18: Staring down a Dragon...
Thursday came and went as Oblivion helped around the farm using only his magic. He was more than ready for the bandages around his barrel to be removed due to his skin starting to itch and being unable to take a bath due to them. It was early in the morning, the sun was barely coming up. Twilight met up with him on his way to the hospital to get the bandages changed.
“Oblivion! Glad I caught up to you. I figured it out.” She declared to him as she drew up next to him.
“Figured out what, exactly?” He asked her in return.
“I found out who paid for your treatment.”
“Oh?”
“It was Ponyville.”
The stallion stopped. “Come again?”
“Well, technically the mayor, but a lot of ponies chipped in.” She explained. “So the mayor found out that you went hoof to hoof with the Ursa Major and were injured protecting Ponyville. You declined any compensation when saving Derpy so she asked for the spa and the hospital to send all bills to her office. As a thank you.”
Oblivion stared at the mare for a moment. “I did not do it for glory.”
“We know that. You’re not that kind of pony. But still, everypony wanted to help out. They know that you have only been here for a little while so they wanted to say thank you without coming after you.”
“Gods below.”
“It’s not charity by the way. The mayor just wanted to do something for you that was less...Invasive than a celebration. She asked Pinkie about that and Pinkie mentioned that you don't like that kind of thing. So this was her other option.”
“It’s certainly better than a party or anything of that sort. But still. This cannot be cheap.”
“No, but I think the mayor decided this was the best option in regards to what you did. I asked her and she said that a party was cheaper but didn’t seem to be enough for the courage you showed. So this was what she decided on. Plus you are not the type of pony to enjoy a party.”
“How did she know if I went to get my neck checked?”
“She didn’t. She went to the businesses and told them to give her the bills for any treatment you got.”
Oblivion growled and started walking once more. Sasa rubbed her head on his shoulder to try to calm him. “I can’t stop this, can I?”
Twilight shrugged as she walked with him. “You probably can, but it’ll take a lot of fuss.”
Oblivion groaned. “Next time I'm not going into town. I’ll tend to it myself, as I have always done.”
“I think not. This was bad and you needed help. Don’t be stubborn.” Twilight scolded the black pony.
Oblivion stayed silent as he tried not to think about it. He sighed and focused on his current goal. They neared the hospital and walked in the front doors. Twilight stayed with him and Sasa as they stopped in line to wait for their turn. Oblivion’s ears flicked as he caught snippets of conversations. He reached the front of the line and was told to wait for one of the nurses to take him back to check the wounds. The unicorns agreed and stood off to the side. Twilight ran her hoof over Sasa’s fur and stood silent. He looked up as Nurse Redheart came around the corner, her eyes connected with his and she motioned him forward to follow her. Twilight kept Sasa back with her and they waited.
She guided him into a room and asked that he wait for a moment while she got the doctor to speak with him. Oblivion agreed and leaned his left hip into the exam table. After several minutes the door opened once more and a familiar pony walked in. Doctor Secret Heart came in and closed the door after Redheart, who carried a tray with tools on it.
“So how are your injuries doing?” He asked the black unicorn.
“Tolerable. The day after was the most difficult but it has been improving steadily since then. Pain is easily ignored.”
The doctor shook his head. “You are the only pony I have ever met that sees pain like that and does their best to ignore it and succeeds. Well, let’s get these wraps off and see how it’s doing.”
The pony’s magic held a pair of scissors and they cut through the bandages slowly. Redheart pulled them off and tossed them in a trash can beside them. The doctor pulled them off the main part of the cuts and clicked his tongue. Oblivion turned to look and he could see that some of the stitches had been pulled.
“Damn,” Oblivion muttered.
He looked down and saw Secret nod, agreeing with him. “Yup. Stitches got pulled and some snapped. Nothing horrific but it means we need to redo it. So we need to stitch them again and wrap them. Thankfully we only need to wrap the worst of it. So basically the middle of it. The sections that the skin was ripped away will have to grow back on their own. Though it looks like they already are. Looks like you have some regeneration abilities.” Oblivion nodded. “Well, we can get these cleaned up and redone then get you on your way.”
Oblivion grumbled but agreed. “Dammit.”
“Are you all right?” Sasa asked. Worry in her voice.
“Have to have the stitches redone. Some of them pulled and tore. Damn, I was hoping to have this finished. Have to be re-wrapped. These things itch.”
“Ask about that, then.”
“I have a question.” Secret looked to him, waiting. “Is there a way to take a bath with these? They are chafing my skin.”
Secret moved a light, flipped a switch and light-flooded from it. “Well. You aren’t kidding. So we need to alter how we are doing this. So we need to put padding on these and a salve to help soothe your skin. You dealt with this till now?” Oblivion nodded. “That must have been driving you crazy. Next time come in and we will look into it. Though I honestly would rather there was not the next time.”
Oblivion chuckled. “That makes two of us.”
Redheart gave a salve to Secret and he coated Oblivion's chafed skin and laid cotton on it and then wrapped that area to protect it from further chafing. Secret left it alone and moved onto cleaning the wounds once more and then stitching them closed. Oblivion held still through the procedure, waiting for it to end so he could leave.
“Gods this is tedious.”
“It’s all needed, Chosen. Those wounds would have been devastating on any other. A pony of Twilight’s height, for example, could have been killed.”
Oblivion paused at the example. “Good point. Suddenly being that much taller than other ponies is not a bad thing.”
“Agreed.”
Oblivion went silent as he looked back to the ponies tending to him. Secret stopped and looked to the black pony, his eyes were apologetic. Oblivion sighed. “We have to cover the whole thing don’t we?” Secret nodded. “Well if it has to be done then I can’t argue with it. No matter how much I would like to.”
The ponies applied more salves and the wrapped his barrel once more. They made sure that the bandages didn’t rub against his skin and fur. The gauze was put under the bandages and against his fur to prevent chafing and Oblivion thanked them for their efforts. Redheart led him back out rejoin the mare and feline. Twilight looked concerned when she saw the full wrapping on him. He explained the situation and she cringed.
“Well, it looks like you’re stuck again.” She quipped to him.
Oblivion snorted and tried not to snarl. “So it would seem. Dammit to the Hells.” Twilight giggled and nudged his shoulder. They walked outside and Oblivion stopped, his nose in the air. “Do you smell that?”
“Smell what? I don’t...What is that?” She said as the scent hit her nose.
“That would be smoke.” He supplied. Sasa growled as she got a nose full of it. “Look up.” He instructed.
Twilight followed his gaze and found herself staring at a cloud of pure black smoke. “Oh no.” She looked to the black unicorn. “I’ll teleport us to the library.”
“All right. I’ll summon Sasa when we get there.”
Twilight nodded and put a hoof on his shoulder. He closed his eyes and felt the magic pull him and he opened his eyes to find himself in the library. He reached out and summoned Sasa to his side. Spike was holding a scroll in his claws and he gave it to Twilight, who blanched. She looked to the black unicorn.
“We are in so much trouble.” She deadpanned to him.
“Oh? Do tell?”
“Have you ever dealt with a dragon? Like a full-sized one.”
Oblivion looked at her. “No. Witchers are of the opinion that we leave creatures like dragons alone. We can fight them, but its part of our code that we try not to. And they are very rare. Why?”
Twilight looked nervous as Oblivion’s horn lit up. “It’s a dragon that’s causing the smoke.” She said before he could take the letter. “Princess Celestia wants us to encourage him to leave so we can clear the smoke.”
Oblivion cocked his head. “She can’t do this herself?”
Twilight looked to him and glared. “The Princess is busy making sure no pony panics. Now I’m going to go and tell the others to meet us here. We need to get ready to go after the dragon.”
He watched as she left through the door. The unicorn looked to Spike, who shrugged. “It was a valid question in my opinion. One would assume a Princess should be able to accomplish something.” Oblivion commented.
Spike laughed. “Told the wrong pony that.”
Oblivion shrugged. “Well, this should prove interesting.” Oblivion’s horn lit and his swords appeared in front of him. He shifted his cloak and slid his swords into place. He cringed as he adjusted them on his back.
“Are you sure about wearing them, Chosen? Your back is still healing.” Sasa asked.
“I am not going anywhere near a dragon without them.” Oblivion countered.
“Fair point.” The cat admitted.
He stopped moving them when he found a spot that the pain was lessened and he could ignore it well enough. The door opened and Pinkie bounced into the room, followed by Rarity, AJ, Rainbow, Fluttershy and lastly, Twilight, who closed the door behind them
The mares stopped in front of Twilight as Oblivion side passed toward one of the bookshelves. “What in the name of all things cinnamon swirl is a full-grown dragon doing in Equestria?” Applejack asked the purple mare.
Oblivion rolled his eyes at the commentary from the mare. “Sleeping,” Twilight said, her voice short.
Oblivion already knew that, but he still scoffed. The girls all looked nothing short of confused. “Apparently he’s napping and is breathing smoke." The black unicorn supplied. “So we have been tasked with ‘asking’ him to sleep elsewhere."
“That doesn’t sound healthy. Breathing smoke the whole time.” Pinkie said aloud.
Twilight turned to them as she levitated items into her saddlebags. “Okay girls...” A low snort sounded off. “And colt. We have been given this task by the Princess. So we cannot fail. Or Equestria will be covered in smoke for the next 100 years.”
The mares gasped. Oblivion looked outside and could see the smoke in the air. Twilight turned to the others. “Okay everypony. We need to gather our supplies quickly since we have a long trek ahead of us. Meet back here in an hour or less.”
“Ahh yeah. This is gonna be epic!” Rainbow shouted.
Oblivion noticed that Fluttershy appeared less than thrilled about the situation and nervously looked around as they were ushered out to prepare.
“Hmm.” Oblivion looked to the butter-yellow Pegasus as she walked out with the others.
The mares filed out to gather their own supplies. Applejack paused beside the black stallion. “Ya’ll don’t worry none bout yer supplies. Ah’ll carry anything ya need. Ah don’t have a lot of things ah’m gonna bring. Ya can’t wear yer saddle bags anyway.” She said to him.
Oblivion nodded. “True enough.”
The orange mare leaned into him. “Ya have yer swords though, right?” Another nod. “Careful bout wearing ‘em. Yer back isn’t fully healed. Besides, how are ya feeling?”
“A bit sore, but nothing that can’t be managed.”
The farm mare nodded and left the library, leaving the stallion with a fretting Twilight. Oblivion laid down as he waited for the others to return. Twilight turned to him and fidgeted for a moment.
“Umm. Oblivion?”
The stallion raised his head and looked to the mare.
“I was thinking that it might be best if you stayed behind. Your wounds aren’t healed and… You’re going one way or the other, aren’t you?” She replied at the look from the black unicorn.
“Exactly. I could teleport to you after you leave. So to avoid that I will simply be going with you. If I need to I will teleport back but I do not anticipate that happening. If the dragons of this kingdom are anything like mine, they can be easily reasoned with.”
Twilight nodded. “So you think this will be pretty easy?”
“Easy, sort of. Life-threatening, no.”
The purple mare smiled and went back to her preparations. “Are you really so sure, Chosen?” Sasa voiced to him.
“I am not sure. I don’t feel anything out of place around us. But, I don’t think I have enough control of the World Spirit to judge.”
“You have great power with it, but overextending yourself will not do any good. You wield a fair portion of it, but your right, not enough yet to search outside of ponies that you know or are acquainted with" The Tiger responded. “Least not outside your own species.”
The stallion watched Twilight pack, with Spikes help. His head lifted after a half hour or so and turned to alert the unicorn. “Rarity and Applejack have returned.”
Twilight startled and turned to look at him over her shoulder. “How do you know it’s them?”
“He has that Spirit Sight, remember?” Spike put in.
Twilight put her hoof over her face. “I forgot. Okay, time to go outside.”
The mare started for the door as Oblivion pulled himself to his hooves. He walked out the door with Twilight and joined the other two mares. They looked over the map, Twilight had pulled out of her saddlebag and went over the routes they could use. Pinkie arrived next covered in party supplies. Oblivion lifted them off her and she reached for them, then stuffed them into her saddlebag. Oblivion looked up to find Rainbow flying over to them and landing. He looked around and saw Fluttershy’s pale yellow spirit approaching them. She joined them and stood back, whimpering.
“All right, everypony. I’ve gone over the map and I have charted the fastest route to get us to the dragon’s cave. We will need to keep a good pace if we want to reach it before nightfall.” She looked over her shoulder to the tall stallion. “Oblivion. If we start to lose our way can you guide us as you did before?”
The stallion grabbed the map out of her grasp and looked at it. “Should be fine.” He responded. He gave the map back to her and the mare started going over it again.
Fluttershy walked over to the focused mare and tried to speak with her. Oblivion listened with one ear on the other mares and the other on Twilight and Fluttershy. The Pegasus stopped a bit to the side of the mare.
“Umm. Twilight? I know you’re busy.” Fluttershy spoke to Twilight, who mumbled to herself as she poked at the map in her magic. “But if I could have a second...”
“Yup. Well, we could go this way.” Twilight muttered.
“So I was thinking that I could just stay here in Ponyville.” She whispered.
“Uh-huh.”
“Oh, good. I’ll just stay here and...”
“No! You have to come. Your way with animals will certainly come in handy.” Twilight cried out as the Pegasus tried to back up.
“I really don’t think I...”
“Oh, and don’t worry about your little friends in the meadow. I asked Spike to watch over them.” Twilight said to her and pointed her hoof to the baby dragon off to the side.
“Yeah, I got it covered Fluttershy.” The dragon said to her. The animals spooked and jumped off him, using him as a platform. “Hey, wait up!” Spike chased after them.
“I really don’t think he’s up to the task, so...Eep.” She whimpered again as Twilight moved away from her to face the others.
“All right, everypony! Move out.” Twilight shouted to them as she led them.
Oblivion waited for them to pass by him and Sasa. Fluttershy followed, meekly after them. Oblivion waited till she passed him to follow the mares. They walked forward for the better part of an hour and a half till they reached the base of a mountain. Oblivion looked up it and waited for the mares to decide on a course of action.
“Will you be all right to climb this, Chosen?” Sasa moved to stand beside him.
“Will have to be. I won’t let them go alone to face a damn dragon. I’m the only one with any battle experience. I don’t doubt they can defend themselves but they do not have the experience that I offer.”
“That is true. But my question still stands.”
Oblivion considered how to answer her for a minute. “Will find out. There is next to no pain so it should be fine. So long as the dragon doesn’t attack I see no reason why I would need to act.”
A loud roar went over them and the ponies cringed. “What was that?” Rainbow voiced for all of them.
“That, was a dragon snoring.” Twilight piped up with an explanation.
Fluttershy looked up from her place in front of the black unicorn. “It’s...so high.” She cringed down.
Rainbow looked back to the other Pegasus with a scowl. “Well, it is a mountain.” The pale blue pony looked up the mountain. “I’ll go and check it out.”
“Hold it. Ah think we had better stay together. Safety in numbers, ya know.” Applejack spoke up as she looked up the incline.
“Fine.” Rainbow conceded as she hovered with the group as they started up the side.
Rarity looked to them as she smiled. “I hear that the only thing that shines brighter than a dragon's scales are the jewels they use to build their nests.” She shook at the implications. “Perhaps if I play my cards right I can convince him to part with a few.”
Pinkie trotted up to stand by the white mare. “Welcome to my cave, Rarity. Care for a diamond?” She said, her voice graveling as she spoke to imitate a dragon.
The mares laughed as Twilight looked back. “Girls. This is no laughing matter. Fluttershy, you’re the expert on creatures. What do you think the dragon will act like?”
There was no reply and they all looked back down the incline to find Fluttershy at the bottom with Oblivion behind her. The mares all looked to her and waited.
“What are you waiting for? Oblivion just give her a push.” The stallion shook his head as Rainbow groaned. “Ugh! Are you waiting for a written invitation?”
Pinkie looked to her saddlebags. “Oh. I think I have one of those.” Confetti came out of the bag and covered both Earth pony and Pegasus.
Fluttershy hunkered down closer to the ground. “It’s...so...high.”
“It is a mountain. You could just FLY up here.” Rainbow yelled to her.
“Come on, Fluttershy, get those wings moving.” Pinkie chimed to her, encouraging the mare.
“Okay.” Her wings opened and they slowly lifted her up.
A loud snore rent the air and Fluttershy yelped, her wings snapped back to her sides and she fell into the bush beside her. Rainbow hit her forehead with her hoof.
“This will take all day.” She complained.
“Can ya get ‘er moving, Oblivion?” Applejack asked.
“Not needed.” The stallion replied. His magic lifted her up and laid her over his back. Her weight pushed his swords into his back, but he could ignore the discomfort easily. Her legs hung on either side of his body and gently bumped his sides. He climbed up to join the mares, with a barely conscious Fluttershy on his back.
“Ya okay ta carry her?” Applejack asked. “Maybe have Sasa do it.”
“It’s fine. She’s light.”
Oblivion walked past them and up the mountain. Sasa looked to them as Twilight, Rainbow, and Rarity all stared at the stallion's flank as he passed by them. “You’re being admired, Chosen.”
“Pardon?”
“Three mares are staring holes in your rump.” She teased.
Oblivion stumbled as he looked at the cat at his hip. “You must be kidding.”
“I am not kidding. I have told you before. You are a handsome pony.”
“Sasa?” He looked away from the cat. “Stop talking.”
The cat laughed in his mind as he shook his head. He kept going until he reached a lip that led to another path. He jumped up to land on it and waited for the mares to join him. Fluttershy stirred and looked down. Oblivion looked back to her and waited. She yelped in surprise, as he lifted her off his back and set her on the ground. She looked sheepish as he regarded her.
“Thank you, Oblivion. I’m sorry to cause trouble.” She apologized.
“It’s fine Fluttershy. You’re not a heavy pony so it was no trouble.”
The other mares reached them and looked around. “Well. We are on the right path. So it should be fine from here on.” Twilight said to them.
The mares nodded as they began walking. They arrived at a small jump and the other mares jumped across, leaving Oblivion and Fluttershy on the other side. Pinkie jumped back over to stand by the yellow mare.
“Come on. Fluttershy, it’s just a little jump.” Twilight encouraged the other mare.
“But it’s so wide,” Fluttershy said aloud.
Oblivion rolled his eyes and waited. Sasa walked over to it and jumped over to join the others.
“You could just leap over.” Applejack said, her voice quiet.
“I...” The dragon snorted and she quivered. “I don’t know.”
Even Oblivion couldn't stop himself from putting his face in his hoof. “Gods below.” He muttered to himself.
Pinkie looked to the mare. “It’s not very far, just move your little rump, you can make it with a hop, skip, and a jump. See?” She sang to them.
Oblivion pinned his ears. “She starts singing I will teleport to the other side till I can’t hear her.” He said to the ethereal cat. Sasa chuckled.
“We don’t have time for this,” Twilight said to the others, who nodded.
“A hop, skip and a jump, a hop, skip and a jump.” A blue clamp went over her muzzle as azure fire covered both mares, Oblivion moved them both to the other side of the foot-wide jump. He stepped over it and set them down. “I’m not listening to that.”
The mares laughed as they started the other direction. Oblivion brought up the rear as before, keeping Fluttershy moving forward with the others. They moved forward and after a mile or so Twilight looked back to them. She put the map away and spoke to them.
“Okay, we need to keep it down in this area. According to my map, this an area that has frequent landslides or avalanches. So keep it down every pony.”
Oblivion looked pointedly to Pinkie who hunkered down to remain quiet. “An ava...ava...” Fluttershy started to speak only to be silenced by Oblivion putting a hoof over her mouth.
The black stallion looked to the mare. “Silence Fluttershy. It will be fine, just keep walking.” He said to her and nudged her to keep moving. She moved forward slowly with the others.
Oblivion walked slightly behind them with Sasa at his side. He looked up the slopes and he could tell that the rocks were precarious but they were stable at that time. “Would not take much to send those rolling.” He commented to Sasa.
The cat gazed up and gave a visible cringe. “I agree. Thankfully all of them are quiet. I would rather not run from a landslide.”
They walked along the center of the path and under several spindly trees. He looked up at the trees and ducked under them. Leaves fell off them as Rainbow went under them. Oblivion wasn’t paying attention when one landed on Fluttershy’s back. The mare stopped and her head came up.
“Avalanche!” She screamed out.
Applejack stuffed her hoof in the Pegasus's mouth to silence her. Oblivion glanced up to the rocks, in time to see them quiver in their place. His eyes widened as he looked back to the mares.
“Run.” He said to them.
The mares all took off at a hard gallop. Hooves drummed across the rocks as the slide started. They scattered and Oblivion cursed. His ribs burned as he galloped. Sasa stayed at his hip and growled. Oblivion looked up and skidded to a halt as a boulder taller than himself dropped in front of him. “Shit.” He barked out as his horn lit and Quen skid over his body. His armor lunged over his fur and he raised the shield and it covered Rarity as well as himself. The mare saw the shield and jumped to stand close to the black unicorn. The shield covered them in a dome of azure flame. He looked up and saw the others running in various directions. He watched as Twilight was shoved by Applejack to avoid being crushed. The slide went past them and some boulders rammed the shield covering Oblivion, Sasa, and Rarity. The slide finally came to an end and Oblivion dropped the shield once it calmed.
“Are you all right?” He asked Rarity as the mare stayed close to him.
“Yes, darling, thank you. That was a brilliant idea.” She said to him as she stepped away from her place behind his shoulder.
“It was a pretty spur of the moment, but I am glad to see it worked.”
“Did it hurt you to use it dear?”
“No. I’m fine, but thank you for the concern. Come, we should check the others.” He said to her as he walked past her.
The mare followed him as they reached the others.
“Every pony all right?” Applejack asked.
“I am, thanks to you,” Twilight said as she gave Applejack a grateful nuzzle.
Pinkie bounced in place as she giggled. “Whee! Let’s do that again.”
Rarity scoffed. “I think not, dearie.”
Rainbow suddenly pointed to the pile of ricks behind them. “I think we have a new problem.”
Fluttershy hung her head. “I’m sorry.”
“Aw, no big whoop sugar cube.” Applejack consoled her.
“Yeah, it’s okay. We just need to...go over.” Twilight said her voice tired.
The group trekked over the large pile of stones and started down the other side. Oblivion crested the top of it and looked down. He walked slowly down the incline. Fluttershy suddenly squealed and slid down the incline, taking Rarity with her. The two mares ended up at the bottom of the hill. Rainbow went over to help Rarity to her hooves and Oblivion teleported to them as well.
“My apologies.” Rarity said to the pale Pegasus.
“Not your fault.” The mare replied as Fluttershy whimpered. Her voice accusatory, as Oblivion grumbled.
The black stallion helped Fluttershy to her hooves as they all got to the bottom and waited. Rainbow flew over to Twilight and spoke with her about how wise it was to bring along Fluttershy. “Are you sure of bringing her along was a good idea?”
“We’re about to find out. There’s the cave.” She said to the other mare as she paused at the mouth of the cave.
Twilight turned to the assembled ponies and waited for their attention. “Okay, we made it. Now Rarity and Pinkie Pie. You make a diversion to distract the dragon in case it gets hairy in there.” The two mares nodded. “Applejack, be ready with the apples in case he decides to attack.”
The orange mare tossed an apple into the air and kicked it into a tree, shattering it into a pile of mush.
“But it shouldn’t come to that since Fluttershy and I will go in and talk to him. Oblivion.” The stallion looked to her. “You’re our last resort. If nothing else works then we might need your help. If it gets a really bad retreat, we’ll follow you.” Twilight said to him.
Oblivion nodded and moved his cloak back, away from the hilts of his swords. Sasa growled and stayed by him. The purple unicorn turned and walked into the cave. Oblivion waited as Fluttershy hid behind him. “Twilight? I think your missing somepony!” He yelled at her. He heard the mare's hooves stop, followed by her voice ringing out. “Oh, come on!”
The mare came back out and looked around. Oblivion turned to reveal the trembling Pegasus. Twilight walked over to her and Oblivion got out of the way. “Come on Fluttershy.” She bit her wings and that brought the Pegasus's head out of the dirt, where she had buried herself. “We have to do this...Now...Every second that dragon stays here is another acre covered in smoke...Ooh.” She grunted and pushed, trying to move the mare. Twilight fell forward as the other mares tried to push as well. Oblivion stayed in place and watched.
“I...I...I can’t go in the cave.” Fluttershy said to them.
“Ugh. So she’s scared of caves now?” Rainbow said.
Oblivion pinned his ears but raised them after a moment.
“I’m not scared of caves. I’m scared of...” Her voice dropped off and the mares couldn't hear her.
“What?” Twilight asked from her place behind the Pegasus.
Oblivion heard her and stared. “I’m scared of...” More mumbling from the butter-yellow mare.
Twilight walked in front of her and asked again. “What?”
Fluttershy inhaled. “I’m scared of dragons!” She yelled as a snore rent the air and black smoke enveloped them. Rainbow flapped her wings to clear the cloud.
The smoke cleared and everypony looked for Fluttershy. Oblivion snorted and pointed behind him. Twilight saw the end of Fluttershy’s tail behind Oblivion hind legs.
“But, Fluttershy. You have a wonderful gift for dealing with animals.”
“Yes. Because they’re not dragons.”
“Oh come on. You dealt with a huge manticore single hoofed like it was nothing.” Rainbow said to her.
“Yes. Because he wasn’t a dragon.”
“Spike is a dragon. You’re okay with him.” Pinkie said.
“Yes, because he's not a huge, gigantic, terrifying, enormous, teeth-gnashing, sharp-scale having, and horn-wearing, smoke-snoring, could eat a pony in one bite, totally all grown-up dragon!” Fluttershy said to the group.
Another loud snore shook the ground and more smoke came at them. Oblivion used his shield as Rainbow got rid of the smoke once more. Fluttershy whimpered.
“But if you’re so scared of dragons, why didn’t you say anything before we left?” Twilight asked her.
“I was afraid to.”
Rainbow put her hooves over her face as she hovered above them. AJ walked over to the shaking mare.
“All of us are scared of that dragon.” Rainbow scoffed and Oblivion snorted. “Well, most of us are scared. But we still have a job to do. So get in there with Twilight and show that dragon that what yer made of.” Applejack encouraged her.
“I...I...Just can’t.” She said, tears in her eyes as she turned to leave.
“Oh, Fluttershy,” Twilight whispered.
Oblivion looked to the retreating mare and teleported in front of her. She looked to the black stallion, sadness in her eyes. He reached out a hoof and set it on her shoulder. “It’s all right to be afraid, Fluttershy. The key is not to let that fear control you. You have the choice of letting it control you or becoming its master. You may not think that’s true, but I see courage in you. You can choose to show that courage or let it continue to hide within you. I can’t tell you what to do or how to do it.” The black unicorn said to the mare as she looked up to him. “Your choice, Fluttershy. They believe in you. Now believe in yourself and you will not falter.” He said to her as he walked back to the others. Twilight had gone inside the cave when he got back.
The stallion listened as Twilight tried to reason with the dragon. He heard a deep breath and he put up his shield once more. Twilight came out of the cave coughing and sputtering. The smoke cleared on its own and Oblivion dropped the shield. “Thanks, Oblivion dear.” Rarity said to him, the stallion nodded.
Rarity stepped away from the group and started for the cave. “Clearly this situation needs some charm. Pardon my dears. I shall return.”
The mare trotted into the cave and Oblivion could hear her talking to the dragon. He cringed when he caught a snippet of the conversation, which was followed by a roar and the mare ran out to the group.
“Not so effective, was it?” Oblivion asked her. The mare pouted as she nodded and was silent.
“What in tarnation?” Applejack said as she looked at Pinkie, gaining the attention of every other pony in the area.
Oblivion stared at the pink mare, who wears one of the most ridiculous outfits he had ever seen. And he had seen some of the clothes Dandelion wore. She had a multi-colored box around her body. It was green with an orange ribbon around it. She had oversized glasses on her face and what looked like webbed feet on her hooves. A noisemaker was in her mouth and balloons tied on her tail.
“Darling, you look ridiculous.” Rarity commented and Oblivion nodded in agreement.
Pinkie blew the noisemaker and the stallion cringed. “Exactly. Laughing together is a sure-fire way to get somepony on your side.” She reasoned.
“Or antagonize them,” Oblivion said in response to the mare.
She smiled and waddled into the cave. Oblivion looked in and his eyes narrowed allowing him to see further into the cave. “A red dragon. Great.” He said under his breath as he watched. Pinkie walked up to the dragon and greeted it with a noisemaker and a loud hello. He watched as the dragon swiped at her and the pink mare fled.
She waddled out missing some of her outfits and the balloons were deflated. “Apparently he doesn’t like laughing or smiling.” She said and shook off her outfit.
“That’s it!” Rainbow yelled. “We’ve tried persuasion, charm, and whatever the hell Pinkie Pie does. No more wasting time.” The mare turned to the cave and started in.
“Oh no.” Oblivion took off after her, his teeth found her tail, and she dragged him several feet and right into the dragon’s nose. He grunted with the impact.
The stallion let go of the rainbow mare’s tail as he stared into the dragons slitted eyes. “Shit. My apologies, good dragon.” Oblivion hoped being apologetic would work in his favor as it pulled back to stand up. The dragon snarled and Oblivion knew that the beast was not happy. He spun around and saw Rainbow staring at him.
“Fly, you foolish mare.” He yelled to Rainbow as he ran for the cave entrance.
The mare tore through the air ahead of him as they went into the light, a gust of air behind them sent Oblivion’s cloak over his head and rolled Rainbow into the other mares. Sending them rolling. They got to their hooves only to be sent rolling into a rock with another gust of air. They laid there dazed. Oblivion jumped in front of them and pulled his silver blade. The red dragon came out of the cave and roared. It went down to four legs and stared, angrily at the black stallion. Oblivion charged the beast in silence and slid under its nose to distract it. His blade nicked the belly of the dragon and it roared as it lashed out at him. He stood up and turned to look to the animal.
“Chosen, jump!” Sasa’s voice rang through his mind as he jumped straight up, avoiding the thick tail going under him.
The mares sat in silence as the stallion roared back to the beast, challenging it. He charged back and leaped at the animal as it stood up. Oblivion landed against its belly and dug his claws into it to help him stay in place as he used his sword to parry attacks from its claws. Its paws soon bled and it pitched forward in an attempt to crush him. Oblivion backflipped off its chest and landed on his hooves. He squared off as the dragon dropped to its belly and watched him. It snarled and Oblivion stared back at it. The drake lunged forward and its jaws snapped shut on the spot Oblivion had been.
“Sasa!” Oblivion yelled. The cat leaped to his side and kept pace with him. “Keep it occupied. We need to drive it away from the mares.”
“Agreed.”
“I’ll try to turn it around and you harry its flanks as we did with the Ursa,” Oblivion ordered as they dodged the dragon’s tail.
“Understood.” Sasa ran around to hide on its other side as started pushing it to turn around.
The stallion got to the back of the dragon and roared at the dragon. It looked back but didn’t turn. Sasa leaped out of the shadows and raked her claws along its tough skin. She couldn’t draw much blood but it was enough to annoy the beast. It spun to her and Oblivion dodged its tail. It swung its tail once more and Oblivion jumped to avoid it. The stallion looked up to see the tail coming up at him. He braced as it hit him hard in the air and sent him rolling along the rocks. He jumped to his hooves and charged it once more. The azure flame began to cover his body as he ran to it. His wings spread from his sides and he jumped with their aid. Oblivion landed high on its back and he used his claws to run up its back as it thrashed, trying to dislodge him. Sasa continued to harry its front, forcing the dragon to split his attention. It thrashed as the two attackers harried it.
Oblivion ran past the long spines on its back and reached its head. He knew that if he brought his blade down in the right place it would kill the dragon. Instead, he released the claws on his forelegs, reared back, and brought them down on the back of the dragons head. It stopped thrashing and wobbled as it reeled from the strike. It recovered and reached back to grab the stallion. Oblivion pulled away but the dragon got a hold of his right foreleg and pulled. The black unicorn was forced to let go or risk being torn apart. The flames bit at the dragon’s skin but it refused to release him. It roared as it threw the pony to the ground and released him, confident that the battle was over. Sasa stopped and looked to the small crater. Oblivion stood up and watched as surprise flickered on the dragon's face.
His body screamed at him to stop but when he glanced to the mares he could see that they were terrified. He refused to fail them. Blood dripped slowly from his snout as he snorted to clear it. His right foreleg was wrenched and had been dislocated and then popped back into place when he hit the ground. The stallion could hear the mares whimpering and he moved to stand in front of them once more. The dragons head lunged down and Oblivion raked his claws across its nose. The drake yelped in surprise and pulled away, covering its snout with its paws. Oblivion panted as he watched the dragon. His orange eyes blazed and azure flame once more covered him. His armor had stayed in place and had managed to absorb most of the impact. His legs trembled as he fought to stay standing. His body was not healed, his energy was low and it hurt to breathe. The impact from the ground had reverberated through him and he had blacked out for a moment but forced himself to stand and protect the mares. “I cannot fall.” He muttered and glared at the drake, who had paused.
“How dare you!” A voice sounded behind him.
Oblivion flinched and looked back, as Fluttershy flew up to the dragon and landed on its snout.
“How dare you hurt him? Listen here mister, you may be big and scary and just because you’re big does not mean you can be a bully! You may have huge teeth, and sharp scales, and snore smoke, and breathe fire, but you do not-I repeat do not! Hurt! My! Friends! Do you understand that?”
Oblivion started as the dragon cringed under the Pegasus and whined. “You must be kidding.”
Sasa walked over to him, her claws stained with dragon’s blood. “What am I seeing?”
“I don’t have a damned clue.”
“Well?” Fluttershy leered at the dragon.
“But that black one hit me.”
“I did not! I ran into you by accident and I even apologized!” Oblivion yelled, outraged at the gall of the dragon. “I stopped the rainbow one from hitting you harder than I did. I ran into him as I was stopping her!”
Fluttershy looked to Rainbow, who nodded. “He said he was sorry?” She looked to the dragon, who hesitated. Oblivion's blade hovered next to him.
The dragon nodded. “And you still attacked him?” Fluttershy grilled the animal, who nodded. “Well, that is unacceptable. Oblivion did nothing to harm you until you attacked them. He was protecting every pony.” The dragon looked away.
“By the Gods, he’s submitting.” Oblivion scoffed and stopped himself from chuckling as the pain went through his chest.
“Now, I am sorry for your injuries, but I know Oblivion and he could have done much worse if he chose to. He was trying to drive you away. Right?”
Oblivion nodded in response. “Yes. Where I am from Witcher's do not fight dragons unless there is no choice. Even when we speak with them if we can or try to drive them away from ponies. We prefer to have no bloodshed if we can.”
The dragon looked sheepish as he looked from Fluttershy to the black unicorn. “Now apologize for hurting him.” The dragon snapped his head to look at the Pegasus.
“But, but I...”
“No buts.”
The dragon lowered his head to Oblivion’s level. The black pony wheezed slightly as he stared back at the dragon. “I’m...I’m...I’m sorry.” The dragon said to the stallion.
Oblivion could see that there was no lie or malice in the dragon’s expression and he sighed. “Thank you for the apology and it is accepted good dragon.”
The dragon gave a little smile and lifted his head up to look to Fluttershy. The mare ran her hoof on his muzzle and smiled. “There you go. See? Oblivion is not scary either. Now gather your things. You need to find another place to sleep that does not affect other creatures. The smoke can cause a lot of harm to others.” She lowered herself slowly till she was in front of the other mares and Oblivion.
“I knew you could do it,” Twilight said to her and held her in a tight hug.
“I didn’t. It was Oblivion who told me I could if I chose to.” She said.
The others went to the mare and congratulated her as the dragon came out of the cave with his treasure and took to the sky. Sasa looked to the stallion and nosed him. Oblivion hissed as she pressed against his right shoulder.
“Chosen?”
“I’ll live.”He whispered to her.
He looked to the mares and allowed himself to fall to the ground, exhaustion biting at him. He laid on his left side and panted. Sasa was by his head as he wheezed, his breathing labored.
“Oblivion!” Twilight yelled as she saw him. She ran over to him and stood beside Sasa. “Oblivion, how bad is it? You got thrown to the ground, I should have known you weren’t going to be okay after that impact!”
“I’ll live, Twilight. Calm down.” He said to her, his voice was quiet but easily heard. Applejack and the others came over to him as well.
Applejack reached out to his cloak and moved it aside. His armor had blood on it, the mare moved to face his right side and looked past the armor as best she could. It looked like the bandages underneath were bloodied as well but she couldn’t tell. She laid the cloak back in place. His breath wheezed from him and he didn’t move. “Ya’ll be okay pardner. We’ll get ya taken care of. Can ya teleport?”
Oblivion looked at her. “Teleport where? The farm?”
“Nah, the hospital. Ya need ta get looked at. Ah’ll meet ya there later when we get back. Twilight, can ya teleport us there?”
Twilight shook her head. “I can’t teleport that far yet. Oblivion can, but I would rather he didn’t transport all of us in his condition.”
“Ah agree. He’s never teleported another pony afore. We need ta get him into town.” Applejack replied.
“I’m right here. You don’t need to talk over me.” Oblivion said to them.
“Ah know yer here. But yer spent.” Applejack reasoned.
“I can pull energy from my armor if needed. Should be enough to get back to town.” He responded.
“You’re certain? If not, then teleport there if you can.” Twilight said to him. She placed a hoof gently on his mane.
“I can make it back easily. Will be a bit slow.” Applejack looked to him and the others waited for an explanation. “When he tossed me my right shoulder popped out of the socket, then back in. So it’s a bit wrenched.”
The mares nodded as he got to his hooves. Rainbow landed on the ground and looked at his hooves. “I have a question for you.”
“And?”
“When you hit that dragon on the nose, there were a couple of cuts.” She started but paused when the stallion looked to her.
He held out his forehoof and let his claws show. The mares all looked shocked, with the exception of Applejack. “My hooves are clawed. Not abnormal for my kind.”
Twilight looked at them and analyzed them without touching the hoof. “How do they hide? I have seen your hooves before and never saw these.”
“They hide within my hoof and unless you know where to look you can’t tell they are there.” He turned his hoof over and pulled his claws back into the hoof to show how they were hidden. Twilight stared at Rainbow as she whistled at them.
“Well, I wasn’t expecting that. But that fight was epic and frightening. How do you know how to fight like that?” She asked as they started back the way they had come.
“I was trained to fight like that. Most monsters that I fight are larger than I am. So fighting something bigger than myself is not surprising. Though a dragon is not something I have fought before. I am surprised it didn’t use fire.”
Fluttershy walked next to him as he limped heavily on the right fore. Twilight and Applejack led the way as Rarity and Rainbow stayed on his other side. Pinkie bounced in front with the other two and smiled. As time went by Oblivion paused once and, the mares stopped with him, despite his insistence that they could go ahead. They refused to leave him behind. Oblivion focused on his armor and pulled as much power as he dared from it. He felt it go through him and he walked with them. His stride was better and the pain wasn’t as sharp. They reached town and Applejack and Twilight guided Oblivion to the hospital once again.
“Was just here this morning.” He commented.
Twilight chuckled. “Yeah. They’re going to be mad at you.”
Oblivion breathed and walked in the door with the mares at his side. He stood in the line once more and waited. Sasa stood close by and looked down. Small drops of blood were pooling slowly under him. She looked around and roared. Startling every pony near her, Oblivion included.
“Sasa. What in the Gods name are you doing?” Oblivion said to her.
“You’re bleeding.” She replied as ponies moved away from them.
“I’m aware of that. So what is the problem?”
“You’re bleeding all over their floor.”
Oblivion stopped and looked down, to find the cat was right. “Shit.” He looked up as a nurse came around the corner. The stallion had a tan coat with a pill bottle on his flank.
“What in Equestria was...that?” He stopped as he saw the blood under Oblivion. “Actually never mind. Can you walk?”
“Yes, I can.” He informed the pony.
“Good, follow me.” He hurried off and Oblivion limped after him. The pony looked back and cringed when he saw the severity of the other stallions limp “Okay, can you tell me what happened?”
“You’re not going to like it,” Oblivion said as the pony walked beside him. “I and the others went to remove a dragon from the area to prevent it from covering Equestria in smoke.”
“I heard about that. So you went to stop a dragon?”
“Essentially yes. The idea was to persuade him to move elsewhere. It worked but not after a fight. I know how to fight monsters and other creatures that are larger than I am. But a dragon is a new one to me. I got thrown out of the sky once and then after I hit it in the head when I was standing on it, it got a hold of my right foreleg and used that to throw me to the ground. My shoulder was dislocated but went back into place.”
“Did you black out?”
“For a second, yes.”
“And you got back up, I assume?”
“True. I had to protect the others. They were thrown back by the dragon and I was the only one still standing.”
The tan pony looked away and shook his head. “Have we seen you before?”
“Yes. A few days ago. I was also in here this morning to have a bandage change.” Oblivion responded.
“Who is your normal doctor?”
“Secret Heart is the one that I have met before.”
“I see. Okay, in here.”
Oblivion walked into the room and was greeted with machines that he had never seen before. He recognized some that had been in the last room with him. He assumed they were all meant to be helpful, but some looked like they were designed with torture in mind.
“All right, so I need you to remove your armor and set it over here.” He motioned to a counter off to the side.
“No need.” Oblivion's curved horn lit up and the armor crawled over his skin and back into its place. Oblivion tightened the binding in his mane and laid his bloodied cloak on the counter. He sent his swords to the wardrobe in his room at the farmhouse.
The pony stared at the bloodied bandages around his barrel and trotted over to a door and pushed a button. A loud beep went through the air, the black unicorn cringed but refocused when the pony came back to him. He walked to the other side of the black stallion and moved a wide bed next to him.
“Okay lay down on this. I can see that you’re tired and having you stay standing is cruel.” He said to him, Oblivion nodded in silent reply.
He laid down on the bed and rested on his left side. The door opened and several nurses walked in, Redheart among them. She gaped at him then her eyes widened at the blood coming off him. She saw the small pool under where he had been standing and started barking orders.
“We need an IV line as soon as possible, blood pressure monitor, heart rate and pulse checked, and get in touch with Secret Heart. He knows this patient.” She hollered and the ponies scrambled. She came over to him and stopped. “What happened?”
Oblivion explained what had transpired and waited. Her eyes had widened and she stared. The doors were tossed open by magic as Secret walked in, his pace quick. He rounded on Oblivion and looked him over. He was covered in dirt and blood. The black ponies coat was a dirty brown and had blood coating his fur. His eyes were tired but still held the same fire that they had when he first met the black stallion. Oblivion watched him as he looked to the nurses.
“I already called for the basics with him,” Redheart advised.
“Perfect then we can cut off this bandage off and see the damage. Judging by the blood loss I’d guess it split and possibly lengthened.” Secret started.
“Sir. We might want to x-ray that right shoulder. It was dislocated due to wrenching and being twisted. He also blacked out momentarily due to impact with the ground.” The tan pony from before supplied.
Secret looked to him and sighed. “You never make it easy do you?”
Oblivion chuckled but stopped when his chest tightened. He wheezed for a moment before recovering. “Of course not.” He quipped.
The doctor came up to him and listened as the black stallion breathed. “Chest x-ray as well. Seems to have trouble breathing. All right. So I am going to suggest that we have you sleep through this.”
“Very well.”
“Now I insist since this will be painful and...Wait...You’re not going to request to sign the paper again?” Secret stumbled over Oblivion's agreement.
He snorted, dried blood on his nose. “Not this time. I’m able to ignore pain, but I’m not foolish.”
“Oh, well wonderful. Okay, so prep the anesthesia and adequate painkillers as well.” Secret began tossing around new orders as the nurses scrambled. Secret took a pair of scissors and began cutting the bandages as Redheart held his right foreleg in her hoof as she rubbed alcohol on it. She held it still as she pushed a sharp needle into a vein to start an IV. Oblivion looked to Secret and watched as the bandages were removed. The cuts in his sides were torn open and the stitches were all ripped open. The tears had been torn open and they had been torn further. The longest of them had ripped past his hip and stopped there. Secret clicked his tongue and leaned back.
“Well. I can’t say this is good. When you got thrown, I’m guessing you landed heavily?”
“Very,” Oblivion responded.
“All right we need to move you and the best option is to move you after your under the anesthesia. So we will wait till that is done and take care of it.” Secret admitted. “I know you have high pain tolerance, but leaving you awake for this might be considered cruel and unusual punishment.”
Oblivion nodded to the stallion. “It’s fine. I can understand it. But if you don’t mind informing me how this all works? Where I am from we don’t have things like that.”
Secret stared for a moment before he recovered. “Basically, anesthesia just puts you into a heavy sleep. Pain and whatnot have an effect on it and we try not to keep any pony under it for very long. For you, it might be a while since it’s been noted that you have an advanced metabolism. So for you, we have to keep an eye on it and ensure that you are at a safe level of unconsciousness. But, if needed we will bring you around if we need to. Otherwise, we will simply keep you under and let you rest for a time.”
Oblivion nodded his understanding and looked over as Redheart put a needle into the IV and put a new drug inside it. “Okay, so it will probably hit you pretty hard since your energy is already depleted so I advise that you lay down ahead of time.”
Oblivion nodded and laid back, glad that the bed was long enough. He felt nothing as he laid silent for a moment. He felt warmth go over him and his vision began to narrow as he started to fall asleep. At first, he fought it but discovered it was a losing battle. He let his mind slip and he knew nothing after that.
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I would be very surprised if the doctors dont discover that he isnt a unicorn at this point
8644229
They might...
This story deserves way more views. I'm loving every chapter of it. Keep up the amazing work!
8645716
Thank you. I’m glad you like it!
And that's where they discover he is an alicorn. I refuse to believe they'll miss it after x-ray.
9519901
Or they remove the bow(or whatever it is holding the illusion) to clean then suddenly wings LOL
Read: the dragon will go to sleep and Oblivion will kill it.
9519901
They are as dumb as the ponys military
Wonder if the xray will show wings
Them not seeing his wings when he fought bugs me, but I’m presuming it’s like a sort of géis, compelling them to ignore it.
As a person that has the whole snippets of conversations overlapping thing naturally, it gives you headaches being unable to tune them out
I can already imagine Cadance trying to ship him with various mares, much to Oblivious' annoyance.