Fluttershy was awoken by cold droplets of water dripping down and landing on her nose. She was slow to open her eyes and look around the strange place the dragon had brought her to. Her eyes adjusted to the glow of the blue light that dimly illuminated the chamber to reveal she was in a dungeon. The walls were lined with piles of bones and rusted chains that still seemed to cling to the skeletons of dragons, ponies and other creatures Fluttershy didn't recognize. Her gaze eventually became fixated on the source of the blue glow. It was a giant crystal that was twice her size in the center of the room.
Fluttershy slowly moved toward the crystal formation studying it curiously, but approaching it carefully. She covered her mouth with a hoof to stop any sound that would come from her gasp as she realized what was at the center of the crystal. It was the dragon. He was lying on his side on a stone table with deep cuts and lacerations down the whole right side of his body. The expression on what was left of his face looked to be in agony.
Fluttershy instantly realized what the dragon meant by "It hurts" and why he would ask for help, but with these wounds, this dragon seemed beyond her help. She lowered her head shedding a sorrowful tear for the poor dragon. But even with the dragon's condition Fluttershy couldn't help but wonder why the spirit appeared as a black evil dragon. What would cause such an innocent looking spirit to turn into something that looked so evil? Fluttershy wanted to know but at the same time was too scared to think of asking an evil dragon why he was evil.
Suddenly another light illuminated the dungeon. It came from the ceiling. The dragon spirit seemed to be retreating into the dungeon as if running from something that had scared him. It startled Fluttershy so much she laid flat on her stomach and covered her head with her hooves. She raised her head curiously when she heard crying coming from the other side of the crystal.
"H-hello?" Fluttershy asked moving to where she could see the dragon.
He looked up to her from his prone position and quickly knocked the tears from his eyes with his claws.
"Fluttershy…I hath become something horrible." Damian admitted. He stood on all fours and looked at his body trapped within the crystal. "This crystal thine eyes behold is a trap my body is entombed in."
"W-what happened to you?" Fluttershy asked trying to look the dragon in the eyes.
"I refused to bow mine head to Discord's will. He sought to break me and imprisoned me here like this after planting the seed of hate within mine heart. His intention was to make me become his servant of destruction." The spirit explained never looking away from the crystal.
"Why have you brought me here?" Fluttershy was feeling a little braver after seeing the dragon show weakness.
"Very soon now this crystal shall dispel freeing my body from this tomb, but in its current state I would not live very long and wish very much to be united with my sisters right away. I wish of you to help me heal this body so that I may live to see them." Damian explained.
"I've never dealt with wounds this severe before. I'm not sure if I can."
"Itami has removed your choice to not comply by turning this prison into a trap itself. It is airtight and one pony would suffocate in three days down here. If we die there is no one to teleport you from this dungeon and you would follow the fate of those whose bones litter the ground."
Fluttershy couldn't believe what she heard. She had no choice but to try and save this dragon whether he was good or evil in order to save her own life. The thought didn't sit well with her at first, but her kind nature took over.
"I'll do my best to help you." She said with a weak voice. "But…since you're a ghost…aren't you already dead?"
"No. I am using a spell to project my spirit from my body." Damian's changing speech patterns stood out a bit to Fluttershy. He could feel Itami's grasp over him growing stronger as the time for the crystal to dispel grew closer. It scared him. "Fluttershy, there is a first aid kit I have prepared here." Damian informed her as he dug through a pile of bones and pulled a sack out of a broken ribcage. He placed it at her hooves and backed away slowly. "It's time."
Princess Luna sat in the throne room looking upon the platform the dragon had retreated beneath. Being here again brought back nostalgic feelings and memories of its most glorious days. This was also the very last place Luna had ever seen the dragon before tonight. Her very last memory of him in this place played out in her mind as she closed her eyes.
Discord came into the dungeon and opened her cell. Luna had been bound in chains and felt weak from starvation. The cries and whimpers of other imprisoned ponies came from all around when they heard the cell door clang against the wall. Their tyrannous overlord grabbed Luna's chains and yanked on them jerking Luna forward. She fell on her face and Discord merely dragged her behind him without saying a word to her. After being painfully dragged against the stone floor with the chains pinching into her coat all over her body Discord stopped.
"Luna!" Celestia called. She was overjoyed to see her little sister was still alive. Luna slowly raised her head and saw both her sister Celestia and Damian the White Dragon standing side by side before her and Discord.
"Release her to our custody and we shall hold up our end of the bargain, Discord." Damian demanded.
"But of course!" Discord replied with a bright and wicked smile. With the snap of his fingers Luna's chains were gone. She slowly stood up and wobbled across the platform towards Celestia.
Damian walked forward at the same time Luna did and lowered his head to lovingly rub his cheek against Luna's as they passed by each other. Luna felt his warmth and smiled with her eyes closed. Her smile disappeared quickly when she felt a liquid smeared across her cheek. She looked up and saw tears running down the dragon's cheek. Luna was confused at the sight but kept walking toward her sister. She turned upon reaching Celestia's side in time to see Damian charge forward and attack Discord. Before he could land a blow Discord vanished and reappeared off to his right side laughing.
"I predicted you'd act violently my boy and I am quite prepared for you." Discord announced as he brought his eagle clawed hand down to strike Damian in the face. His claws caught the dragon above his right eye. In one swift motion Discord's claws destroyed the dragon's right eye and cut through his flesh to the skull all the way down to his cheek. Damian roared in pain and tried to retaliate with a swing of his own claws at Discord. He missed. The sly draconequus had vanished again reappearing once more on Damian's now blind side. A sword spawned in his hand that he used to cleave through the dragon cutting him from the top of his right forearm down his side and through the top of his flank. He tried to take to the air by flapping his wings, but Discord stopped his retreat by stabbing the sword into the elbow joint of his right wing grounding him for good.
"DAMIAN!" Luna cried weakly trying to move towards him to help, but lacked the energy as she collapsed in front of Celestia. Celestia picked up her sister and looked on in disbelief.
"NOW CELESTIA!" Damian called as if to cue her to do something. Celestia opened her wings and took off carrying Luna with her. Princess Luna's last memory of the dragon was him screaming Celestia's name as she was carried off.
"What hast thou become, dear brother?" Luna asked returning to herself.
Her reminiscing was cut short by a sudden cloud of smoke appearing in front of her. Luna jumped to her hooves readying a defensive magic spell. When the smoke cleared a yellow pegasus stood before her. Fluttershy's face and hooves were covered in blood but she did not appear to have any visible injuries.
"Fluttershy, art thou alright?" Luna asked rushing over to check her over.
"I'm fine." Fluttershy replied a bit scared and unsure why Princess Luna was here.
The ruins began to shake with an earthquake. Both Luna and Fluttershy immediately flew up off the ground checking around them to see if the old ruin would hold against the quake. It didn't. The ceiling started caving in and the walls began crumbling.
"Quickly! Follow me!" Luna ordered Fluttershy as she took off towards the far wall trying to make it out through a large hole the quaking made. The two flew as fast as their wings would carry them quickly dodging falling rocks and debris pushing theirselves for a very near escape from the crumbling ruins and into the forest. Neither one of them slowed down until they had reached Ponyville where Fluttershy's friends and Princess Celestia awaited them.