//------------------------------// // Lessons of the Ancient Times // Story: Dovahkiin // by The-DerpSide //------------------------------// I have an author's notes at the end of the chapter, so please read in regards to the "poll" regarding the pairing. ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Four Days Later.... Spike stood outside the cave while a blinding blizzard swirled all around him. 'Sky. Spring. Summer.' Spike thought to himself, 'remember the lost Draconic language'. Raising his gaze to the sky, he shouted "Lok Vah Koor!" and a white pulse of magic fired from his mouth into the skies, clearing the blizzard away and scattering the clouds. Durnehviir's head emerged from the cave and glanced around the sky before sending a look of approval to his student. Twilight, and Rainbow Dash, however rushed out of the cave and looked in amazement of the suddenly clear skies. "Kid, if you can do that, I bet even the Ponyville Weather Team would hire you clearing the skies. Three words it took you to clear those skies....and you didn't even leave the ground!" Rainbow Dash said, flying over to different clouds remaining in the sky and testing them-trying to find a comfortable one to rest on. "I am quite astounded at the variety of uses dragon magic has, Spike." Twilight said, having pulled out a parchment and quill and was writing down notes. "I didn't come across weather controlling spells for unicorns....but then again I was focused on other things." Rarity was standing at the mouth of the cave, glancing in the direction Ponyville was located, a look of worry across her face. 'Even though I know she's a growing filly, I can't help but worry about Sweetie Bell.' She thought. 'And for good reason. We know how much trouble she and her friends can get into.' "You have done in learning the ancient Draconic language, and even have learned spells faster than I could prepare them" Durnehviir said, causing Spike to rub the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, being the assistant to a unicorn who's obsessed with learning new spells and impressing her mentor- Princess Celestia- you tend to pick up a few things about the basics of magic." Spike said, and Twilight blushed in embarrassment. "Indeed." Durnehviir said, tapping a claw against a rock and watching it tumble down the mountain before raising his head. "What are the spells I have taught you?" Twilight opened her mouth to answer, but Spike place his hand over her mouth and shook his head. "In alphabetical order: Animal Allegiance, Aura Whisper, Become Ethereal, Call of Valor, Clear Skies, Disarm, Dismay, Kyne's Peace, Throw Voice, and Whirlwind Sprint." Spike recited, saying the three words for each spell after saying their name. Spike then sighed and sat down with his arms crossed. "Basically, the only one that can be used in combat is Disarm...and you say I am destined to defeat Alduin the Dark Dragon. How am I supposed to defeat him if all I know is cheap tricks with animals and the weather?" "Never underestimate the power of the environment around you. It can make the difference between life and death." Durnehviir said sternly, "Even though they may seem like cheap tricks, these spells may save your life. What if you summoned a Timberwolf with Animal Allegiance and then tame him with Kyne's Peace?" "I didn't think about that." Spike admitted. "You are young, and haven't truly faced the terrors and monsters out in the wild or had to truly fight to survive yet." Durnehviir said, lowering himself to look into Spike's eyes, "But you will grow soon. Then, knowledge locked away on how to fight will come naturally to you. This is why teenage dragons play aggressive games like tail wrestling and king of the hoard- to improve their fighting skills and establish a pecking order of dominance." Twilight had nearly reached the end of the parchment she was writing on-as it was full of notes on the dragon species and history. "This information is really interesting. Maybe the ponies will finally get an informative book about dragons!" She said, making Durnehviir look at his with a bland look on his face. "Your friend is really....dedicated...to learning...." He said in disbelief. "You have no idea." Rainbow Dash said, having finally found a suitable cloud, landing next to the dragons. "You sure took your time finding a cloud to sleep on." Spike said, with an amused grin on his face. "Hey. I had to find a cloud comfy, yet sturdy enough to support this much awesomeness!" She said, a cocky look on her face. As she flew up and lied back on her cloud, an idea came to Spike, and a he gave a grin similar to the one Pinkie Pie had before she pranked someone. "Lok Vah Koor!" Spike shouted, the white pulse hitting the cloud Rainbow Dash was relaxing on and cause it to dissipate into water vapor. "AAH!" She shouted, falling down onto the ground. Both dragons gave loud laughs and even the unicorn mares had a hard time stifling their laughter. "And that's why even the so-called 'useless' Dragon Shout spells can be used to your advantage." Durnehviir said, deciding to use that prank as a learning lesson. "Tomorrow, we will finish up your lessons with combat spells, but for now it is getting late. We must rest up for a full day tomorrow. Your magic must recharge as well, or else you risk burning yourself out." He said, as he watched the sun start to set on the horizon. "Will you tell us more about the ancient times?" Twilight asked, and Durnehviir nodded. He saw no harm in sharing the information about the past for the future to learn from. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!" Twilight shouted, hopping all over the place. "Calm yourself, darling!" Rarity said, watching her friend jump around. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Once back inside the cave, Durnehviir had settled himself into a comfortable position as Spike sat munching on a gem and the three mares had placed themselves in a position so they could jump between Durnhviir and Spike should they need to. "Long ago, before the lands you call Equestria were founded, there was order and relative peace across the lands. Sure the ponies didn't interbreed like they do today and tend to tick with their own species-Unicorn with Unicorn, Earth Pony with Earth Pony, and Pegasus with Pegasus-but the species interacted with each other without much conflict." Durnehviir started reciting, Twilight summoning new pieces of parchment, as well as a new quill and taking new notes. 'I can see the title of the book now' Twilight thought. 'The history of Dragons. Written by Twilight Sparkle.' "Other species interacted with the ponies as well. Sea Serpents traded goods and tales with the land and air dwelling ponies, and we dragons taught the unicorns how to harness their magic. In return, Unicorns made cults to defend us and or homes, and we taught them our own magic-the Dragon Shouts. Sadly, though. Dragon Shouts apparently are lost today." "Wait. What do you mean lost?" Twilight asked. "Rarity. If you could control the weather by shouting 'Lok Vah Koor' at the top of your lungs, would you do it?" "What?!" Rarity said, recoiling in shock, "And sound like a ruffian?! A lady has standards!" "I rest my case" Durnehviir said, causing Twilight and Rainbow Dash to glare at Rarity, who looked regretful and sheepish at being singled out and saying what she did. "Anyways, all was calm, Ponies traveled in caravans to trade their goods. The different species decided to name their land. In honor of all the species, they wanted a name that was neutral to all. In the end, they decided on Skyrim, with how the mountains reached into the sky." "All was fine until the Dark Dragon, Alduin; whose scales were blacker than the night sky, rose to power and gained a following all of his own. One of his most prized students was a yearling Unicorn colt named Sombra- who took exceptional skills with fear and intangibility spells, and the darkness that flowed from Alduin filled his heart. When Alduin had enough followers, he lead a war to take control of Skyrim." "Never before had so much blood had been shed on Skyrim. Brother against Brother. The sands were stained red and even the sea serpents fled to deeper water. The Dragons got together to plan with the ponies of Skyrim who were not following Alduin. A plan was set into motion-we would combine our strength to seal away Alduin. We were worried that Alduin would break free one day and no one would be able to stop him. That is when a group of ponies who dedicated their skills into predicting the future came to us with a prophecy." "A dragon would be born without wings, but would have strong magical skills. He would permanently silence the Dark Dragon Aluin when he returned to spread Death and Destruction once more. This wingless Wyrm would be the Dovahkiin-the Dragonborn." "Permanently silence....as in...kill?" Twilight asked, horrified. "I know it seems horrific, but Alduin has no concept of mercy, and would gladly stab you in the back when show mercy if it guaranteed him victory. Alduin....he was pure evil incarnate...there was no other explanation for him. Even the one you call Discord is nothing but a mere trickster when compared to Alduin." This was worrying to Twilight and the others. Discord had nearly destroyed the friendship of the six mares who wielded the Elements of Harmony. To think that Alduin was even worse than him. Also, apparently only Spike would be able to face him. Did that mean the Elements of Harmony were useless against him? "The battle that ensued was horrifying, permanently scarring the land around it and tearing the side of a mountain apart. That was the very mountain the foundations of Canterlot were built on, I believe. Anyway, in the end Alduin was sealed away, but he cast a curse at his sealers just before he was sealed away. Greed would fill their hearts and the hearts of their descendants. Their age and size would be determined by the size of their hoard. The dragons took the curse in place of the Unicorns, allowing the sealing process to be finished. This spell, they knew, was an attempt to control their descendants when he broke free." "In the end, the remaining dragons scattered across the land, only gathering to migrate or breed. The land was permanently scarred and many crops and resources failed, and the different pony species bickered and fought. The other creatures had not heard of Alduin's defeat and remained hiding until after the land was renamed. Even then they stayed farther away due to the fear they received from the ponies. The bickering between the pony species did not last, however. The first Heart Warming's Eve had to happen....and Skyrim was renamed Equestria in honor of the event where the different pony species came together in harmony once again." Twilight finished gathering her notes and turned to Spike. "Spike, can you send this to the Princesses, please?" Spike inhaled and the parchments vanished in a flash of green flames when he exhaled. Spike then let out a huge yawn and curled up in a ball, and Twilight smiled down at the dragon she knew most her life-though Celestia did the job of raising him after she hatched him. Lying down next to him, she dozed off, images of unicorns and dragons fighting side by side playing through her mind. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Canterlot "Ah'm telling you they've been gone too long!" Applejack said, with Pinkie Pie bouncing in place and Fluttershy hiding behind a pillar as they met up with Princess Celestia-in regards to their missing friends. "We should've never let them go off with the Dragon Migration." Before Princess Celestia could respond, a whirl of green flames materialized in front of her and a stack of parchment emerged from the flames. Catching them with her magic, Celestia started reading through it. "Apparently your fears are unfounded. They are safe." Celestia said, "And actually met up with an old dragon named Durnehviir that was willing to talk about the species history. He is even teaching our young Spike a lost art of dragon magic. Twilight, however, has it in her head that she's going to publish the first book about dragons." "T-that's nice." Fluttershy said, finally peeking out from behind the pillar. "This information is things even I haven't known. This comes from the ages before the first Hearth's Warming Eve....oh my...." She had reached the part about the Dovahkiin and the prophecy regarding Alduin. "If you excuse me, My Little Ponies, I must discuss some information that came up with Luna and the others immediately." Celestia said, still holding the parchments with her magic, before trotting out of the room leaving three very confused ponies behind.