Dovahkiin

by Silent_Witness

Chapter VIII: The World Beyond

Chapter VIII: The World Beyond

Twilight’s hooves touched ice. Her stomach rolled, and she struggled to keep herself from vomiting- perhaps Spike’s complaints hadn’t been without merits after all this time. Though Twilight was able to keep from vomiting, the retching and splattering sounds behind her told her the others hadn’t been so fortunate. Twilight knew where the Princess had brought them- there was only one place it could have been. But… “Princess,” Twilight began, “why did you bring us here?”

But Celestia did not respond. In fact, she seemed not to have heard Twilight at all. “Oh Aura, no…” she said, her voice nearly a whisper. Twilight looked forward, to see what could have elicited such a reaction from the Princess of all ponies: two halves of a long, serpentine skeleton, lying next to a massive hole melted in the ice, surrounded by pools of blood. A hellish screech and the roar of flames echoed up from within the hole. Celestia wasted no time sprinting into the hole, and it was a struggle for the others to keep pace. As soon as she entered however, Twilight’s nostrils were assaulted by a horrendous stench that made her stomach turn. She tried not to think about it, she pushed it from her mind, but deep down, she knew that the scent was that of burning flesh.

The group reached the bottom of the hole, entering what Spike and Twilight recognized as the cavern’s central chamber. Deep gouges and splatters of blood lined the icy walls and floor where it wasn’t melted away, and an intense heat filled the chamber- it was evident that a battle had been fought here, and recently at that. A battle Yolvahdin and her allies had evidently lost- lying on the ice was the dismembered skeleton of a long, slender dragon, and a black scorch mark surrounding an outline of a smaller, craggy dragon had been burned onto one of the walls.

“Yolvahdin!” The Princess raced forward again, forgetting about the others. Then, Twilight saw something she’d somehow missed- Yolvahdin herself, scratched and battered and bleeding. Despite her injuries, the fact that she wasn’t bones meant she was somehow still alive.

Celestia wasted no time in pressing an ear against the red dragon’s throat. “Yolvahdin, can you hear me?” she asked.

Twilight nearly jumped when the red dragon stirred. “Kulaas…” the dragon replied weakly. “…we have failed.”

“No… it was me who failed. This should never have happened in the first place.” Celestia’s horn came alight as she slowly began mending the dragon’s wounds.

Yolvahdin tried to look at Celestia- as she moved, she revealed the right half of her face, stripped of its flesh, her eye nothing more than an empty, bloody socket. But the Princess quickly pushed her down again. “No, you shouldn’t move.”

The red dragon relented. “What of… the others?”

Celestia said nothing.

The red dragon must have understood the Princess’s silence. “I have seen Alduin in battle before, but this… his fury was unlike anything I have witnessed before. It is only through the protection of the All-Father that I live now.”

“Just hold on…” Celestia whispered, largely to reassure herself. “I won’t let Alduin take anyone else.”

“Do not concern yourself with me. You must stop him. Alduin must not be allowed to gain the strength to bring this world to ruin for a second time. I… I simply need to… rest… for a time…” The red dragon let out a long exhale and fell silent- were it not for the almost imperceptible movement on her sides, she could easily have been mistaken for dead.

The Princess continued to heal the red dragon for several moments- it was only with great reluctance that she slowly stood, and murmured, “Bormahu guard you, old friend.” She turned away to face Twilight and the others. “We need to go,” she said in a low voice, before descending into another deep hole melted into the ice. The others followed her lead, staying close to the Princess as she lit the way forward.

For a long while, the only sound was the echo of their hooves clopping against the ice. But then, Twilight began, “I don’t get it… If Alduin wanted to hide, he could’ve gone anywhere in the world. Why come here?”

“Because he’s not trying to hide,” Celestia replied. “This scenario was precisely what I’d hoped to avoid.”

“Scenario? What are you talking about?” Spike demanded. “Is there something you’re not telling us about Alduin?”

“I didn’t tell you because I’d hoped you would defeat Alduin before it became relevant. But now, the situation has changed.” Celestia paused briefly. “One of the questions raised following the Dragon War was precisely how Alduin amassed so much power in the relatively small timespan before launching his invasion. After his banishment, a number of his agents were arrested and interrogated, and eventually, one of them divulged a location to us- this ice floe. So, we traveled here, and we discovered Alduin’s terrible secret.”

As the group descended, the surroundings began to change- ice gradually gave way to cold, grey stone. “After the war, Yolvahdin and other masters of the Voice laid a claim to the ice floe, so they could practice their art freely, but this was in fact a cover- in truth, they remained here to protect what Alduin had discovered. After all, why would a dragon choose, of all places, to roost on an ice floe in the middle of the arctic ocean?”

There had been a time when Twilight had, in fact, pondered that same question, but she decided the answer was much less important than stopping Alduin.

“Well… what’d he find?” Rainbow asked. “C’mon, quit holding out on us!”

“Patience, Rainbow Dash. You’ll see for yourself in just a few moments.”

A few moments later, the group emerged in small cavern. Celestia put out the light from her horn, but in spite of this, the cavern remained well-lit by the swirling vortex on the other side.

The others stared at it, mesmerized. But Twilight retained her composure. “A… a portal? What’s so special about a portal?” she asked.

“The portal itself isn’t what’s important, Twilight. What lies beyond is. You see, this portal a bridge that connects our world, to the World Beyond.”

A silence hung in the air for a few moments. When the Princess didn’t elaborate further, Rarity asked. “And what is this ‘World Beyond,’ exactly?”

The Princess was silent for a moment as she contemplated her response. Then she replied, “To put it in its most basic terms, the World Beyond is the place where your soul goes when it departs from the mortal coil.”

“So, yer sayin’ this portal leads to… heaven?” Applejack asked.

“Well… yes. I suppose that’s exactly what I’m saying.” Celestia turned to face the others. “We may never know what led Alduin to the portal to begin with, but we know precisely what he did once he found it- he crossed over into the World Beyond… and began to devour the souls of the dead.”

A stunned silence hung in the air. Devouring the souls of the dead? Such a thing was possible? Eventually, Spike worked up the nerve to ask, “…why?”

“Devouring souls would greatly bolster Alduin’s strength, but his power would rapidly wane without regular feedings. In fact, it’s my belief that Alduin’s sole reason for invading Equestria to begin with was to create a steady supply of souls to feast on. Once we learned the truth, Yolvahdin and a number of others elected to remain here and guard the portal, so that no one- dragon, pony, or anyone else- could ever abuse it the way Alduin had.” She looked to the portal. “At his very moment, Alduin has already crossed over into the World Beyond, and is devouring souls to replenish himself as we speak.” She then looked to Spike. “If you can’t stop him before he regains all of his strength, Equestria… the entire world will be at his mercy. Nothing will be able to stop him.” She brought her face close to his. “Not even you.”

There was a long silence, before Twilight said, “Then what’re we waiting for?” She approached the portal.

“Twilight wait!” But as soon as Twilight’s hoof touched the swirling portal, there was a burst of energy, and she was violently thrown back, sliding across the stone ground.

As Twilight staggered to her feet, Celestia said, “I tried to warn you. This portal was created by a power far greater than me… and that power is very selective about who it allows to pass through. Even I can’t enter the World Beyond.” To demonstrate, Celestia approached the portal, and touched a hoof against it; another burst of energy sent her sliding back, but unlike Twilight, the Princess remained on her feet. She turned and looked at Twilight. “I’m sorry Twilight, but you will not be able to accompany Spike any further. He must face Alduin alone.”

Spike swallowed hard, but stepped forward. He reached for his sword, only to touch an empty scabbard. “Oh, right.”

Celestia noticed the empty sheath. “Where is your sword?”

“Right now? Stuck in Alduin’s eye.”

Celestia’s eyes widened ever so slightly. “…I see.” Her horn began to glow- then, with a bright flash, a sheathed sword appeared in the air before Spike. “An ambassador from across the western sea presented this sword to me. He told me it could cut through a dragon’s hide as though it were paper. I believe now is as good a time as any to put that claim to the test.” Spike took the sword and unsheathed it, exposing a blade as black as the night sky.

Twilight racked her mind in search of a solution for her dilemma. She would not allow Spike to face Alduin alone. But she couldn’t follow him through the portal. And without knowing what lay on the other side, she couldn’t simply teleport herself there, either. What should she do, what should she do…

But then, she remembered what Applejack had said.

A portal to heaven.

The solution then seemed rather… obvious.

Her horn glowed as she concentrated, and a goblet appeared in the air in front of her. She looked down into the dark liquid for a moment, her eyes watering from the overpowering metallic scent it gave off, before she swallowed hard, brought the goblet to her lips… and drank every last drop.

The effects were immediate. Twilight’s body convulsed as it tried to expel the liquid from her body. Twilight wouldn’t let it. There was a clatter as the goblet fell to the ground, no longer held up by Twilight’s magic. The sound caught Celestia’s attention- she turned away from Spike, her eyes immediately falling on the goblet. Her eyes darted up to Twilight, down to the goblet, and up to Twilight again. “What did you just do?” Celestia demanded.

Twilight had, in fact, ingested a lethal mixture of some of the most potent poisons in the world. But she couldn’t tell them that. It took everything she had to keep from vomiting up the mixture. She fell to her knees, suppressing her gag reflex. The poisons were taking hold- she could feel the space in-between her heartbeats grow with every pulse. Everything felt… numb. She watched as the world suddenly turned on its side, unaware she had fallen.

Spike entered her vision. He looked worried, terrified even. She needed to say something to reassure him, to let him know everything would be okay. She smiled up at him, unaware that she’d begun foaming at the mouth, and that she was grimacing, rather than smiling.

“Spike…” she choked, barely able to hear her own voice. “…win.”

He didn’t look reassured. If anything, he looked even more worried. Celestia entered her vision as well. Her mouth moved, but Twilight didn’t hear what she said. She felt something icy cold wrap around her limbs, seep beneath her skin, grip at her heart. She… couldn’t breathe. She tried to reach out, to take back this terrible mistake, but her limbs felt so heavy. Her vision blurred, before everything was swallowed by black.

And then, Twilight felt nothing.

Spike could only stare at Twilight’s motionless form, desperately trying to think of something, anything he could do… until Celestia spurred him into action. “Spike, you need to go,” she ordered. “Go. Go, Spike. Go… Go! Now! Go!”

Stumbling, with sword and shield in hand, Spike sprinted toward the portal, passing through in a flash of light.

The biting cold of the cave vanished almost immediately. That alone was enough to give Spike pause, but so stunned was he by the sight beyond the portal that he came to a skidding halt. Stretched out before him was a field, vast and seemingly infinite, blanketed by thick clouds of fog. Far in the distance, he could see some sort of structure rising above the fog. Overhead, dark clouds rolled and shifted, bolts of lightning forking down and striking the ground, lighting this strange place with flashes of purple light. It was strange, but this place had a certain beauty to it, an ethereal…

Spike shook his head. No, he had to focus. With every moment he wasted, Alduin grew stronger, and Twilight… He needed to find Alduin. The only question was, how?

A deafening roar came from above. Spike looked up, before turning and sprinting away almost immediately. But he hadn’t reacted soon enough- the flaming object that raced toward him hit the ground hard, releasing a shockwave that knocked the small dragon off his feet with ease. He scrambled back onto his feet to confront his attacker, unprepared for what lay waiting before him.

Perched in front of the portal was a dragon, a black dragon… but one unlike any Spike had ever seen before. Its wings were entirely engulfed in flames, a few wisps rising from the rest of its body. The air surrounding it shimmered, and even from his distance, Spike could feel the intense heat radiating from the dragon’s body. Intense white light shone from the dragon’s eyes, its mouth, and even its nostrils. For several moments, the dragon glared at Spike in silence, before speaking a single word that split the ground beneath its claws. “Dovahkiin.”

His appearance may have been radically different, but the voice was unmistakable. Looking closely, Spike could see the twisted remnant of his sword still embedded in his eye- what looked like magma flowed from the wound, down his face, before falling and scorching the ground below.

“You were a fool to come here,” Alduin continued. “Even you, with all your power, are little more than an insect to me now.”

Spike drew his sword and pointed it at Alduin. “Why don’t you save the gloating until after you beat me, Alduin?”

“Can you not see? The outcome of this battle has already been decided, before it has even begun.”

“See this! IIZ… SLEN NUS!” The burst of frozen air flew from Spike’s mouth… only to dissipate into a cloud of steam before coming close to the black dragon.

Alduin glared down at Spike, unimpressed. “Pahlok… the truth lies before you and yet you are blind to it. …But I will make you see.” Alduin reared back. “FUS… RO… DAH!”

The shockwave that tore from Alduin’s throat sent the small dragon flying.

---

Twilight groaned. Her side ached, despite how soft the ground was.

Wait… soft?

Twilight’s eyes shot open- thousands of tiny blades of grass filled her vision, rather than the hard stone she’d expected. Slowly, painfully, Twilight rose to her feet, and looked around. She most certainly wasn’t in a cave anymore- rather, she was atop a grassy hill, overlooking a plain shrouded by fog. Overhead, turbulent clouds rolled across the sky, bolts of lightning arcing across them. Other than an angular tower that rose high above the fog far in the distance, Twilight could see no landmarks rising from the plains.

So… this was it? If this was the afterlife, it didn’t seem all that pleasant.

Twilight jolted when a voice from behind suddenly said to her, seemingly in reply to her thought, “You have died at a bad time, I’m afraid.” Twilight whirled around, coming face-to-face with a strange unicorn- she was small, roughly Twilight’s size, with a black mane and a light brown coat. But as Twilight looked, she saw a pair of wings folded against the unicorn’s back. “Do not be frightened,” the alicorn said. “I am a friend. And I have come to aid you.”

“Where’s Alduin?” Twilight asked.

The alicorn narrowed her eyes at Twilight. “You do not have questions?” she asked. “You do not wish to know where you are or what has happened?”

“This is the… World Beyond, isn’t it?” The strange pony nodded. “Then I’m exactly where I need to be. So, where is he?”

“…He is in there, somewhere…” She motioned to the mist. “…hunting for souls to devour.” She looked back to Twilight. “You should consider yourself fortunate that I found you rather than him, Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight gasped, stunned. “Is something wrong? You are Twilight Sparkle, are you not?”

“Uh… yeah…” Twilight replied hesitantly. “But, how do you know who I am? Do I know you?” Twilight searched her memory, but didn’t recall knowing a pony anything like the one standing in front of her.

“You may not know me personally, but you most certainly know of me. And I know of you- my granddaughter speaks very fondly of you in her visits.” Granddaughter? Twilight thought. Is she talking about… “Oh, and allow me to personally thank you and your friends for freeing Luna from the darkness of her own heart.”

The strange mare’s comment cemented her identity without a doubt. “Wait, are you supposed to be… Aura? Aura of Morrowind? The Dragon Mare of Equestria? The Great Peacemaker?”

“You seem surprised.” She was silent for a moment, before her eyes widened slightly. “Oh, I see. Perhaps you were expecting something more along the lines of… this.”

Suddenly, blinding white light began to pour from the alicorn’s body. Her legs stretched, and her horn grew longer and sharper, but Twilight could barely see Aura’s transformation through the blinding light. When it was done, the alicorn towered over Twilight, and would have towered over even Celestia herself. “Is this form more to your liking?” the glowing beast asked, every word making Twilight’s bones rattle.

“No… no I liked the first one better…” Twilight whimpered as she cowered before the blinding golden figure. The glow began to fade, leaving a humble brown alicorn standing before Twilight once again. “But… this… this isn’t possible. You’re only a myth.”

“And yet here I am,” Aura replied flatly. She then looked over her shoulder into the mist below. “But we can debate my existence later. I can mask our presence from him for a time, but Alduin will discover us if we remain in the open. We must bring you to the Hall.”

Twilight was taken aback. “What? N-No, I can’t leave. I have to fight Alduin!”

“You? Fight Alduin? By yourself? I would certainly think my granddaughter’s student would realize the futility of such an effort. Now come along.” Aura’s horn began to glow, and Twilight was lifted off the ground effortlessly.

Twilight struggled. “No! I can’t abandon Spike! He needs me!”

“We will do what we can to save this… Spike, but you need to be brought to safety.”

Twilight continued to fight, to no avail. “Hey, let go of me! Nnng… FUS!”

The sudden blast made Aura stagger… but she did not release Twilight. Rather, she telekinetically flipped Twilight upside-down, and lifted her to eye level. “For a student of Celestia, you are not particularly bright,” she said, glaring. “If I wished, I could break you with a mere thought.”

As Aura spoke, Twilight spotted something in the sky- a winged beast, black as night, rapidly approaching them. Twilight focused, before releasing a powerful burst of magic. The burst disrupted Aura’s spell, making the ancient alicorn drop her. Twilight righted herself and shouted at the approaching dragon, “YOL… TOOR SHUL!”

A plume of flames erupted from Twilight’s throat, but the dragon easily dived out of their path, landing not far from them. Twilight inhaled, prepared to Shout down Alduin-

She stopped.

No.

The dragon before her was not Alduin- its scales may have been black, but that was the only trait it shared with the World-Eater. This dragon was long and slender rather than short and stocky, its snout was narrow and pointed, almost like a bird’s beak, and it stood on four legs rather than two, its wings folding against its back. But most peculiarly, in the place of its right front leg was a golden, skeletal prosthetic. The dragon looked to Aura, its eyes resting on Twilight only briefly. “There you are,” he said.

“Paarthurnax…” Aura replied. “Aren’t you supposed to be guarding the Great Hall’s main gate? …Oh I see, you were worried and came looking for me.”

“I had every right to be concerned- you left without telling anyone,” the dragon replied as he approached. He then lowered his head down, bringing it to eye level. “And I told you never to call me by that name.”

“Very well, Fang.”

It wasn’t until Twilight heard the dragon’s other name that she realized who it was; although in fairness, she could be forgiven for not recognizing him. Aura and Fang were the focus of a rather… obscure book in Celestia’s private collection, one centered on the foundation of Equestria’s ruling family. Despite many hours of research into the matter, Twilight could find no reference of Aura or Fang in any other historical documents, or any other copies of the book. With no evidence to support its claims, and with Celestia herself unusually silent about the book’s content, Twilight had concluded its tale was, at best, apocryphal.

“So, have the souls of this world been led to safety?” Aura asked.

“We have brought as many to the Hall as we were able, but the Devourer’s hunger has already claimed many,” Fang replied. “His form… it is a terrible sight to behold.” He looked down at Aura, and lowered himself down. “We must return to the Hall at once. That one comes too.” He looked directly at Twilight.

“I’m staying right here,” Twilight protested.

Fang gave Twilight a hard stare. “That decision is not yours to make.”

Twilight tried her trump card. “I came here to help the Dragonborn slay Alduin.”

Aura was unmoved. But Fang’s eyes widened. “Dovahkiin…” he muttered. “He… lives?”

Twilight nodded. “Yes. He’s alive, he’s here, and he needs me. He’s like… no, he is family to me, and I didn’t drink a goblet full of heavy metals just to let him fight Alduin alone.”

Fang began to move toward Twilight… but Aura rested a hoof on Fang’s leg. “Fang, hio fen zahrahmiik daar joor nau ek rot gein?” Aura must have assumed Twilight wouldn’t understand the dragons’ language. She was wrong. You would sacrifice this mortal on her word alone?

Fang looked down at his wife. “Ahr ek rotte kos vahzah, faal rinik laas boaan. Krongrah nok oblaan ko un ling.” If her words are true, the very nature of this war has changed. Victory is finally within our reach.

Aura narrowed her eyes at the dragon. “If her words are true, Fang.”

Frustration began to rise within Twilight. She said impatiently, “What do I have to do to prove myself? Do I have to go find Spike and show him to you before you’ll believe me?”

“That will not be necessary,” Fang replied. “The Dovahkiin is a vessel of immeasurable power- if he is indeed in this world, Aura should have no difficulty finding him.”

Aura looked up at the dragon. “Wait, why do I have to…” She shook her head. “…never mind. I will attempt to find this… Dragonborn, if only to prove you wrong.” She closed her eyes, as though concentrating, her horn beginning to glow.

“I find your reluctance to believe in the Dovahkiin puzzling, Aura,” Fang said. “As I recall, when we still lived, you spent all of your free time chasing myths.”

“Well, unlike your myths, mine happened to be true.” Suddenly, Aura staggered, as if hit by a powerful, but invisible blow. Fang rushed to her side, but she was quickly on her hooves again, saying, “I’m alright.”

“What did you see?”

“I sensed… three dragons of tremendous power nearby: you, Alduin… and another that I do not recognize.”

“That has to be Spike,” Twilight immediately said. “Where is he? Can you find him?”

Aura’s horn glowed brightly. “I can do much more than merely find him. But understand that by choosing this path, we will not be able to protect you from Alduin.”

Twilight’s response was blunt: “I don’t need to be protected.”

Aura sighed, as though she were… disappointed. “Very well. Hold your breath.”

“What? Why-” A bright flash shone from Aura’s horn, and Twilight suddenly found herself falling through an impenetrable black void. Air rushed from her lungs, but the sounds of her screams never met her ears. She could feel herself tumbling through the blackness…

And then it was over. Twilight suddenly found herself standing amidst a sea of fog. Her stomach churned- something that never happened when she teleported herself. “Thanks for the heads-up,” she grumbled to herself. But then, she heard movement somewhere within the fog. Her horn brightened, and she looked around, trying to find the source of the sound. Then, she spotted it- a shadow, moving through the fog. She concentrated, her horn coming alight, but then realized the shadow was too small, too upright to be Alduin. But while the shadow wasn’t Alduin’s, it wasn’t Spike’s either- it was too tall and slender. And the voice that Shouted the fog away was too deep as well.

“LOK… VAH KOOR!”

A powerful gust of wind drove the fog away. Twilight briefly brought up her foreleg to shield her eyes, before peering over it. There, in the clearing in front of her, she saw a dragon- he was just short of Princess Celestia in terms of height, with two long black horns sprouting from his head, dark purple scales, and a long ridge of sharp green spines running down his back.

“Twilight?” Thorn rubbed his eyes, as though Twilight were some kind of illusion, but she remained. Then, he sprinted up to her with blinding speed and picked her up. “What have you done!” he bellowed. “Don’t you understand how much I sacrificed for you! Everything I did I did to protect you! And what do you do? YOU THROW ALL OF IT AWAY! How could you, Twilight! HOW COULD YOU!”

Twilight smacked Thorn across the face with her hoof. “Get ahold of yourself!” Thorn stared at her in stunned silence as she took several deep breaths to compose herself. “…Spike… you know me. You of all ponies should know that I would never, ever let you face something like this alone. We’re a team- a family- and nothing will ever change that.”

For several moments, Thorn could only stare at Twilight in stunned silence, before he set her down again. “Y… You’re right. I’m… sorry,” he stammered. “Where’s Spike?”

“I don’t know. Aura told me she could only sense three powerful dragons nearby: Alduin, Fang, and you. He must not have gone through the portal yet.”

“Who’s… never mind. Anyway, I spotted the portal somewhere in that direction before Alduin arrived, so-”

Suddenly, the two staggered as the ground shook under the force of a powerful explosion. They looked to its source- there, they could see chucks of earth arcing across the sky, thrown about by some unseen force. “Was that-”

But before Twilight could say anything else, a piece of debris hit her, hard. With no time to react or brace herself, she was knocked off her hooves, and sent tumbling end-over-end. She concentrated, bringing herself to an immediate stop with her magic, and set herself down on her hooves… only for her legs to immediately buckle from the pain. The object that hit Twilight fell to the ground; she recognized it- or rather, him- immediately.

“Nnng… Spike?” Twilight groaned as she struggled to stand. “We were just- gah… about to go looking for you.”

Spike scrambled to his feet, or rather, he tried to, before falling to one knee- crashing into Twilight had been hard on him as well, even with his armor. “Guys!” he gasped. “You aren’t gonna believe this!”

“What happened?” Thorn asked as he approached.

Spike never had a chance to answer- at that moment, an ear-splitting roar sounded from the sky above. Twilight looked up, spotting what she thought was a comet streaking towards them. But as the object moved toward them, Twilight could see its true form, wreathed in flames. Her fears were confirmed as she watched it rear back, and let out another ear-shattering roar. There was only one thing it could have been.

Thorn squinted as he looked at the blazing object. “What in the world… is that Alduin?”

The answer came as the dragon passed overhead; it inhaled sharply and Shouted “YOL… TOOR… SHUL!” Flames more intense than any Twilight had seen before burst from the dragon’s mouth; Twilight quickly put up a ward, only for it to immediately crack under the intensity of the flames. As the dragon began to bank for another pass, Thorn said aloud, “So it is.”

“What are we supposed to do?” Twilight asked as she mended her damaged ward. “It seems like he’s a lot stronger now than he was before.”

Spike wordlessly drew his sword.

“I’m with Spike on this one,” Thorn said, readying his claws. “It doesn’t matter how powerful Alduin gets- we will kill him. End of story.”

Powerful gusts of wind pushed against the three as Alduin flapped his massive wings, landing before them. A blinding white light like a spotlight moved across the three as the black dragon’s one good eye swept over them. He regarded them silently, the only sound being the smoldering of the flames engulfing his wings, before finally speaking.

“Dovahkiin… you continue to hound me in spite of your failures.”

“Oh really? If we’re losing, why were you the one who ran away?” Thorn asked.

Alduin narrowed his eyes at the three. “You fail to realize the gravity of your situation. This is my domain. Here, I wield power inconceivable to the minds of joorre such as yourselves. I-”

“WULD!” In a thunderclap, Thorn rushed forward. Deep gashes appeared in Alduin’s scales as Thorn raked his claws across the black dragon’s face. Drops of what looked to Twilight like magma began to flow from the wound.

Alduin didn’t even flinch. “A very poor decision indeed, slen.” Alduin began to inhale deeply- at first Twilight thought he was readying a Shout, but then, she saw Thorn’s body begin to blur.

Then, she saw the wisps trailing off Thorn’s body, being drawn into Alduin’s mouth.

Twilight’s reaction was immediate. Her horn flashed brilliantly- in response, Alduin was suddenly knocked off his feet and hurled to the side, as though he’d been hit with an invisible wrecking ball.

Thorn dropped to his knees, clutching his chest, breathing hard, his body still blurred. Twilight rushed to his side. “Are you okay?”

Thorn’s body flickered slightly, before coming back into focus. “I will be.”

Spike charged the stunned dragon before he could rise again. He raised his sword high, and swung- but before his sword could connect, the dragon retreated with impossible speed. Undaunted, Spike pressed his attack. The black dragon easily dodged every swing despite his size- Spike’s swings became more and more forceful as his frustration mounted, until finally, he tossed his shield away and thrust out his free hand. Alduin’s head was immediately bound by a crushing, invisible force- without delay, Spike slashed the black dragon across the face, exposing pure white bone beneath his scales. Spike was surprised by the depth of his blow- perhaps Celestia’s words about the sword had not been without merit.

Alduin roared in pain and pulled back, breaking Spike’s telekinetic hold. Shaking off the blow, Alduin pulled back and rammed his head into his smaller target. Spike braced himself as best as he could, but without his shield to dampen the blow, Spike was easily knocked off of his feet.

Alduin prepared to strike again, when a bolt of lightning struck Alduin’s scales, rebounding harmlessly into the sky. He looked to its source, just as a massive ball of fire struck him- the flames spread over him, but had no effect. Just as he had suspected, Twilight and Thorn were Shouting and throwing spells his way. “This battle is between me and the Dovahkiin!” Alduin bellowed. “You shall interfere no longer! IIZ… SLEN… NUS!”

A massive freezing plume flew from Alduin’s throat, freezing the very ground beneath it. Thorn inhaled deeply, but before he could do anything, Twilight surrounded both him and herself with a magic barrier. And not a moment too soon- the plume struck the barrier, completely encasing it and the surrounding ground in a thick sheet of ice. From the outside, Spike could see flashes of light within the bubble, but it held against whatever magic Twilight threw at it.

Alduin turned his attention to Spike again, and began to approach him, slowly. The young dragon rose to his feet, and stood firm. In the corner of his eye, he saw his shield, lying in the grass where he had tossed it away.

“You do not need to feign courage, Dovahkiin,” Alduin said. “Fear is the natural response when one is confronted by their betters.”

A spark of rage ignited within Spike’s chest. “You think I’m afraid of you!?”

“You should be.” Alduin lunged at Spike, jaws wide, a bloodthirsty, ear-splitting roar erupting from his throat.

“WULD!” Alduin slammed into the ground face-first, his mouth filled not with the taste of blood, but merely of earth.

Spike tucked in his arms and legs for protection, quickly righting himself from his roll. He grabbed his shield from the ground and readied himself. Alduin leapt at Spike again, jaws wide- Spike braced himself, before swinging his off-arm with all his might, bashing Alduin in the face with his shield. The blow stunned the black dragon, and he crashed into the ground, unmoving.

Although Spike deflected the attack, the force of a dragon several times his own size striking him knocked him off his feet with ease. Spike recovered quickly and charged the stunned dragon. Alduin had begun to rise, but by the time Alduin had turned to face him, it was too late- before he could form a defense, Spike leaped into the air and swung his sword, leaving a second deep gash in the black dragon’s forehead. Alduin roared in fury, only to be cut off when Spike concentrated and thrust out his arm, sending a spire of rock shooting up from the ground- the spire struck the black dragon’s chest, silencing his roar and sending a few drops of burning blood sailing from deep within his throat.

Alduin stumbled back, and brought up a wing, wiping his white-hot blood from his mouth. “Such fury. Such murderous intent… perhaps you are more in touch with your inner dovah than your appearance suggested.”

Spike said nothing. He merely readied his sword for another attack.

“You surprise me, Dovahkiin. For as I look upon you at this moment, I cannot help but see a reflection of myself.”

Spike pulled back for a powerful swing. “I’m nothing like you!”

“WULD.” Alduin vanished before Spike’s sword touched him. “Aren’t you?” the black dragon asked, his voice suddenly coming from behind. “Despite your appearance, you are a dovah, just as I am. The desire to rule, to dominate, to kill, is woven into the very fabric of your being, just as much as it is woven into mine.” Spike swung again, only for the dragon to leap out of range. “You and I are more alike than you could ever know, Dovahkiin.”

“My name is Spike!” Spike charged the black dragon, roaring in fury.

Alduin lunged- Spike slid to a stop and brought up his shield. The black dragon’s jaws snapped shut at the shield’s edges, forcing them in slightly, and pulled- Spike pulled back, but it wasn’t long before Alduin tore the shield from his grip and tossed it away. The black dragon glared down at his younger foe. “Your name is irrelevant to me.”

Alduin lunged once again, jaws wide- Spike rolled out of the way, before swinging his arm back and plunging his sword deep into Alduin’s collar.

The ice bubble cracked, and finally shattered as Thorn rammed his shoulder through it. “Tougher than I remember,” he said.

Twilight stepped out of the bubble and asked, “Well, it has been about a hundred years since you fought him at full strength, right?”

She never received an answer, for at that moment, in the distance, Thorn saw Alduin bat away is younger counterpart with his massive wing. “Spike! WULD… NA KEST!” Thorn streaked across the field, arm cocked back- Alduin had just begin to rear back when Thorn’s fist snapped forward, directing the full force of his punch into Alduin’s jaw. He felt the bones beneath the scale give way, before the black dragon was hurled back by the force of the impact.

Alduin skidded across the ground, digging his claws into the earth to slow himself, leaving deep gouges in his wake. “You have already fallen againsht me oncshe, mey,” Alduin spat, his words slurred from his shattered jaw. “You should have jusht accshepted your fate and shtayed away. Perhapsh then you may have lived!” Alduin lunged- Thorn stopped him, holding his jaws apart with his arms and a leg.

Thorn strained, before pushing Alduin back. His arm shot out, a glowing tendril extending from his palm to wrap around the black dragon’s neck. He yanked the tendril back, slamming Alduin headfirst into the ground. “Never. You’ve already taken everything from me once. I won’t let you take it again.”

Alduin head-butted Thorn, sending the smaller dragon reeling; he then spun around, batting Thorn away with his tail. “Your persistence in the face of such impossible odds would be commendable…” Alduin began, his words no longer slurred, “…were it not such a waste of both your time and mine. But please, by all means, continue to resist. I could use the exercise.”

“Gladly!” Twilight shouted, before firing a bolt of lightning directly into Alduin’s face; he staggered, scales and bits of flesh blasted off from the impact.

Alduin glared back at Twilight, blood flowing down his face, scorching deep channels into scales and bone alike. “Pahlok…” he growled. “Allow me to remind you of your place.” He reared back…

But suddenly, Alduin roared in pain, shuddering. The flames coating the black dragon’s wings suddenly shrank, flickering wildly- the white-hot blood that flowed from his wounds also darkened, returning to its natural red. Alduin looked at himself. “Nnnn… nid…” he growled. “Faal sille… I cannot have exhausted their power already.” Alduin spread his wings, sending out a flurry of wind and embers.

But before he could take flight, Twilight concentrated, wrapping Alduin in a long, glowing tendril that emerged from her horn. He fought against her, but in his weakened state, her spell held… for the moment. “Spike, help me!” she shouted. “We can’t let him get away!”

Another tendril wrapped around Alduin. Twilight glanced over to its source- Thorn. “He’s weakening,” the elder dragon said. He wrapped the tendril around one of his forearms for a better hold. “We need to hold him down, keep him from devouring any souls to regain his strength.”

Twilight was yanked forward as Alduin struggled against her spell. “Yeah, I know! Why do you think I called you?”

Alduin roared in fury, struggling to break the magic bonds holding him down- Thorn and Twilight slid forward slightly as Alduin pulled against them, but their spells held. Then, Alduin inhaled sharply. “VEN… GAAR… NOS!” The surrounding fog was suddenly pulled into a spiraling column of air, one that grew larger with every passing second.

Twilight began to slide towards the tornado. She tried to fight it, but the powerful winds only continued to pull her in- she unfolded her wings and flapped them furiously in an attempt to keep herself grounded, but the wind picked her up all the same. “Twilight!” Thorn leapt at the lavender alicorn- he wrapped his arms around her and curled his body around her, before the two of them were pulled into the tornado.

But just before Thorn curled up around her, Twilight saw something through the spiraling cloud: a flash of green, followed by a small object falling through the air, and landing on Alduin’s back.

Despite his impact, Alduin didn’t seem to notice Spike landing on his back. Spike lifted up his head, squinting against the rushing wind- he could see Alduin’s head sweeping back and forth, no doubt searching for souls to devour. “A brief respite…” the black dragon said to himself. “But it will not last. I must replenish myself, lest I fall to the pretender and his pet.”

A dagger of fury stabbed at Spike’s heart. Wordlessly, he raised his sword high above his head. “Her name is Twilight. Sparkle,” he growled, before bringing his sword down.

Alduin looked back. “What-”

The sword plunged deep into Alduin’s back.

An earsplitting roar filled Spike’s ears as the black dragon began to fall from the sky.

A hard impact jolted Twilight. As bad as it was for her, she knew it had to have been much worse for Thorn. The elder dragon uncurled from around her, groaning in pain.

Twilight hopped off of Thorn. “Are you okay?”

Slowly, the elder dragon rose to his feet, only to stagger, and fall to one knee. “…I think so.”

“Wait, Spike, Alduin… where are they?” Twilight whirled around, but neither of the dragons was visible. But she knew there was something in her arsenal that she could use to find them- she strained her brain, trying to remember, until-

“Laas Yah Nir.” Thorn said. He looked to Twilight, his green eyes ringed by a glowing red circle. “Aura Whisper. Use it to find Spike.”

“What about you?”

Thorn shuddered as he attempted to stand, but he was unable to rise. “I’ll… I’ll be along in just a minute. Go. Spike needs you more than I do.”

Twilight nodded. “Alright. Be safe.” She turned away and drew in a breath. “LAAS… YAH NIR.” The world went black for a moment… before returning. Now, she could see a pair of glowing red auras under the earth some distance away, one notably larger than the other. She galloped towards the aura, before skidding to a stop at the edge of a shallow crater in the ground. Within were the sources of the auras- Spike… and Alduin.

Twilight watched the two for several moments, but neither stirred- from the crater, she guessed Spike somehow made Alduin fall from the sky. Then, she heard a deep rumble, and the black dragon began to move.

Alduin lifted his head, and looked down at Spike. “Sahlo…” he mumbled. “Your cowardly tactics reveal your true weakness, Dovahkiin.” His head reared back, as though ready to strike. “You are unfit to call yourself dovah.”

“Spike, no!” Twilight’s horn flashed, and a glowing tendril shot out of it, wrapping around Alduin’s neck. The black dragon fought against Twilight’s pull, but with a mighty tug, Twilight whipped Alduin into the air, before slamming him back onto the ground, outside of the crater. The tendril dissipated as Twilight charged.

Alduin righted himself, only to be immediately knocked off balance by an invisible blow. “Alduin!” Twilight shouted. Her horn flashed, and the black dragon was struck by another invisible blow, and another, and then another. “You! Will! Not! Hurt! My brother!” With every word, Twilight’s horn flashed, and Alduin reeled from an invisible blow. “I won’t allow it!” Her horn flashed again- this time, the faint image of a glowing hoof could be seen striking Alduin directly in the face.

Alduin’s head whipped back from the force of the blow, and he staggered back. But slowly, the black dragon looked back at Twilight, before spitting something out- as it skittered to a stop by her hoof, she could see it was a tooth. “I do not recall asking your permission.”

Twilight’s horn flashed- a column of earth shot out of the ground, striking the bottom of Alduin’s jaw. The dragon was sent sailing- before he could recover, Twilight focused, taking hold of him telekinetically, before slamming him headfirst into the ground. Alduin staggered to his feet, taking in a deep breath. “YOL!” A plume of fire erupted from the black dragon’s throat- Twilight simply cast a ward and strode forward, undeterred by the flames.

“I’m not just some mortal you can bully into submission, Alduin,” Twilight spat. “I am Twilight Sparkle, student of Princess Celestia, wielder of the Element of Magic, granted the power of the Voice by Spike the Dragonborn.” Twilight’s horn flashed, and Alduin’s head whipped back from yet another invisible strike. “Remember that.”

Alduin staggered back… but he did not fall. “Who you are is irrelevant, joor.” He stood on his feet, and looked down at Twilight “It matters not who you know, nor the powers you wield, nor how many titles you attach to your name. You are still only a mortal. You are food- nothing more.”

“Then let me put this in words that even you will understand. QO!” Suddenly, a bolt of lightning arced down from the sky, striking Alduin. The black dragon roared in pain before falling forward, smoldering and twitching erratically. Twilight approached him, looking down at him. “Hon zu, Alduin. Zu’u Twilight Sparkle, ahrk zu’u faal joor wo fen krii hin, fah ahraan zuii zeymah.”

Hear me, Alduin. I am Twilight Sparkle, and I am the mortal who will kill you, for hurting my brother.

But suddenly, Alduin lunged forward, but Twilight escaped his snapping jaws with a flap of her wings. “NAHLOT!” Alduin screamed. “No longer shall I devour your souls! Instead I will bind them to my own, and inflict upon you a never-ending hell of suffering and pain!”

Twilight focused- her magic began to coalesce, taking the form of a great hammer. With a thought, the hammer swung through the air and smashed into Alduin’s side, sending the dragon flying. As he skidded to a stop, she called, “Why don’t you stop talking about what you’re going to do, and just do it?”

Alduin had no more words for Twilight. Instead, a burst of flames surged across his body, and he leapt at Twilight, a roar of pure, unbound rage ripping from his throat. Twilight jumped out of the way, only just avoiding the black dragon’s jaws snapping shut. He immediately lunged at her again, and again, Twilight only just avoided being crushed between Alduin’s massive jaws. Twilight stumbled back, having no time to conjure any sort of defense in-between Alduin’s strikes. Her ears were filled with the black dragon’s deafening, furious roars. But between the roars, she could hear Alduin shout something- a single command, repeated over and over again: “DIR!”

Die.

Twilight’s mind scrambled for a solution. The dragon’s merciless attack left no time to form a defense, and she didn’t have the stamina to avoid him for much longer. But then she realized- if she didn’t have time, she could make time. A single word left her mouth.

“TIID!”

Alduin’s lunge slowed to a snail’s pace. Twilight took several moments to catch her breath, before simply walking past her foe. The black dragon’s burning eye followed her movement, before he began to turn away. Twilight stopped, perplexed by Alduin’s sudden shift in tactics… until the world began to speed up, and she looked to her right.

Only now did Twilight understand Alduin’s actions- the black dragon’s tail was hurtling toward her with impossible speed, and it was too late to do anything to stop it.

The blow knocked Twilight off of her hooves. Before she could rise, a crushing force placed itself over her chest, pinning her to the ground. Her horn began to glow, but she could not lift the crushing object off of her no matter how hard she concentrated. Then, the twisted visage of a black dragon filled her vision, glaring down at her.

Twilight’s horn began to glow as she prepared to teleport out of Alduin’s grip- Alduin lifted his wing slightly, only to bring it down again in full force. Twilight cried out in pain as several deep cracks sounded from inside her chest. “DIR!” he screamed. “DIR AHRK KOS VODAHMIN! DIR AHRK NAHKIP SULEYKI! NUZ BO PAH… Jaan. Dir.”

Alduin began to inhale deeply, drawing a long lavender tendril into his throat. Immediately, Twilight felt something hook into her hide, and begin pulling her in every direction at once. She focused, trying to hold herself together, but the black dragon’s pull was simply too strong to overcome. Up, down, left, right… the direction didn’t matter, for they all led to the same destination.

Away.

Away from Spike. Away from Thorn. Away from everyone and everything she had ever cared about. Away from life… and into the oblivion that was becoming Alduin’s fuel.

The furious roars stirred Spike from his unconscious state, but it was not until Twilight’s pained cries reached his ears that he was snapped out of his stupor. He jumped to his feet, grabbing his sword and turning towards the source of Twilight’s voice.

Spike would never remember exactly what he saw at that moment. He would never remember calling Twilight’s name. He would never remember readying his sword. He would never remember Shouting. He would never remember racing towards Alduin with blinding speed. And he would never remember the shock that passed through his sword as it sliced through Alduin’s flesh.

But, he would never forget the single, overpowering commandment that filled his mind, overriding every conscious thought as his body acted to carry it out.

Save Twilight.

“WULD… NA KEST!”

For Twilight, time seemed to slow to a standstill. She watched as a dark purple, almost black streak raced past Alduin. For a moment, nothing happened- but then, Alduin’s wing separated from his body, the gap briefly bridged by a small spurt of blood, before the severed limb dropped to the ground.

An earsplitting roar of pain filled the air.

Alduin staggered back, his left wing covering the nothing where his right wing had been with his left wing. With the black dragon distracted, Twilight seized the opportunity- despite the pain and the crushing force bearing down on her, she concentrated, and in a flash of lavender light, disappeared from beneath Alduin’s severed wing. She reappeared only a few feet away, ready to strike, but Alduin’s attention was turned toward something to the side.

Before either Twilight or Alduin could act, Spike readied his sword again, and Shouted “WULD… NA KEST!” The small dragon raced past Alduin again, leaving a gouge that cut deep into his scales. “WULD!” The small dragon raced by a third time, leaving another gash that erupted into a fountain of blood. “WULD! WULD! WULD WULD WULD WULD WULD WULD!” Spike darted past Alduin over and over again, slicing deep gashes into the elder dragon. Alduin exhaled massive bursts of fire in an attempt to immolate the younger dragon, but with Spike’s tremendous speed, such a task was nothing short of impossible.

Suddenly, the blur passed Alduin’s throat, slashing it wide open. The dragon clutched the wound, blood spewing forth, before falling back. Spike finally came to a stop before the black dragon. Now that he was standing still, Twilight could see something was very wrong with the young dragon- a black, smoke-like substance rose from his body, coalescing into the shape of a much larger dragon standing behind him, moving as Spike did. Both its eyes and Spike’s burned an angry, fiery red.

“Dovahkiin… n-no…” Alduin pleaded, spitting up blood as he dragged himself away. “M-Mercy, please, I beg you!”

“Mercy?” The world trembled at Spike’s words, before the small purple dragon strode up to the fallen black one. “After everything you’ve done… after everyone you’ve killed… do you really think, that for even one second I would show you any mercy!?” Spike raised his sword high- behind him, the smoky dragon mimicked his movement, raising its claw into the air… before both plunged their weapons directly into Alduin’s neck.

Immediately, the black dragon let out a gurgling roar, spewing blood. He thrashed violently, knocking Spike away- the sword snapped in two as Spike was forced back, and the smoky dragon vanished when Alduin’s blow connected. The World-Eater righted himself, and dragged himself towards Spike- sparks flew from his throat, the remnants of flames that had been extinguished by his own blood. But his movements slowed, until he stopped completely. Alduin lunged one last time, falling short several feet, before letting out a rattling breath, and falling still.

Alduin, the Dragon Emperor, Bane of Kings, Terror of the North, was, at long last… dead.

Almost immediately, bright, glowing flakes of ash began to rise from Alduin’s body. His scales and flesh glowed brilliantly, as though being burned away by invisible flames, leaving behind only bones in their wake. Then, vibrant wisps of red and blue began to rise from Alduin’s skeleton. They swirled through the air, flowing towards Spike… and Spike alone. The small dragon stood frozen, seemingly paralyzed by the sheer power flowing into him.

Twilight approached Spike cautiously- though the smoky dragon had faded when Alduin struck the small dragon, the strange black smoke continued to rise from his body.

“…S…Spike?” Twilight asked cautiously. “Is… that you?”

Spike looked back- for one brief moment, Twilight could swear that Spike’s eyes burned the same bloody red as Alduin’s… but then it was gone. “Of course it’s me, Twilight,” he replied as he turned to face her. “Who else would it be?”

Twilight galloped to Spike without a moment’s hesitation, wrapping a foreleg around him and nearly knocking him off his feet. “Are you okay? Y-You’re not hurt, are you?”

“Twilight, I’m fine, don’t worry.”

Twilight stepped back so she could look at Spike properly- he was battered, bruised, and covered in cuts. His shield was covered with dents and scratches and craters, and one of his gauntlets had gone missing at some point in the battle. But above all that, he was covered in blood, though how much of it was his as opposed to Alduin’s was impossible to determine. “You look like hell, Spike.”

“You’re not looking too good yourself, Twilight,” Spike replied. She had to admit, Spike had a point- she probably looked just as bad as she felt, if not worse. She wondered if the injuries she’d suffered had translated to her real body as well, or if they would somehow shorten her natural lifespan.

Before she could ponder the question any further, Twilight became aware of the deep, though irregular sound of footsteps coming from somewhere in the surrounding fog. Spike heard it as well- despite his injuries, Spike pushed Twilight back and readied his sword, holding broken blade out toward the fog. His eyes swept across the clouds, looking for any sort of movement, before finding it- a dark shape slowly moving through the mist. But Spike lowered his sword when the shadow finally stepped into the open.

“Thorn?”

“I told Twilight I’d be along.” He looked to the still-smoking skeleton lying nearby. “Though from the look of it… I’d say you handled things pretty well on your own.” The elder dragon sat down on the ground, and sighed; his entire body slackened, as though years of tension had been undone all at once. “It’s over. It’s finally over.” He looked over to Spike and Twilight. “You did it. You did what I couldn’t. You saved the world.” He then mumbled to himself, “You were so close, Twilight. I just wish you could’ve lived long enough to see it.”

Thorn sighed again, and looked up to the sky, pausing at what he saw. “Well… would you look at that.”

Twilight looked up. With Alduin gone, the World Beyond had changed- the dark clouds that rolled across the sky had parted, revealing a sky filled with countless stars. Shining in the field of black was a brilliant, radiant sun, one that seemed to shine far brighter than the one in the living world. Accompanying it in the sky were a pair of brilliant full moons, each with an image seemingly carved into its surface- one bore the unmistakable image of a dragon, while the other bore the image of a strange bipedal creature that Twilight couldn’t identify. In spite of the sheer impossibility of what she was seeing, Twilight was so struck by its beauty that those complaints were immediately silenced before they could ever voice themselves.

Thorn spoke again: “And it looks like we have some company as well.”

Spike and Twilight turned their attention back to ground level. The fog that had surrounded them had begun to recede. Emerging from the thick clouds was a veritable army of translucent beings- ponies, dragons, wolves, birds… and a number of those strange, bipedal creatures Twilight couldn’t identify, that towered over nearly all the others.

But among the crowd of ghosts, there were two that stood out- a large black dragon, and a small, light brown alicorn. As the two approached Spike and Twilight, the dragon looked down to the alicorn. “Do you still doubt?”

“What you call doubt I see as a healthy level of skepticism,” the alicorn replied.

Thorn looked to Twilight. “Friends of yours?” he asked.

“I suppose you could say that…” she replied.

“You may ignore the Truth as it dances before your eyes,” the black dragon said, “but I will not. I cannot ignore it. Not when the signs are so clear.” The alicorn and the black dragon stopped before the three. The black dragon looked down at Spike for several moments. “Dovahkiin…” he finally said- the earth shook at the word. Then, he brought himself low. “Zuii drog. Zuii laas los hin wah kin.”

Spike stepped back, uncertain how to respond. “Uh… what are you doing?”

“Tradition dictates that one must kneel in the presence of their king, does it not?”

“King? What’re you-”

“Kulaas, but… it is not my place to tell you your destiny. All I may say is this: Nok-Jun dilon. Unslaaddovahsejun daal wah lein. Sul-alok los meyz.”

The Liar King is dead. The Immortal Dragon Emperor has returned to the world. The Dawn nears.

Spike understood the black dragon’s words, but before he could ponder their meaning, Fang said, “You must go. The living world has more need for you than ours.”

Spike looked up to the black dragon. “What? N-No! I can’t! I won’t! Not without Twilight!”

“I will attempt to negotiate for the return of your friend’s soul. But there is nothing more that you can do here.”

“But-” Spike began.

Twilight interrupted him: “Spike, go back to the portal.”

He looked to Twilight.

“It’ll be okay, Spike. Go. I’ll be right behind you, I promise.”

He looked at her for a moment, before replying, “…I’ll be waiting.”

Spike looked on at her for a few more moments, before reluctantly turning away. He moved toward the portal, walking at first, his pace steadily increasing, before breaking into an all-out run. The ghosts encircling them parted as Spike approached. As she watched him, Twilight thought to herself, Celestia, please don’t make me a liar.

But something Thorn said interrupted her thoughts: “What’s wrong with our friend here?”

Twilight looked to Aura and Fang- the dragon’s eyes shone a pure white, his gaze fixed on the sun above. His mouth moved, as though he were speaking, but no sound came from it. The alicorn merely watched her companion in silence.

“He is communing with his father, Bormahu, the lord of this realm,” Aura replied. “If Twilight Sparkle is to be returned to the world of the living, the All-Father must first grant permission.”

Bormahu… that was the third time Twilight had heard that strange name. She looked to Aura. “What… who exactly is Bormahu?”

Aura looked at Twilight in turn. “Bormahu… is Truth.”

“Well whoever he is, he’d better bring Twilight back to life,” Thorn said, crossing his arms. “I didn’t come all this way just to lose her again.”

“The All-Father will decide for himself if she is worthy of a second chance,” Aura replied, looking up at Thorn. “No one else can-” The alicorn suddenly stopped, as though she’d just realized something important. “Wait. Did you say ‘again?’”

“I did.”

“How… ah, now I understand. I sensed unfamiliar magics about you, but only now do I realize what they are: chronomagics.” Aura’s horn flashed briefly. “Forbidden chronomagics if I have read the magic correctly.”

Thorn crossed his arms over his chest. “Alright, so I used a spell to permanently send myself back in time from the future. So what?”

“And you did so knowing full-well that-”

“That a time paradox could erase me from existence. I know. In fact, I’m banking on it- if I’m still around after all this, it means I’ve failed my mission.”

Twilight looked up at Thorn in shock- she’d been so focused on stopping Alduin that she hadn’t considered even for a moment what would happen to Spike’s future self if they succeeded.

Aura seemed just a surprised- she blinked, before her eyes moved down Thorn’s body. Her eyes widened, and she brought a hoof up to her mouth from what she saw. “…Well, I think it’s safe to say that your mission was a success.”

“What?” He looked down at himself. “Oh. I suppose you’re right.”

Twilight followed Thorn’s gaze, and nearly jumped back when she saw that his lower legs had simply faded from existence. “What- T-Thorn, what’s happening to you?”

The elder dragon’s response was perfectly calm and measured: “Well, with Alduin dead, the future I’m from will never come to pass. So… I suppose I don’t exist anymore.”

Twilight could only stare at Thorn in disbelief. “Spike, how can you be so calm about this!? You’re dying!”

“Twilight… ” Thorn reached out and put his claw on her shoulder. “When I sent myself to the past, I did so knowing full-well that one way or another, I wouldn’t be going back to my own time.” He looked down. “I’m just glad that this is how it ends. That we beat him. That you’re safe.” He sighed. “That I got to see you again, one last time.”

Suddenly, a bright yellow glow surrounded Thorn. The fading slowed- it didn’t stop entirely, but it moved much more slowly than before. “I will attempt to maintain his presence here for a little longer, so you may say your goodbyes,” Aura said. Twilight and Thorn looked to the alicorn- her horn shone brightly, and her face was tense with concentration. “But I suggest you keep it brief- I can’t know when I’ll lose him.”

Thorn looked down at Twilight. His expression had changed- he looked… worried. “Twilight, I… never had the chance to say this before, so I want to say it now.” Thorn bent down and grabbed hold of Twilight’s hoof. “…I love you. I always have, and, even though I don’t realize it yet… I always will.”

Twilight looked at the elder dragon. “I… I know. And I love you too.”

Thorn rested his other claw on top of Twilight’s hoof. “You have… no idea how happy it makes me to finally hear you say that.” He smiled down at her- it was the first time, Twilight realized, that he had smiled since they’d first met.

She felt the claws surrounding her hoof vanish. And then… Thorn was gone.

Twilight could do nothing but stare at where Thorn had been standing. Though he hadn’t been “her” Spike, that knowledge did little to prevent a deep pain from spreading within her chest, a pain different from the pain inflicted by Alduin- it was an empty pain, the sort of pain only the loss of someone dear could cause. Twilight sank to her knees, wanting to cry, but somehow unable to. She didn’t know how long she sat, motionless, waiting for tears that simply would not come, but eventually, movement at the edge of her vision caught her attention. Twilight looked up.

A dragon looked down at Twilight. It wasn’t Thorn, or Fang, but a different dragon altogether- its body was thick, and heavy, and it possessed no wings. Its body was translucent, like the other ghosts, making it impossible to determine its exact color other than a dark shade. Twilight didn’t know why, but something told her that the dragon standing before her was a female.

“You’re… you’re Spike’s mother, aren’t you?” she asked. There was no way for Twilight to know that for certain, but… who else could it have been?

The dragon nodded.

Twilight then noticed the dragon was not alone- at her side stood a stallion- a unicorn of some indeterminate dark hue. “But… who’s this?”

Neither responded. Instead, the dragon reached forward, and placed her claw on Twilight’s head. A familiar creeping sensation spread along Twilight’s brain as new information was injected directly into her mind…

---

Twilight suddenly found herself walking down a dirt road in an empty expanse of plains. Her body felt… large, heavy. The earth shook with her every footfall. She glanced back over her shoulder- behind her, she could see a purple stallion with a green mane struggling to keep pace, a strange round object tied to his body beneath a length of cloth. Although Twilight had never seen this stallion before in her life, she somehow instinctively knew that he was her husband.

“Come, come, we cannot stop now,” she said. Her voice was different, like two great stones grinding across one another. “Alduin’s enforcers will no doubt find us here.”

The stallion huffed with every step he took. “H… how much further?”

“There are still several miles between us and the southern border.”

“You know, this would go a lot faster if you carried the egg. Or better yet, both of us.”

“It would be too obvious. If something were to happen to happen to me, you would be able to flee, and bring the egg to safety.”

“Yeah, like I’m supposed to outrun a dragon…”

“You need not outrun a dragon,” Twilight said. “You need only to outrun me.”

The stallion looked at her in disbelief. “Do I need to remind you that you’re a dragon?”

Suddenly, the ground jolted violently. The stallion staggered, as did Twilight. Her body tensed as she looked forward. There was only one thing could have been.

He found them.

A crater had formed in the road before them. The impact had thrown up thick clouds of dust- within, Twilight could see the movement of a long, slender object. A golden glint exposed the stranger’s identity immediately.

Numinex.

The serpent slithered into the open, his wings outstretched to make himself seem more threatening; the earth shook as he spoke in his native language: “Surrender the egg, and you may yet live.”

Without any hesitation, Twilight lunged at the serpent. Numinex was known for his swiftness, but the lunge had taken him by surprise, and her fangs sank deep into his body. A sharp pain pulsed in her shoulder as he bit her in turn. Her claws tore into his flesh, ripping away scales and muscle, but the serpent would not release his hold.

“YOL… TOOR SHUL!” Fire erupted from her throat. Earsplitting roars of pain hit Twilight’s ears as the serpent pulled away. She looked back briefly, to the stallion. “RU! Run, now!”

But the brief moment when Twilight had taken her eyes off Numinex had given him an opening, and she was suddenly thrown off-balance as a blow whipped across her face. She staggered, only to immediately leap at the serpent, jaws wide, claws drawn back to strike…

But suddenly, something wrapped itself around Twilight’s neck, bringing her to a lurching halt. Her claws shot up to her neck, but the object would not come loose no matter how hard she clawed at it. A trap? No- Numinex was still in front of her. How could he have-

Pain. Pain unlike anything Twilight had ever experienced surged through her body. Daggers stabbed at her chest with every breath she took. She looked down at herself- a black pointed object was extending from the center of her chest. It seemed to twitch for a moment, before pulling itself back, leaving a gaping, bleeding hole in its wake- Twilight roared in pain as the thing scraped against her insides. She brought her claws up to touch the hole, to… verify if it was really there.

It was.

She sank to her knees, before falling on her stomach. She tried to stand, but her body refused to obey. Darkness began to creep into the edges of her vision. Even though she hadn’t laid eyes on him, she knew who had struck the killing blow.

A furious, but distant roar came to Twilight’s ears. A black dragon covered in sharp, dagger-like spines was hurled from outside her field of view onto the ground in front of her. The stallion charged in after him, his horn blazing. Alduin righted himself, but another invisible blow sent him reeling.

Another roar filled the air, and Numinex launched himself at the stallion. But he was suddenly knocked to the side by an invisible blow; then, an aura rose from the stallion’s horn, coalescing into a sword, before it stabbed itself into Numinex’s side. The dragon sprung up again and lunged at the stallion, only to be surrounded by a bright aura, and hurled into Alduin.

But then, another dragon pounced on the stallion- a slender dragon with long limbs. A bright aura surrounded it as the stallion tried to force the dragon off of him, but the dragon held firm. The dragon raised its claw high, swung… and an arc of blood filled the air.

Twilight shuddered. She wanted to cry out, to lurch forward, to do anything other than lay helpless as that stallion was murdered. But she could do nothing, save to whisper a name that was unknown to her.

As the slender dragon stood, a great black wing crashed down near Twilight, making her vision shake. Alduin surveyed the scene, giving Twilight only a brief glance. Then, he spoke; although the sounds of their battle just moments before had been muffled to Twilight, the dragon’s native tongue was perfectly clear. “Search the body.”

Numinex did as commanded, unraveling the cloth wrapped around the stallion’s body. After a moment, the dragon gripped something with his tail and held it up. A purple egg, speckled with darker purple spots. “Lord. I have it.”

The slender dragon stopped before her- she could now see that he bore a striking resemblance to Discord. What was his name? …Nahlokrein? The Discord-lookalike looked down at Twilight for a moment, before it reared back…

But Alduin stopped him. “No,” he ordered. “Start with the egg. Everything else can wait.”

Nahlokrein nodded and took the egg from Numinex, approaching a nearby stone. He raised the egg high over his head and slammed it against the face of the rock…

…shattering the stone into a thousand pieces.

Nahlokrein let out a shuddering gasp, staring at the egg in disbelief. Then, with a sharp intake of breath, he exhaled a long stream of fire over it.

“Save your breath,” Alduin ordered- at once, the stream of fire ceased, revealing the egg to be unharmed. The black dragon looked to Numinex. “Order the rest of our scouts to return to the battlefield at once. We have found him.”

Numinex bowed his head. “At once, Great One.” He then spread his wings, and took flight.

Alduin took the egg and looked down at it. “To think, that you are the source of all my troubles…”

Alduin then turned to the Discord-lookalike, but his words were muted. The darkness at the edges of Twilight’s vision expanded… until all Twilight could see was black.

---

The vision faded as the dragon pulled its claw away. Twilight looked first at the dragon, then to the unicorn, then back to the dragon.

“Wait, then… both of you…?” she began.

The stallion nodded.

Twilight brought a hoof up to her head. If… what these two had shown her was true, then… it explained so much about Spike: his temperament, his physiology… maybe everything, even his aptitude for magic.

She looked up at the dragon and her stallion- the two smiled at her in turn. But then, both turned, and began to walk away. “Wait, hold on! There’s so much I-” Before the words could leave Twilight’s mouth, the phantoms faded into nothing. “…wanted to… ask you.”

Twilight lifted a leg, as though to follow the two, but set it down once more. They had not spoken even one word to Twilight, but in spite of that, she could sense a lingering feeling- pride. Pride that Spike had grown into the fine young dragon they always knew he would be. And pride that Twilight had raised him into that same dragon… when they themselves could not.

Twilight looked on at where the ghosts had been standing, before she finally returned their smile and said, “…Thank you.”

Twilight turned away, back towards Fang and Aura; as she turned, Fang said to the sky, “Yes. I understand. Thank you, Father. Your mercy truly knows no bounds.” The glow in Fang’s eyes faded as he looked down at Twilight. “Are you ready to return to the world of the living?”

“Wait, just like that?”

“Yes. ‘Just like that.’ My Father has gifted me the knowledge of how to return you to the living world, but only for a short time. I suggest that you not dally.”

Twilight looked around. There were so many things about this… World Beyond she wanted to know. …But, she had a promise to keep. “I’m ready.”

“Very well.”

Fang inhaled, but Aura quickly added, “One final warning- a second chance at life is something the All-Father grants only rarely, and it is not something to be squandered. The next time you choose to die, ensure that you are prepared for an… extended stay.” She looked to the black dragon. “Proceed.”

Fang inhaled again. “NAHL… DAAL… VUS!”

The Shout struck Twilight. She staggered back, before realizing that she was falling into a deep black void.

---

A small flash of light illuminated the cave as Spike emerged from the portal. It was precisely what Celestia had been waiting for.

“Now!”

At the Princess’s signal, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy began to concentrate. Their respective Elements of Harmony began to glow, before firing out a beam aimed at Twilight’s body.

Spike watched as Twilight’s body began to rise into the air. For several moments, her body hung there, suspended by the magic from the other Elements, before the glow suddenly faded, and it unceremoniously dropped to the ground in an unmoving heap.

Spike sprinted to Twilight’s side without any hesitation, and with a great push, rolled her onto her back. “No dammit, no! You are not giving up on us like this, you hear me!? I! Won’t! Let you!” He put his hands on her chest and began compressions, counting in his head 1, 2, 3… 1, 2, 3…

A hoof clad in a cold metal shoe rested on Spike’s shoulder. “Spike, please,” the Princess said. “There’s nothing more we can do.”

“No!” he shouted back. “I won’t give up on her! She wouldn’t give up on me! I…” His compressions came to a halt. “I can’t… I can’t just sit here and do nothing.” He inhaled deeply, put his mouth over hers, and blew.

Nothing.

He inhaled, put his mouth over hers, and blew again.

Nothing.

He inhaled, put his mouth over hers, and blew for a third time.

Twilight vomited.

Spike pulled back, spitting out the foul bile, on the verge of vomiting himself. So it was Fluttershy who stepped forward. She rushed to Twilight’s side, and pushed. “Spike, help me! If we don’t roll her onto her side, she could asphyxiate!”

Spike didn’t ask questions. He simply did as the pegasus ordered and rolled Twilight onto her side. Twilight coughed, forcing dark liquid from her stomach onto the cave floor. Eventually, she stopped, and picked up her head to look at the others.

“Are you okay?”

Twilight opened her mouth to say something, but instead, she vomited again. A torrent of rust-colored liquid poured from her throat, pooling on the stone floor in front of her. She gasped and coughed weakly, leaning against Fluttershy for support.

Spike knelt down, taking off his helmet. “Twilight?” he asked. “Can you hear me?”

Twilight looked up at him, her eyes unfocused, but no longer cloudy. “I’m here, Spike,” she replied weakly.

She was pale, she was shaking, and she was covered in vomit… but she was alive.

Spike threw his arms around her neck before he could stop himself. The fact that her fur was matted with vomit did not concern him in the slightest. He opened his mouth, but so overcome by joy was he that words completely and utterly failed him- only strange, small sounds would emerge from his throat. He was so happy, in fact, that it took several moments for Spike to realize that Twilight was speaking to him.

“Spike?” she asked weakly. “…You’re pulling on my mane.”

Spike let Twilight go. “Sorry.”

The others could only watch, astounded. “I… I can’t believe it…” Rarity said, astounded.

Rainbow Dash looked to Celestia. “Princess, did… did we do it? Did we really bring Twilight back?”

Celestia shook her head. “No. As powerful as the Elements of Harmony may be, even they have their limits. I sense that a power far greater than even myself is at play here, and that this power is responsible for returning Twilight to us.”

“What could be stronger than you, Princess?” Applejack asked.

The Princess looked down, as though considering her response. “…In the interest of ensuring that all of you will have a good night’s sleep for the remainder of your lives… I don’t think I should answer that question.”

At that moment, there was another bright flash from the portal. A small black object emerged from the shimmering vortex, before embedding itself in the ground near the group.

“What the-” Spike began. But then he realized exactly what the object was. Spike unsheathed his sword, looking at the shattered blade. He then looked up at Celestia. “I… I’m sorry, Princess.

“It’s alright, Spike,” she said. Her horn began to glow- the broken blade began to rise into the air, and the broken sword and sheath were gently pulled from Spike’s grasp. “A weapon, when broken, can be remade. The same can’t be said for a life that has been taken.” The three pieces vanished in a flash of light. “But that can wait. Right now, you and Twilight need medical attention.” She looked to the others. “I’m going to send all of you back to Canterlot, as close to the hospital as I can manage. Girls, see to it that they make it the rest of the way.”

Rainbow saluted. “No problem, Princess.”

Celestia focused- her horn began to glow, before letting out a brilliant flash. When the light faded, the Princess could see that Twilight, Spike, and the others were gone, returned to Canterlot to be tended to by the best doctors Equestria had to offer. She would follow them in short order, but at the moment, she had a few last things to attend to.

Celestia looked on at where her subjects had stood for a moment, before turning away, to face the portal. She approached the shimmering surface, but did not touch it, all too aware of its repelling abilities. For several moments, she looked into the portal, but could only see her own, slightly distorted reflection.

“Grandmother, Grandfather… I don’t know if you can hear me, but I know you had something to with all of this. And, I just wanted to say… thank you. Thank you for giving her back.”

Celestia looked on for a few more moments, as though waiting for a reply. None came. Eventually, she turned away, and began the long, lonely climb back to the dragon’s den.

The scent of charred flesh had dispersed since she had arrived with the others, but it was unlikely that the stench would ever truly fade. She looked sadly at the blood and the bones scattered through the ice cave, the only evidence left of its previous inhabitants, before turning away, and approaching the red dragon slumbering at the far side of the cave. She watched for several moments as the dragon’s side slowly rose and fell, before speaking. “Yolvahdin.”

Yolvahdin stirred. “Kulaas…” she whispered. “Los tol him?”

Celestia’s horn began to glow. “Yes. I am here, old friend.” Yolvahdin tried to stand, but Celestia pushed her down with her magic. “Please, rest. Alduin has already taken too many lives. I will not let him have any more.” Celestia focused, mending the dragon’s numerous wounds, healing shattered bones and torn muscle and skin.

Soon though, the glow of Celestia’s horn faded. “There. I have done all that I can. Time will heal the rest.”

Yolvahdin moved slightly, so that Celestia was in her field of view. “Krosis, kulaas. My apologies. Were it that I was a stronger dovah…”

“Nonsense,” Celestia interrupted. “Gone are the days when one survived only by the strength of their body. The All-Father reminded us of this.”

“Of course.” There was a brief pause. “You are here… but what of the Dovahkiin, and his allies?”

“They’re safe. And alive.”

“So, it is… done, then?”

Celestia nodded. “Yes, old friend. It’s over. …We won.”

Yolvahdin closed her eye and exhaled, a smile coming to her lips. “Alduin dilon. The World-Eater is dead. Our true lord has reclaimed his throne, and all is right in the world.”

“Alduin may be dead,” Celestia began, “but the world is far from right.”

“Ah… of course. Such things in life… are rarely so simple.” She looked to Celestia again. “So, will you tell him what lay ahead?”

“No. Not yet. For now, he must be allowed to live as he chooses. In time, I believe he will come to accept his destiny, but I will not shackle him to it.”

“Yes, of course. He is but a child, in spite of the power that dwells within, and must be allowed to live as one.” Then, slowly, Yolvahdin stood, and looked down at the Princess. “Or… perhaps you have become complacent with your position of authority.”

Celestia stood firm. “Of course not. I am but a simple emissary for the Truth, and have sought only to carry out His will, just as my predecessors before me.”

Yolvahdin continued to look down at Celestia for a few moments, before lying down once more. “Tell me: does the All-Father still speak to you?”

“Yes, He does. In fact, He spoke to me quite recently. He told me that very soon, I shall choose His next Emissary, and that soon after, my time in this world will end. Then, the sleeping darkness will awaken, and attempt to blot out the light of His Truth… but a glorious Dawn shall drive back the shadows, heralded by the greatest of His children- His Firstborn, and His Emissary.”

“Another prophecy…” Yolvahdin shook his head. “As much as I adore Father, I simply cannot understand His aversion to giving a direct answer.” The dragon looked to Celestia. “I’m… certain you’ve already deduced the identities of the two heralds Father spoke of.”

Celestia nodded. “I believe so. And I believe you know as well.”

Yolvahdin was silent in thought for a moment, before replying, “Yes. Yes, I believe I do.”

Comments

[Sille]

And so the World-Eater falls.

But Harkon remains.

And perhaps after, Miraak.

[ideas-happen]

NEW WORD OF POWER LEARNED:
D'AAAAAWWWWWW
Skyrim + MLP... 'Epic Fantasy Reborn' alright.

[DarkDMan]

Great chapter! Love it!
Spike father is a pony? I think this is the first story that I've seen that. Interesting.
Why does that ending make me thinks that Spike and Twilight are going to have a child in the future?

Anyway, the next chapter should be a nice wrap up.

[Jet Lignite]

This is the best chapter in the whole story, best ever!

[KARLOS1234IFY]

3384507

3385458 Possibly.

3385775

[Dawn Flower]

Technically he should be ponyborn. Born with the body of a dragon but the soul of a pony.

[andmos]

FUS RO

[Hungry_Dawg]

Huh. I read this story on fanfiction.net few months back and after it stopped updating I lost interest. Good to see its back up an running again. Haven't read the latest chapter yet, soooooo................ here I go.

[SpikedPunch]

3385458 since no one else guessed imma say he meant that was a certain Mage... With his own wing in the library and a cool star covered hat? Who was hinted to have been the last pony to get wings by blood pack? Also the only one in.... Almost forever?.... I can go on but I think you get it ;) damn mr.greybeard sure did get some dragon booty I guess...

really SpikedPunch.... Really....

[ed2481]

Is it bad that the entire time I was reading this I was waiting for the canon Dragonborn to show up and say. "Wait... I killed you already... fine, let's get this over with; FUS RO DA!"

Anyways, great chapter man, I look forward to the rest of Spike's adventures

[Princess Cadence]

3387261
I know right? Spam that Time Shout like no tomorrow by having a fancy amulet and drinking some potions.