//-------------------------------------------------------// The New Dragon -by OSK- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 1: Welcome to Ponyville! //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 1: Welcome to Ponyville! The New Dragon Written by: OnExShOtxKiLeR Chapter 1: Welcome to Ponyville ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Prologue ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was a dark, chilly night in the Everfree Forest. The canopy of leaves blocked out all but the smallest bit of light emanating from the radiant moon. In the forest, all was quiet and peaceful save for the chirp of the occasional cricket. But deep in the woods, the sound of hooves and laughter resounded off the trunks of the ancient trees. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Everfree Forest ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Aqua Marine laughed as she continued to walk along the path. She looked over and smiled at her husband, Rainbow Blitz, who was smiling in pride at once again making everypony, and dragon laugh. She also smiled at her adoptive son, Thorn. Thorn, unlike his parents, was a dragon. While Aqua Marine was a unicorn with piercing silver eyes, a golden mane, and an aquamarine coat, and Rainbow Blitz was a Pegasus with moderate cerise eyes, and an almost cyan coat with a wild rainbow mane; Thorn was a black dragon with navy blue on the underside of his body. He had neon green eyes, and a tuft of black hair. He walked along with confidence, but also with caution, because Thorn wasn’t as naïve as his parents when it came to the dangers that surrounded these woods. The group walked along the path for another twenty minutes before they arrived at the mouth of a large cave. Thorn inspected the cave, a feeling of unease washing over him. He looked back at his parents, smiling as he saw his father nuzzle his mom. With a smile he tentatively stepped inside the cave. Along the way he picked up a branch from a tree, lighting it like a torch as he went on, deeper into the cave. Thorn walked along for a while more before he stepped on something hard and sharp. Looking down, he spotted the shimmering form of a pile of gems and gold. Sudden realization of the dragon hoard sitting in front of him dawned, he immediately went to turn back, but slipped on the various gems, creating a loud crash. As Thorn got back to his feet he heard a loud rumble emanate from inside the cave. Instantly Thorn was running out of the cave, fear starting to gain hold onto his thoughts. “Mom, dad, we need to go!” he screamed as soon as he exited the cave. Loud crashes were resounding from inside the cave, seemingly getting closer. Rainbow Blitz gave Thorn a look of concern, “What is it, Thorn?” he asked. Suddenly a vicious sounding roar was heard, instantly popping all of their ears and making them cringe. Thorn and Rainbow Blitz looked at each other, with a nod they both took to the air, ready to take the large creature on. On the ground, Aqua Marine was frozen in fear. The large, intimidating form of the dragon scared her; effectively freezing her in place.. In the air, Rainbow Blitz was shouting orders at Thorn. “Thorn, we need to work together on this one, don't lone wolf it! I’ll go for his right eye, you go for his left, got it? Good. Now lets kick some dragon behind!” Thorn nodded his head in response, smirking inwardly at the final words. He started tensing up his body, waiting for the signal to attack. Suddenly Thorn saw it, a quick flick of the wing and he was zooming towards the large dragon’s eye. There was another deafening roar and Thorn saw the large arm of the creature rear up, getting ready to swing. Thorn braced himself for an impact that never came. Opening his eyes, he looked around, confused. His eyes widened as he just barely looked around in time to see his dad get swatted out of the air and into a stone wall; an audible crack resounding. Thorn stared in shock as the lifeless body of his father fell to the forest floor below. Turning towards the dragon, Thorn let out a roar of his own, expressing his rage. He instantly continued forward, intent on finishing his dad’s plans. As soon as he reached the dragons large, red eye, he slashed at them with his claws. Instantly the dragon flinched back, both attempting to cover its damaged eye and attack its assailant at the same time. Thorn just barely managed to dodge underneath the swipe, avoiding another three within the next few seconds. Suddenly he noticed that he was no longer the center of the dragons attention, following its eye he noticed that it had targeted his mother. Thorn instantly launched himself in her direction, intent on helping her get away. Right as he got to her, the slash came down right upon his chest. With a scream, Thorn fell to the floor, blood flowing from his now gauged chest. As Thorn tried to get up, he saw his mother taking a defensive position over him, her horn glowing with magic. As she attempted to charge up a bolt of energy, the dragon slashed her across the chest as well. Thorn got to his feet, letting out a loud roar as he did so, ready to defend him mom until his last, dying breath. Before he could so, he heard her whisper faintly. “Thorn, hold on.” Understanding her meaning, he instantly turned around and wrapped his arms around his mom. A ball of silver light suddenly engulfed them and the sound equivalent to an explosion resounded. The dragon roared in rage at losing its prey before sulking back into its cave, intent on sleeping. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Earlier, Ponyville ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In the peaceful country town of Ponyville, all was quiet, and all were asleep except for one sole pony, Twilight Sparkle. Twilight was the librarian of the Golden Oaks Library and personal protégé of Princess Celestia. Once again Twilight was up late studying; intent on improving her skills in magic by the next morning. Suddenly her peace was interrupted by the loud roar of dragon. Instantly she perked up, her ears stretching in hopes of hearing more. Not long afterwards she heard yet another roar, though not nearly as loud. Twilight jumped up from where she had been sitting and rushed over to Spike, her dragon assistants, basket, instantly shaking him awake. “Spike, Spike, wake up!” she said as she continued prodding him with her hoof. Groggily the baby dragon sat up, intent on yelling at her for waking him up early. Before he could even start the, sound of another roar caught his attention, “T-Twilight, what was that?” he asked, instantly awake and with fear evident in his voice. “That, Spike, is exactly why I woke you; we’re going to the Everfree Forest and investigating.” Spike instantly paled at the mention of the dreaded forest. “Twilight, why would we go towards the roars?” he asked. Instantly, a look of determination came over Twilight’s head, “For Science!” she said defiantly. With that said, Twilight used her magic to gather up some things into her saddle-bag, she started walking towards the door before noticing that a certain baby dragon wasn't following her. “Spike, lets go.” Reluctantly the baby dragon followed Twilight, closing the door behind him as he went. He turned around before suddenly being engulfed in a purple light, a feeling of weightlessness washing over him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Everfree Forest, a Few Moments Earlier ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As the purple light washed away, Spike noticed the familiar surroundings of the Everfree Forest. He looked around for Twilight, suddenly feeling alone. When he set his eyes on her, he instantly jumped onto her back, wrapping his arms around her neck. “Getting scared, Spike?” she asked, amusement in her voice. Spike nodded as she started walking deeper into the woods before another roar pierced their surroundings. Spike and Twilight cringed before another sound resounded. Instantly, both of their ears started ringing. A silver ball of light suddenly filled up both of their views. Spike being the first to recover, pulled Twilight into a nearby bush. When the light faded away, all that remained were two prone figures; one dragon, and one pony. Spike had to stop himself from fainting at the sight of the deep gashes on both of their chest. He heard a similar gasp of shock from the pony crouched next to him. “Twilight, we need to help them!” Spike whispered to the mare beside him. Suddenly Spike felt a hoof on his chest; he looked at Twilight expectantly, “Just wait a second, Spike, okay?” Spike nodded reluctantly, wanting to help the pair as quickly as possible. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thorn ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thorn opened his eyes as the blinding light faded; he quickly took note of his surrounding, once again seeing the familiar trees surrounding the small clearing that he was in. He instantly turned around; focusing on the sound of a rustling bush, but Thorn was quickly shaken out of his thoughts by the sound of weak gasp. Suddenly he focused his attention back onto his adoptive mother, sadness washing over him. Lying before him was his once happy and cheerful mother. Aqua Marine laid there, her once lustrous coat was now paled, her eyes were red from crying, and her face was stuck with a pained expression. But before long, her features calmed, and her chest stopped moving. Suddenly, fear overtook him; he no longer heard the sound of her breathing. Putting his ear to her chest, Thorn listened for the slightest hint of a heartbeat; he heard nothing. Quickly he pulled away, tears streaming down his now bloodied face. “Help, somepony help me!” he screamed in desperation. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Spike and Twilight ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Spike watched as the larger dragon looked around the clearing, looking straight at their hiding location for a few moments before the aquamarine mare gasped. Spike studied her, confused as to who she was. Suddenly the face of the larger dragon paled, he put his head onto the mares bloodied chest, getting some blood onto his face in the process, he then jerked back and screamed, “Help, somepony help me!” Instantly Twilight jumped from the bush, taking Spike with her. When they arrived to the pair, the dragon looked at them with desperation in his eyes, “Please, help her.” With a determined nod Twilight went to work, using her magic to assess the mare vitals. She got nothing in response. Having a slight sense of what to do, thanks to her time under Princess Celestia’s tutelage, Twilight used her magic to send a shock through the mares heart. No response, undeterred she tried again with no results. Twilight continued sending shocks through the mare for the next ten minutes. After the last attempt, she turned towards the dragon kneeling beside her and shook her head sadly. The dragon lowered his head; sadness washing him, as he looked started to look up he suddenly fell forward, landing face first into his own pool of blood. Twilight nearly fainted as she saw this; she noticed a similar reaction from Spike. Quickly recovering, she picked up the dragon and the mare in her telekinesis, already prepping a teleportation spell. “Spike, grab my tail!” Instantly Spike grabbed hold, not long after, they were all surrounded by a blinding purple light. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Edge of the Everfree Forest ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When the light faded away, Twilight nearly collapsed from her exhaustion, “Spike, dig a grave, please,” she said, exhaustion clearly evident in her voice. As Spike went to work digging the grave, Twilight thought over the events of the past hour or so. The long trek to the Everfree Forest, discovering the pony-dragon pair, the ponies death, and now burying her. Twilight looked sadly at Thorn, he was one tough dragon. She would have had a mental breakdown if any of this happened to her. Once again she laid her eyes upon the deceased mare, she let a loose tear slide down her cheek. Thankfully Spike finished the grave quickly, Twilight would have broken down if it weren't for the distraction; if only temporary. Smiling softly, Twilight slowly laid to rest the aquamarine mare. When she had finished Twilight slowly filled the hole back up with soil, then Twilight made a marker for the grave. Turning back towards Spike she once again asked him to grab her tail, after doing so she then grabbed onto the older dragon and they were again surrounded by a purple light. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Golden Oaks Library, Ponyville ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After once again teleporting, Twilight was on the verge of collapse, but determined to save the dragon’s life, she went to work immediately. “Spike, get me some towels both wet and dry, some hot water, bandages, and a sandwich.” Spike immediately went to do as she asked, gathering up all of the materials quickly. Twilight on the other hand, had laid the black and blue dragon onto the kitchen table, intent on using it as her temporary operation table. After quickly devouring the sandwich, and also sterilizing her hooves, Twilight went to work. Twilight immediately cleaned out the wounds, getting as much dirt and bacteria out of them as she could before using a cleansing spell, she then started using a spell to help refill his shockingly low blood supply, she then wrapped the bandages across his chest, making sure to cover all of the gashes, finally she gave him some water; forcing it down his throat. Smiling, she prayed to Celestia that the dragon would be okay, before sighing contently and lying down on the floor next to Spike, She then passed into a peaceful sleep. Author's Note I hope you all enjoyed! Please tell me of any errors regarding punctuation, grammar, etc. I would really appreciate it!