the only one who could help her.
"I hope she can at least tell me what kind of dragon he is." Fluttershy murmured to Angel, "Zecora's lived here for quite a while, so she should know something, right?"
Angel just shrugged and sat comfortably as the strange tree hut came into view. A purple flash of light shined through the windows, followed by several other colours. Fluttershy approached the door and raised a hoof.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Yes. Hello?" A voice answered, "Are you friend or foe?"
"It's Fluttershy and Angel, Zecora." She replied.
The door opened and Zecora greeted them with a warm smile.
"Hello, Miss. Fluttershy. Come in, sit down. Would you care for some tea and raspberry pie?" Zecora asked in her usual rhymes.
Fluttershy nodded and Zecora went into a room that, literally, branched off of the center of the tree hut. She returned shortly with a tray that had a teapot, two plates with pie pieces, and two strange teacups. Fluttershy sat at the table as Zecora set the tray down.
"There you are, my dear." Zecora said, placing a plate and a cup in front of her guest, "Now tell me, what brings you here?"
"Um. Do you know anything about a red, wingless dragon, that can heal other creatures with it's fire?" Fluttershy asked, taking a sip from her tea.
Zecora sat across from her and stared. Making Fluttershy think she had said something wrong.
"I know of the dragon, you speak." Zecora said, slowly taking a bite from her pie, "I had the pleasure of meeting him, when I was small and weak."
"Can you tell me anything about him?"
Fluttershy waited as the mysterious zebra searched for the correct words.
"His name is Lazarus and he protects all of us." Zecora finally said, "He patrols this forest, much like a park ranger. However, he poses as a much greater danger. Whenever an animal gives a loud yelp, he will charge through the forest to help. But, do not stand in his way, for he never has time to delay. Rarely, he will rest, because the danger is always at it's best. Several other creatures have tried to defeat him, but all they have done is give the forest a devastating trim. None of his foes survive, even though he has the power to revive."
Zecora went on about what Lazarus did around the forest, while Fluttershy listened carefully. Trying to fully understand just how a dragon, such as Lazarus, can exist.
"How long has he been here?" Fluttershy asked, burning with curiosity, "When I met him a few days ago, he was covered in lots of scars. Which means he's been fighting for a long time."
"Of that I am not sure," Zecora replied, "but no creature's heart is as pure. For he puts others before himself and won't just watch from up on a shelf."
Fluttershy thought for a moment, before asking another question.
"You mentioned, he has the power to revive." She said, somewhat confused, "How do you know that?"
"He told me so, long ago." Zecora replied, cracking a small smile.
"You spoke to him once?" Fluttershy asked, amazed by that, "What was he like back when you met him?"
Zecora smiled, recalling the first time she met Lazarus.
"Very tall and strong." She said proudly, "Doing the opposite of wrong. Nothing like other dragons, he saved me when we were traveling in our wagons."
Fluttershy listened to Zecora's story and sipped her tea. Zecora told how her family were traveling to Equestria from a far away land. But they were attacked by a large pack of timber wolves, wiping out the zebra caravan. Then Zecora spoke of how a wingless dragon burst from the trees and crushed the wolves into splinters. The dragon took her to his cave and kept her safe, even taught her how to put some of the plants in the forest to good use. After a while, he found an old hollow tree and helped make it her home. But in recent years, Lazarus and Zecora have drifted away from one another. Only greeting each other whenever they met, walking through the forest.
"Has he ever attacked any ponies?" Fluttershy asked, remembering Lazarus' frightening words.
"It isn't something he would do," Zecora said reassuringly, "unless provoked by a hunting crew."
After they finished their tea and pie, Fluttershy and Angel left Zecora's hut. They walked carefully through the forest, heading back home. But something kept telling her to turn around and head toward the mountain. Angel hopped beside her as they moved.
"I don't know, Angel." Fluttershy said, looking straight ahead, "I can't help, but notice that there's more to that dragon than what I've seen and heard about him."
She turned her head to look at Angel, only to see that he was several meters to her right and looking at something.
"Angel?" Fluttershy asked, changing course and cautiously approaching her pet, "What are you look-"
Snap! Whiiiirrrr! Thump!
"OW!"
Before Fluttershy could finish her sentence, a large rock had fallen from a tree and a net scooped her up. Now she was tangled in a hanging net, with a broken wing. The net was high in a tree and the pain from the wing wasn't making the situation any better. Angel frantically screeched and raced around in circles, before trying to bite the thick rope. Unfortunately, the rope held firm, refusing to give way to his small chisel-like teeth. Fluttershy wanted to panic as well, but was still stunned by how fast the net had wrapped around her.
"I'm alright, Angel." Fluttershy said, trying to calm the little white blur as it raced around the tree.
Snap! Crack!
Fluttershy looked at the branch she was hanging from and saw it start to lean dangerously. With a broken wing and almost no way out of the elevated net, Fluttershy felt a sense of horror shoot through her body.
Crack!
"HELP! SOMEPONY, HELP!" Fluttershy cried as she felt the net swing violently and closed her eyes.
Snap!
"AAAAAAAAHHHH-Umph!"
Fluttershy felt the branch break and the net fall, but she didn't feel the impact of the ground. She opened her eyes and saw that she was surrounded by dark red claws. They were claws that she recognized almost immediately, then she felt hot air blow down onto her mane. Another claw descended from above and pulled gently on the ropes that formed the net.
Snip!
The net fell on both sides of her and she slowly turned around. She almost fainted when she saw what, or who, was holding her.
"I'm getting tired of seeing you, little pony."
Lazarus gazed down at the little yellow pegasus, who was shaking in fear. He could tell that she was scared of him. And she had every reason to be, he was a very large and very intimidating beast.
"Hold still." He said, bringing his empty clawed hand up to his mouth.
Hush.
A small blue flame sailed out of the dragon's mouth and into his claws. Holding the flame like a marble, Lazarus brought it down to his other hand and held it close to Fluttershy's injured wing.
"Wait, what are you-"
Fluttershy gasped as the flame engulfed her wing, but she didn't feel any pain. In fact, she felt the opposite of pain. The fire itself, wasn't hot either, it felt like lukewarm liquid. Like water that flowed up, instead of down. Fluttershy could feel her wing healing and being put back to it's proper shape. After only a minute, the flame died out and her wing was back to it's original form. Fluttershy looked back at the dragon, stunned by the strange experience. Lazarus just lowered his claws and placed her on the ground.
"Now," Lazarus said, crouching down to her level, "tell me why I keep seeing you around here."
Fluttershy froze, trying to be brave again, only to start breaking into tears.
"I-I just what to know about you." She stammered as a tear slowly rolled down her cheek, "That's all, I swear."
The dragon tilted his head, curious as to why a pony, like this one, wanted to know about him so badly. In a way, Lazarus felt flattered that a pony, who wasn't a hunter, would take such an interest in him. However, he also felt uneasy, because several of his scars were from hunter traps and ambushes. Whenever it came to ponies, Lazarus had trust issues and decided to try avoiding them, if he could.
"Some things are better left unknown." He said, using a claw to gently brush away the tear, "Trust me, you really don't want to hear my story."
Fluttershy held perfectly still as she felt the big claw sweep across her cheek. She was awe struck by how gentle of a creature Lazarus was.
"But I do." Fluttershy insisted, feeling courage slowly build up, "I want to know."
Angel raced out from a small bush, that he had been hiding in and hopped onto Fluttershy's back. Lazarus just stared at them, before speaking.
"Very well, pony. Follow me." He said, lifting his head, "But I must warn you, the past holds many dark secrets."
He turned and began walking toward the mountain that was his home. Fluttershy followed close behind, with Angel on her back.
"My name's Fluttershy." She introduced, "And this is Angel."
The dragon turned his head and grinned slightly.
"Lazarus."
They fell silent for the journey, not saying another word until they would reach his cave.