> Magic of the Storm > by StormyStrife > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > A Land of Dragons and Civil War > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Strange new land to discover, enemies in every crack in the wilderness, a world of adventure and epic journeys and quests, not to mention magic was everywhere, it was either that or just the air pressure. He could tell the differences between Equestria and Skyrim, even from his cell in Fort Greymoor, he was too busy seeing a new world that he was caught quite easily. A bandit went up to the cell he was in, well it was more like a cage previously used for another human, whose skeleton lay with rusted shackles still binding it to the cage wall. He said in a very rusty voice with a smile and a british accent "You're gonna fetch quite the little penny, little horse" he was more or less scoffing or mocking the poor little pegasus, who replied "Yeah, well at least I'm not the one who's a coward and holding a tiny 'horse' in a cage as if he could do anything" The bandit chuckled "yeah boss says not to let ya out, so i ain't doin' a single thing little pony" but Storm Chaser knew what to do, which he slightly loved to do. He folded his ears back and tried to look as adorable as possible, using big doughy eyes, and with the cage in it's present condition, it only made it more heartbreaking. the Bandit gooed over the little pony, and fell for it, unlocking the cage. Moments later a man spoke from down a flight of stairs "You'll make a fine rug Cat!" but soon after he said "I thought i heard something" and he groaned in agony as the sound of two arrows being shot was heard and his body hitting the ground with a soft puffy noise. The Dragonborn Khajiit, wearing a dark cloak, gloves, boots, hood and pants silently snuck up the staircase, he heard someone say "Wait, here little horsie" and soon after the Bandit jogged down the stairs passing the Khajiit without even noticing him there. He pulled an arrow back and shot at the Bandit's back. What he expected didn't happen. He didn't expect the Bandit to block the arrow with his axe, cutting it in half. The Bandit looked straight at the Dragonborn, and with a smooth voice that was devoid of any recognizable accent spoke firmly "I knew i heard something" and he launched himself at the Dragonborn, spinning with axe in hand. the Dragonborn narrowly avoided the flurry of proceeding attacks that would have chopped him into several pieces, with ducks, and small jumps. "Die, Cat!" The Bandit spoke with a final tone as he swung his axe at the Dragonborn, who dodged the axe with a front flip, landing on the other side of the Bandit and kicked him in the back very hard, knocking him to the ground. the Dragonborn armed his dwarven bow with a glass arrow and said "goodbye, Friend" but the Bandit wasn't ready to die yet, and kicked his assailant in the knee, bending the leg the other way, also causing the arrow to hit the Bandit in the chest, piercing his fur armor, raspy breathing came from him. the Dragonborn, now laying on the ground in intense pain, holding his knee, now broken. his hand began to shine as he used healing magic on it, and shouted in harsh agony as the knee bent itself back with a very loud cracking noise, and he faded into a pain-induced sleep. Storm, hearing nothing but silence, slowly walked over to the door way that oversaw the battle and looked down and saw the Bandit and a man in black laying on the ground practically next to eachother. He walked down the stairs carefully, keeping an eye on the two. He went up to the Bandits head and looked at his eyes, and poked him "Are you okay?" the Bandit was still alive and smiled weakly "Yep... I, am..." he sat up slowly and coughed a couple times. Looking at the man in black sleeping soundly he thought about killing the man now, but he didn't want to with the pony here, who felt like innocence itself, he just didn't feel right about killing another anymore somehow. So instead he made another plan, one just as useful. the Dragonborn woke up strapped to a chair in a small room, which could only be The Abandoned Shack, where he had previously met Astrid, leader of the dark brotherhood, a guild of assasins and brothers and sisters. It felt like a chair, but what he felt was not wood, but his boots, his hands were bound behind him as were his feet, tied at the wrists and ankles. He as looking downwards at the brown floor, and slowly he looked around, and saw a small horse-shaped thing close by, staring at him. Storm smiled and said "Hey Bandit, he's awake!" he opened his eyes and saw the whole world was completely different, it felt the same but it felt like the time he accidentally ate some weird herb he found. He shook his head, but he froze when he did so "Do... I... Have Hair?" he asked, slightly confused. He shook his head, swinging his new hair, and he looked around and saw the Bandit he looked seriously strange, like the little horse but wearing a hide armor set. The Bandit came over to him and stood in front of him "Well, Kill my buddies and now you're in it worse than anyone else, what do you have to say for yourself murderer?" The Dragonborn looked down "Well, here's the thing, was trying to find an ancient artifact in the Fort, one that is very hard to find, but then your 'buddies' started to freaking attack me, as if I were a freaking daedric soldier!" The Bandit shook his head "No... You know? I don't buy that? You wanna know why?!" He walked around in a circle slowly, hands behind his back "Well I'll tell you why... We were in the middle of searching the whole castle and you just happened to show up, now during that time, everyone is spread out, and therefore, easily taken out one by one" the Bandit looked straight at the Dragonborn with a serious glance "Now I have only one question for you, one that is very important, cause..." He took out his knife, shining with a new coat of polish, gleaming like pure silver "If you lie, this dagger might accidentally slip into a vital area, are we clear?" the Dragonborn, now fearing for his life nodded and gulped nervously. The Bandit came up to him and sat holding the knife in a way that it spoke it's intentions clearly "Now... What right did you have to enter into my home, and kill all of my family and friends?" He really didn't want to kill the tied up guy, not in front of the pony who was watching them with a blank stare. The Dragonborn knew his next answer could very well be his last, so he deeply breathed in and out twice. "I had no right, it was a cowardly action of me to take, you'd honestly be better off in killing me..." his head bent down to the ground, a sign that he awaited his executioner's decision. "I have no right to it, but i ask for your forgiveness" Suddenly The Bandit sheathed his dagger, sighing in great displeasure "As much as it would joy me to do it... Nothing can bring them back, and you fought well." the Dragonborn looked up at him "Also... That blood's on your hands, and the shame with it, but it's not my place to say what a man should have to live with or not" The Dragonborn smiled faintly as the Bandit turned away "But... If I let you go... I need to have your word that if i let you go, you won't try to kill me" The Dragonborn looked at the ground "I promise not to kill the one who spared my life, for I... could not live with such a dishonor... a-" The Bandit cut him off "Oh... Just take the way out, quit dragging it out, okay?" The Dragonborn nodded, and asked "So... is there anything you are going to do?" He responded "Yeah, I'll take the pony with me, and we'll figure out what exactly has happened... I miss my hands and feet" The Dragonborn smiled "Well i hope you wont have any objections if i tag along?" the Bandit shot him a curious glance "I saved the world and did practically everything, i have Nothing to do, Trust me" the Bandit chuckled in amusement "Fair enough" The Dragonborn sighed in relief, glad that the Bandit wasn't going to kill him anymore and now proceeded to undo his bindings with a small tug. he rubbed the tied joints and saw his hands... were... Hooves? His clothing and especially his boots had changed for his new body, and he looked extremely confused and a little upset, he loved his boots and the knowledge that someone may have tampered with them was... upsetting at the very least. the Bandit was onto something that much was correct. "Yes, you are a pony, like this little guy here" he gestured towards Storm who was rubbing his back on an old dresser "What? im itchyyyyy" he held the y sound as he rubbed his back on the dresser, clearly he was itchy. "Bu... But... What, happened?" he felt all across his body and honestly was more confused about the current situation, the whole world looking slightly cartoonish didn't help a single bit. the Bandit shrugged and sat down on a chair "I honestly don't know, Storm here said he saw this... What was it?" "It was like a black light! it came from a hole in the sky" Storm said, still itching his back, but speaking somewhat enthusiastically "Everything went all shaky and something Huge came out of the ground, why is my back so itchy?!" The Bandit muttered to himself "Something huge... a dragon maybe?" But Storm was close enough to hear it and replied "Well it looked bigger than the Royal Palace where i came from, and it was bigger than a dragon" The Dragonborn "Well... I'd like to know everyone's name first, so I know I... can trust you... better, my name is Jacob, Jacob Findley-Torbmann" the Bandit chuckled "Fancy~" he sighed and gave his name next "Name's Keith, Keith O'Reily" and kept doing the cool, keeping to himself look on the chair. The red coated pegasus with the thundercloud cutiemark who was still rubbing his back "I'm Storm Chaser, i need a back scratcher!" He was looking more annoyed than constantly relieved. Jacob said "I think we should get Storm a back scratcher first, or an apothecary" and Keith laughed joyfully "I know a guy in the city of Markarth who does miracles with his potions and lotions" The two got up and Jacob gave Storm a cloak "Here, maybe having something on will help" and Storm put it on, looking, decent and a bit sinister with his red coat under a black cloak. On their way out of the shack, Keith reminded Jacob "Once we get this little guy an apothecary, then we can figure out this whole mess" Jacob just smiled and said "I know, I know." The Three set off on a long journey that would take them four days. To the Apothecary of Markarth. > Horrible Disease and a Suspicious Priestess > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Upon sight of Markarth, the Ancient Dwarven city, The trio sighed in relief, well Storm was asleep on Jacob's back, snoring away. Jacob didn't wanna do it but he gently poked Storm with his nose "We're here, Sleeepyheeeaaad" slightly bugging him. Storm openned his eyes, and blinked a few times to adjust to the bright light of Markarth day. "Nnnnhhh" it's sooo bright" Storm complained softly as he got off of Jacob's back, who sighed in relief. As soon as Storm shook the sleep from his mind and body, they had entered Markarth. "So which way is it?" Keith looked around the city, the last time he was in any place civilized and tamed, it was back in Riften, but he and his close friend always kept in touch, strange for a Bandit, which made him giggle a bit. Jacob shot Keith a look that only said "what" Who laughed and smiled "Hahaha, Juuuust Kiiiidding!~ Just follow me" The trio went up a couple staircases and eventually arrived in front of the entrance to the Temple of Dibella Jacob was uneasy about this place, and for good reason "Are you sure your friend is in here?" Keith nodded and entered through the large double doors. Storm put a hoof on Jacob's shoulder "It's okay, You can stay here if you want..." he said with slight understanding and kindness. Jacob stutterred "W-W-Well, I'll be okay out here, I'm the Dragonborn after all! someone's gotta keep an eye on the sky after all!" Storm smiled and entered "Awesome, we'll be out in a bit!" and disappeared behind the double doors. Jacob sat down and looked at the sky, nothing but blue and light bits of cloud, and he could only hear the distant sound of flowing rivers, bored he started to poke the stone with his left hoof. "Wait for me... guys!" He rushed through the doors. On the other side of the doors, Storm was sitting next to the door and broke out laughing "Di-Did you miss me?" He wiped his eyes and sighed in joy, Jacob just simply blushed and stuttered "I... The skies were all clear so i thought i'd check... the place for..." Storm smiled knowingly "You were lonely out there weren't you?" Jacob staying silent, walked down the hallways and stairs, eventually meeting up with Keith who was looking quite flustered "What do you mean she isn't here? She's always here!" "I'm very sorry Keith, it's just that your sister was summoned by the Greybeards, three days ago, before everything... changed" Senna the priestess spoke with a soft voice, gentle, even more so knowing the connection between Keith and his friend. Jacob spoke up "What would the Greybeards want with a priestess?" he shook his head "Look, i'm sorry to interrupt your conversation, but a friend of ours has a really nasty rash on his back, could you please help him?" Jacob gestured to Storm who came up beside him and sat down, suddenly needing to catch breath. Senna walked up to Storm and circled him, inspecting and checking for the rash, which was easily seen on his back, a fain bluish color, which went well with his red coat, but still itched like crazy. "Hmmm..." It would seem your friend has a rare case of Scale fever Senna said conclusively. "Wait... a rash, that is actually a fever?" Keith looked curious, Jacob looked around "Could i use a shout to heal it?" Senna shook her head "No, Scale Fever originated from the bacteria found on some dragonscales, and as such it can only be treated from green tea boiled with a dragonscale in it." Jacob laughed "Good thing i always keep a couple on me!" and started to look through his inventory, when Senna shook her head slowly "No, Scale Fever has many Strains, the strain is indicated through the rash's color on the back, and how bad it is" she went to Storm's back and went to feel the rash "Sorry, I'm just going to feel around, you might get some pain... try to keep still okay?" Storm nodded, it was unbearable right now. Senna gently felt along his back "Oh... this is bad... very, very bad..." Storm looked at her "What? how is it bad?" Senna then went to his front and asked him "How bad is your back" Storm looked a bit confused "Uhhh... It itches, alot" She shot a stern look at him "Are you sure?" Storm burst out, and rolled onto the stone floor "No, it feels like im on fire, like my back is trying to eat itself times two!" and rubbed his back on the floor vigorously. "Stop him! itching it only makes it worse!" Jacob smiled and said "Sorry Storm" and quickly he took out a rope and hogtied the poor pegasus who protested consistently "Haaaaay, why'd you do that?" "May i have a word with you two in private?" She led Jacob and Keith out of range of Storm's ears and speech and gave them a sad, serious look "How much do you care for your friend?" Jacob scratched his head "Well i'm certainly fond of the little guy" Keith added "Storm's just so silly, it makes me happy most times". Senna looked downwards, towards Storm as they sat on top of some stairs "Well... He hasn't got much left in him. Sure he looks pent up, like he could fly from here to Whindhelm, but... He's got the 3rd worst strain, curable only from a plasma dragon's scale." "No dragon can stand against a Dragonborn, i'll have that beast tagged n bagged in the hour!" Jacob said proudly. Senna simply replied "They're extinct. They were created by Alduin himself and they aren't even natural, being made of fire not flesh, they had lived near volcanoes, but even Alduin with all his power can ressurrect them, not without sacrificing himself that is." Keith sprang up and walked away for a few steps "There has to be a way... we didn't just travel through marsh, Spriggan territory and cold tundra, just to be told that we came here for nothing and that our friend is going to die" he looked at Senna and started walking towards her "You know alot about dragons, to be honest, more than just a simple priestess, so i have a feeling you might know where to get a plasma scale" Senna stammered "W... Well... I only know of one, but it lies in High Hrothgar, and the Greybeards protect it, they refuse to let anything even near it." Keith smiled "thank you dear friend, Senna!" He turned to Jacob and kept smiling "You up for a quick journey to High Hrothgar?" Jacob smiled and put up a hoof for a brohoof "You know it!" Keith laughed and brohoofed Jacob "To High Hrothgar!" Jacob cut off the epic feeling Keith had by asking "Wait... Shouldn't we bring Storm with us?" they looked at him "No, just look at the poor guy" Keith said sympathetically, Storm was laying on his back, with the most exhausted look on his face, breathing heavily on the floor. "Right... We'll be back Storm" Jacob said, Keith smiled "He can't hear you, you know that right?" Jacob replied with a smile "It was for dramatic effect, which you ruined, let's go" They brohoofed one another again with a slightly bored tone "To High Hrothgar!" as they had done again. One fast travel later and Keith and Jacob entered the doors of High Hrothgar, inside they met six old grey colts who had their usual black cloaks with tribal and ancient designs "Welcome Dovahkiin... We have awaited your return!" they were all in a circle, standing on their hind legs and raising their front hooves to the ceiling. Jacob saw that they all had a long grey mane, small beard and horn, like a unicorns, which glowed in their current pose. "Then you must know why i am here, i reque... I Need the Plasma Scale" Jacob stepped forward while saying this, a determined look on both his and Keith's face. "I am sorry, but we cannot do that" The Greymanes spoke in unison "We have guarded it for centuries, if it were to fall into the wrong hands, grave consequences would ensue it will not go into any armor or weapo-" Keith cut them off "We want to eat it" and the Greymanes stood normally, stopping whatever they were doing. Paarthurnax, spoke with slight anger, and alot of curiosity "And why would it be consumed, how would be the better question" Jacob looked a slight bit sad at Paarthurnax "We have this friend who's come down with a very bad case of Scale Fever, he requires that Plasma Scale in a tea, or he'll die" the other Greymanes went to meditate and do other tasks throughout the are, while Paarthurnax slowly walked towards the duo "This friend... what is his name?" "Storm Chaser, he arrived about three hours before everything changed" Keith answered "Indeed, there is not much that is special about this... Storm Chaser. But i do remember the last time Scale Fever turned caused a epidemic. But as i remember, simply eating the scale is not what you need." The old pony walked up to a shelf cluttered with various objects, until he grabbed a small oval-ish disc-like object that was black and had a curved teal line on it, which glowed brightly, regardless of the thick layer of dust that coated it "This is what you need, ingesting it is what causes the sickness, i'm sure who told you that was either very misinformed, or is not to be trusted at all" He handed the Plasma Scale to Jacob "Take care of this Plasma Scale, it is the only one left" and started to walk away when Keith tapped the old stone floor "How do we cure Storm?" The Grand Master Greymane replied "Only in the light of a Dragon's Armor, and the Warmth of Friendship, can Scale Fever be purged completely.... About 10 hours will do" Jacob nodded "Thank you Greybeard Paarthurnax, i enjoy your kindness and hospitality" and turned around, Plasma Scale in his inventory, and Keith following behind, they started on the long path to Markarth once again. > Power of Friendship and Playing Cards > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- After Keith and Jacob reached Markarth, they ran back to the Temple of Dibella, where the priestess Senna stood in the way of the door "Have you got the Scale?" Jacob nodded "Are we too late?" Senna looked downwards "He's very weak, he can hardly breathe and the rash seems to be killing him... I would say he has only ten minutes left.... it's too late to make the tea now" Keith and Jacob stepped towards the door, but Senna looked serious "The Scale please" "Are you out of your mind, we're going to save him using this scale, tea or no tea." Jacob declared calmly "No, i am completely in my mind and I will have that scale!" Senna tackled Jacob over the edge, but he threw the scale to Keith, and hit the hard stone floor below. Keith caught the scale in his mouth and rushed to storm through the doors. Senna, being stubborn and determined, ran to the stairs to the temple entrance but Jacob caught her by her tail. She had lost her peaceful priestess charm by now. She turned and attacked Jacob, who successfully dodged everything she threw at him. But out of nowhere a stray hoof came out of nowhere and hit Jacob square on the head, knocking him into a wall. "Thanks Jared" Senna said happily "Could you please take care of this?" Jared, a large, brown stallion with golden hair and green eyes, smiled down at the recovering Jacob "With Pleasure.... Hehehehehe~" T... Take care of me..." Jacob smiled with a slightly evil expression "Those who stand in my way... will be the one taken care of..." as he straightened himself up, he spread out his stance and kept his head low "Go ahead keep me from Storm... It'll only work so long as you have breath and life to stop me with... And hey, remember when i said that i would save him? It's for sure..." Suddenly Jacob's eyes started to glow a shiny blue, and he shouted with a voice that shattered glass "FUS RO DAAAAAH!" and pushed both Jared and Senna a long ways, into a city guard. Before anyone could notice him Jacob snuck away, he could hear Senna shouting "This is not over!" and also the guards yelling, possibly arresting them "Fingers... er... Hooves, crossed" he chuckled as he ran to the Temple of Dibella. Meanwhile Keith was in the Temple already... Keith almost tripped on the way to Storm, running down the stairs. He very quickly rushed to Storm, lying on the floor. He quickly thought back to what the Greymane said... and thought aloud "Hmm... Only in the light of a Dragon's Armor, and the Warmth of Friendship, can Scale Fever be purged completely... ten hours" Keith hoped to Sovngarde and back that the old pony was right, as he placed the scale on Storm Chaser, and, he softly cuddled with Storm and closed his eyes. The priestesses nearby had been preparing herbs to help the sick pegasus, and had just now noticed the other pony sleeping next to him. Soon after Jacob came into the room and rushed to Storm and saw Keith cuddling him "Uhh..." He was not sure what happened and was confused, until he realized Paarthurnax's riddle, meant to place the scale on storm and show their friendship through a very basic way. Admiring either the brilliance or the heart of Keith, Jacob did the same, walking over to the other side of Storm and cuddled him, until eventually both were asleep. The Scale began to glow brighter and brighter, until it was blinding for anyone who was looking at it or had open eyes, causing the priestesses to drop what they were doing and cover their eyes. A large orb of energy rose from the scale itself and stopped at the ceiling. Then in a single moment it sped down and hit Storm's back, sending a shockwave as powerful as a one word unrelenting force shout, and absorbed into his back. Slowly but surely the rash faded away, in minutes, it was as if he was never sick at all. Storm woke up to see his friends curled up to him, sleeping away, he was too tired at the moment to care so he reached around and cuddled both his friends as he too went to sleep. Meanwhile, In the Markarth Jail... "Well that couldn't have gone any better... what was so important with that kid anyways?" Jared called across the room to Senna's cell, she kept silent, she was not like the normal innocent priestess he knew and loved, she was different somehow... as if something had corrupted her mind. He looked around his cell, he saw a small grate in the floor, where a skeleton laid in dust. A Guard came between their cells and read off a piece of parchment "Dear prisoners Jared and Senna It may come to your attention that you may have done something wrong to get here. But fear not for there is a very simple solution! Join the Imperial army and you can be released immediately, and even earn gold while earning your freedom! Sincerely General Tullius" He put the parchment away and sighed silently "It's your choice, shout for me if you decide to take the offer, be better than three years of gruel" and the guard walked away to his desk in the hallway. Jared checked the stability of the grate, it was shaky, unstable even, but he couldn't brake it without a loud ruckus. Jared went to his cell door "Senna! Senna! Are you going to take the Imperial's offer? you could get out now! Do you even care?" Senna just sat there on the straw-covered floor, and she was fiddling with the straw... but wait. Moments later very loud noises started to come from her hoof as it appeared to carve the stone below, the Guard rushed over to her cell door "Ey! Stop that!" He said with a now obvious irish accent. Jared looked sad for a moment but then got determined, he hated the imperial legion for a very real reason, and would rather die than join them, so he ran to the grate and smacked it as hard as he could, the grate's weak copper bent under the massive amount of power behind the pony's hoof. Jared smacked it two more times and the grate broke with a loud noise that could only resemble iron ripping apart. the Guard yelled at Jared this time "Oi, Stop There!" and Jared replied "Sorry!" as he dove down the grate-less hole into the dungeons below. Within a couple of moments, Senna had carved herself a hole and squeezed through it, leaving Gary the Guard all by himself, who sighed "Awww... I was getting the cards out" he said, disappointed. He sighed "Crap... The Captain's going to kill me!" he said worryingly, while rubbing his head. > Intoxicating Manes and Ancient Evils > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Keith woke up first, but he was in a small pickle. He was sore from sleeping on the floor, though it was on a bed mat, but it was one that he was barely on, and even then he wouldn't have really had any difference. The urge to get up and stretch was high, but he didn't want to wake Storm or Jacob, especially not Storm, poor guy's gone through a lot. Jacob's hooves were grabbing onto Keith's hoof or at least stuck on his, the other on the ground, tucked against his body, and also Storm had a arm over one of Jacob's, if he moved his, it would not only move Jacob's hooves but also drop Storm's arm, most likely waking them both up. So he laid his head down on the floor, and waited for a small bit. After about Twenty minutes or so, Jacob slowly grabbed one of Storms arms that were on his and hugged it like a pillow. Keith smirked in amusement 'how cute' he thought as he slowly drew himself away from the pony pile. He got outside and stretched, seeing Hamal on the stairs to the left he decided to go say hello and called to her "Hello Hamal, how are you this morning?" Hamal got up and replied to him with a smile "Oh i'm good, considering Senna went to jail and is now missing" Keith chuckled nervously "What? shouldn't you be taking that hard? I mean one of your own priestesses tried to take a priceless and powerful artifact from us, by force" Hamal simply laughed "Yes but i forsaw it three months ago in a prayer to Dibella" Keith nodded, he never understood how one could see something in a prayer, but he still humored her anyways "Ahh, well that's pretty cool" Keith and Hamal both looked out at the nearby scenery, the sun was just rising now, and they were observing the red light dissipating, but it made Markarth look absolutely beautiful. It was very silent and the only noise that were heard at this hour was the nearby river and the howling winds. Hamal suddenly came out and asked "So what is a Bandit doing with a Dragonborn, and a winged one?" Keith chuckled and smiled "Well... I'd like to see where this goes" Hamal looked at him with amusement "You care for the winged one don't you?" Keith's light orange coat turned light brown as he blushed just barely "Yeah... I know, the Bandit has feelings for something other than robbing and pillaging, and other ponies at that.. just... please don't tell the others..." he said, shy and embarrassed. He liked to think he was a great bandit who went along with them cause there was nothing else, but Hamal was spot on. Hamal laughed lightly "I wouldn't worry about that, your secret is safe with me" Jacob woke up next, he immediately noticed he was hugging Storm's hoof. He giggled and got closer to Storm and closed his eyes. He wasn't tired but he just felt like getting in two more minutes, he missed being able to sleep-in before he was put on his whole adventuring quest thing. He slowly fell asleep, smiling happily, he wrapped his arms around Storm tightly, just before dosing off. Storm woke up with a smile as he could smell mint and milk. He opened his eyes to see his nose buried in Jacob's silver mane, he nuzzled into it, and noticed that they were very close, which made him giggle quietly and blush just the slightest, his red cheeks turning into a very low purplish color. He didn't know what to do to be honest, but he loved the smell of Jacob's Mane, Mint is his 3rd favorite smell, behind cinnamon and apple pie, same was with tastes, but his mane didn't taste like it. 'Does it taste like mint?' Storm thought, blushing more he licked Jacob's mane and his eyes grew wide as it tasted kind of dirty but a strange sensation came to him, like everything was better somehow. Storm giggled and licked Jacob's mane some more, smiling brightly. Keith went inside after a good, long talk with Hamal about Juniper, and his life mostly, how he became a bandit which was the usual cliche' parents killed by imperials so he ran away and was raised by a group of bandits who he became leader of. That 'ol chestnut. He was surprised to come back and find Storm licking Jacob's Mane, he walked over to get a bigger look at him, it looked like he was really enjoying it as his face was glowing with happiness. He scratched his head and felt his gold mane, he didn't even know what was going on, but he didn't want to stop Storm, cause he just looks so... happy for no reason apparent to him. So he just sat there watching Storm lick Jacob's Mane for what seemed like hours, but it was only thirty minutes. Jacob woke up once again to feel the most curious of sensations, his hair felt like it was being... licked? He giggled when he realized it was Storm "Uhh..." he tilted his head just in doing so, Storm licked him on the face, namely on the nose and up the middle. A furious shade of yellow lit up on the green pony's face, and an unsure expression to match. Storm just simply touched their noses together, Jacob didn't even know what was going on, but his blush was warm and bright. They both heard Keith break out in uncontrollable laughter very close by, and Jacob looked a bit nervous, while storm simply looked happy and started to giggle with him. "Oh my god... oh my god, you should've seen your- HAaahahahahahaaa!" he laughed loudly, smacking the ground with a hoof, holding his stomach and rolling on his back. It took him a few minutes but Keith settled down, tears in his eyes which he wiped away. "How long have you been there?" Jacob asked, slightly embarrassed. Keith started to laugh again, but just a bit "Well i came in right about a few minutes before you woke up, little Stormy was lick your hair!" he laughed again, obviously very happy from laughing so much. Jacob giggled to himself "that was kinda funny" he got up and stretched, Storm just sat there, watching them with a big grin and wide eyes, 'he looks happy, but creepy too' Jacob thought while looking at Storm. Keith stood up and smiled "Well loverboys, time to get going" He mocked Jacob and storm, both who just smiled and laughed. Jacob got up and started to leave, Storm following close by, Keith casually did so, still slightly curious as to how that happened, but he removed the thoughts from his head as they got outside of the Temple of Dibella, 'I'll probably figure it out if i stick around long enough' He thought. Jacob looked back and saw Storm really close with the same giddy expression, and looked over Storm "So do you know where to go Keith?" Keith Answered "Yeah, Hamal told me that Juniper is in Windhelm, so we should probably go there" Jacob nodded and turned around, walking towards the city gates, and out of them, the guards on the other side warned them "I heard there's something huge out there... no like any giant or dragon, it sounded like metal scraping against a steel dagger, I'd be careful you three" Storm thanked them. as they went along and minutes passed, Storm began to feel like himself "Ugh... what a weird dream i had" Jacob laughed "What dream?" Storm smiled "Well, you see... I woke up.. and i was Licking your mane, but it was like... really fun and awesome, semed really really weird though, don't know what that was all about" Keith giggled "That wasn't a dream, Storm" Storm looked confused "Wait... What?" and the two of them just laughed. Along the way to Windhelm they proceeded to bug eachother for a small bit, but then Jacob asked frantically "Wait! Where's the Plasma Scale?!" Keith sat down, reached into a pocket and produced the Teal and black dragonscale "I took it before we left" then put it back. Jacob nodded and looked relieved "Ahhh, okay... That's good" They kept walking along the dirt path in the winterland, and a brown colt, who wore an expression that spoke of fear and alarm "Stay away from Windhelm!" he said very loudly, as he ran into Storm, knocking both over. The three were confused, Storm also a bit annoyed from being knocked off his hooves completely "What's wrong with Windhelm?" Keith asked. But his question was answered as a massive screech was heard in the distance, it felt like a constant noise of metal objects scraping against eachother, and with that noise an explosion came afterwards. With the question answered the colt ran down the way they came. Keith ran down the path, fearing for the life of his friend and also curious on this thing attacking Windhelm. The others followed him, matching his speed, as they probably had a good idea on what was going through Keith's mind. When the arrived at the entrance bridge to Windhelm, they couldn't believe their eyes for a second at what they saw, whatever it was, it was gigantic, and had a look of doom, and upon looking at it, they for a moment felt like leaving, never to return, but was stopped as they looked away to do exactly that. It was massive, with swirling red air about it, and several pieces of giant Daedric armor protecting that air. It was in the form of a legless human. Meanwhile... Garry the guard paced in the long hallway thinking deeply, hands on both hips "so... they both escape, so i think i can only do two things here... Either Find one of the prisoners so i won't be fired or... i could be fired or worse!" Being beheaded, Exlie, life imprisonment, and being shifted into the active imperial forces came to mind. he nervously fiddled his thumbs together "Oooooh... I don't want to die... but i hate sleeping on those bed mats in the cold... finding one of the prisoners could be nice" He liked that idea, not to mention he didn't want to forfeit his 250 gold a day he guarded prisoners or just simply 50 a day for staying here, also he hadn't left the building in a whole year. He smacked his fist into his palm and smiled. He took out his keys and decided which cell hole to take "Ahhhh! why so many decisions?!" he randomly picked one by spinning around multiple times, closing his eyes and walking towards one, the one he hit would be the one he took. He smacked into Jared's cell, causing a loud clang and a pained complaint from Gary "Ow..." he said silently as he took out the keys, unlocked and opened the door and went to the grate-less hole. He looked down into it and saw a barely lit brick floor, unsure he jumped into it, landing alright, he suddenly remembered that he forgot something! "Ahhh dang it, my sword!" He remembered that he put his sword on his chair, it was special it had his name on it, it was a sword he named Matilda, it was just a normal Imperial sword with his name engraved on it along the blade, but he had sharpened it to a point that it could cut through any metal almost, he accidentally stabbed a wall once, which almost stabbed his captain in the nose, that got him a month's worth of taking over for the stall boys in the stables. He did have his shield though, it wasn't special but he liked it anyway. As he went down the corridor, taking turns here and there he heard a voice, much like Jared's. He ran ahead, eager to get A prisoner and just get out of here. He turned the corner and there stood a small pony, coated in black, a strange air seemed to flow from the pony's hooves, just simply looking at this pony gave Gary the chills and seemed to freak him out a bit, as he started to breath faster as he looked at it. It turned around at him and ran towards him, Gary turned and ran the other way from the ponies glowing red eyes, the rest of it completely black. The chase ended when Gary ran into the wall that was a dead end, above the grate-less hole, it was too high to jump and he went into a shaky, but defensive stand as he took out his shield. The black pony came at him with an open mouth that oozed something black and terrifying, but was denied as Gary smacked it in the face, yelling aswell. It being stunned for a very short time, Gary took his chance and hoofed it as far as he could, finding a barrel, he openned it and jumped inside, closing the lid and bathing him in lonely darkness. the following moments felt like the longest of his entire life as he hid from the strange pony. Several moments later he heard a shrill, scratchy breathing as poofing noises were heard. It was outside the barrel, looking for him. as it drew closer to him, every noise seemed to get louder, causing him to beign panicing, but he managed to keep calm, holding his breath. After half a minute the pony's sounds were completely gone, and he let out a slightly noisy exhale and burst out of the barrel, but he felt something awful. And sure enough as he slowly looked to the right... There were those eyes... Glowing Red, with a Black smile... The pony leaped at him, causing him to scream at the top of his lungs, and it hit him, causing tremendous pain, enough to knock him out. He dreamed of Equestria, a land he'd never known before, > The Revenant of Rebellion > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Upon hearing the news, the Trio hoofed it all the way there, and sure enough, there was a giant creature, it looked like it was made of some kind of magic, which created the red colored electricity that could be it's body, and kept the silver colored iron helm, Silver Iron Shield, and Blue Armor that could only resemble something daedric, afloat and in place. It wielded a silver sword, easily twice as large and long as any normal claymore. The three got ready as it began to swing the sword at them, making metal grinding noises as it cut the air itself, causing the three to dodge, but just barely as they reached for their ears to cover them. "What... What the hell is this thing?!" Storm yelled, mostly at the monster "It's most likely something from Oblivion" Jacob responded. Keith laughed "Well, time to show this thing what happens when he messes with Skyrim and her people!" and with that he raced at the monster, whose could-be eyes narrowed as it said with a voice that calmly bled with the feeling of rebellion "The Revenant of Rebellion isn't that easy to deal with" The Revenant of Rebellion swung its giant sword at Keith, but he simply dodged it and jumped up on it's arm, took out his trusty silver dagger and stabbed it repeatedly in the arm, but that's all he could do as it threw him off with great force, sending him flying against Storm. Keith hit Storm with great force, sending the two tumbling on the ground. Jacob studied the Revenant, it's eyes narrowed at him as it did the same. 'Hmmm... it seems tit's just energy, but... i heard they were powered by something external...' He thought as he looked at it. "Why are you here?" Jacob asked the Revenant who replied by pulling back it's giant sword. The giant sword cut downwards at the ground where Jacob used to be, dodging to the side. He had an idea, which he hoped it would work, as he jumped on the sword, and went up it's arm, and readied his lungs for a shout. His eyes began to glow as he shouted "FUUUS RO DAAAAAAH!" and the helmet flew through the red energy, nd flew through the air, way lighter than it should be. The Revenant's head looked bald but was also just a blob with white eyes, but it looked mad at him as Jacob realized it's weakness and tried to grab him, but Jacob saw it coming and jumped out of the way fairly easily. The battle went by easily on Jacob's end, but took awhile, due to the fact he didn't have his Amulet of Talos with him, which he enhanced himself using an ancient technique. The Revenant stood, or rather, it floated with just a piece of body armor, no bigger than a child. It's arms had four fingered hands at the end of them, and as Jacob readied his final shout, the Revenant then looked down to the ground, displaying what could be sadness. Storm, and Keith woken up just a few minutes ago watched as Jacob hesitated in pronouncing the final Thu'um of the battle. The Revenant looked at Jacob with sad eyes, the color of his body changed to a dull blue. It took the opportunity to escape, floating away very quickly, away from Windhelm and The Trio. Jacob looked back at his friends, Storm looked slightly sad also "He looked really sad... Should we go talk to him?" Jacob shook his head "No, we've got more pressing matters at the moment" he looked at Windhelm, the once proud and tall oter walls were crumbled, the gate was missing a great amount of it, one quarter of the left door was left "We need to see if we can at all help with anything in the city, they're going to have their work cut out for them" Keith spoke up "I think we were just a tiny bit harsh to it, after all we just started to attack it, and i don't think something could have caused the damage to Windhelm, even if it did, i doubt anyone could have gotten past it easily" And just like that, in cue in the distant mountains behind Windhelm, a massive shadow crawled up quickly, and a roar, so great a great amount of the damaged walls fell over, and the three were blown back ten feet. All three of them asked in unison "What is that?!" and their hearts, and expression dropped with each and every moment, as the shadow grew larger. it eventually had both front paws on the mountain, the mountain's size paled in comparison to the black creature. They all realized that it was a Dragon was it extended two massive wings as it shouted a primal howl to the sky and even spoke "I Am Akatosh, All Your Souls and All Your World Is Now Mine!" To demonstrate his power he spewed a massive gout of flame at Windhelm, which smashed the palace of Kings at it's top with ease, and took off into the sky, disappearing in seconds. They could find nothing to say, or do, as they stared at the mountain Akatosh had appeared on with unbelieving eyes and empty expressions. Meanwhile... Gary had arrived in a very colorful land, it was at this time that he took account of his body, with fear no longer clouding his mind. He looked at himself with wide eyes "I'm... I'm... A Horse?! In the Name of Arkay, what is going on here?!" He suddenly heard a voice that sent chills up his spine, answer him "Technically You are a pony, a short one at that" It laughed terribly, making him tremble slightly and the voice then continued " You... Aren't even special, no hidden talents, your cutiemark is just a box... uhhhh... best host i've found yet, so let's test something, alright little Gary?" It laughed silently as Gary feared something bad was going to happen. And soon enough, something did, a massive pain shot through him like lightning, and he yelled out in pain, quickly it felt like something was forcing it's way out of his throat, stopping him from breathing. He was almost out of breath as he saw black tendrils spill out of his mouth, and hit his face and body with a wet, slick feeling. His eyes teared up quickly as the pain was almost unbearable, as the tendrils then forced thier way in his nostrils and his ears, his eyes rolled back into his head and tears freely flowed down his cheeks and neck, as he prayed to himself and pleaded "I... I think i'm going to die! Please No!" A few moment later his vision faded to red, and his heart pounded faster than it should as he thought he was dying at that moment As the agonizing ordeal had passed he fell to the ground with a heavy thump, knocked out from the pain, but he kept breathing in and out. That moment had changed his beige coat and dark red mane, and had black stripes on them, but they slowly faded away. He found himself in a dream, with a floor of blue clouds, shaded like the night, and above was a star covered night sky, and the white moon with the shape of a pony in it. He stood up and looked around and then notcied that there was hardly anything there, here he also seemed to be missing his armor and other equipment, including his shield, but instead saw a pair of wings on his back. He looked at them curiously as he flexed them out "Huh... This has to be a dream..." but he noticed that he was striped black all over his body, and tried to clean it off. He did so by licking a stripe on his hoof, but after a few it didn't even do anything. He felt like normal, before he had even changed. He looked around the strange area, and spotted two tall ponies, both with long horns and flowing hair, the other had a pattern that had every color of the day, pink, yellow, light blue and repeated a couple of them, while the other had dark blue hair. He didn't even know who they were, but they eventually saw him staring at them and stared back. Strangely however, he knew their names, "Princess Celestia... and Princess Luna" he said to himself, he suddenly was confused as to how he knew their names. He saw that Celestia and Luna both had looks on their faces, as if they were seeing a pony get torn apart from the inside. They said something to eachother, and after they seemed to exchange a few sentences, Luna slowly walked towards him a few steps but she stopped as the strange voice came about them. "Dear little Gary... Don't fight me this time" the voice laughed evilly as Gary collapsed and coughed excessively as a great pain came as a small tendril came out of his mouth. He jolted awake, sitting straight up and screaming. he looked around in a panic. He was in a room that looked like a library and saw three others, a yellow pony, a purple pony, and a pink pony. But he looked at his hooves and panted heavily. He didn't know why, but he didn't remember the dream at all. He was confused once more as he wiped his eyes, seeing that his tears or what could be his tears, were a black, cold and oily fluid. > The Questions without Answers > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Three later had gotten an audience with the Jarl of Windhelm, Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak himself. "It would seem we require the Dragonborn again" Ulfric stated dryly. He wasn't wearing anything that was different from when he was human, the way he sat, like all Jarls didn't even change, it made Jacob laugh a while ago, but now he was simply looking at Ulfric with a look of disbelief "You don't honestly think i can bring down Akatosh do you?!" I almost died five times against Alduin, his son! I seriously doubt, there's anything that can bring anything that large and powerful down!" Ulfric adjusted himself, mirroring the trademarked Jarl pose on the throne he calmly replied "Well then i guess you don't have much to do, save for finding your friend" He looked towards Keith as he said the last part. "Also, I hear there's something interesting nearby, if you have any time at all, please investigate, make sure it's not a threat, whatever it is... You can find it if you head out the bridge, and keep going straight." After they had been done speaking with Ulfric, they each went their separate ways, each having different things to do. Keith went to look for his friend, while Jacob naturally wanting a quest to do, went along Ulfric's instructions. Storm went for a walk, to observe the cold landscape for anything strange, he asked Ulfric before leaving for something to shield him from the cold, not wearing anything as usual. He left the Palace of Kings, wearing a white cloak that fit him almost perfectly, the hood extended over his head, a few minutes of walking and he was now officially lost. The wind howled around him, trying to get inside his cloak which kept him warm in the unforgiving wind. As he walked forward, he remembered that he could just go backwards to get back, but he looked around and saw that everything looked the same, snow everywhere, trees here and there, and the worst of it was that he was even caught in a freak blizzard. But it would seem the blizzard was not something natural as the viciously blowing snow and winds picked up and blew him up and over onto his back. It collected a few yards before him, shaping into a large hooded figure, not pony or human, but something of greater age and wisdom. Slowly five eyes opened in a black glow before him as he got back onto his hooves and a familiar voice both greeted and insulted him "Stormy... Nice to meet you once more... Comrade". Storm stepped back from the entity that slowly formed as each minute passed, soon it was all together, a completely white pony-like body it had; with four legs, and four wings, four eyes that seemed to look like they made a square if a line was drawn between each one and a fifth in the middle, above it's nose. It's hooves were naturally spiked, at the front of each, had a vicious and painful spike that extended into the earth or whatever it stood upon, a whole foot down. It smiled a bloody grin, blood that dripped down onto the white snow "What's the matter? last time we met, we were much more close than brothers you know..." Storm shook his head and looked more scared than anything "my father had shown me how wrong i'd been in the past, you're a demon." the demonic pony lunged and hug-tackled Storm in a flash "Oh come on, how about a little fun, just for old times sake?" Storm laughed and shook his fear off, getting out of the hold it had on him and throwing the demon to the ground, and pinned it under both forehooves "I've ridden myself of my demons, i have no need of any more in my life... after all, the great demon Filiraith would know all about that wouldn't he?" the demon under his hooves sighed angrily and annoyed upon hearing his true name "So... you've figured out my real name huh?" Storm got off of Filiraith and chuckled "I've always known your true name Filiraith, i just never wanted to use it before now... and now that i have, you've lost your power. I trust you won't try to stir up anything?" Filiraith disappeared from the world, hopefully to his world; the Pastures of Fire. Though Filiraith had been hopefully sent back where he was created, Storm still remembered the time when he'd destroyed Filiraith, and completely. He hadn't been created again in The Pastures of Fire, as that's where he was destroyed; there was no reason or way he should be back and breathing, yet there he had been. A demon whose entire being was destroyed by him, was now somehow back and alive, what had that kind of power? is the release of Akatosh all Filiraith's doing? or is there something much bigger going on? Whatever it was, Storm dismissed it, though questions still buzzed through his mind. He wished his mind would clear like the blizzard that did so now. He looked around and saw only trees a couple of rocks and pillars and spun in a circle on the spot. As he realized he was in front of what was probably an ancient tomb, he heard howls from behind. He span around to see the source and saw three wolves easily equal in size to him. Fear slightly took root into him and he took off and landed on top of a pillar. He was about to call out for help when he realized something. He was a pegasus and these wolves had no wings, because wolves weren't born to fly. He took off and flew over the trees and hovered, seeing unfamiliar ground, until he spotted what was probably windhelm and flew towards it, and towards the setting sun. "The Questions without Known Answers, are always the toughest or most important." Unknown