Chapter four: The lost man
Twilight darted down along the halls of Canterlot palace, moving at speeds Rainbowdash would be impressed with; her hooves cast the sound of rapid hoof-steps along the tiled halls, her standard 'clip-clop' of calm trotting replaced by the sounds of a pony galloping way faster than they were used to. It was no real surprise when thought about; she was fuelled by the fear of her friends and home being burnt to the ground by a dragon, or demolished by the newcomer. As she galloped, her adrenalin and fear stricken mind cast images of a smoking crater instead of the pleasant and peaceful hamlet that was Ponyville. She tried shaking her head to free her mind of these distressing images, but almost ran into a wall for her trouble.
Her blurred form rushed past guards and staff, throwing their manes and tails in a gale of panicked wind, and she took a corner too fast; she lost her hoofing and tumbled over her back before she landed back on her hooves, skidding along the length of the hall before she managed to stop herself. Twilight jutted to a halt on her left hooves before her rights returned to the ground and she started galloping again. The ponies she passed were looking at her now, watching her go past with confused and worried looks on their faces as she barrelled past in a flurry of purple and pink; Twilight had never galloped so fast in her life, not even at the Running of the leaves had she moved so quickly. If she hadn't been so panicked, she might be impressed with herself.
Behind her, she heard the sounds of pursuit; Celestia, Luna and Shining Armour were after her, and the three much fitter ponies were gaining fast.
"Twilight" Celestia called after her "wait!" The purple mare considered complying with her, but with her friend's homes and possibly lives on the line, she wasn't going to stop for anything. There was suddenly a flash in front of her, and Celestia appeared from nowhere. Twilight's heart skipped a beat as she tried to stop, leaning back and using all four hooves to stop herself, to no avail, before she managed to clear her mind enough and teleport herself behind her tutor. Celestia looked behind her to find Twilight stumble back to her hooves and continue galloping for the palace entrance. A worried Luna and Shining Armour passed her by as she watched her student and soon to be adoptive daughter go. The princess of the day pulled herself from her stupor and stood up on her hooves and started after Twilight again.
Luna and Shining were neck and neck in their chase of the filly; the main problem was that they were both soldiers, so they were used to long distance galloping rather than such speeds over a short distance. Shining Armour could only wonder how his little sister had suddenly become a champion sprinter. Luna waited until they were going down a moderately long straight hallway before she closed her eyes and pictured herself next to Twilight; in a flash of light and magic she found herself there. Twilight glanced back and saw the princess of the night right behind her; her eyes widened as she registered the dark mare so close to her.
"Twilight" Luna panted "slow down" she begged between ragged breaths. Twilight shook her head as best she could before she looked back down the hall.
"Can't" she answered simply. The princess of the night growled slightly in frustration before she tried to lung for Twilight; a good plan, had Twilight not skidded around another corner. Luna landed on her front and slid along the ground until her face became very well acquainted with the wall. Twilight kept going, unawares as to Luna's predicament and Armour kept after her as the staff and guards helped her up. Celestia galloped past as well, sparing a glance at her poor sister before she kept going, unwilling to let Twilight find the newcomer before she did. Meanwhile, Twilight had almost made it to the doors; they were still open, thanks to the hot weather today, and the unicorn was about to barrel through. Celestia had caught up with Shining Armour and was galloping next to him; she suddenly found herself wishing she hadn't taken a fondness for cake in the last few years. She then remembered they were in Canterlot palace, where most of her day guards tended to hang around a lot.
"Guards" she shouted to the gold-clad ponies either side of the door. They looked up and spotted Twilight galloping from Celestia and Captain Armour. "Stop her" she finished. They looked back to Twilight and moved into action; there were four guards in all, two unicorns and two earth ponies, a unicorn and an earth pony each side and they moved in a perfect group. The inner two covered the door, while the flanking two moved forwards; the biggest earth stood his ground, a big wall for her to try and get around. Twilight panicked, tripped and slid on her front, right underneath the earth pony and between his legs. As she slid beneath him, the bewildered guard followed through with his head, his head ending up looking between his own legs. Twilight stumbled back to her hooves, again, and kept going. The first unicorn stepped up next, and tried stopping her with magic.
Even though he was a well-trained soldier of Celestia's personal solar-guard, it was a bad idea to use magic against Celestia's top and personal student; a silver/grey aura appeared around her and she couldn't help but slow, but Twilight's own appeared around her and pushed out against the guard's as she dispelled it before she rushed past him. The last two guards readied themselves as Twilight galloped towards them; the earth cantered towards her in an attempt to tackle her, he lunged for her and made a grab for her, his fore-legs swinging in and clutching at air. He looked around and found himself hanging in the air, suspended by a light magenta glow; he followed Twilight with an impressed glare as the filly stuck her tongue out at him as she galloped for the door and the last guard.
The other unicorn set into a stance as Twilight approached and set himself to stop her with a spell; a dark blue wall of magic appeared before him and the door, but just as Twilight was about to hit it, she teleported again, reappearing outside the palace.
Celestia and Shining continued their pursuit, wearing an annoyed grin and impressed glare respectively, the gap between them and Twilight no smaller. Celestia teleported again, outside the walls of the palace and right in front of Twilight Sparkle. The purple mare screamed and tried to stop herself, again to no avail, and couldn't muster enough magic to teleport again quickly enough. She crashed right into the princess of Equestria. Celestia grunted as the air was pushed from her and was forced onto her back from Twilight's momentum; she rolled over again with Twilight still in her grasp until she landed on her other three hooves before she sat back on her plot again with Twilight wrapped in her fore-hooves again. The purple mare struggled a bit before in Celestia's hold.
"Lemme go, please! I've gotta get to my friends" she exclaimed as she pushed her hooves against the white mare's chest. Celestia continued to hold Twilight, right in front of the palace, where many ponies could see them no less, as she tried to sooth her.
"Twilight" she said softly, her words falling on deaf ears. "Twilight" she said again, slightly louder as she tried to get through to the purple mare. Twilight kept at her attempts to escape Celestia, all attempts in vain, as she grunted, growled and cried out in attempts to free herself. "Twilight" Celestia whispered, directly into Twilight's ear. This either got through to the mare, or she just gave up as she relaxed against the white mare.
"Celestia, princess, please" she begged "I've gotta get back to Ponyville! My friends, Spike, the town could all be in danger" she tried to explain. Celestia loosened her grip slightly so she could look into Twilight's eyes properly.
"I know how you feel Twilight. My concern for my friends is only rivalled by your own, but we must all remain calm if we are to properly capture or, if need be, defeat this newcomer" she soothed. She pulled Twilight into a hug as she stroked the back of her mane. "I promise you, my dear student, I will personally deal with him." She paused for a second. "And the dragon, alone if I must" she assured. Twilight's panic and resolve suddenly crumbled as Celestia's words met her ears; it suddenly occurred to her what the princess of the sun was telling her: that she'd go after this stallion alone if it meant protecting her friends. She suddenly felt bad about rushing off the way she had, possibly jeopardising their efforts to find the newcomer. She started to hug Celestia back, resting her head against Celestia's chest.
"I'm sorry princess, it's just…" she trailed off, unsure where to take her sentence.
"Do not worry, Twilight. I understand your reaction; you acted justly considering your relationship with your friends." Celestia still hadn't released Twilight, and she didn't really have much intention to do so either, but when Shining, Luna and Cadence showed up, she thought it only proper. They were quite a sight; Cadence was pristine and proper, having not pursued Twilight; Shining was out of breath and looking down right pissed off; while Luna came trotting behind, holding her sore muzzle in her hoof.
"You done now, Twily" Shining asked her, his eyebrow raised. Twilight laughed sheepishly.
"Y-yeah, I guess I am. I just got a little…worried" she answered, scratching the back of her neck. Celestia had approached Luna.
"You alright Lu-Lu" she asked her sister, who was still rubbing her nose.
"I'm just fine Tia" she answered. Celestia moved her hoof away to take a look at her.
"I could kiss it better, if you like" she offered. The princes of the night blushed and shook her head. Celestia giggled at her sister's reaction, laughing into her hoof, before she hugged her sister to try and make her feel better. Cadence spoke up next.
"Well, if we're done with this brief panic attack, shall we head back to the castle" she asked them all. Celestia nodded and the rest of them followed suit, trotting back to the palace, Twi, Shining, Luna and Cadence in tow behind.
"So, what are we going to do sister? The only lead we have is the information the guard gave us, and it's a rather flimsy lead at that." Celestia turned her head to Luna, her expression requesting an explanation. "Well, think about it; the Everfree forest is a big place, and very little is charted, if at all, we actually know about even less of the place than we have mapped out; secondly, Shining Armour made a good point earlier, this Wyrm is about as likely to be working with the newcomer as he is a coincidence in this whole matter, it just doesn't add up with me; finally, he's got at least a three day head start on us, and if that dragon is working with him he could be anywhere in Equestria by now, anywhere in the world, and even if he isn't, Twilight is right to be worried, he could be in Ponyville or, if we're lucky, somewhere in the Everfree, and that brings us back to our first problem." Celestia had stopped trotting and was looking at her sister with a bit of a blank face.
"Luna" she started "that's…that's…that's a good few points actually" she admitted. Luna gave an apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry to have poked any holes in your wishes to find this stallion sister, but I'm simply trying to be realistic here." Celestia nodded her head understandingly before she looked to everypony else for their opinions on the matter; none of them said anything, but they all seemed to be leaning towards Luna's reasoning, even Twilight.
"I see" she mumbled. "Well, we'll talk more on the matter inside" she said. The all nodded and trotted to the palace, arriving shortly. "Let's head to my chambers" Celestia suggested "we'll have more privacy there" she added. They all nodded silently and followed her lead upstairs.
"Make sure we're not disturbed" Luna told the guard on duty. He nodded and saluted as she passed him by. Celestia pushed through the door to her bedroom with her hoof and trotted over to her bed and dumped herself on it; she hadn't realised just how tired she was from all the galloping. Twilight hopped onto the bed besides her.
"So, what are we going to do" she asked, echoing Luna's question. Celestia blew a few strands of her mane out of her face with a quick puff of breath.
'I haven't a clue.'
"Well, first thing we should do is try and find him" she stated. Twilight blinked and frowned at her tutor's…vague set of instructions
"Alright but…what do we do when we do find him" she pressed. Cadence, Luna and Shining Armour had gathered around by now, waiting for some kind of direction to go with. Celestia had sat up, maybe so she would at least seem to know what she was talking about.
"We try to talk to him, and if he isn't willing to cooperate…well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it" she said, not exactly cryptically. Luna looked to the side in thought, biting her lip as she did so. Celestia caught the motion. "Something the matter sister?" Luna looked at her sister with conflicted eyes.
"Tia…are you sure we can take him on? He beat us when he appeared to be drunk; I mean, it's as Captain Armour says, we haven't an idea about what he can really do." Celestia smiled slightly at her sister's reasoning.
"Luna, last night he took us by surprise and yes, he may have beaten us with just these…" she glanced at Twilight "shouts, but now we know he can use such magic, if that's what they are. Also, we won't be alone this time" she said with a grin on her face. Twilight cocked her head slightly.
"But what would we do if we did beat him? Send him back through the portal?" Celestia shook her head.
"No, I'm afraid not; the stone cutter's passage is…Twilight, do you know its curse?" Twilight put a thoughtful hoof to her chin.
"Only what I've read; I know that it can bring anything from anywhere through, but that's about it" she admitted. Celestia nodded.
"Yes, what you know is true, but it's not everything to know about the passage" she revealed. Twilight raised an eyebrow. "The stone cutter's passage is a one way door, anything that comes through isn't going back through that way" she explained. Twilight gaped.
"What, then what are we going to do?" Celestia shook her head.
"I'm not sure Twilight."
"But…but how does that even work? How can door only go one way, if he came through the portal why can't he go back through the portal?" Celestia took a deep breath, and Twilight knew to prepare for some kind of lengthy explanation.
"Twilight, have you ever heard of a 'doorway to nowhere'?" The magenta mare nodded, her eyebrow raised. "Well, the stone cutter's passage is a doorway from nowhere; as you know, the other side of the portal can appear anywhere it likes, anytime it likes. In theory, that fact could be very useful for exploration of other worlds and times, but preventing that is the fact that nothing can use the portal from this direction" she explained.
"But surly if he walked through the portal one way, it should be just as easy as going through the other" Twilight argued. Celestia shook her head.
"Not necessarily" Celestia countered "the stone cutter's passage is no normal doorway" she told her student. Twilight looked to be waiting for something. "Here's how it works; when somepony passes through the portal, they find themselves in what is basically a space between all worlds, think of it like a waiting room of sorts, before they cross into Equestria. Anything to go through that side will have an opening behind and before them, to Equestria and back to their homeland, but that matters little; anything foolish enough to go through isn't going back through the portal, and unless they can find another way back, they're stuck here…or trapped here, depending on their opinion" she finished. Twilight seemed to deflate a little.
"So…that's it then? The only way we're getting rid of this guy, is either reasoning with him, or killing him" she clarified. Celestia pulled her in with her fore-hoof.
"I'm sorry Twilight, but I can't see any other way out" she admitted. Shining Armour scratched the back of his neck, wondering what to do.
"With respect princess, we don't have much of a plan; try to find him and when, if, we do, we try and talk to him? And if that doesn't work we try to fight him? I mean; how do we find him, what do we even talk to him about? And if that doesn't work, how do you expect us to beat him? You've already seen that he can beat me in open combat." Celestia looked him right in the eye.
"Capitan Armour, I thought I'd already said that we won't be alone in this" she retorted. Luna raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean by that" Luna asked. Celestia let a small, devious smile stretch across her face.
"I mean what I say, Lu-Lu; we won't be alone in our endeavour this time" she answered cryptically.
"So who will be with us" Luna asked. The door to Celestia's room swung open.
"Why yours truly of course" said Discord as he meandered into the room, a dark smirk on his face.
Remus didn't know much about this place, but what he did know just made him question what he did know. When he reviewed his last trail of thought, he decided he didn't like this place.
"Ahh, two day. Two days and I already hate it…that's gotta be a new record" he mumbled from beneath his stone tent. He frowned.
'Or is it three days?"
He'd lost track already, the days had melded together, the boredom working at his sanity.
The more he thought about this place in fact, the more he realised just how much he hated it here; he'd been turned into a pony, he'd been snatched from his home and his only friends were an undead dragon and the ghost of an assassin. His only friends were dead people; that said a lot about his social life. It had been a full night since he, Durnehviir and Lachance had made camp in the middle of what was no doubt a very dangerous forest. Still, he'd be damned if he cared about the dangers of a dark forest, at least he knew how to handle that; with a sharp point and a few ancient words.
The last Dragonborn felt his stomach grumble at him and decided to undertake an old hobby of his: hunting. Yes, this could be considered a rather mundane pastime, considering where he came from, but he felt a certain relaxation when stalking his prey. Remus stood from beneath his stone tent and looked around; Durn was still sleeping and Lucien was still mediating, his version of sleeping. He stood up and went to the edge of the clearing. Dispelling the rune he'd cast on the spot he walked over, or trotted over he guessed, he stepped into the thick of the forest.
Almost immediately, his vision was taken by the pitch black darkness cast by the shade of the canopy of branches overhead. Trying to move through this forest was nearly impossible, given that the trees were so compact that they formed walls sometimes and their vines and other inconveniences made just trying to take a step a risky venture. The more he traversed this environment, the more he felt he liked it; that fact that he was unfamiliar with it put him on edge, that there could be any amount of creatures lurking in the darkness made him paranoid, that he didn't have a weapon made his muscles clench and the distant roars of fellow predators gave him an adrenalin rush.
He liked it in this forest, simply because it was new to him. He traipsed all across Skyrim, and knew it inch by inch, but this place was new, different and possibly dangerous. This must have been how the Champion of Cyrodiil felt when he'd gone to the Shivering Isles.
He moved through the dense plant life like a shadow, his natural skills as a thief and assassin shining through in his new form. He had to admit it; it wasn't as bad as he first thought it'd be. Perhaps it was because he'd grown into his new form, maybe because he was adapting into an animal's body that worked much like human's. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad like this, or at least until he got back to Skyrim.
He continued to trot and before long he got tired of trying to see through this impenetrable darkness; he closed his eye for a second, squeezing them shut, before he opened them again, the spell filling his head with the sound of magicka rushing through his body, and found the forest revealed to him in a grey and silver glow. All in all, it was a rather useless venture, seeing as the trees impeded his vision to such a degree that he couldn't see further than ten feet in front of him. Or at least whatever a foot here was, anyway.
The last Dragonborn leapt over a fallen log and found himself in another clearing; it was smaller than the one he'd made camp in, and the branches of the trees reached over and blocked any light that would attempt to get in. He figured it to be a nest of some kind, given that the scent of animal waste and slain prey clung in the air, while twigs, leaves and dry grass was scattered along the ground. Finding nothing else of interest around, Remus shrugged and went to turn away, wondering what was nesting here, when a snapped branch and growl caught his attention.
The last Dragonborn looked calmly to his left, finding yet another wall of timber blocking his view. He peered around the nest again, wondering if what had just growled at him was the owner of the nest he'd just meandered into. His loitering must have angered the creature further, as his question about what creature he'd angered were soon answered as a creature he wasn't familiar with stalker through the vegetation. Normally, Remus would have sunk back into the shadows, but upon sight of…whatever it was, he couldn't help but remain in place as his curiosity got the better of him. Remus cocked his head and he took a step towards the creature.
It had the body of some kind of lion, as well as its head, legs, paws and, most importantly, claws; on its back was a pair of, what the Dovahkiin could only guess, were dragon wings; at its rear end was the tail of a scorpion, or at least he presumed it was from the stories he'd heard from those Hammerfell mercs.
With a cocked head and a raised eyebrow, Remus rounded the creature, taking it in from all angles; when he stepped on a spot the creature apparently didn't like, it started growling again, baring it's maw of many teeth and letting its drool run down its chin as it did. The animal stepped forwards, closer to Remus and sniffed at him a few times; it, for whatever reason, didn't seem to like the way he smelt and its growls turned to snarls. The last gulped slightly as the tip of its tail reached over its head, aimed at the snow and ice stallion.
With a mental sigh, Remus narrowed his eyes. The simple act caused the animal to roar its displeasure as it tensed for a second before it lunged for him. Remus raised his hoof and waited for contact; the creature landed on his hoof and a pulse of green ran through its system as it was paralyzed. The lion/dragon/scorpion fell to the ground, its out stretched paws and legs acting as a stand for its body, erect wing and solid tail. Remus meandered over to it and pushed it onto its back before he snapped his hoof to the side and conjured the bound dagger.
He calmly stepped over to the creature and looked into its confused and enraged eyes as he put the ethereal dagger to its neck and drew it across, painting a blood red smile on its neck. He looked down at the translucent weapon in his hoof, wondering why he hadn't used the spell in the palace. He shrugged the thought away and dispelled the weapon before he took the creature by the mane and dragged it along behind him.
A few minutes of plodding back to the camp later, and his hunt was completed. He dropped the creature by the remains of the fire and looked up in sudden thought.
'That was boring' he noticed, suddenly disappointed with his hunt. Not exactly the turnout but the experience, it had just been dull. He looked around again. 'Yeah, I still hate it here.' He looked back to the creature he'd killed sighed; how was it that something like hunting was boring to him here? He loved hunting; the arrow flying through the air, the snap of the neck, stalking the dear, taking on wolves with nothing but a dagger. He leant against his kill, a distant look on his face. 'Good times.' Before he'd fallen too deep into the bottomless pit that was his memories, he stood up again and took in his prey; big, muscled with some fatty spots and plenty of meat, he was also fairly sure he could make some armour from the leather he'd get from the hide. Re-conjuring his dagger, he set to work.
He'd been skinning and filleting animals for years, ever since his days in the Companions he'd been going out into the wilderness, maybe with Aela or Vilkas, and just taking down a few critters. Or that one time it had been a mammoth, that had been fun, if a little nerve racking. They'd also taught him the finer points of skinning animals and turning an animal into a set of fine leather armour or food. Half-way though the proses of skinning his kill, Durnehviir woke up to a half skinless monster.
"Drem yol lok, Qahnaarin" the dragon greets. Remus looks up from his work and nods at the Dovah. Durnehviir raises himself and looks over the Dragonborn's work, finding half the creature he was skinning bare of fur and skin and the other half in the proses of losing it. "You have been busy, Dovahkiin? The nir, the hunt,was bountiful, was it not?" Remus shrugged at him and returned to running the bound dagger down the side of his kill.
"Depends on what angle you look at it from" he answered. Durnehviir cocker his head to the side.
"Something troubles you, Dragonborn?" Said stallion glanced at the dragon before he looked around the clearing.
"I'm not sure, this place, this land of keys, of horses…it troubles me" he looked at his hoof, rotating and gazing at it from every angle "it's changed me…"
"Ko zii ahrk ko kopraan, in soul and in body" the dragon finished for him. "More that you anticipated, hmm?" Remus had faulted on his next stroke, the blade going into the meat instead of gliding along the fur.
"Damnit" he grumbled as he pulled the spectral blade out as carefully as he could. There was an out of place gash in the muscle; he glared at the mistake in his work before he glanced at Durnehviir. The dragon was watching him with a cocked head, awaiting his answer. He sighed deeply before he spoke. "I suppose you're right, the soul will follow the body. I mean, when I was hunting just now, I found it boring" he revealed. That actually seemed to surprise the undead Dovah.
"Words I never thought I'd hear from a fellow Dovah" he admitted. Remus grunted to himself, his eyes swivelling to Durnehviir. The dragon seemed to be in thought. "Faal hahdrim do faal Dovah los daal hahdrim do faal ah. The mind of the dragon is the mind of the hunter; Dovah or Dovahkiin, your mind is attuned to dominance, to the hunt. You kill, you hunt, you fight and you stand naturally stand above all other joors… perhaps your…" he fished for an appropriate word "new form, has altered your perception of life and the views of others and the way you see yourself in their company." Remus had returned to his work, soon pulling the skin off of the beast in a few good pieces of hide. He hung the hide from a few branches sticking out from the trees before he returned to his kill. Durnehviir had watched him the whole time his eyes expecting an answer once again. Remus rolled his eyes and sighed.
"I can only suppose that you're correct, fahdon. I haven't the chance to really go over it but…I don't know, when we were flying yesterday I felt myself feeling guilty about attacking them; I've done things like that, worse than that, before I haven't given the faintest hint of a damn, I mean, I've fought and killed before, and it's never left me feeling so conflicted." With a low hum of thought, he cast it from his mind. "Maybe these ponies just aren't as violent as a Nord or dragon." A spine tingling voice from behind them cut their conversation short.
"I beg to differ, listener" Lucien posed. Remus turned around to him and Durn looked over at the assassin; he was leaning his back against the stone tent, his left leg along the ground and his right propped up, his arm resting on the knee.
"How so, dark brother?" Lachance shrugged and stood.
"If creatures such as this" he pointed at the beast Remus had slain "live in a place such as this" he gestured around the forest "then I doubt the…" he glanced at Remus "beings of this land are strangers to violence. Did you not say yourself that you spat in the face of this lands monarch? One can presume they were protected" he posed. Remus grunted and nodded. "Guardsmen, hunters perhaps. War and combat are two forces that will never be vacant, no matter where you go listener." Remus smirked.
"We can only hope" he answered as he sliced a strip of meat from the creature and carried it over to the fire pit before he remembered he hadn't got anymore fire wood. "Damn" was his only word before he tossed it in the direction of the dragon with a quick 'catch'. The meat slapped against the undead Dovah and slowly slid down his un-amused face until it plopped onto the floor. Although he hadn't watched the act, Remus still had a smirk on his face as he gathered up a few pieces of wood and kindling. He carried the wood back to the circle of rocks and dumped them within its confines before he threw together a makeshift split above the soon-to-be flames.
Another chunk of meat found itself off of the body of the beast and being carried on the last's back towards the fire pit. He lit the kindling in the same fashion as last night before he stabbed the supporting stick through the meant and set it over the flames, the scent of sizzling meat soon filling the clearing. Remus left it to cook before he meandered over to the side of the stream.
"Alright" he said after a while "we'll-no-I'll eat then we'll get on the move again" he decided. Lucien stood next to him and watched the water go by, his ghostly hands inside the sleeves of the opposite hand.
"Move where, listener? Do you plan to keep running from these horses? Confront them? Do we try to get back to Tamriel?" Remus turned his gaze up to him, a clearly angered look on his face.
"You have a better idea" he asked.
"The krivaan speaks wisdom, Qahnaarin. Running from your foes is not the way of the Dovah. Either stand and fight, or face them with reason but do not take the nivahriin, the cowardly, way out." Remus had stood and turned to Durnehviir.
"Pardon, Durnehviir" he demanded "you dare call me a coward." The dragon stood his ground.
"You cannot argue with the truth, Dovahkiin" he shot back, rising from his stomach and standing over the stallion. The snow and ice stallion wasn't intimidated by the dragon's superior size, nor his Thu'um. He wasn't going to stand around and be accused of cowardice.
"Care to back you words with steel" he challenged. "I'll shout you back to the soul cairn you son of a-"
Liss
A flow of ice shot from the dragon's maw, striking the Dragonborn and freezing him solid mid-sentence. Remus's hooves were frozen to the ground, keeping him upright as Durnehviir snaked his head forwards and stared down into his eyes.
"A coward, is he who runs. I have not called you a coward, simply warned you against the path of faas, of fear." Lucien stepped up beside him and raised his ghostly boot before kicked Remus in the side, shattering the ice and throwing him to his side. Remus got back up, ready to rip the two of them apart.
"Listener" Lucien said pointedly, his hand on his short-sword "you have few allies here, I suggest against trying to kill those you do." The last growled like an animal for a second before he cursed savagely and slammed his hoof into the ground in frustration before he pushed past them and towards the fire pit again.
"Whatever" he growled. He sat down next to the cooking meat, turning it slowly with his hoof. "Never thought I'd feel so outnumbered against an undead dragon and a dead man" he mumbled as he rotated the meat on the spit. He looked up at the dragon and assassin. "Well what do you suggest we do then" he demanded. Lucien shrugged and sat with his back against the tent.
"I suggest we act as the assassin" he told them. Remus raised his eye at the ghost as he sliced a piece of meat from the carcass.
"What" he asked as he placed the meat in his mouth, enjoying the juices and feeling of food in his mouth but not the tastelessness.
"Presumably, they chase us. They are bound to find us eventually, so I suggest we wait for them." Remus raised his eyebrow, once again. "We let them find us, and then let them decide the cause of action; they attack" a grin Mehrunes Dagon would cower under stretched across his face "we rip their eyes out. They decide on more…peaceful measures, we talk with them. But know this brother; should they attempt to draw blood, we will send them to the void" he growled, prompting a grin from the last Dragonborn.
"Then let's hope they go for the first option then."
"Y'know Celestia, the last time I saw you in that armour was our first date together" Discord commented as said princess donned her gold/bronze battle suit. Celestia took a sideways glance at him, a glare in her eye, but couldn't supress the small grin.
"That wasn't a date, Discord" she clarified for the god of chaos. She tightened the last strap on her stomach with her golden magic before she covered the buckles on her stomach with the metal plate there, tying that down with another strap. She turned to him and trotted over to him, her eyes half-lidded and a sultry grin on her face. "But, the fires of battle are renowned for igniting the fires of lust" she whispered as she ran a hoof down his chest. Discord's grin had gone from devious to curious. He ran his paw through her mane, their faces getting steadily closer until Discord felt a sharp pain in his gut. With a cold look on her face, Celestia pulled the hoof she'd struck him with away from his abdominal and watched him double over in pain, holding his gut. She grabbed him by the antlers and hauled him to eye level. "The last time you saw me in this armour, was one of the few times I found you on the battlefield" she spat "and the next time you try something like this again, hope you succeed" she pulled her combat dagger from its sheath and put it between his legs "else you'll have no reason to try again in the future" she told him. "Do I make myself clear" she asked him, way to calm to for the situation.
"Crystal" he answered. Celestia let him go and returned to the armour stand.
"Good" she said simply. Holding his head and stomach, the god of chaos straightened up and watched Celestia don her armour.
"You really are a two sided pony, you know that" he said as he started flipping a coin he'd pulled from the ether. Celestia glanced back at him.
"Coming from you" she retorted over her shoulder as she pulled a thick, brown cloak over her shoulders and secured it to her armour. Discord had laughed at her statement.
"Yes, coming from me, of all draconequus's" he confirmed. Celestia turned back to the mirror in the armoury, placed there to make sure no errant straps or buckles were loose and found Discord as her reflection. "Me, the pure embodiment of disharmony, is calling you out Celestia as a pony with mental flaws." Celestia cocked her head to the side.
"I realise that, and the only reason I'm not breaking you right now is because I don't want seven years bad luck" she told him. Discord flew from the mirror and merged with the wall, looking like some kind of moving mosaic.
"Excuses, excuses" he replied before he stepped from the wall. Celestia simply grunted in amusement as she pulled the last greave up her leg.
"Are you going to do something about it, Discord?" Said draconequus perched himself on a table edge and crossed his arms.
"A little defensive today, Tia?" Celestia shrugged as she tied her mane back.
"You have a problem with that Discord? You're asking a lot of questions today" she observed. He shrugged.
"I guess I am, but I promise to burden you with only one more, princess" he assured. Celestia sighed deeply once before she turned to him.
"Yes, Discord" a smile on her face so sweet it was sour. The look on his face troubled her some; it was deeper, more inquisitive than she'd ever seen before, a look of pure thought that looked very out of place upon his face.
"You, and dear Twilight…" he trailed of, and Celestia knew where this was going "you seem to be getting much more…physical with her lately" his grin came back as he cocked his head "I mean, when I showed up you were holding her like you'd hold a-" he stopped his sentence when it all fell into place in his mind, a grin that stretched further than his face should have allowed melting into his expression as it clicked. He hopped off the table and paced back and forth. "Dear, oh dear, Celestia, surly you know better than that" he scolded, that grin still on his face.
"Oh, shut up Discord" she told him. The draconequus of disharmony put a claw to the corner of his mouth and dragged it along his mouth, rather literally 'zipping it'. Celestia shook her head at his nonsense and put the finishing touches to her armour; she brushed some stubborn soot from the equestrian symbol on her chest, attached the black scabbard to her back, slipped the white-hot bladed Dai-katana inside said sheath, threw her cloak over it and rotated her body in the armour, making sure it was appropriately loose and manoeuvrable. She turned to the side and checked that her cutie mark, engraved into the flank of the armour, was in proper position. She turned back to Discord. "There, how do I look" she asked. The god of chaos leaned back and took her in.
"Honestly? Stood there in you battle armour, armed to the teeth and, if I'm not mistaken, ready to kill somepony?" He snapped his claws and in a flash he was stood on a small wooden stage, a red-brick background to it, black hair tied back in a ponytail and a grey suit jacket on his shoulders with a microphone in his claw. "I'd say you look drop-dead gorgeous, what's up with that" he said in a Manehatten accent. A sky blue octopus wearing a Rasta hat did the 'ba dum,tiss'tune after he'd made his gag. Celestia smirked and shook her head again before she trotted past him.
"Thank you Discord" she said as she passed him by. Discord chuckled and hopped off the stage and followed her out.
"So tell me Tia; what made you want to take Twilight in all of a sudden?" Celestia glanced up at him, not turning her head.
"What made you want to take over Equestria? I just…did, there's no real reason. I mean, I've always felt we were close but I never knew just how close until a few days ago" she admitted. Discord crossed his arms and looked down at her.
"Have you even told her" he asked. She shook her head.
"No, not yet, I can't just pull her away from her family like that…not yet anyway."
"Ooo, is there a little scheme at work in that pretty little head of yours" he asked as he floated by, lounging in mid-air. Celestia halted, turned to Discord and clamped her hoof over his mouth.
"Discord, if you want to live to see your next birthday, you'll do well to be quiet." She went to release him and turn away before she looked back. "Oh, and if you say a word of this to Twilight, Luna, Cadence, Shining Armour or anypony else" she paused and narrowed her eyes at him. "So help me" she finished quietly. Discord's eyes were wide in a rare look of shock as she let him go and straightened up. He watched he go before he spoke up.
"Celestia" he started. She groaned in frustration and turned back to him.
"What" she demanded. Discord cocked his head to the side.
"Why so serious?" She took a calming breath and looked at him properly.
"Because I love her like she's my own, but I don't know how to tell her" she admitted. The god of chaos grunted and smirked.
"Oh, look at you; getting all emotional in you battle suit. Let's go throw some rulers off their thrones, that normally cheers you up." Celestia glared at him before turning away and trotting for the throne room. Once there, she found Twilight, Shining, Luna and Cadence stood, talking to each other in hushed tones. A room that was normally bustling with nobles and peasants, here to gripe and request assistance in more practical matters respectively, was filled with only five ponies and a draconequus. Luna was outfitted with her own armour, more or less the same as Celestia's except the black and midnight blue colour and that her cutie mark was on the flank, while on her back a halberd was sheathed. Shining Armour wore his standard Captain's armour, a long-sword on his back.
"I still don't see why I can't go" Cadence was saying.
"Because if anything goes wrong, Equestria will need you" Celestia answered from the doorway. They all looked over and smiled slightly, Celestia returning their silent greeting. "All of you" she finished. Shining raised an eyebrow.
"All of us" he echoed "what do you mean by that, princess?" Celestia stepped closer to the group, Discord lingering at the doorway.
"What I mean, Captain, is that Equestria needs a princess to lead her" she said, looking at Cadence. "She also needs harmony, the elements" she added, looking at Twilight. "And her armies aren't going to organise themselves" she finished, looking at Shining Armour. The guard frowned.
"With respect ma'am, I'd gladly die for my country. I should go with you."
"Maybe so, Captain, but would you leave your wife alone so gladly" she asked. He looked to said alicorn as she nuzzled him, swiftly changing his song.
"I…no, I guess not" he submitted. Twilight spoke next.
"But what about the elements of harmony? I'm still not sure why you won't let me and my friends help you." Celestia smiled warmly and leaned her head down to Twilight's level.
"Dear Twilight, the elements of harmony may be Equestria's greatest means of defence, but those who wield them are far from soldiers" she told her good-naturedly. The element of magic looked at the floor, shuffling her hooves without an answer. "Twilight, me and my sister can fight the newcomer if necessary, but you cannot and I'd hate to see anything happen to you or your friends" she told her.
"Okay" the purple mare answered.
"Thank you Twilight" the white mare whispered before she straightened up. "The three of you will stay in Canterlot until me, Luna and Discord return" she told them. Luna and Celestia said their goodbyes.
"Be careful auntie" Cadence told Celestia as she embraced her, the princess of the day returning the hug.
"Don't worry Cadence, I will be" she assured. Luna and Twilight stood next to each other.
"Good luck out there Luna, I know Pipsqueak wants to see you next Nightmare night" she told her. Luna giggled slightly.
"And I him. Don't worry Twilight, it may have been a while since I last fought but I don't think I've lost my touch" she assured. Twilight giggled back as they made a friendly embrace. Discord slid up to Twilight when Luna went to Cadence.
"Listen, Twilight, should anything happen to me, I'm sure nothing will of course, but if it does…send my regards to Fluttershy, won't you?" Twilight grinned softly.
"Of course" she told him. Discord nodded appreciatively and noticed the rest of the gathered ponies staring at him.
"What" he demanded before he turned into a cupcake and ate himself. When all other farewells were done with, Celestia spoke quietly to Twilight.
"Goodbye Twilight" she said quietly as she wrapped her fore-leg around Twilight.
"See you princess" she replied. Celestia pulled back slightly.
"Come now Twilight, we're close enough to drop these formalities" she tried. Twilight smiled slightly.
"See you, Celestia" she said. Warmth filled the princess's heart when she heard that, pulling Twilight into another hug. It wasn't lost on Twilight how long it was, but she didn't really care. Done with the goodbyes, Luna, Celestia and Discord took to moving for the door.
"Is it really just the three of us" Luna asked quietly, as to not spoil the atmosphere.
"No" answered Celestia "there will be a company of twenty-five solar guards and twenty-five night guards" she answered. Luna nodded lightly. Half-way to the door, Discord spoke up.
"What was with all the dramatics anyway? You made it look like we're going on a decade long campaign or something" he commented. Celestia narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Because Discord, I fear that what we are about to go up against, is no normal foe" she answered before she looked left and right at the two of them. "Should we lose to the newcomer…I fear to think of what might become of Equestria" she told them. Discord grinned, Luna swallowed and Celestia's expression just turned grimmer, as they marched away from safety, and into the clutches of the unknown and an enemy that could spell the end of Equestria and its rulers.
Remus held the pieces of stitched together leather up in his hooves; it was ugly, rough and the leather stitching could be easily seen in the middle of battle, but it was armour and it was his. The thick leather would go over the chest, back and fore-legs and while it had been more or less easy to design and cobble together, the hind-legs and his backside remained unprotected, asides from the uncomfortable boots he'd fashioned. It had taken him a good few hours to piece this thing together, and when he'd completed it, he wasn't sure if he was happy with it or not; he was used to dealing with the finest quality metals and leather, working over the Skyforge, sometimes with dragon bone at his side, but here he'd been forced to work with leather and hide he'd taken from an animal he didn't even know the name of. That said, it was damn good leather, thick, strong and heavy, but it was no mammoth hide. The main good side to the situation was that he hadn't used all of the fur or hide, so he'd been able to fashion himself a hood and cloak, in case the weather decided take a turn for the worst. The only thing he was lacking now was steel at his hip.
"What do you think" he asked his company. Lucien shrugged.
"I've seen worse" he told him.
"As fluent as a fellow Dovah" Durnehviir mused, commenting on the assassin's wise choice of words. Remus grunted and looked back to his impromptu garb; it consisted of the aforementioned cuirass; a belt with which he hoped to sheath weapons with; two pairs of boots sat by him, one pair for the fore-hooves and one for the hind-hooves. That he'd had to throw away the gauntlets he'd accidently made just annoyed him further. The fur cloak and leather hood lay besides the boots. As he looked over the armour he'd assembled, he couldn't help but think it was incomplete without a sword or dagger lying on top. Durnehviir seemed to read his mind.
"Your voice is your weapon, as well as your power, Dovahkiin" he commented. The last grunted and glanced at him with a slightly annoyed look on his face but faltered when he caught him looking over his head.
"What" he asked as he turned. When he did, he frowned; Lucien seemed to be looking at his outstretched palm, which seemed to be alight, smoking with a ghostly mist, more so than usual. The vapour coming from his body made him look like he was in the process of spontaneously combusting.
"That's concerning" Lucien commented absentmindedly.
"Here, here" Remus agreed as he stood and trotted over to his dead friend "Lachance, you alright" he asked. The long-dead speaker seemed to lose his balance as he stumbled back a little.
"I'm not sure" he murmured "but I feel the dread father calling me, Sithis and the void…" he seemed to feel a sudden pain in his chest as he suddenly clutched at it, grunting slightly. When he pulled his hand back Remus started to get worried; there was a hole. Not a wound as such but an actual hole, turning him from translucent to literally transparent.
"Holy…" Remus trailed off, suddenly regretting his choice of words. Perhaps instinctively, Lucien put his hand back to the gap in his chest, checking for blood that wasn't going to leak; when he pulled it back his hand had disappeared as well.
"What in the void" he demanded. It struck, Remus how calm he sounded. He suddenly had a distant look on his face. "Sithis" he whispered at length before he fell from existence. Remus stared at where he'd been stood for a while before he spoke again.
"Well" he started, pausing for a long while before he spoke again "shit." Durnehviir seemed to agree. "Great" Remus started again "we're a man down, and I haven't a clue why" he observed. He picked up a rock and tossed it into the air.
Fus, Ro Dah
The stone launched into the air and sailed towards the horizon before it disappeared over the curvature of whatever the name of this planet was. With a long, majorly pissed off growl he made his way to steam and slumped down beside it before he glanced back at Durnehviir.
"Let me know if you're planning on leaving too, will you." The dragon said nothing back to him; instead he simply gave a low growl of thought. The last ran a hoof over his face as he followed Durn's example, growling to himself. "I. HATE. This place" he exclaimed "everything seems to be going wrong here, I was turned into a horse, pulled from my home and now one of my very few allies had gone for no good reason" he listed.
"Kos nahlot" Durnehviir roared "cease with your complaining, be grateful for what you have, and stop dwelling on what you don't." Remus turned back to him.
"Just what is your problem" he demanded "I can't help but notice that you've been getting pretty damn testy with me as of late" he growled as he stood and pointed a hoof at him. Durn stood up and stalker over, his heavy steps making loud 'thuds' as he stepped.
"Because you act like a vahdin, a housewife, you complain and go on and on-"
Fo, Krah Diin
The burst of frost and ice shot across the distance between them, striking the dragon square in the face and freezing his blood and bones.
"You want to join the list of dragons to fall to my voice" he growled. He seemed to have annoyed Durnehviir, who strode around the camp as the dragon and stallion stared each other down, neither combatant's pride allowing them to stand down; Durn stepped through the fire and stood on the stone tent as he circled Remus, while said Dragonborn stepped through the spot the Dovah had been sleeping on.
"Tell me, Dovahkiin, would you do this if the assassin were still here?" Remus snarled.
"I do what I please" he told him before he barked another shout.
Fus, Ro Dah
The shockwave slammed into the dragon, causing him to growl and screech as his head was thrown back. Durnehviir growled and roared at the dragon slayer, the blast of air and bad breath throwing the snow and stallion's mane and tail around him.
Diil, Qoth Zaam
The shout struck the ground and three skeletons rose from the ground, brandishing weapons forged from bone and ebony. The three of them were garbed in an ancient style of iron armour and held a claymore, battle-axe and war hammer between them, clumsily advancing on the Dragonborn. Remus rolled his eyes.
"Is that all you've got" he taunted.
Gaan, Lah Haas
The purple wave of dark magic passed over the skeletal beings, ripping their life from them and quickly killing them. Or at least dispatching them. The shout didn't make it to the dragon, but instead it stopped just before him.
"Alright Durn" Remus started "let's see what an undead dragon can do" he roared before he charged forwards. The dragon snaked his head forwards and snapped his jaws at the stallion, Remus dodging out of the way before he leapt atop the Dovah's head, grabbing one of his slime drooling horns and summoning a bound blade to his hoof. "I've defeated you once before, Durnehviir, and I'll do it again" he shouted down at him. He swung the weapon down at the dragon's head, the translucent sword scrapping down his decaying scales and doing little damage. The dragon gave a violent throw of his head and threw the dragon slayer off his head. Remus picked himself up and suddenly had to dodge out of the way of a dragon trying to eat him; Durn's head dived down for him, his jaws and teeth crashing together as he tried for a chunk of pony. Remus had rolled out of the way, the Dovah following him and going for another mouthful, the Dragonborn leaping over his head. Durn whipped his head up, cracking the back of his head into the stallion. Remus was thrown over the clearing, landing on his back and rolling onto his hooves. With a bloody face and snarling maw, he glared at the dragon.
"Y'know what Durnehviir?" The dragon cocked his head to the side.
Durnehviir, Zii-Los D-
Remus was cut off when a flash of black shot across his vision and he felt a sharp connection of boot to muzzle, cutting off his Thu'um and throwing him off his hooves, quite possibly breaking his jaw in the process. He grunted as he rolled over his back and skidded along the ground on his side, his fur getting coated in mud and dirt. He stood up rubbing his jaw, and growled at who or whatever had struck him. He looked around and spotted Durnehviir, stood remarkably still as a being of pure darkness stood before him, holding a blade to his eye.
"Alright Durnehviir, we'll put our differences behind us and take on this guy before we kill each other, agreed?" Durn nodded.
"Geh, drem" he agreed. The two then heard a dark chuckling.
"And what do you plan to do" the voice asked. Remus raised an eyebrow.
"Wait…who are you?" The dark figure turned his gaze to Remus.
"I live…again" the flesh and blood Lucien Lachance told him.
"So where do you think he'll be, Ponyville or the Everfree?" Celestia looked to her sister, the one who had posed the question, and thought about it. It was a good, simple question, but yet another she didn't have the answer to.
"I'm not sure sister, but I don't think he has remained in Ponyville, else we'd know about it" she answered. Luna nodded her head, understanding the reasoning.
The three of them, plus the company of guards, were now on the outskirts of Ponyville, having gone by train so they could transport the princesses, Discord and all the guards in one go. The alicorns and draconequus were stood in the foremost first-class carriage; Discord was relaxing into one of the long, red silk fluffy seats while Celestia and Luna were stood. The princess of the day was staring out of the window, watching the scenery go by with a grave look on her face that hadn't left her features since they'd left the palace. There was an unnatural silence throughout the room, not even their individual breathing audible over the steady 'chug-chug' of the engine.
"You two should really lighten up, y'know" Discord told them from his position. Luna glared at him before she returned her concerned gaze to Tia. The god of chaos chuckled slightly before he got out of his seat. "I'm just saying" he told them.
"Well don't 'just say' Discord. Can't you see we're tense" Luna told him sternly. Her horn started glowing and an apple gained a midnight blue glow as it raised to her mouth. The princess of the night to a bite from it, but when she went to take another she spotted Discord's face in the bite marks.
"Well if you weren't so tense, and you'd probably be able to relax. Maybe even get some rest before you find yourselves in a battle neither of you have had to face for years" the apple told her. Luna gagged before she tossed the apple out of the window. Disord sniggered before he floated over to Celestia. "Maybe we just need to…get some things off our minds" he said slyly. Celestia responded by slamming her fore-hoof into his face without looking back. Discord blinked before he leaned back, a deep , hoof shaped, indentation in his face.
"Well, if you're going to be like that" his dented face muttered. Celestia went to the door at the head of the carriage and opened it and flew around the coal carriage and into the train cabin.
"What's our ETA" she asked of the train driver, very officially. He train driver looked back at her from the knobs, gears and pipes that were bolted to the wall before him.
"Maybe another five minutes princess, not long now" he answered. The white mare nodded.
"Good. Thank you." She didn't linger long; instead she just went back to the carriage and found herself a seat before slumping into it.
"You alright sister" Luna asked of her. Celestia gave her a small smile.
"I've been better Lu-Lu. I'm just…just a little nervous about this" she revealed. The princess of the night raised an eyebrow.
"Why's that, sister?" Tia shrugged and sat up.
"I dare say it's because Discord's right" she answered, never thinking she'd say those words. "We may be experienced warriors, but it has been a very long time since the last time we fought such a foe." Luna stood a little straighter.
"Tia, why are we acting like this?" Celestia frowned. "We keep going on like this newcomer is a god of some kind, he may have taken on Captain Armour and even made us scared, but that's it. So he's got a few tricks up his sleeves, so what? So does Discord, and I doubt he'll ever be able to take us on face to face." She put a hoof on her sister's shoulders. "When he felt he was beaten, he ran. Like a coward. He'd nothing but a rogue, not a fighter, not like us" she reassured. Celestia smiled at her sister again, fuller and more sincere. She surprised her sister when she pulled her into a hug.
"Thank you Luna, I needed that" she told her. Luna smiled slightly as she returned the embrace. The sounds of gagging from across the carriage caught their attention, and they looked to find Discord gagging, pointing a claw down his throat. Celestia picked up a pear in her hoof and threw it at him, watching it impale on his antler.
"Score" Luna exclaimed, throwing her fore-hooves into the air. Discord looked less than impressed.
"Celestia, are you going to let her get away with that" he demanded, but Tia was already laughing into her hoof.
"N-no" she said, stifling a laugh "b-bad LunHAHAHA!" She fell of her chair as she burst into laughter, Luna falling to her flank and joining her.
"Well, at least you've lightened up" he mumbled as he pulled the fruit from his horn and tossed it into his mouth. By the time Luna and Celestia had stopped laughing, they'd arrived in Ponyville. The princesses untangled themselves from each other and stood up, trotting outside. The guards were already there, looking well rested and alert. The pair of princesses stood side by side, casting their gaze over the stallions and mares before them.
"Alright ponies, let's move out" she called out.
After a brief parade through Ponyville, prompting some gasps and estranged looks, Celestia and her forces arrived at the edge of the Everfree forest. The Everfree loomed over them, prompting some gulps and nervous hoof shuffling from the guards. Celestia didn't blame them, pretty much everypony knew the stories revolving around the Everfree forest, that it was home to some of the greatest threats to Equestria, that the weather was completely self-controlled and that few who had spent any prolonged amount of time in there were rarely heard from again. With a calming breath, Celestia turned to the company of troops.
"Well, it's not like the Everfree is coming to us" she told them as she took a step in. As she crossed the borderlines of the forest, Celestia couldn't help but notice the change in atmosphere; cold air gathered around her, darkness replaced her light, despite the fact that her sun was casting warmth and light over the whole of Equestria. She couldn't help but shudder slightly. Luna and Discord stepped in behind her as she continued trotting, the guards behind them. They moved quietly through the trees and vegetation, Celestia and Luna not making a sound as the moved gracefully around and between them; Discord had his claw and paw clasped behind him, looking like he was out for a stroll and moving unnaturally quietly; while the soldiers with them weren't as quiet, feint clanks and creaks sounding as they moved, some of them quieter than others.
"How far in do you think he went" Luna asked quietly. Celestia glanced back at her, her body hunched down and the brown cloak melting into the shadows, while Luna's dark armour removed the need for one.
"I'm not sure, but I doubt it'll be very far; the further into the Everfree we go, the smaller and less abundant the clearings will be" she answered before she spotted Discord. "Oh, come now Discord at least make it look like you're trying" she implored. Discord sighed like a child.
"Fine" he said at length, before he started snaking through the forest like a rather suddenly intimidating predator. They sneaked on for a while before Discord made his way to Celestia, clinging to one of the trees like a lizard. "There should be a decently sized clearing not far from here, that should be a good place to start" he suggested. Celestia glanced at Discord, impressed with the fact with that his idea made sense. She shrugged and nodded.
"Alright, may as well" she mumbled. They stalked over to the clearing Discord had suggested, who had a surprising apt knowledge of the place, and lingered at the treeline. Celestia eyes shot into her mane-line; they'd found him.
"That was easy" Luna whispered. Celestia nodded without speaking. There were two of them, the stallion and the dragon.
'So he was working with him' she thought as she did the easy math. She looked left and right; Discord was looking ever so slightly smug while Luna had narrowed her eyes at him. She made hoof motions to back up, the two of them following her lead. She turned to the guards and spoke in a loud whisper.
"Earth ponies and Unicorns will circle around and ambush him, Pegasi will take to the air. While I, Luna and Discord will move in" she instructed. The troops saluted and took positions while the winged ponies flew to the higher branches and perched on them, waiting for their cue. "Let's move" she said to the alicorn of night and draconequus of disharmony. They nodded and moved in, stepping not-so-eagerly into the clearing. Celestia trotted to the stallion and stood over him. "Wake up" she told his sleeping form. He snored at her. Discord and Luna had gone to the Wyrm, Discord simply watching him while Luna was pointing her halberd at him with a fierce look on her face. "Wake up" she growled at him, much more sternly. When he snored again, she snarled and went to nudge him, but instead of pushing him, the hoof went right through him. Her face dropped and became one of confusion and…well it was just confusion really.
Phit
A see-through arrow of what appeared to be magic flew past her face and stabbed into the ground with a 'thunk' and vibrated in place. Celestia drew her weapon and crouched into a battle stance, casting her gaze around the clearing.
"Come out" she ordered. She felt Luna and Discord back up to her, and they all stood in a triangle. A metallic 'thunk' echoed through the clearing and Celestia looked back to see Luna with an arrow in her armour, though she didn't seem fazed by it. "Where are you" she demanded. Another arrow shot from the trees, right in front of Celestia, and she put her sword in front of it, deflecting it.
"Impressive" a voice said. The three of them snapped their gaze up towards a tall rock and saw a shadow atop of it. The shadow hopped down and landed in a small cloud of dust. "I wondered how long it would take for you to find me" the Newcomer said as he stood from his crouch.
Fifteen minutes ago
"Lucien you're…" Remus couldn't think of what to say. A small grin had found its way to his face, and he couldn't hold it down. He crossed the clearing to Lachance and Durn until he was stood by the robe-clad assassin.
"Nahlaas, alive" Durnehviir suggested. The Dragonborn nodded soundlessly.
"So…care to explain" Remus asked as he took hold of the assassin's robe; it was thick, warm, black and, most importantly, it was real.
"The dread father, Sithis, has fund a new purpose for me it seems" Lucien answered, a smile on his face as he continued to examine his gloved hand. "The Sithis, it seems, has taken interest in my apparition here. He wishes me to extend the Dark Brotherhood into this world." Remus cocked his head.
"Why's that, surly the chapter in Skyrim is doing its job. Why establish one here." Lucien hesitated.
"Simply to increase the flow of souls he receives" he answered. The last nodded; he knew Lucien knew more than he was letting on, but he dropped it anyway, it probably wasn't important to the situation anyway.
"So why bother bringing you back just for that" Remus asked, changing the subject. Lucien seemed to have lost interest in his hand and finally lowered it, instead he took to checking his weapons.
"According to our father, my stay here was to be more permanent anyway" he answered "Sithis simply made things less of a strain on the void, oh, and he wanted me to give you this" he added as he reached into his robes and pulled out a dagger Remus was very familiar with; it had a curved blade with scale-like groves on the back; the handle was wrapped in red leather, the pommel and guard reaching around to form an incomplete knuckle-guard. The Blade of Woe. With a grin on his face, the last took it in his hoof, the weight reassuring in his hoof.
"I appreciate it" Remus thanked "anyway, you were saying?" Lucien seemed to perk up.
"They're coming" Lucien whispered. The Dovahkiin frowned; he was dodging the point. But, what he said was important to the situation. He looked around.
"You can hear them? See them?" Lachance shook his head.
"An assassin's instinct is never one to be questioned" he retorted. Remus shrugged.
"Fair enough" he murmured as he took to donning his armour and slipping his weapon between the belt and cuirass. "Alright" he started "I've got an idea" he announced.
"Voth Onikaan Meyz Suleyk, with wisdom comes power. What is your plan, Dovahkiin?" Remus turned back to them and ushered them to stand aside; when they did, he judged the size of his space against the clearing and did a few quick calculations.
Gol
A shot of earth rose from the ground, and kept going until a small cliff face had formed from nothing. Pleased with his work, Remus invited them to follow him up. Upon arriving at the peak of the tower of stone, the Dragonborn turned to the dragon doing a surprisingly good job of hiding in the trees.
"Tell me, fahdon, you can use the spectral clone shout, correct?" Durnehviir nodded.
"Geh, Dovahkiin, why do you ask?" Remus grinned.
Fiik, Lo Sah
The shout struck the spot he'd aimed it at, a random spot on the ground, and a perfect replica of his equine form appeared. It was black in expression, and didn't even breathe. The wind didn't even rustle its mane. Remus remembered the first time he'd seen that shout; the Greybeards had used it to form targets for him the first time he'd visited High Hrothgar. An interesting Thu'um generally used by the more tactical dragon; one word created the spectral clone, two a clone that could only stand, and the third word allowed you to give it basic commands, though the commands had to be in draconic.
"Praan." Sleep. The clone obeyed and lay down where it stood, instantly going to sleep. Remus looked to Durnehviir, who had been watching Remus, and held his hoof out in invitation. Durn followed Remus's example, and before long they had a perfectly good trap set up and waited to pounce.
Celestia watched as he circled them, the three of them did, and narrowed her eyes.
"As princess of Equestria, I order you to stand down and place any weapons your carrying and surrender." She didn't like the way he grinned.
"Princess of Equestria" he repeated. Celestia suddenly recognised his voice. "Where have I heard of you before" he muttered. He seemed to lose interest in that trail of thought and shrugged it away. "Either way, I severely doubt you expect me to just stand down, do you?" Celestia narrowed her eyes.
"Not exactly" she muttered. "But I don't want to fight you" she called over. I lie if the Dragonborn had ever heard one.
"Neither do I, which is why I've gone for this rather clever ruse" he answered. Discord and Celestia suddenly noticed they were down one, and looked around for Luna. Celestia looked directly behind them, and suddenly wished she hadn't; there was a…biped, a man on two legs dressed all in black holding her sister with his hand over her maw and a blade to her throat.
"Luna" Celestia shouted, momentarily forgetting the Newcomer. When she turned, an earth shattering crash erupted next to her, sending rock and dirt into the air and dust into her face. When the dust had settled, she saw Discord struggling in the maw of a dragon. "Discord" she shouted again. She whipped her enraged gaze back to the newcomer.
"So" Remus started "what shall we talk about?"