Dovahkiin

by Silent_Witness

Chapter I: The World-Eater

“Can we please stick together for once this year?” Spike complained as he climbed down from Twilight’s back.

“Spike, we’ve already been over this,” the unicorn replied, smoothing out the wrinkles in her dress. “We promised to stick together before we left Ponyville. In fact, you wouldn’t let us leave until we did.”

Spike nervously adjusted his bowtie. “I know…” he began, “but I just don’t want to end up by myself again.”

An orange foreleg wrapped around his shoulders and pulled him close. “Aw shucks Spike, ya don’t hafta worry ‘bout that,” Applejack said. “We made a promise. And, considerin’ what happened last year, I think it’d be best if we stick together.”

“See Spike, you have nothing to worry about,” Twilight said. “Now, does everypony have their ticket?”

Everyone groaned, but the Princess’s protégé insisted. “Let’s see them.” Begrudgingly, everyone complied, holding up their golden tickets for her to see. Twilight smiled approvingly. “Right, now that that’s out of the way, we should talk about what we should do first.”

“Hey Twilight, where’s your ticket?” asked Rainbow Dash.

Twilight smiled again, reaching into her dress. “I have it right he-” she stopped. She couldn’t feel her ticket inside her dress. She felt all over, peered inside, and at one point stripped naked, to Rarity’s shock and horror; all the while, she looked as though she were trying to decide whether to cry or have a heart attack.

“W… W-W-Where is it?” Twilight stammered frantically, beginning to cry in earnest. Without a ticket, she wouldn’t be getting into the Grand Galloping Gala, the Princess’s personal student or not. “Okay, okay, calm down Twilight, calm down…” she said, not calming down in the slightest. “I know I put it in my pocket before I left, I had it in the carriage… everyone hold my spot- I’m gonna go retrace my steps. I’ll be back in a… I’ll be back.”

“…why don’t you just ask the Princess for another ticket?” Fluttershy suggested quietly.

“Ask for another ticket? Ask for another ticket? It’s bad enough that I lost the one she already gave me- if I ask the Princess for another, she’ll think I’m incompetent!”

“Oh, hold on, what’s this?” Rainbow Dash asked. Twilight looked- there, in her hooves, the cyan pegasus held a golden ticket… and another golden ticket.

The unicorn snatched it out of her friend’s hooves without asking. “Oh thank you Rainbow! Where did I drop it? The carriage? On the way here?”

“Nah, I nicked it from your back pocket a few minutes ago when you weren't paying attention.” Twilight’s jaw moved, but nothing came out. “Totally worth it to see how you reacted.”

“Rainbow Dash,” Rarity scolded, “how could you do such a thing? You scared Twilight half to death!”

“Like I said- totally worth it.”

Dovahkiin
By: Silent_Witness

Chapter I: The World-Eater

Spike got up on his tiptoes, trying to see over the massive line of ponies in front of him. “And you wouldn’t let me walk because you said you wanted to get here early, Twilight.” He, Twilight, and their friends were standing in the massive line building in front of the Canterlot royal palace, eagerly awaiting their entry to this year’s Grand Galloping Gala. Everyone was dressed to their absolute best- Rarity had worked tirelessly on their outfits in the weeks preceding the Gala, both as an act of goodwill to her friends and to show off her creations to Canterlot’s elite.

“So what are we gonna do first?” Rainbow Dash asked. “See the Wonderbolts? Hit up the snack bar? See the Wonderbolts?”

“Princess Celestia told me she’d be making a speech at the start of the Gala, so we should stop by and listen to it.”

“Aw, a speech? But that’s boring! And if we listen to it, who knows how long the line to see the Wonderbolts will get?”

Pinkie Pie began, “Well if you wanna see the Wonderbolts so bad, then why don’t you wait in line by yourself?”

“Pinkie dear,” Rarity said, “we all promised that we’d stick together this year. Didn’t you listen to a word we said before leaving Ponyville?”

Pinkie gave a huge smile. “Nope!”

Just then, a royal guard approached them. “Um, Twilight Sparkle? Party of… seven?” the unicorn asked uncertainly.

"That’s us!” Pinkie said excitedly.

“I’m going to need you to step out of line and follow me please.”

“Aw what! What did we do?” Rainbow asked, incredulous.

“Nothing. The Princess asked me to escort you to the front of the line. Follow me please.”

Pinkie jumped for joy. “Woo-hoo! First in line! Let me grab my party cannon!” She started to bounce away, but was stopped when Applejack bit down on her tail.

“Oh no ya don’t!” she said through gritted teeth. “Ya know what happened last time you brought that thing here.”

Everypony in the group remembered that. Some of the palace guards still had nightmares about the “Cannon Incident,” as it came to be known, and to this day the dining hall carried the faint scent of coconut cream.

The group stepped out of line and followed the guard. As they passed, they heard the other partygoers speaking in hushed tones- some expressed awe at the ponies who passed by, while others expressed… a much less savory emotion. But after a few moments, the group was led up to the massive golden doors that led into the palace, searching their clothes for their tickets. “Oh, that won’t be necessary,” the guard said as he returned to his post. “You can go right in.”

As the group walked through the golden doors, Rainbow gave Twilight a hoof to the ribs, making the unicorn jump. “See? You had nothing to worry about. Seriously Twilight, you gotta learn how to relax, or else you’re gonna end up giving yourself a stroke.”

Even though the doors had opened only a few minutes before, the entrance hall of the palace was already packed. But the group’s attention was immediately diverted elsewhere- just a few feet away from the door waited a pure white alicorn who towered over every pony in the room. She smiled warmly at the group; Twilight couldn’t help but to run up to the alicorn and embrace her tightly.

“Twilight, my most faithful student,” the Princess said, embracing the purple unicorn in return. “It’s good to see you again. And I see that all of your friends are with you. Spike, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy… I’m glad that all of you could make it.”

“Are ya kiddin’ me? I wouldn’ta missed this for the world!” Applejack said.

“Well said, Applejack,” Rarity replied. “The elegance, the poise, the chance to mingle with high society… there’s just something magical about it all.”

“This is coming from a pony who got her heart stomped on the last time she came…” Rainbow Dash mumbled.

“Alright, now let’s really get this party started!” Pinkie called, rolling in her party cannon.

“Ah- Pinkie!” Applejack snapped. “I thought I told you to put that away!”

“Applejack’s right, dear- there will be time for that later.” Celestia smiled knowingly as Pinkie positively beamed in return; everypony else’s jaw dropped in shock. “Oh, but Pinkie, there aren’t any…” She shuddered. “…pies in that cannon, are there?”

Pinkie shook her head. “Nope!”

“Good.” Just then, a guard approached, getting up on the tips of his hooves to whisper something in her ear. She gave a small nod in reply before turning her attention back toward the Elements of Harmony. “I’m sorry My Little Ponies, but I need to go. My advisors insist that I ‘freshen up’ before making my grand entrance.” Her horn glowed briefly, before she vanished in a flash of light.

With the Princess gone, Twilight’s friends began chatting excitedly amongst themselves… with one notable exception. Twilight turned her attention to the most timid of her friends. “How are you holding up, Fluttershy?”

“Oh, I… I’m doing okay…” the pegasus replied, slowly retreating to the outer wall, hiding her face behind her mane.

Twilight draped a foreleg over her friend’s shoulders before she could slip away. “Hey don’t worry; we’ll all spend some time out in the gardens with you, Fluttershy. And, if nopony else wants to go, me and Spike will. …Well, I will at least.” Knowing Spike, he wouldn’t want to spend more than five seconds out of Rarity’s presence.

Fluttershy peered out from behind her mane. “…You’d do that for me?”

“Of course I would! We’re friends, remember?”

All of a sudden, the lights in the hall dimmed- all conversation ceased. A spotlight shone on the landing of the hall’s grand staircase. A profound silence filled the hall- the tension in the air could have been cut with a knife. Then… she appeared on the landing. She appeared in a brilliant flash of light, her mane glittering, her pure white seeming to glow of its own accord. The hall thundered with cheers, everypony stamping their hooves in applause- the cheers of one particular unicorn stood out above the others.

“Welcome,” Celestia said as she descended the steps. “Welcome, one and all, to this year’s Grand Galloping Gala.” Everypony cheered and applauded again. Twilight shivered- if gold could speak, it would surely speak in the Princess’s voice. “On this night, we bid farewell to another prosperous year for Equestria, and reflect on what we have accomplished, what we have gained… and what we have lost.” Silence settled for a brief moment. “But on this night we look not only to the past, but to the future as well. And I would like to wish you- all of you- success in all of your endeavors.” Another round of cheering and applause followed. “…Many ponies believe that it was me who first began the Grand Galloping Gala- while this is technically true, the Gala can trace its origins back to the reign of my father, King Solaris. In the early years of his reign, Solaris invited a number of dragons to Equestria, hoping to establish positive relations between…”

As everypony listened to the Princess’s speech, Spike couldn’t help but notice something… odd. Through the windows of the grand hall, he saw a glowing red circle appear in the sky- that alone would have alarmed him… but then, he saw a winged silhouette emerge from it moments later. The circle must have been incredible far away, so there was no telling just how large it, or the silhouette that emerged from it, really were. Worried, he tugged on Twilight’s dress to get her attention- when she brushed his claw away, he tugged more urgently. Eventually, frustrated by his incessant tugging, she whispered “What is it, Spike?”

“Twilight, you’ve gotta take a look out the window. Something really weird is going on out there.”

Twilight would much rather have listened to Celestia’s speech, but she humored her assistant. After looking out the window for a few moments, she said, “Spike, I don’t see any-” That’s when she saw it- a black winged silhouette crossing the night sky. Judging from the distance, it must have been absolutely huge, and its shape, it looked like… but there was no way-

There was a deafening crash. Shards of glass and splinters of wood were thrown across the room, raining over the Princess and everyone in attendance- ponies screamed, sprinting to the walls to escape the deadly rain. In the light of the hall, Twilight could finally see the silhouette for what it was- a massive dragon, its body as black as night. It landed in the center of the hall with a powerful thump that seemed to make the whole palace shake. Now that he had landed, Twilight could see the dragon’s finer details: dagger-like spines grew from seemingly every inch of his body, his eyes seemed to blaze like fire, but most curiously, wings extended from where the front legs of a dragon would have been. For a moment, the dragon was motionless. Then, he reared back, and let out a roar that echoed all across Equestria.

At once, the black dragon was surrounded by royal guards, their horns glowing and weapons drawn; however, they all gave the dragon a wide berth, fear clearly visible on their faces. But then, one unicorn guard stepped forward- Twilight noticed he was the same one who had escorted them into the palace. He bellowed “I’ll rip your heart out!” and with a fearsome war cry, he raised the sword over his head and charged the black beast, a few brave souls following.

They didn’t even get a chance to swing. The dragon reared back again and screeched, a great torrent of flames spewing from his mouth, engulfing the guards. Terrified screams filled the hall for a moment, but then there was only the sound of roaring flames before they died away. Nothing remained- not bones, not weapons, not armor, not even ash. Only the single long black scorch mark on the floor where the guards had stood proved they’d existed at all.

The remaining guards visibly took a step back.

The dragon looked left and right, scanning the crowd as though looking for somepony. Then, his eyes fell on Spike. His mouth fell open in surprise for a moment… but only for a moment. With his wings and tail, the dragon batted away the guards surrounding him and advanced on Spike. Ponies scrambled to exit his path, not daring even for a second to stand between him and his prey. Spike instinctively backed away, only to be stopped when his back met a wall. The dragon stopped less than a foot away- Spike pressed himself against the wall, as though expecting to pass through it if he pushed hard enough.

With the black dragon mere inches away, Spike could fully appreciate just how massive he really was- were he to open his mouth, the black dragon would have absolutely no trouble swallowing the baby dragon whole. For what seemed like an eternity, the dragon simply stared at Spike in silence, his burning red eyes seeming to bore into his very soul. Finally, for the first time, the black dragon spoke.

“Dovahkiin.” The entire palace seemed to tremble from the thunder of his voice. “Mu grind ahst ligrah laat.”

Spike simply stared up at the dragon in terrified silence, not comprehending a word he said.

“Dovahkiin, dreh hi ni zu rotte? Zaan!” Spike said nothing. The dragon’s jaw dropped ever so slightly. “You… you do not even know your own tongue, do you?”

Spike merely shook his head. In the corner of his eye, he could see Twilight looking at him- she was rooted on the spot, eyes wide, as though her brain was refusing to process what was happening right before her eyes.

The dragon regarded him for a few moments, before closing his eyes and shaking his head. “…You disappoint me, Dovahkiin. To think that it was foretold that I would be slain by a mere kiir… insulting. And these keyye… they have made you soft. Weak. Everything that a dovah is not. As you are now, you would pose no more threat to me than a fly.” The black dragon smiled, showing off far too many teeth for Spike’s liking. “But no matter. You will die on this day, Dovahkiin. I had hoped you would provide me some amusement… but still, I must thank you for making yourself such easy prey.” He reared back. “YOL… TOOR-”

“FUS RO DAH!” All of a sudden, a blue shockwave struck the black dragon, nearly knocking him off his feet. With a growl, the dragon turned away from Spike and toward the crowd. “Who dares?” he asked. When no one replied, he bellowed “Who dares to challenge the might of Alduin!”

“I do.” Everypony looked, to see Princess Celestia striding across the hall. Her expression was one of pure anger; ponies backed away in fear as she passed, fearing her wrath may be directed towards them should they bar her path. Without even one hint of hesitation, she walked directly up to the black dragon, bringing her face up to his much larger one. “Ah, Princess Celestia,” he said, amused. “Faal Kulaassesul. I forgot for a moment of the sos that flows through your veins. Tell me, have you always known how to use the Thu’um? Or did one of the tahrodde teach you? Or perhaps-”

“YOL!” A plume of fire burst forth from Celestia’s throat, striking the black dragon directly in the face.

Alduin didn’t even blink. “So you know a few Rotmulaag. They will not help you. You could not defeat me before- not with your hooves, not with your magic, not even with your precious Elements of Harmony, and even with the Thu’um, you will not-”

He never finished. At that moment, Celestia’s horn glowed brightly, and the black dragon disappeared in a flash of bright white light.

The alicorn took a deep breath to collect herself, and turned to face the crowd, “I must apologize,” she began, “but this year’s Grand Galloping Gala is suspended until further notice.” A clamor arose, to be silenced when the Princess raised a hoof. “Dark times have fallen upon us, I’m afraid. The Dragon Emperor Alduin has returned.”

“Alduin? Who is Alduin?” The question was asked in hushed tones all over the hall. With the dragon gone, Twilight’s friends galloped to Spike, thoroughly inspecting him despite his protests of being unharmed. Twilight herself remained rooted to the spot. Alduin… she thought to herself. Alduin… I know that name… I know that name…

Suddenly, doors at the side of the grand hall were thrown open, and a dark blue alicorn ran to Celestia. “Sister, what happened?” she called. “I had just finished raising the moon when I felt the palace shake!” She slid to a halt in front of her elder sister. “Are you… okay? Are you injured?”

The elder alicorn rested a hoof on her sibling’s shoulder. “I’m alright, Luna.”

“You used a Shout. You have not needed to use a Shout in centuries.”

“I had good reason to. Alduin has returned.”

Luna’s eyes widened. “…What? That… it can’t be. You must have been mistaken.”

“No. That was Alduin. I know it was.”

“By Aura… Sister, you told me what this meant. If Alduin has returned, then that means…” Luna trailed off when she realized a powerful wind was beginning to blow in the hall. But that wasn’t all- small bolts of electricity began to radiate out from the floor, near the center of the room. Everypony backed away cautiously as the wind grew stronger, as the bolts of electricity grew larger, arcing across the room. Then, a light began to shine, hanging in the air just a few feet above the floor. It was faint at first, but as the seconds passed it only grew brighter, until it shone with an intensity that could rival the sun itself. The wind howled, picking up stray items from the floor, snatching them from unsuspecting ponies and hurling them all over the hall. Stray bolts of electricity arced wildly across the hall. Ponies tried to shout to one another over the clamor, their words lost in the chaos. But the maelstrom only continued to grow stronger, until…

There was a blinding flash of light, and a great clap of thunder.

Everypony shielded their eyes from the flash of light. As it faded, they could now see that another dragon had appeared in the room, falling to his hands and knees. This dragon was much different from the black one- he was nowhere near as large, and had no wings. Instead, he had two long black horns, dark purple scales, and a long ridge of sharp green spines running down his back. Gasping, he rose to his feet- he towered over nearly every pony in the room, and came just short of matching Princess Celestia herself in height. He looked around the room, amazement on his face. “I… I did it,” he said. “I really did it! The time-travel spell worked!”

Almost immediately, the purple dragon was surrounded by guards with weapons drawn. “Stand down,” Celestia ordered- the guards complied and lowered their weapons, but continued to maintain a perimeter. She approached the new dragon.

“P…Princess? Princess Celestia?” he stammered as she approached. He ran up to her and put his hands on her muzzle. “I can’t believe it, i-it’s really you!”

She knocked his claws away with a foreleg. “If you value those claws, then I suggest you keep them to yourself.” She didn’t use the Royal Canterlot Voice. She didn’t need it- the look she gave him could have melted solid rock. “Now, who are you?”

The dragon stared at her in disbelief. “Princess, it Sp-” He caught himself, as though he suddenly realized something important. He then began again, hesitantly, “Uh, just call me… Thorn.”

Celestia simply stared at him in silence before she turned to one of the guards and said, “Captain, escort the guests out of the palace. Sister, My Little Ponies, Spike, you, come with me. There are very important matters that we need to discuss.”

---

“…defeat me now.” He mouthed the words, but no sound left his throat. The Kulaas was gone. Alduin looked around, but he already knew where he was- the black sky, the white sand-like substance beneath his claws… and the sphere that was the world, hanging high above him.

Of course, the moon.

Alduin growled silently. The joor had tried this just a few months before- that she would think this would be enough to defeat him twice… he wasn’t certain if she was trying to mock him, or was merely stupid. Regardless, he would make her pay for her insolence. Her and all the tahrodde that had turned on him.

With a mighty leap, the black dragon pushed himself away from the moon’s surface- he was more than strong enough to escape its pull. He drifted lazily toward the sphere hanging far above him, but his mind was elsewhere, already devising punishments for the meyye who dared defy him.

Nust pahlok fen kos bonaar, he thought to himself.

Their arrogance would be humbled.

Comments

[ed2481]

this is going to be good!

[Emerulf]

Oh, damn! Sp- Err, Thorn arrived a few moments too late. I honestly thought he was the to one who shouted "FUS RO DAH"!

[ThePhantomAssassin]

Yesh.... This excites me! Can't wait for this one to play out!

[suijin228]

dude, awesome chapter and great job with how it's been playing out thus far. Furthermore, I love the fact the chapter was longer this time. Keep goin and stay golden^^

[Fareseed]

Epicness level is over 100%

[Ekhidna]

This cannot be! the epicness.......IS OVER 9000!!!!!!!!!

[Prof Tokeman]

Words cannot express how awesome this story is

Tracked, fav'ed.

[Zoodude255]

my...god...its beautiful. thank you sir. I have tears of manliness pouring down my cheeks.

[AleneShazam]

It's... PERFECT...

Zu'u zokah do hei.

And I just realized how rusty my Dovahzul has become...

[DarkDMan]

Hell yes!!! Why haven't I read this earlier?!

[DX-1118 C]

390594 9001

[FieldsofTrenzalore]

3005004 Can't be as rusty as mine. I had to use my translator to get most of that. I am ashamed. I couldn't find a definition for some of the words though, strange.

[Silver_Fang15]

4773828
Same here. Seems I will have to study a lot more.
I would if I had the time.