Chapter 7
You walked along with the ponies, growing ever closer to the mountains. It had been almost a week since you had all left, and it would be about another before you reached your destination. That upcoming week would be a long one however, as you and your... friends were beginning to run out of supplies. While you were used to almost a whole week without food at times, the ponies were not, and they wouldn't last long on your rationing system. Mostly because that system consisted of raw venison. Due to relations between horses and deer, you decided it wouldn't be the best idea to try and make them eat it.
Those troubles aside, you still had to figure out how you were going to take care of the ponies when dragons started popping up. You could train Twilight, Rainbow and Applejack, maybe Pinkie. Fluttershy and Rarity however didn't seem like the kind to fight much. Perhaps if Rarity was angry...
Due to you being so deep in thought, you failed to notice Twilight appear next to you. She cleared her throat slightly, catching you attention.
"Hm?" You glanced down at her, acknowledging her desire to speak with you.
"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions? About you, and where you're from?"
"Not at all, as long as they aren't too personal." You were a bit hesitant to accept her request, but there could be no harm in a few simple questions. You were curios to see what she would inquire about.
"The day we first left the library, I recall you had strange glowing lights in one of your hands. One red, one gold, and another a light blue. What was that? Some form of power?"
"Actually, power is pretty accurate. Those were spells, flames, healing, and frostbite. In that order."
"You can do magic! That's so interesting! You don't even have a horn... how do you do it?" Her eyes were literally sparkling, her smile covering nearly her whole face. She apparently loved magic. Made sense, she was a librarian.
"Well, I do not need a horn. I can merely channel whichever spell I want through my arm and into my hand, at the cost of mana." You demonstrated by placing healing into your hand, and holding it close to Twilight so she could see.
"Fascinating," she stared in wonder at the glowing ball of light you held in your hand. "So, what's mana?" She returned her gaze to you, eyes gleaming with the anticipation of more knowledge.
"Well, the amount of mana determines how long you can hold a spell for. It slowly drains as a spell is cast. Some spells cost more than others though. So it also determines if you can even cast a spell without passing out, or worse, killing yourself." You went back over your words to see if you had left anything out, or could explain it better than that, but you found your knowledge of magic to be very limited, so that was the best explanation you could offer.
"Hm, this is very interesting. Can everyone in your world do magic, or is it just a select few?"
"Well, as far as I know only certain people can actually use magic, and fewer still the more advanced spells. But, if you were to set your mind to it, it is likely that you magical prowess could increase slightly. With years of study and practice, that is." That part you were confident about. You had asked Tolfdir a similar question the few weeks you went to the college, and he had given you a similar answer. You sighed aloud. You wondered if there was a way for you to return. You didn't have anything there that you couldn't live without. The moon sugar and Skooma would be nice to have, but it wasn't life or death. The only thing you would miss would be all of the friends you had made along the way.
"Is something wrong J'dagna?" You looked down at the lavender mare walking by your side. The look of concern in her eyes told you a thousand stories. Adventure, heartbreak, joy, laughter. They say the eyes are the window to the soul. Your eyes were cold, hard, and with little feeling remaining. All of the life in your eyes had been ripped away in Sovengarde. Seeing her perish, the appear again in the Great Hall brought some form of reprieve, but you still wouldn't be able to see her until you yourself fell in battle.
"I'm... fine Twilight. Do not worry about me. I merely miss my friends back in Skyrim." At this point, Applejack trotted up, and began walking on the other side of you.
"Hey Twi. Howdy Ju-dagger." You looked at you, one eyebrow raised. No doubt she was inquiring to see if she pronounced your name correctly.
"Close enough I suppose. How are you Applejack?"
"I'm doing mighty fine. Say Twi, you mind if Ah talk with him fer a while?" She looked past you at her lavender friend, a pleading look in her eyes. Twilight gave a nod, and fell back to the rest of the group.
"Alright partner, Ah'm gonna be honest with ya. Ah don't trust ya, not one bit. Now, Twi seems to, and that's good enough fer me, but Ah'm keepin' an eye on ya." To emphasize her point, she shut one of her eyes and glared at you with the other.
"Very well, though I must ask, why is it you don't trust me? I think I know why, but I would like to hear you say it." You returned her glare in force, not really willing to be stared down by a pony... again.
"Yer a killer. At any point ya could turn on us and kill us all and we wouldn't be able to do anything. Now Ah'm not sayin' that you would, but I still don' think Ah can trust ya." She turned her head to face forward again, and gave you a sideways glance before doing the same with her eyes. You thought on her words a moment, before deciding on what to say to her reason.
"While I can see your point, I would like to make one of my own. I would like to point out the fact that, had I wanted to kill you, I would have. I currently don't want to kill any of you, and I never will. It is likely that I will never want to even cause you physical harm. Perhaps a smack to the back of your head for something stupid you do, but never anything more than that." You continued walking without giving her another glance, letting her think on your words. After a few moments of silence, she sighed, and looked at you again.
"Alright, Ah believe ya. I can tell real easy if somepony is lyin'... and I can tell you ain't. Ah'm... sorry for not trustin' ya and all. Ah'm just concerned about mah friends ya know?"
"It's fine. I harbor no ill will towards you. It is understandable, your lack of trust. And I know how you feel, being concerned for your friends. I lost my wi- someone I was very close to, not too long ago. The very dragon we hunt now killed her." You weren't sure why you were disclosing all of this information.... you just felt like you could trust the orange mare.
"Ah'm sorry for yer loss. Ah know how ya feel." A tear rolled down her cheek, and she quickly wiped it away.
"We've all lost someone. I more than most. So many friends, all of my family... I've gotten to the point where I feel nothing anymore. I feel terrible for not mourning their losses, but at the same time I know that to do so constantly would mean my end as well. At least... in my world it would. But, none of that is important. Come, we should make camp, night will be upon us within the hour."
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You and the six ponies had gotten camp set up very quickly. It only took about fifteen minutes for the tents to be raised, wood to be gathered for a fire, and a few large rocks were brought in to serve as chairs while dinner was cooking. You silently stirred the pot of soup, once again lost in thought about your life in Skyrim. You missed the thrill of danger around every corner, all of the friends you made. Brynjolf chief among them. Though he was a bit crude at times, he was one of your best friends, and the only reason you were still alive. If he wouldn't have been there with you in Irkngthand, you would have drowned in that chamber.
You sighed heavily, though you missed Skyrim, you were beginning to... like it here. You never thought you would enjoy the peace and quiet of a safe world so much. The large cities in Skyrim were different, while they were safe (sort of), they were never very secure. The wilderness in this world is safer than High Hrothgar was. Perhaps you could retire? You had been fighting monsters, slaying dragons, and saving tons of helpless people from bandit raids for many years. You had stopped counting after three, and all of the years just seemed to blur together in a haze of blood and gold.
While you sat there in silence, Rainbow Dash stood and walked over to you. You followed her with your eyes as she drew closer, and upon reaching you, sat down on the ground next to you. You turned your head towards her and saw her staring at you, a mix of fear and awe on her face. Her friends were talking among themselves, and seemed to not notice that she had moved over to you.
"Need something?" She startled a bit at your words, but quickly focused her eyes on your own.
"Sorry, I was just, um... admiring you body structure? It's just so, um... interesting how much different you are from us." She looked up at you, seemingly hopeful you would buy into her poorly concealed lie. You chuckled a bit, and gave her a small smile.
"Well, as... flattering as that is, you do not strike me as the scholarly type. You seem more like the brash, headstrong athlete, given the circumstances of our introduction. If you were simply admiring my physique, you need only say so." She blushed a little, making your smile grow wider.
"Oh, well... yeah. You caught me. Do you mind if I ask you for a favor? Seeing as we're about to start facing dragons, and you would be the only one fighting them, maybe you would want a little help? So i was thinking, that maybe you could-"
"Train you to fight dragons? I was contemplating doing just that earlier today. I was also considering Twilight, and Applejack as well. Your request is granted, though you should know, my training regime will likely break you at least once. Only one man has ever passed without losing a limb... or his mind." At these words, her pupils shrunk, and a face of pure terror adorned her face. Finally, when you could take it no more, you burst into riotous laughter. The other ponies looked over, just as confused as Rainbow now was.
"Wh-what's so funny!?"
"You are!" You replied, still laughing uncontrollably. It was a while before you managed to calm down. "Worry not Rainbow Dash, you will be fine when you start your training, and all throughout. I as merely playing a joke on you." She looked confused for a moment before your words sunk in, but when it finally clicked...
"Why you little!" She jumped on you, an unrelenting rain of blows being thrown your way. You pulled up your arms to cover your face as you laughed some more. Her friends sat on the other side of the fire in confusion, with Pinkie giggling madly.
"Pinkie," Twilight spoke up. "whats so funny?"
"They are!" She turned to her friends and recounted what had happened. Whether she heard it all or was just being Pinkie, not even I know.
"Now wait just a minute. J'Dagna wants to train me, Twi, and Dash ta fight dragons!? What in the hay would give him that idea?"
"Because, I can't fight them all on my own."
"Alright, well that's all well and good, but what'r we gonna fight em' with? Our bare hooves?"
"Worry not, I always have extra weapons on me, just in case. I only have two options, so Rainbow will get one, and Applejack the other. You can choose tomorrow. Tonight, you should get some rest, I hope to have you trained in two days time. Goodnight, and sleep well. We rise at dawn."
"Excuse me? You said you only have two options for weapons. If I'm getting this training as well, what will I fight with?" You turned and saw Twilight looking at you inquisitively.
"I'm going to teach you how to cast destruction magic." To emphasize this, you summoned a fireball in your hand. "Prepare yourselves ponies, we have work to do come sunrise."