Dragon-Hearted

by Marion330

Rating: teen
Tags: Main 6, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Scootaloo, Adventure, Princess Celestia
Length: 7932

A elder dragon finds his family ambushed and his children taken. Nearly killed by manticores, a chance meeting intertwines his fate with another. Taking shelter secretly in ponyville, will he save his family, and at what cost?

The Grifo-Draconic war has begun, violence has broken out nearly everywhere. Equestria has barely remained neutral, despite attempts from both sides to get them to join on their side.

Atticus, an elder dragon, is moving his family to the safe haven of the Everfree forest when they are ambushed by griffon mercenaries. Atticus is struck with a enchanted arrow and drops into the Everfree forest below.

-

The picture used for the cover art is Bravery by Recycletiger. The deviant-art page doesn't seem to exist anymore, but the image is his.

Published 2013-01-18 21:40:02 UTC
Last updated 2014-09-13 19:33:30 UTC

Ambush

Five heavily armored griffons laid waiting among the trees of the Everfree Forest, watching as their pray approached from distance. A pair of dragons with two young hatchlings slowly covered the distance to the edge of the forest.

The largest griffon signaled the rest, and the ambush sprung to life.

The largest of the dragons spotted the griffons before they were in crossbow range. It began to pick up speed, closing the gap between the griffons and itself. The smaller griffons fired their crossbows at the approaching dragon, now in range of one of their targets.

The bolts bounced off the scarlet, armor-like scales to the younger griffons' dismay. The largest of the group now loaded an odd looking bolt in his crossbow as the other griffons fired again.

The dragon shot a cone of fire out of its mouth. Bolts disintegrated mid flight. The dragon had closed the gap, and smashed through the griffon line sending the group of smaller griffon mercenaries into disarray.

The griffon Dragon Slayer aimed into the fray. He adjusted his sights as one of his underlings narrowly avoided getting scorched by a second cone of fire. The dragon spotted the griffon taking aim at him, and charged. The dragon was too late. The griffon fired the malevolent bolt with pinpoint accuracy.

The bolt struck the dragon's scales, but pierced through unlike the other bolts. The red scales shattered as the magic took effect. The dragon's wings shredded and muscles locked up. The hatchlings watched as their protector plummeted into the forest below.

The griffon closed in on the dragoness as her elder helplessly fell to the forest below.

~~_________________________________________________________~~

Ponyville was in an uproar. Rumors spread like wildfire.

"Those griffons that came into town last week? I think they might be the first wave of an invasion force!"

"No, that can't be right. I heard Princess Celestia hired them for extra protection against the dragons!"

Both warring factions had sent diplomats, and the air in the royal castle had literally been heated after the griffon diplomat had called the dragon envoy a 'shameless cave-dwelling gecko'. The dragon representative was very displeased, only calming words from Celestia kept him from burning down half the castle.

Sweetie Bell, Scootaloo, and Applebloom went undeterred though. They were too caught up in their crusading to notice the rampant rumoring going on in town. Applebloom suggested that they try identifying trees in the Everfree forest. To Scootaloo's dismay, Sweetie Bell agreed. Scootaloo reluctantly followed the two aspiring woodsfillies.

They reached the trail that entered the forest near Fluttershy's cottage, making sure she didn't see them. No need for anypony to get all huffy about going for a little nature hike.

"Do yah think anypony saw us?" Applebloom whispered.

"Nope, they would’ve probably stopped us if they had." Sweetie Bell responded.

Scootaloo trailed behind, "I kinda wish they had."

They skimmed the edge of the forest, naming the trees with a book they borrowed from Twilight. Twilight had been skeptical at first. She had been hesitant trusting them with her books since the love potion incident. But when they explained they wanted to identify a tree near the gazebo, Twilight saw it as a search for knowledge and caved.

Scootaloo wasn't really trying, kicking rocks around on the trail and making up names for the trees as she went. She was the first to notice smoke coming from within the forest.

The cloud of smoke rose like a pillar into the air. Scootaloo coughed as she inhaled a bit of the smog. She ran off to regroup with her friends, who had also spotted the thick rolls of smoke coming from the forest.

"Ya'think it's a forest fire!?" Applebloom said. The smoke grew thicker by the second.

"We should go warn every pony," Sweetie Bell quickly added.

This was the most exciting thing to happen all day. Scootaloo wasn't going to just pass up a chance for some action.

"You guys go get help—" Scootaloo knew her friends wouldn't let her bum-rush head first into a forest fire. "I'll go…access the situation." Scootaloo gave a weak smile, hoping her friends wouldn't catch on to her crazy plan.

Her friends looked at each other, wondering if they really should leave Scootaloo near such a dangerous event. They nodded between themselves, and turned back to Scootaloo.

"We'll be back in a jiffy," Applebloom said. "Just don't do anything silly, OK?"

"I promise," The orange filly crossed her hooves behind her back.

The two ran out of the smoke, leaving Scootaloo alone to do as she pleased.

~~_________________________________________________________~~

A manticore is a truly aggressive creature. Attacking without being provoked, even if outnumbered or outclassed immensely. A fight between a manticore and a dragon is usually quite one sided in favor of the dragon. If the dragon is severely crippled and you add two more manticores however, you get a bloody brawl that is brutally even.

The dragon crippled by the magical bolt was quickly discovering how even the fight could be.

The dragon was slowly being paralyzed by the manticore stings, and the magical bolt shredding him from the inside out was not helping. His scales were falling off, leaving him exposed to the slashes from the manticore's claws.

The manticores were no better off. The dragon was still able to breathe fire, and had already finished off one of them with a fiery blast. The other two were burnt, but not detoured. They circled the slowly weakening dragon, waiting for it to give in to the poison they had already injected it with.

The dragon fought on, killing another manticore with a combination of ripping claws and burning fire. But it had strained itself to much and had sped up the movement of the poison through its body. The dragon collapsed at the brink of total paralysis. The manticore moved in, taking advantage of its wounded prey's inability to move.

The manticore closed for the kill. Out of nowhere a rock flew through the air colliding with the manticore right in the jowls.

"You leave him alone!"

~~_________________________________________________________~~

Scootaloo sped through the smoke, swerving between fallen trees and burning brush that appeared in her path. Her wings left a wake in the smoke behind her. She had left her goggles at home, leaving her eyes vulnerable to the stinging cloud.

She blazed a trail searching for the source of the inferno.

She finally exited the other end of the cloud. She parked her scooter and examined the crazy sight that lay before her. A dragon was fighting off a bunch of manticores. Nothing too extremely out of the ordinary, but she could tell something was off. The dragon wasn't using its wings. The dragon almost looked crippled, barely able to defend itself.

At least that's what she thought until a huge fireball consumed one of the three manticores. During the fight Scootaloo noticed something lodged in the dragon's side. It sporadically pulsed, and with each pulse of magic the dragon obviously felt extreme pain.

Another manticore fell to the claws and fire of the dragon, but the dragon couldn't fight anymore. It collapsed. Scootaloo swore she saw something in the dragon's eye. She couldn't tell for sure, but she couldn't resist the urge to help.

She picked up a nearby stone, and chucked it in the manticore's direction.

"You leave him alone!"

The stone made direct contact, and she stole the creature's attention. The manticore decided to secure an appetizer before he feasted on the dragon. The manticore roared, and charged quickly at Scootaloo.

She dived behind a tree, and the manticore slammed into it unable to stop itself. The manticore fell back on its behind temporarily stunned. Scootaloo looked at the dragon, smoke still pouring from its mouth.

And where there's smoke…

Scootaloo ran around towards the wounded dragon's head. The manticore had regained its senses and chased after her again. Scootaloo had reached the dragon's mouth. She nodded at the dragon, and it seemed to understand her plan.

She stood directly in the path of the manticore, as if planning to take the mass of brute force head on. The manticore took the challenge, and charged even faster at the little brave filly.

The manticore had completely forgotten about his larger, still very dangerous prize. The path it took went straight in front of the dragon's still functional mouth. The manticore realized this trap a second to late, and was consumed in a fireball. The manticore, scorched and defeated ran from the clearing leaving the triumphant filly and the heavily wounded dragon alone.

The dragon moaned as Scootaloo watched the manticore flee. She turned and remembered the thing lodged in the poor dragon's side. She searched for the object. Finding it, she ripped it out and threw it away. The dragon's body relaxed, and Scootaloo heard and recognized voices in the distance.

She was going to have a LOT of explaining to do.

The Road

Another sharp pain lashed out from the malicious green wound left from the magical crossbow bolt. It was gone, but its magic still lingered. Even the walk to the tree house the children used as a headquarters was a hard endeavor. Atticus had made it halfway to the tree house before he had to stop and regain his strength.

His wings still felt as if they were on fire. The muscles would occasionally lock up as well. The magic of the dart had shredded his wings on contact, and pieces of the membrane still hung dead from his wings. Why he wasn't healing properly also confused him. The girls had carefully bandaged him, yet his wounds refused to heal. Sweetie Bell even had asked Twilight if she could borrow some healing spell books, hoping her slowly blooming magical strength could perform one of the weaker ones.

"Ok Scootaloo, let's get moving again. I think I can manage the rest of the way." Atticus' muscles groaned in protest, but he got up on all fours anyways. He was glad to be out of that barn. He had grown stiff sitting in such a confined space for so long.

"Applebloom and Sweetie Bell should have moved some of the stuff around so you will be more comfortable," Scootaloo said. Atticus enjoyed the company of the little filly. She reminded him of some of his family member–

Atticus stopped, and Scootaloo did the same when she realized her scaly patient had stopped. He shook his head slightly and closed his eyes. Scootaloo could tell he was in pain, but whether from the wounds or some other source she was unsure.

"Are you OK? Do you need to rest again?" Scootaloo's voice was worried.

"Scootaloo, is there anyway I can send a message around here? Like mail?" The dragon's voice wavered, but held strong.

Scootaloo thought for a moment, "I could ask spike to send your letter to the Princess. Then she could send it."

"Who is spike? That doesn't seem like a regular pony name."

"He is Twilight's pe-" Scootaloo stopped herself and looked for a better choice of words. "Twilight's dragon assistant. He's still just a baby though."

"I would like to meet him," Atticus looked at the small creatures that played amongst the trees. This was a very peaceful place much different form his home. The green trees and bright flowers such a huge contrast to the barren landscapes and lava-flows that he was used to.

"I think he said he wanted to meet you too. Being he has only lived around ponies his entire life. He really wanted to talk to you about what it’s like in the dragon homeland."

"I would love to share stories of home with him, but sometime later. I must first send a letter to my kin about what has transpired here. I also wish to send a message to Celestia. There may be more going on in her land then she is aware," Atticus began to walk along the road again.

"Like what?" Scootaloo walked backwards, facing the crippled dragon.

"Nothing too important. I just wish to thank her for not booting me from her country."

'And some other recent events,' Atticus thought to himself.

Scoots ran slightly ahead and opened the gate to the orchard. Atticus slowly followed the pegasus in between the trees, careful not to get stuck or uproot one because of his size.

He then saw the small house built within the branches of an old apple tree. Applebloom and Sweetie Bell waved from the small porch that extended out from all sides of the clubhouse. Scootaloo ran and joined them on the balcony, and Atticus wandered up next to the tree. He raised his head to be slightly above the level of the railing that ran the length of the porch.

"It’s a nice gesture, but I don't think I will fit."

"We knew you were going to fit. We made a plan that we would rotate days camping out and taking care of you until you got better," Sweetie Bell cheerfully responded.

"So who will be staying tonight?"

"Uhhh, we all wanted to camp out with you today. Sooooo...all of us?" Applebloom answered.

"OK then, It's almost noon. Why don't you little ones go and eat while I find myself a comfortable spot to sleep tonight?"

"OK!" the Crusaders responded. The three fillies made their way back to the farmhouse as Atticus wandered off into the trees to find a place to rest.

~~_____________________________________________________________~~

SLAM

The dragoness rebounded of the magical barrier that kept her away from her hatchlings.

One of her smaller captors stood guard outside the field, toting his crossbow at the ready.

Well, the griffin was sitting at card table. His crossbow was on the other side of the room. And he was asleep.

The Dragoness attempted to melt the walls of her magical prison, but her fire only resulted in a high pitch squeal as the magic held. The griffin awoke flipping over backwards as he fell of his chair.

"Must you really be so LOUD?" The griffin questioned. The dragoness didn't dignify him with a response, but instead seared the magical barrier again.

A voice caught the griffon's attention, "Finch! Get in here for the debrief"

Finch's mind wallowed in self-pity, 'Really? Another one?'

The griffin retrieved his crossbow and meandered to the temporary brief room that had been set up.

He met up with one of his comrades before he reached the debriefing.

"Hey finch, did you hear that we have a new contact this time?"

"No. Did you?"

"It’s just a rumor, but I think it’s true." The pair of griffons walked into the briefing session.

A large griffin stood at the front of the room next to a radio. The larger griffon held up his claw and the room became silent. He hit a button on the radio, and a voice began transmitting.

The voice on the other end seemed stressed at a very high level. "Hello friends, I have to congratulate you on your successful capture of the Lady Dragoness and her hatchlings."

The being on the other end made a slow clapping noise for a second or two...

Then broke into a rage. "Do you feather-brains Listen to ANYTHING I say?! I said capture the WHOLE family. INSTEAD you tried to kill one. You heard me right, TRIED!! The damned dragon is still alive someplace near Sweet Apple Acres. You imbeciles have ONE chance to recapture that dragon before you screw up anything else! If that dragon tells anyone in power about what happened, there is 0% chance they will join the war on our side. GET. ME. THAT. DRAGON! Cut me out Blackwing."

The large griffin shut off the radio and pulled down the screen as the lights dimmed. The projector in the back of the room turned on as the griffins went over their battle plans.

~~_____________________________________________________________~~

"I don't know Spike, he's still not in the best of shape. It may not be the best idea to go out there and pester him." Twilight returned the book she had been skimming through to the shelf.

"But you have to go to Applejack's anyways! What would be the harm of me coming along?" Spike groveled on his knees. Clasping his claws together in the hopes Twilight would let him go.

"I don't know, that's the problem." Twilight pulled another book from the shelf. A book she knew to contain many healing spells, and the counter-spells to block them. It was a ghastly subject, but she had to know why she and Fluttershy had such a problem healing their new dragon friend.

"Please Twilight!" Spike begged, scooting across the floor towards her on his knees.

"Oh fine! You can go tomorrow morning. Just don't bother Atticus too much. Please?" Twilight caved to the dragon’s relentless puppy-dog eyes.

"Yes!" Spike leaped in the air and hugged Twilight.

Spike bounded up the stairs to the bedroom, and Twilight buckled down for a long night of research.

~~_____________________________________________________________~~

A dragon and three young fillies laughed as all four told jokes and made fun around a small campfire. Atticus' loud, booming laugh almost deafening compared to the three fillies shrieks and giggles.

"And now we always call Scootaloo a chicken," Applebloom said.

"At least I'm not referred to as a dictionary," Scootaloo scoffed.

Atticus was laughing so hard, a tear ran down his cheek and landed directly on the fire. The tear was large enough to extinguish the fire, and the girls stopped and stared expectantly at their dragon patient. Atticus sat for a moment, then realized what he had to do. He breathed fire on the small pile of damp sticks and the fire burned again. The campout resumed, and it went on deep into the night.

Always Learning Something

Spike stretched himself out on his basket, and rolled out of his resting place. He stood, still half asleep. Groggily still holding onto his blanket he walked out the still open bedroom door.

Twilight was sleeping with her face planted on her desk. Books were strewn all about her. She had stayed up late and studied again. Spike noticed he was still holding his blanket, and covered Twilight with it.

The nights were growing colder, and the tree-brary wasn't the best at holding heat. Twilight had cast wards to keep the books from being damaged by the chill, but they didn't really protect them. That and you can't really have a wood furnace in a tree.

Spike moved into the kitchen and filled a kettle full of water. He may not have a wood stove, but he still had his fire-breath to heat water. He torched the bottom of the kettle, and soon the kettle shrieked as steam sprayed forth from the nozzle. He poured two cups of warm water and placed a tea-bag in each. He picked a gemstone from a box on top of the counter, and sat down at the table.

He took a big bite of the gemstone and thought about his trip he and Twilight were going to take today. Twilight was going to visit Applejack for business and checking up on the CMC. He had wanted to go along to speak with the wounded visitor.

He had never gotten the chance to speak with an elder dragon on his short-lived migration. His stomach still hurt when he thought about his belly flop into the lava pool.

He took a sip from his warm tea and skimmed the pages of the newspapers scattered across the table. News of griffin mobilizations and dragon raids dominated most of the paper.

Twilight slowly entered the kitchen and yawned. Bags had formed under her eyes. "Good morning, Spike."

"You fell asleep studying again Twilight,"

"I know, I couldn't find anything that might have stopped the healing spell I tried to use. Nor could I find what might've caused that greenish wound on his side. I'll need to ask him what caused it."

"Made you some tea, and there should be some oatmeal in the cupboard. I couldn't reach it."

Twilight floated over the box of oatmeal, some brown sugar, the kettle, and a bowl and got to work making her breakfast. She sipped on her cup of tea as she mixed all the ingredients together. "Thanks Spike."

There was a long silence between them. Both concentrated on eating so they could go visit their friends at Sweet Apple Acres. “Did you think about what you want to ask Atticus?" Twilight said, in between bites of her breakfast.

Spike stopped reading for a moment. After all the groveling he had done in order to come along, he had forgotten to think of thing he had wanted to ask. "I have a few things," he lied.

Twilight patted her muzzle with a napkin as spike wiped his face with his claw. The two cleaned off the table and washed their dishes. Twilight collected her books, and Spike grabbed a basket-full of gems to give the elder dragon. Spike jumped on Twilight's back and they set off towards Sweet Apple Acres together.

"Scootaloo?"

No response came from the orange filly with her head face down on her desk.

"Scootaloo!" The filly's head shot up, eyes darting around the room in a rush of panic.

"The answer is 42!" Cheerilee shook her head, "We've moved on from math, Scootaloo. Please make an effort to stay awake."

Scootaloo sank back in her seat. She had stayed up far too late the night before at the campout. Sweetie Bell and Applebloom had gotten asleep on time, but she had stayed up with her dragon friend until they had laughed themselves to sleep. Sweetie Bell and Applebloom had struggled to keep her awake on the way to school, and during math she had dosed of again.

"Yes ma'am," She said. Scootaloo saw Diamond Tiara whisper something to Silver Spoon, probably something smart about what Scootaloo had been doing so late last night. Scootaloo didn't care though. She didn't have enough energy to.

Cheerilee went on with her lecture on Equestrian literature. Scootaloo struggled to stay awake until the bell rang for recess.

Fillies and colts ran about the playground while Scootaloo got comfortable against a tree at the far end of the grounds. The tree's branches held many songbirds that sang as she lay there, singing cheerful songs.

Scootaloo was about to fall back to sleep when the lunch bell rang and the birds flew away. Scootaloo rose from her attempted nap, and met with her friends for lunch.

"Howdy Twilight, come to visit your scaly friend?" Applejack said, harnessed into an apple cart filled past the brim with apples.

"Yes, but first I have some business to attend to." Twilight said as Spike leapt from her back.

Spike ran off to the clubhouse where the elder dragon was. "I see Spike's a mite excited to talk to one of his own kind," Applejack said as both of them watched Spike run off.

"We both hoped Atticus might be more mature than the dragons we had encountered during his adventures during the migration. Luckily we were correct. Now Spike has a real chance to learn about dragon history."

"Well, It’s nice he can finally has a chance to learn about dragons. So, you said you had some business you needed to attend to?"

"Oh. Yes, I needed to buy some apple butter for one of the recipes I wanted to try." Applejack waved for Twilight to follow, and they entered the farmhouse. Applejack shut the door behind them, and led Twilight into the kitchen.

Applejack's face became stern and troubled. "Twilight, you have'ta see the consequences of keeping a full-grown dragon on an apple orchard. It’s like a flame-spitting bull in a tissue and china shop! I just don't like it. I have nothing against the poor fella, but I just can't sit by while my business is in danger. A fire could ruin me, Twilight!"

"You shouldn't worry, Applejack. He is more mature than most of the dragons we have dealt with before. Why don't you ask him to help around the farm? I'm sure he would be more than able to tow your apple carts around the orchard."

Applejack paused her search for the Apple butter and contemplated the thought of a dragon helping on the farm. "I'll think about it."

Applejack slid Twilight a jar of the highest quality Apple butter she could find. "We are slightly behind on our harvest this season. I suppose it wouldn't hurt. I mean, as long as he doesn't light the orchard on fire."

"That’s the spirit!" Twilight picked up the jar and motioned for Applejack to follow. "Now let’s go talk to him about working on the farm." The ponies exited the farmhouse, and went in the same direction that Spike had ran off in before.

Atticus had been taking a nap next to one of the larger apple trees, blowing small smoke rings in his sleep. Spike poked his head and quickly backed away as his elder rolled over and scratched the spot where spike had touched him.

"Hello?" Spike said. Spike was taken aback when the large amber eyes of the old dragon lazily opened.

"Hmm?" The old dragon mumbled as he rubbed his eyes with his large claws. "My name is Spike, I'm Twilight's assistant. I wanted to ask you some questions." The larger dragon rolled over again. He stopped on his belly and overlapped his arms underneath his head.

"Sure, I'd love to talk with one of my own. Wait, your name was Spike?"

"Yes."

"Scootaloo told me you could help me send a letter home, and another to your princess. I have news for her. But first, I'll answer any questions you have." They spoke for a while, on many subjects.

Spike's gaze rested on his elder's wounds, bandaged but refusing to heal. The dragon looked tired, as if exhausted by his body's attempts to heal itself. Spike didn't have wings, but he knew that they shouldn't look like the shredded membrane that hung from his wings. He noticed a wound on the large dragon's side. It was a puncture wound, but around the hole in his bandaged hide scales had withered and fallen away.

"What animal did that?" Spike pointed a claw at the green wound. Atticus paused, not wanting to cause uproar about a sneak attack by griffons. He wanted to tell the princess first. He waved off Spike's question, "A bad manticore sting, it will pass." Spike had no reason to suspect an old dragon of trickery, so he continued on with other questions.

A while later, Twilight and Applejack arrived and Spike produced a basket full of gems. The amount split between Atticus and Spike was a large meal for the latter. Atticus looked at his portion, barely relatable to crumbs in relative size. He popped his serving into his mouth, and conversed with his visitors. The idea of working on the farm was interesting, and he agreed. He gave one condition however, a letter was to be sent to Princess Celestia asking for her presence.

Atticus said he had to ask her if she could send a letter home for him. He omitted the part about asking for help getting his daughter and grand-hatchlings back, still unsure of the ramifications of such a claim. Twilight asked him about the fight with the manticores, and he told his story. Still excluding any part of the griffin attack.

Soon again he was left alone relaxing under the same apple tree. School would be getting over, and he would need all the rest he could get for playing with the three fillies when they returned.

Parasprites and Train Rides

"Princess, I beg you to stay for the conference tomorrow. The Griffins will think you're brushing them off."

Even with her nearly unlimited patience, this ambassador was starting to annoy her. "They should, I've met with your 'friends' three times this week alone. I received a letter from my student in Ponyville, and I'm going to see what she needs of me. Tell the griffins their conference can wait until next week."

Wing Tip scowled, "Yes, your majesty."

He left the room, leaving Celestia in her study on her own.

A letter had arrived addressed from Twilight, asking for her to come to Ponyville. It had lacked detail, but what was there concerned her greatly.

Atticus had asked to speak with her, in private. She would have to give a good excuse to leave Canterlot in such short notice.

She sighed. The work of an immortal monarch is never done, and certainly never easy.

"Did she respond?" Atticus was lying next to the tree-house as the three crusaders got ready for a Saturday full of plans.

Scootaloo looked up from the map of Ponyville, "Spike told me he got a letter back last night. She should be coming tonight."

"Good, I just need to speak with her. Ask her a few questions about Equestria." Atticus rose from his belly and stretched out his still torn wings. "Applebloom, you said Applejack wanted me?"

"Yeah, she said she had a job for ya to do while you wait for Celestia to get here. She said she was gonna wait near the barn for you." Applebloom pointed of in the direction of the barn.

"Thank you, Applebloom." Atticus was tall enough that if he rested on his back legs he could see just over the trees. "I'll find my way over there now." He left the small clearing.

Atticus looked back at the fillies, feeling pangs of guilt. His own son-in-laws hatchlings suffered while he attempted to recover. He shoved it from his mind, hoping maybe helping Applejack will quicken his recovery somehow.

Applejack was waiting next to the barn. Atticus could tell from a distance that something was eating her. She was shifting uncomfortably on her hooves, watching Atticus approach.

"Is something wrong Applejack?"

"Well, I was going to put you to work today in the orchards hauling carts. But I now have a much more important matter I need help with." She peered around, making sure no one was around. "There seems to be an ongoing infestation in the north orchard, there are parasprites eating every leaf, apple, and blossom in the orchard!"

"You want me to get rid of them," Atticus' nostrils flared as a puff of smoke rolled out.

"Well, yes, but Fluttershy is over there already. She's already afraid of dragons, and would be devastated if any of those critters got hurt, no matter how much of a pest they are. I need you to do it without hurting them or scaring her."

"So, no fire then?"

Applejack gave him a look.

"Oh yes, flammable trees." Atticus again thought back to the lands of his origins, where a green landscape was almost unheard of.

"Alrighty then, Lets get over there before those varmints spread any farther." With that, the apple farmer and the dragon set off to fight the approaching swarm.

Finch had been put on recon duty, and today had to be the day someone spotted the dragon.

Finch trained his goggles on the large reptile, tracking its large figure through the apple trees.

"Where are you going?" he murmured to himself. He kept watch of the dragon while he pulled a small pink crystal out of one of his bags. He crushed it, sending a signal back to his comrades he had spotted the dragon.

He prepared to leave his roost, but halted for a split second. He had set the gears of their plan in motion. But for the first time in his short mercenary career, he felt a pang of guilt rip through him.

He shrugged it off as a sign of pre-op jitters, and flew back to base.

Parasprites zipped in-between trees, trying to find an apple that might have been missed.

"Oh...my...ummm. If you little guys, um, bugs I mean, could stop eating Applejack's apples. That would be really nice."

Fluttershy sat in the middle of a one swarm apple apocalypse, attempting to negotiate with the feasting horde.

"Fluttershy!" Applejack and Atticus approached. Atticus wore a look of concern when he realized the task that laid ahead of them.

"How many are there?" Atticus asked.

"Enough to wipe out my farm! Now, can you try and scare 'em away with a roar or something?" Applejack suggested. The parasprites multiplied by the second, and soon they might spread into another orchard.

"Roar? Oh I haven't raised a threatening roar for almost a century," Applejack gave him a look. "But I suppose I could try..."

Atticus cleared his throat. Fluttershy shrieked as the low rumble made the ground underneath her hooves tremble slightly.

Atticus opened his mouth and let out a terrible roar,

"RAWWWWW-*cough*-*cough*..."

This quickly evolved into a coughing fit.

Smoke from the dragons coughing spread into the nearby trees. Fluttershy watched as parasprite after parasprite dropped, as if lulled to sleep by breathing the smoke.

"You call that a roar?! It died like halfway through!"

Fluttershy lightly poked Applejack, and pointed in the direction of the fainting parasprites.

Applejack looked at Atticus, who was huffing from his attempted roar. "Good news is you don't have to do that again. I got a better idea!"

"What do you mean 'all the carts have been sabotaged'?" A very concerned Celestia stood with her new Captain of the guard.

"I'm sorry ma'am. Someone must have sneaked in in-between shift switches." The new captain matter-of-factually stated. "I suggest until we find the culprit you remain in Canterlot."

Celestia turned from her captain and weighed her options.

"Captain, has the train to Ponyville left yet?"

"No ma'am, it lea-" In a flash of white Celestia disappeared before his eyes. He stood there dumbstruck for a second, then galloped off to the train station.

Fluttershy and Applejack covered the last basket full of knocked out parasprites and loaded them in a cart.

"Are yah sure you can handle this big cart by yourself?"

"No. I was going to ask if A-Atticus could pull it for me," Fluttershy looked past AJ at the still puffing dragon.

"I'd...love...to," was all the old dragon could muster.

"Great, just wait here you two. I'll be back with the harness for Atticus in no time." AJ trotted back to the barn to grab it.

Both Atticus and Fluttershy occupied the pregnant silence waiting for Applejack to return. Atticus grew uncomfortable and spoke, but at a whisper.

"So, Applejack told me you’re afraid of Dragons."

"Only big ones. Baby dragons are o-ok though."

"Do I scare you? I'd like to think I'm young at heart." Atticus joked. Fluttershy eased a smile.

"I suppose with all this talk of war and invasion it hasn't really helped your fear of my kind." Atticus grew somber as he remembered why he was trapped in this town until her recovered in the first place.

"N-no, not really. Most of that gossip doesn't reach me out at the cottage."

"Perhaps you would feel better if you could talk to a dragon instead of having him just roar at you?"

Fluttershy relaxed," Y-yes, that would be nice."

So they talked. Atticus talked about his home and relatives, and Fluttershy talked about animals. The dragon quickly learned this was her favorite subject, and she opened up when she talked about it.

Applejack arrived mid conversation and helped Atticus hook up to the parasprite cart. Fluttershy's voice faded into the evening as the two took off to deliver the parasprites to their home in the Everfree.

Carrot top sat alone on the train home. She had delivered the orders of fresh vegetables on time to her clients(ponies in Canterlot paid top bit to get farm fresh produce every year), and was heading home after a busy week in Canterlot. She had a newspaper open to the weather schedule for Ponyville for the next week. Rain was due, the ground needed it.

"Is this seat taken?" another pony asked from behind the paper.

"Oh no, I'm here by myself. Go ahead."

"How does the weather in Ponyville look?"

"Clear 'til Sunday, Then a rainy week until Thursday.

"Good, I hear Ponyville needed a little rain."

"A little rain is good for my veggies, but four days in a row might be a little much at a time."

"True. How was your visit to Canterlot?"

"Good, other than all the business I had to take care of."

"Canterlot is always at it's busiest it seems this time of year."

The pair continued, chatting about the weather, recent Wonderbolt performances, and other small talk. The train began to slow as it chugged into Ponyville.

"Thank you for the offer, I'll come by later to talk about ordering yearly deliveries," The nameless pony said through the newspaper.

"No problem. I haven't had such a casual chat in a long time. My name is Carrot Top, by the way."

"Nice meeting you, Carrot Top. I'm glad I got to spend this time with such a relaxed mare. Usually most ponies aren't around me. Even the other passengers seem to be a little worked up."

The other mare got up and began walking away. Carrot began to fold her newspaper, looking behind her for the mare who had sat next to her.

The weather, sports, and all the other pages slid to the ground. Carrot top felt her jaw drop as Celestia herself trotted down the aisle, eyes fixed on her. Others were looking at Carrot Top. Carrot Top felt her jaw drop, speechless.

Her mind flushed, barring one thing.

"She wanted to buy some of my carrots!"

First Steps on the Road to Recovery

"The dragon was all like this. And the manticore was all like this," Scootaloo attempted to mimic a manticore's roar. She mimed the event with her hooves, shaking and bobbing them when she deemed appropriate.

She continued the narration up to current time where Sweetie Bell, Applebloom, and she were conversing in the CMC tree house.

"Well, where is he now?" Sweetie Bell asked.

"We were barely able to move him he was so heavy, even with Twilight's help!" Scootaloo held her hooves far apart, indicating the size of the dragon. "He wouldn't fit anywhere but your barn, Applebloom."

Applebloom stirred at the mention of her name. "Wait! That big dragon is staying at my house?" She questioned.

"Yeah," Scootaloo yawned, not sharing her friends’ slight concern. "Whelp, it’s getting kinda late. I'm gonna go check on my dragon friend before I leave. You guys want to come with?"

"I can't. Rarity wanted me to be home before too late, so I gotta go." Sweetie Bell answered.

"I'm just gonna clean up the clubhouse and go to bed. I gotta get up early tomorrow morning to help Applejack." Applebloom added.

"OK then. See ya later!" Scoots waved and left her two friends in the clubhouse.

It was starting to get late, and the sun was already setting. She was going to have to do this quick. She hopped on her scooter and propelled herself off towards the Apple family barn.

~~________________________________________________________~~

The dragon had barely fit into the barn. The dragon's tail was jutting out at an odd angle, but the dragon didn't really seem to care. It just sat there unable to gather the energy to even begin to move. So there the dragon sat.

Scootaloo arrived at the barn while Twilight and AJ were finishing an argument. Scootaloo halted around the corner from them, and couldn't help but eavesdrop.

"I'm not trying to be cruel Twi. It’s just whenever something big goes wrong, my family's barn always seems to get dismantled or destroyed in some way. I've had to raise that barn again three times this year, and I will not be responsible for what happens to him if he burns it down. He might not even destroy it, he's just gonna bleed on everything."

"Fluttershy and I did everything we could in our power to stop the bleeding, but I still don't understand how my healing spell didn't work. Either way, you just have to keep him for the night. I got Spike to write the Princess, and she should be coming in the morning, hopefully."

Applejack took on a worried look, "Let’s hope she has a plan because I don't know what I'm gonna do with a full grown dragon on my farm."

Twilight patted AJ on the back, "I'm sure she'll have a plan, she always does."

The two friends parted, and when the coast was clear. Scootaloo slipped into the dark inside the barn.

~~_________________________________________________________~~

It was pitch black inside the barn. Scootaloo inched in, trying not to make any noise.

"H-hello," Scootaloo whispered.

The darkness shifted, and two gigantic amber eyes opened. An ethereal glow of wisdom seemed to flow from the old eyes.

"Never mind, wrong address. I'll just be going now..." Scootaloo shifted into reverse, backing away towards the door.

"Wait, little one." the dragon's voice shook the barn, but felt comforting at the same time. "Were you not the small creature that helped me against the manticore pack?"

Scootaloo relaxed, feeling oddly at ease near the huge beast. "Yes, my name is Scootaloo."

"I thank you...Scootaloo, for your help. If you had not intervened, I may not have left that clearing." The dragon shifted, and grunted in pain. "My name is Atticus."

The dragon extended out a claw, and Scootaloo gave it a reproachful bump with her hoof.

"Pleasure. But helping was no problem. It was just the right thing to do," Scootaloo shrugged.

"If only more creatures in the world could see things that way," The dragon chuckled, warming the air in the barn by at least three degrees.

"Well, I just came by to see how you were doing. I heard Princess Celestia may be coming by tomorrow. If you have any other questions, she'd be the one to ask. Good night!" Scootaloo edged to the door, and the dragon watched her as she exited the barn.

~~_________________________________________________________~~

"Princess?! I need to speak with you!" Wing Tip, the equestrian ambassador to the griffins, rapidly knocked on her study door.

The door opened, a slightly perturbed Princess appeared. "Ambassador, what could you possibly need to talk to me about at 2:00 in the morning?"

"I need to talk to you about that dragon incident in the Everfree."

"What is there to talk about? I'm going to see what I can do tomorrow. And that will be the end of it."

"But that won't be the end of it! That's the problem! I warn you, Celestia. If you give help to that dragon at all, the griffins will see it as favoritism. You cannot help that dragon! Doing so would endanger everypony. Who knows, the griffons might see it as a pledge of allegiance!"

Celestia thought about Wing Tips warning, "Would an act of kindness really cause such retaliation?"

"That, Celestia, not even I can tell. These next twenty-four hour period may decide the future of a peaceful Equestria. I would suggest sending the dragon away, but that is my opinion. The choice is up to you. An act of kindness plunging us into war, or an act of self preservation to keep the peace." Wing Tip bowed, and turned away from the Princess. "Good night, Celestia."

Celestia looked back into her room at the clock and murmured, "And good morning to you..."

Celestia looked at the letter unrolled on her desk, and began to wonder what the correct course of action would be.

~~_________________________________________________________~~

"It's becoming dangerous for her and the hatchlings here, so I need you to do one last thing for me. I want you to take them to the Everfree forest. You must promise to guard them with your life."

"I will."

You would lie to your own son-in-law?

"No!"

Liar! You said you would protect them, but where are they now?

"Shut up!"

Here you lay safe, while your daughter dies a slow, bloody death.

"That's not true!"

Do you know otherwise? You call yourself a father, HAH!

"I said SHUT UP!"

~~_________________________________________________________~~

The dragon rose from its nightmare, cold sweat running between his remaining scales. He felt a little weight where it wasn't before.

The little orange filly rested up against his soft underbelly. She laid sprawled out on top of a hay bale, snoring irregularly.

He ran a single claw through her hair scratching her head. The filly yawned and shifted, making the injured dragon smile.

He just sat there, waiting for the sun to come up. It was obvious that he was not going to have a good nights rest. He made sure not to disturb the little one. He laid still for many of the early morning hours. Hoping this 'Princess' could help him find his love ones, or at least point him on his way.

~~_________________________________________________________~~

The celestial princess neared the main six, who were standing near the entrance to the barn.

"He's inside, Princess," Twilight said.

"Good, but you must accompany me. I have to talk to all of you as well," Twilight looked confused, but she and her friends followed her into the barn.

The CMC were in the barn, conversing with the ancient dragon and climbing on him using his scales. The dragon stopped playing. The CMC spotted the group of older ponies and dismounted, they were waved to the corner. They removed themselves, mumbling about 'letting the grown-ups talk'.

"I assume you are the dragon I've heard so much about?" Celestia said.

"If you are the great Princess I've heard so much about. My name is Atticus," The dragon reverently bowed his head. "I wish to ask a favor of you, If I may. I-"

"I'm afraid I must stop you there, elder dragon. I wish to help you, but I cannot," Celestia face twisted in disappointment. She turned to the six friends, "And neither can you. I am told I am in a rather delicate situation with the Griffon diplomats. Any action taken by Luna, any of the element bearers, or myself may be seen as an act of signing off my allegiance with your kin."

The dragon drooped in dismay, "Is that so?"

"I'm afraid so. The bearers may be able to help, but not significantly enough to get you healed enough to leave you to your devices." Celestia was saddened, but wasn't showing it much.

"Celestia," Scootaloo had left her friends in the corner, now in the midst of the conversation.

"Yes, Scootaloo," The sun monarch responded.

"You said that you can't help and the element bearers couldn't do enough on their own. What if Sweetie Bell, Applebloom, and I helped him?"

"I suppose with supervision periodically by Twilight you could help him, but you must move him somewhere he won't be seen."

"Simple, he moves into the west orchard. It's near our clubhouse, and it boarders the Everfree," Applebloom added from the corner.

"Well, it’s obvious you want to help. You convinced me." Celestia admitted. "But only until his wounds heal, after that he must leave." Applebloom and Sweetie Bell rushed to Scootaloo's side.

"So we can keep him?" Sweetie Bell asked. Celestia nodded in answer.

The CMC jumped in the air and hoof bumped, "CUTIE MARK CRUSADER DRAGON DOCTORS!"

Atticus watched the eager fillies, wondering how long his first day in Ponyville was going to be.