Chapter 12
After defeating the hopefully rare diamond skin dragon, you and the ponies headed back to your camp to rest up until noon. Applejack removed most of her armor, but left the breastplate on. When asked about it, she simply said it felt natural. She was now in her tent, taking a much needed rest. Twilight had been sitting with Fluttershy, who was very much worse for wear, but seemed would make it. The lavender mare had applied several spells and salves, some to ease the pain, some to help with healing. You offered your own healing magic, but Twilight was unsure how your magic would clash with the magic of their world, so she advised against it. Pinkie and Rainbow Dash were busy talking about the fight while Rarity made some repairs to Dash's armor. You informed her that you were more than capable of completing the task, but she insisted. Something about it being her duty as a seamstress.
And so there you sat, merely watching the ponies as they worked through their various tasks. You hefted one of the dragon bone axes up to hold in front of you, looking it over. You had already sharpened them to some degree using a stone you always carried with you, should it be a while before the next grindstone came up. It had saved your life more than once. If only there was an enchantment table somewhere. You could make them truly devastating. Sadly it seemed, sharp would have to be enough.
"Hey, J'dagna, how are you feeling?" Twilight had apparently finished tending to Fluttershy, and had come over to check on you. It seemed the blood stain on your armor hadn't gone unnoticed. You had been healing the wound in your shoulder yourself over the past few hours, but your magical ability wasn't the best, and potions only went so far. While the wound wasn't nearly as gruesome and deep as it had been, it was still quite painful. You gave your shoulder a roll, and winced as the muscle caught in an awkward position. You brought up your healing spell and placed its golden light over the wound.
"I will be fine Twilight, you needn't worry about me. I've had far worse wounds than this. Heh, I remember the first Dremora I fought, almost lost my arm." In truth, you actually HAD lost your arm, but due to the clean cut, a 'Fus Ro Da' of the demon off a cliff, and a VERY long hike back to the College of Winterhold, you managed to get it re-attached, courtesy of Colette.
"Oh my, that sounds quite awful. Though... I'm not sure what a Dremora is. Is it some sort of monster in your world?" She moved and sat down beside you, interested in the opportunity to learn more about your home.
"Yes, one could say that, though they aren't monsters in the sense that they are mindless creatures. Dremora are quite clever, and one of the most dangerous things one could have the misfortune of facing. They come from a plain of existence known as Oblivion, though you may refer to it as Hell. It is a realm of pain and blood. Not one to be traveled lightly. Though, there was this hero, several centuries before I was even born, who charged headlong into the depths of Oblivion to fight the Dremora, and seal off the gates between our world and theirs. His quest saved all of Tamriel from an onslaught of terrors that would have likely destroyed our world. I suppose I am like him in some regards. Fighting insurmountable odds for the sake of life as we know it. But enough of that, you asked about the Dremora. Well, they are humanoid in form..." You went on to explain in great detail just what a Dremora was, what they looked like, and so on. This then lead to a wider spectrum covering what the Daedra are, and further on to the Daedric princes. When Sheogorath came up, Twilight made an observation.
"This... Sheagroth guy sounds a lot like Discord." She placed a hoof on her chin in thought.
"Discord... yes, I suppose that would be the most appropriate word to describe him. He is very discorded. In fact, it was an artifact of his creation that wound me up in your world."
"No no, Discord. Proper noun here. He's the spiritual embodiment of chaos and disharmony. He's a draconequus, and he's been a constant thorn in our side since the dawn of time. Celestia won't admit it, but she has a thing for him. My step-sister told me so." She gave a soft chuckle at the thought. "Y'know, he really isn't all that bad, and I think he and the Princess would make a cute couple. Not that I have much experience in the matter."
"Hmmm, indeed you don't, my dear Twilight, though I'm flattered you would thing so highly of a relationship between myself and dear Princess Celestia." Suddenly, a long... thing appeared in the air. Though, judging by it's appearance, the words it spoke, and it's seemingly very high levels of power, (something in the range of 9,000+ if you had to put a number on it), this was the topic of you and Twilight's conversation...
"Discord! What are you doing here? And uh... how much um.... how much did you hear?" Twilight, at first very aggressive, suddenly became more like Fluttershy when it dawned on her what exactly Discord had said, and the statements she had made prior.
"Oh, not much... just that you think me and 'ol Sunbutt would make a, ah... 'cute couple' I believe were your exact words? And it's nice to know that after all we've been through, you don't think I'm all that bad after all. Oh, and hello everypony! So nice to see you all. Especially you dear Fluttershy. Although, you do seem a bit worse for wear... it wouldn't happen to be HIS fault, would it?" As he spoke those words, you suddenly felt yourself lifted up off the ground, and unable to breathe. Discord turned to you, a hateful glare in his eye. He spoke to you, words dripping with malice, but not loud enough for the others to hear. "So help me, if you've hurt dear Fluttershy I'll burn you to cinders, and scatter the ashes across the plains of Tartarus."
"Woah there Discord, take it easy on our new friend here. He saved Fluttershy's life. Shoot, he saved all our lives I'd reckon." Applejack, the first of the other mares to recover from the shock of Discord's sudden appearance, came to your rescue. There was a solid thud as you slammed into the ground face first, discord raising you up again, this time by your shoulders.
"Well now, is that so? I suppose my thanks are in order then. And perhaps i can return the favor somehow Mr.....?"
"J'Dagna. I am a Khajiit, and no, I am not from your world." You dusted yourself off as Discord placed you gently back on the ground, a slight chuckle rising from him as you finished speaking.
"Well of COURSE you aren't from our world, what do you think I am a fool? No, Khajiit hail from Elsweyr. Although you... you smell of ale and nord. You've been living in Skyrim for some time haven't you? Several years at least. And... AH! You've met my brother! Well, half brother really. Mommy did get around... hmm. Tell me, how is dear Rathy these days? Still mad as a hatter?" You stood there, completely dumbfounded. How could this creature know so much about you? About your world? It made no sense. Though, he did say something about his brother. Rathy? No...
"Your brother is Sheogorath?" A massive sign appeared above your head with bright, flashing lights surrounding it. It said 'Winner!" in the middle, with an arrow pointing to you.
"Bingo! Who else could be my brother but the Daedric Prince of Madness himself! Really, I am so proud of him. He's the reason I became a spirit of chaos you know. I wanted to be just like Big Brother Rathy when I was growing up. Naturally I had to select a realm in which to stake myself, and it just so happened this one was being formed as I was in the final stages of my youth. Ah, good times." Discord manifested a large velvet chair into existence, and took a seat, smoking a bubble pipe as he got comfortable. He snapped his claw, and a feast appeared in the center of the camp, along with a small table of medical supplies. You cracked a grin as you looked across the food... MEAT. Real, true MEAT. And it was all yours, or so you would assume anyway. You looked at Discord, your expression growing serious.
"Why?" You walked over to the spirit of chaos. He looked at you, confusion on his face.
"Why? Why what? Oh, I presume you mean my generosity. Well, unlike my dear older brother, I'm actually quite a kind fellow, or at least... I am now. That's dear Fluttershy's doing, she's rubbed off on me after all these months." He smiled, a little halo appearing above his head as he bat his eyelashes.
"Right... well I'm not really in the mindset that you'll be doing this for free, so what's in it for you? What do you want?" You gave Discord an accusatory stare, awaiting his demands.
"Want? Why, there's nothing I want dear... J'Dagna, was it? I'm simply helping out my friends, and seeing as you saved them, this is also my way of saying thanks. Consider it a... let's say a quest reward shall we? You know all about those I'm sure. Also, should there be anything else you need, simply ask and I'll do what I can." He pat you on the head, a soft chuckle escaping him. You gave his words a bit of thought, and decided that was reasonable enough. You supposed things worked differently here in this world.
"Although, now that you mention it..." or perhaps not. You turned to face him. "There's is something you can do for me, a promise of sorts. I need you to protect this ponies, with your life if you have to. I'll do my best to keep an eye on your travels, and interfere should I feel I need to. I'm quite busy however, and us immortal beings getting involved in the affairs of you mortals is frowned upon by the celestial higher ups. So there's not much I can do. So i need you to protect them J'Dagna. Keep them safe, and if at the end of all this, you're still alive, I'll send you back home, maybe even throw in a few bonus rewards. So ,what do you say? Will you do this for me?" You looked at the expression on the god's face, and instantly you knew that he was dead serious about this. There was no joke, no trick or trap at the end that would leave you blindsided and married to a hagraven. No, he was sincere in his request.
"I... yes, of course. I wouldn't dream of letting harm come to these ponies. If i can help it, they won't get a scratch... well, another scratch on them. You have my word Discord." He smiled down at you, and gave a sigh of relief.
"Well, that's good to hear. Now then let's eat, shall we? Before there's nothing left." You noticed the ponies had almost devoured everything the draconequus had conjured up for them. You chuckled a bit as AJ, Pinkie, and Dash stuffed their faces, looking like pigs compared to the time and effort Rarity was putting into eating her food. You smiled at the sight. It seemed like things were looking up for you. On the up and up as it were. Suddenly, Discord's words came back to your mind.
"Hey Discord, I have a favor to ask." He looked at you inquisitively, awaiting your request. "You said if there was anything else we needed, just ask. Any chance you know what a grind stone, a workbench, and an enchanting table are?" He only smiled and snapped his fingers yet again, the afore mentioned objects poofing into existence. You rubbed your hands together, ready to get to work. Just then a loud rumble emanated from your stomach. It seemed as though food would have to come first.
"Well everyone, my work here is done. I'll be off now, but please enjoy the food, and don't worry about cleaning up, it should all go away in a few hours. Oh and Fluttershy, I'll be in touch. Toodles!" And just like that he was gone. The ponies all went back to their meals, and you opted to join them. As you began to eat, you jumped into the conversation, adding your own jokes here and there, even telling a few of the more tame stories you had to offer, trying to keep everything PG. You smiled, finally feeling truly happy for the first time in a long time. Yeah, once this whole business was over, you were definitely going to retire. Live out the rest of your days in peace until you passed away, and got to see her again.