//------------------------------// // The slayer // Story: Fahdon // by Productive faffer //------------------------------// Chapter six: The slayer Remus checked the perimeter one more time. He had to be sure. He, Lucien and Durnehviir had left the clearing a little under an hour ago, preferring not to be around when this world's armies came back in form of reinforcements. Predictably, both Lucien and Durnehviir, Lachance more than Durn, had questions for the last Dragonborn about what had happened. Why did they run, was at the top of their list and Remus was more than happy to answer such a simple question. Only, he didn't know the answer himself. One moment they were fighting, the next she was about as fearsome as Sofie. When she was sleeping. Numerous theories had gone through his mind; that the ponies here were simply within the shout's targets of effected? Unlikely, the shout was specifically designed to combat the dov of Tamriel. That this was all a ruse? No, he'd seen it in her eyes…something had happened to her, something had broken her spirit. That she was… No, he shook that preposterous thought away before the seeds of doubt could even take root. Throughout his travels, Remus and his cohorts had come across many strange things, and met many strange beings, but none of them had been cursed or blessed with everlasting life. The dragons were another matter, they lived forever, the currents of time their domain, because they were the sons and daughters of Akatosh. Vampires on the other had were not so much immortal, as they were undead. They were already 'dead' so they couldn't die, they never grew old nor sick, but the trade-off was their inability to truly live. Sunlight and being unable to bare children were the things that came to the forefront of Remus's mind, after Serana of course. That all said, both these things had one thing in common, in that Remus knew he could kill both dragons and vampires permanently. To meet something he couldn't kill because of its inability to be killed, whether through curse or blessing in their eyes, made a chilling sensation of an emotion he told himself he no longer felt run down his spine. To find a friend or, worse yet, a foe who held such an advantage over him made his eyes narrow in thought and…something else he was unwilling to truly take into account. Either way, the reason for his perimeter was not because of his worry of stumbling across an immortal in this forest, instead, it was because of the almighty, ungodly roar he and his companions had heard moments earlier. It was like nothing neither Remus nor Durnehviir had ever heard before, both of whom had prior experience with Alduin's Roar, the same fabled roar that he'd somehow merged into a shout that split the sky and brought fire raining from the heavens. Naturally, both dragon and Dragonborn had both jumped to the assumption that the hells damned World Eater had somehow followed them to this place, though that was another thought that Remus had soon banished, as he knew for a fact that even the first born of Akatosh couldn't roar so greatly as to let it carry beyond even the eyes of a Dovah. The reason for this reasoning, was because of Remus's position at the moment. The last, the undead and the Speaker had all moved through this forest to some degree, their estimations of distance vague at best considering they weren't sure if they'd gone deeper into, away from the core or just left or bloody right in this Oblivion damned forest. Right now, however, Remus was atop one of the tallest trees he'd ever seen. To put that in perspective, Remus and Serana had once journeyed to Valenwood at the guide of Niruin where the last had seen the tallest trees in all of Tamriel, and those trees had nothing on this one. Perches aside, Remus scanned the horizon thoroughly, looking for anything that may be out of place. Not exactly an easy task, given that he didn't know what was in place. Nevertheless, there was at least no immediate sign of Alduin or any other dragon he'd slain in his life. A disgruntled look found his face as he wondered what it could have been. His first though beyond the return (again) of Alduin had been one of the creatures of this forest, such as the beast he'd hunted and slain earlier today. Gods, this day had gone by slowly. He was used to his days filled with either travel, combat, training, taking care of the guilds, running errands for the guilds, forging, enchanting, reading, any number of his other hobbies or just one of his days he just spent with Serana, relaxing on the shores of Lake Ilinaltawith his vamperic lover. It suddenly struck him just how much he'd been thinking about her, and he came to a somewhat painful realisation. He missed her. One of the few people, make that only people, he'd ever admit he loved. Without lying, he'd been with many women over his life thanks to the snake tongue that lived in his mouth, ranging from tavern wenches, the fair Ysolda of Whiterun, Alea, Vex (though she made him promise never to mention it, loath was she to let her love of cuddling with a partner out) and Senna, the priestess of Dibella whom had woken him up after that night with Sam Guevenne. Though throughout all of them, he could never admit to loving them. Serana was different in every respect. A respected friend, a powerful mage, a capable warrior and a woman capable of being soft and warm-hearted despite the cold, hard world they lived in. He shook the thoughts from his head, pressing a hoof to his muzzle as he chased the memories of his lover away. He'd been gone three days, and he already missed her more than anything. By Oblivion, what was wrong with him? He'd been away from home for months on end in the past, none of his family nor friends for company, and he'd been perfectly fine with it. Though, perhaps it was because he knew he could retune to them at his whim. He looked around himself again, finding nothing of interest, and decided he'd lingered up here with his thoughts long enough. He dropped to a lower branch without looking, landing with a wooden 'thud' as his hooves met the thick of the branch. As he descended, he considered his options. At its simplest were two choices: investigate the roar he and his had heard, or continue to look for a better place to set up a more permanent camp and take better consideration as what they should do. Landing on a low branch, he looked down to see the Speaker and dragon that stood with him at the moment. Lucien was sat cross-legged against the tree he was in, Durn laying on the ground before him. They were silent, the Speaker declining to speak while the being who's power revolved around speech refused to make conversation. They'd both gotten quiet after their questions. Remus wasn't sure whether to be relived or stressed with the prospect of silent companions. Remus leapt at the expansive trunk of the tree and slid down it, leaving his lower stomach and the front of the leather cuirass dirty with moss and other likely undesirably stains. He felt better when he found the dirt on his otherwise pristine, snow-white/ice-blue coat. He didn't like being too clean, it made him feel disconnected from Kyne and nature as a whole. That, and only milk drinkers liked being completely clean of Nirn's elements. Both Lucien and Durnehviir looked over at Remus, Lachance's expression hidden by the shadow of his hood, Durn's the scales of his race. "No luck" Remus said without prompt as he trotted towards them. The three of them were silent again, both assassin and dragon watching him with a slightly eased glare. Remus looked between them, his head slowly turning between them as his stance tensed. "Something the matter" he asked steadily, his own gaze turning to a glare as he looked between them all. "You want to go after the source of that sound, don't you" Lucien said. His voice was darker than normal, more an angry grumble than his normal speaking voice. Remus turned to him slightly. He took a long breath before answering. "Yes" he admitted. "Why?" Lachance stood, his size which Remus normally easily towered over with both height and sheer muscle now beating his to a pathetic pulp as he looked down at him, his arms crossing impatiently. "We could ask you the same thing" he replied shortly "we should find a place to rest, to think. Also, I seem to remember the direction that sound came from being the same direction the horses retreated towards" he noted curtly. Remus cocked his head. "I don't see what the problem is. Are you not curios? A strange new place, likely filled with equally strange new things. I only wish to find out what it is" he told them. Lucien narrowed his eyes slightly more, his stance tightening. Remus's own glare went deeper. "You don't want me helping these ponies if it's a threat, do you? If it turns out to be something like a dragon, no? I never said I would-" "It is in your nature" Lucien interrupted. Remus raised an eyebrow, the Speaker always having the courtesy to let someone finish speaking in the past. "And what is that supposed to mean? That my helping and protecting of others is a character flaw?" Remus heard Lachance growl quietly. "Perhaps I should remind you, Listener" he began, using the title with disdain "that here you are no hero. You are a villain, through and through. You are not the man who stopped the return of Alduin, the rise of the vampires and reformed the first Dragonborn. Here, you are just a pony, a pony who has attacked the monarch of this land. You're not a well-liked man anymore" he reminded. Remus grunted. "Then no better reason to investigate the prospect of a threat to this land" he persuaded. Lucien grunted like he'd been struck, turning his head away. The Listener was right, no matter how much venom that snake of a tongue of his had just bit him with. "Fine" he grumbled, heading towards Durnehviir and standing beside him "my blade is yours, as always, and I shall follow you on this pointless venture." Remus raised an eyebrow again, Lachance catching the meaning behind it. "I very much doubt that you will be met with open arms in this endeavor" he said as he climbed upon the silent and still Durnehviir with an unnatural grace and agility. Remus blinked after a second. Had he just made a joke…? Celestia's breath and words caught in her throat. Her eyes went wide as the pupils dilated. Her jaw came loose and hung barely a centimeter below her upper jaw. Her senses dulled and became numb. To the casual observer, Celestia had either had an orgasm or was suffering from supreme stress. Unfortunately for the solar princess, it was the latter. As her mind came back to her, Celestia drew a breath and swallowed as she felt Twilight tense in her grip. She released her and trotted for the window, looking out to find a shadow looming over most, if not all, of Ponyville. She swallowed once more, turning away from the window and trotting past Twilight towards the door to her room. She pushed the door open, looking down at the guards gathered down there patiently. "TO ARMS" she roared, the guards jolting from their relaxed and weary activities, all of them lunging for their weapons and armour, most of them leaving their boots behind in favor of keeping their sore hooves out of anything that may hurt them further. Celestia galloped for the room her sister was sleeping in, bursting through the door to find her wrapped up in the sheets, likely finishing off the bad dream she'd been having before. Celestia cantered towards her big sister, putting her hooves on her shoulders and shaking her awake rather violently. "Sister, Luna, you must wake up!" Her words fell on deaf ears, Luna just stirring slightly. "LUNA" Celestia roared in the Canterlot voice, the princess of the night jolting from her slumber, swiping her hooves at the air blindly. "Who, what, how where" she spluttered before she realized what was happening, her head darting left to right with her gaze before she found her sister, groaning before she fell back to sleep. "Five more minutes Tia" she begged for her semi-sleep state. "No, now" Celestia ordered, whipping the covers from Luna's body "Ponyville is under attack!" One of Luna's eyes shot open, the rest of her quickly springing upright as news that her favorite little hamlet was under threat. "What, who's attacking" she asked in panic, her tone edging on demanding "is it the Newcomer again" she replied, her eyes narrowed. Celestia was at least glad to see her sister having found it in her to reignite her fighting spirit. Though what she said troubled her; if the Newcomer really was back, on the offensive this time no less, she doubted the hooffull of guards stationed at Ponyville, her and Luna's troops, Discord and the two princesses themselves would have a hope of fighting him off. Of course, that wasn't saying much, because unless it was a hoard of evil, cuddly sheep, she doubted the inexperienced guard, weary troop, beaten Draconequus and defeated royalty had much hope at all. And, considering the giant shadow looming over Ponyville, she very much doubted it was evil, cuddly sheep. "I don't know, and I sure hope not" she answered her questions respectively as she trotted out of the room and trotted towards the exit of the Library. Discord had stood and was next to the door, looking more serious than either princess had ever seen him before. "Dragons" he said flatly "more of them" he droned. Celestia swallowed gently once more, hiding the reflex from her guards, and trotted outside with her guards. Outside, it was as Discord had said: dragons. Two of them, both stood in the clear land on the outskirts of Ponyville, looking down at the small town. Celestia, Luna, Discord and the guards all galloped/ran towards them, Luna at the front of the pack while everypony else just tried to keep up with her. Once the arrived at their landing sight, they found that most of the town had gathered around them or fled, most of the town guards with them. Luna and Celestia pushed their way to the front, Celestia shouting orders back to the guards to get rid of the crowds. "By Tartarus" Luna breathed as she looked up the dragons. Before, both princesses had taken on one dragon at a time alone, two between them at full strength, maybe more when they were accompanied by large platoons of guards. But, never before had they see two, fully grown, eleven thousand-at least- year old, heavy-scaled, steel-like spines, razor teeth, sharp eyed dragons. They loomed over everything in sight, gazing down at the little ponies at their feet with vacant interest and bemusement. They were around the same height, the one on the left of deep, fire red scales over his back, arms and legs, while his stomach was covered in a lighter shade of the same colour. The one on the left was of green scales, forest green over his back and legs, while his stomach was a deeper, murky green, that of a bog or forest leaves at night. Celestia looked around herself, finding that the guards had managed to push the civilians back, giving them some room, but little else. She, Luna and Discord stood in a triangle, Celestia leading them in their gazing up at the dragons. "What do we have here" the red dragon said to his companion "puny, little ponies all coming to see the big, bad dragons" he mused in a deep, rumbling voice. His wings flexed a little when he spotted the two Alicorns and the aspect of disharmony stood before him. "Ahh, the slaughter of the sun and the murder of the moon. If I am not mistaken, you both are responsible for the deaths of so many of my brothers and friends." Celestia and Luna narrowed their eyes at him as he turned his gaze to Discord. "And you, the false king. Overthrown by these…" he looked at the regal mares with clear disgust in his eyes "mares, so easily." In response, Discord shrugged. "What did you expect? I had you on my team" he replied in a bored tone. The dragon growled, smoke billowing from his jaws as he glared daggers-or claws-at Discord. "Do not, test me" he seethed. "Why are you here" Celestia demanded before things got out of hoof. The green dragon snapped his gaze to her. "Did we say you could speak" he snapped in a venomous tone, his voice strained and sore. Celestia narrowed her eyes again, wishing this could have happened tomorrow, when at least she would have been strong enough to take one. With Luna, they probably could have taken them both. Alas, it was not tomorrow, and neither princess was at full power. "Will you answer my question then" Discord asked, slipping his claw and paw into the pockets his thighs had formed casually. The sight rather unsettled Celestia. The dragons looked at him with hateful gazes, but nodded ever so slightly either way. "Why are you here" he asked in a disinterested voice. The red dragon blasted a jet of fire from his snout in annoyance, but complied either way. "We felt the presence of another dragon nearby. We were dispatched to investigate" he paused as though finished for a second before he spoke up again "I should point out, our orders were very, hmmm, open ended" he finished with a dark grin, his companion giving a dark laugh. "We know where this dragon is" Luna said calmly, garnering the attention of Alicorn and dragon alike. "It stands with one of us, a pony, and something else, a biped of some sort. If it is your goal, we sanction your hunt. They are all enemies of-" "BE SILENT, pony" the red giant spat "I did not ask your opinion, nor your information. Furthermore, I will lay dead before I do your dirty work, muck" he snarled. Luna took a breath, regretting her attempts at a 'diplomatic' approach. "You will watch you tongue when you speak to my sister" Celestia growled, her eyes narrowed and her teeth bared to the dragon in a threatening manner. The green dragon let a ghastly sneer stretch across his face. "Ahh, some fight still left in you, hmm?" "Round one, ding, ding" Discord muttered from the corner of his maw. As the Alicorns and Draconequus took stance, the dragons followed suit, the red opening his maw and letting fire build in his throat while the green let his claws extend with a 'shink', green venom dripping from them. Before the first blows were struck, however, a roar echoed through the air that was familiar to only three of the combatants. Everypony/dragon looked to the sky, the citizens in confusion and horror, Celestia in horror and dread, Luna in dread and apprehension, Discord in apprehension and worry and Twilight-now joined by her friends-in worry and confusion. Celestia whipped her head across the sky, looking for the source of the noise. She found it when somepony behind screamed 'WHAT THE HAY IS THAT' at the mountains Canterlot rested on. Following the aim of her scream and pointing hoof, Celestia saw something both incredibly aweing and impossibly fearsome. It was the dragon from before, ghastly, undead gunk dripping from every spine, horn and limb, flapping his rotting wings and roaring into the heavens, his maw going wide to reveal razor sharp teeth, dirty and ugly thanks to lack of care, as he sored through the winds and skies against a backdrop of the majestic city of Canterlot, towering Sunrise mountain and the skies of Equestria, white clouds dotted across it. It made for an impressive image, not to mention an entrance worthy of Father Time himself. Celestia squinted her eyes and confirmed her prior suspicion; the Newcomer, and the biped, were riding the dragon flying towards them. With another unearthly roar, the dragon swooped low, gliding on its wings around Ponyville. Though there was too much distance between them to be sure, Celestia could feel the eyes of the Newcomer glaring back at her as he flew. After twice circling the hamlet that was Ponyville, the dragon descended steadily before landing between the dragons and the rulers/mischief-maker of Equestria. Feeling somewhat insulted that somepony would dare stand in front of her, Celestia cantered around the dragon until she could see its head and the beings dismounting it. Luna and Discord had soon joined her, watching the Newcomer and biped get off of the dragon. The Newcomer didn't even spare a glance at them, but the biped looked over and grunted before turning back to the dragons. Celestia watched with bated breath as the Newcomer looked the dragon up and down with an impassive expression on his face. He muttered something in a language she couldn't understand and barely hear, and the dragon behind him moved, thudding around in a circle until it faced the crowds. Celestia's eyes widened when she saw it take a breath, fearing it about to burn, or whatever moldy scales dictated, her ponies before it loosed another mighty roar at them. The ponies promptly screamed and galloped for cover, all but her dear Twilight and her friends, leaving them alone. It suddenly occurred to Celestia what he'd just done: he'd scattered the crowds, within seconds. She looked back at Luna, who was watching with just as much surprise as she was. Given some room to maneuver, the dragon backed up with his companions, all three still looking up the gargantuan beasts. Celestia heard the sounds of galloping hooves and found Twilight and her friends galloping towards her, the princess of the day letting Twilight dash into her protective hold. "Celestia, what's going on? Who is he, isn't that the Newcomer?" Her questions hit Celestia thick and fast, though she barely felt them register in her mind. "Yes, I think it is. And, I've no idea, Twilight" she answered, her responses backwards in relation to the question's order. All three watched as the Newcomer found a better vantage point, still gauging the dragons. "Greetings" Remus called. The dragons exchanged a look before they looked down at the Remus again. "What do you want, little pony" the red one demanded. Remus shrugged. "Simply to make your acquaintance" he replied evenly. The dragons both snorted. "And what makes you think we would make yours" the green one sneered. Remus cocked his head. "Zu'u kiin se dovsosse, Dovahkiin. Gein se hin." The dragons looked at him in irate confusion before turning to each other. "The pony speaks gibberish" he told his equally estranged companion. Quickly, Remus's expression changed to something akin to a glare mixed with a frown, his head snapping back to Durnehviir, who was looking up at these 'dragons' in much the same way. "You do not understand the dragon tongue" he demanded. Both dragons laughed. "You speak nonsense, pony, not the dragon tongue" the green one laughed. Remus growled, but kept it under wraps. "In that case, would you be so kind as to share with me your language?" Both dragons snarled as though he'd just called their mothers a whore. "You dare ask of our language" the green beast screeched in anger. He curled his great body to the ground before he snaked his head towards the Dragonborn. "You dare not ask that" he hissed. Remus took a calming breath. "In that case, would you be so kind as to bless me with your name" he persuaded. The green dragon straightened up, looking back at his cohort with a smirk. "You may, pony. You stand before Virifall. Cower or die" he snarled. Remus nodded a few times, as though in thought. Virifall- Everypony and dragon, asides Durn, all frowned at him. Zii-los, dii, du The shockwave of the shout careered towards Virifall, striking him in the stomach. He soon doubled over and screamed in pain, arching his back as he roared for the heavens once again, for the last time, as the area around his stomach burned away as flaky, golden skin, flittering away on the wind. Then, the sounds of a rushing gale swept through the clearing as orange, reds, blues and golds swirled in a tight vortex before they rushed towards the last, clinging to him as they transferred from the dragon to Remus. The dragon continued to roar in pain as his sole was devoured by the Dovahkiin, his legs and most of his front now reduced to naught but a skeleton. The gold flaking soon reached his arms and back, then his wings, ripping away the scales and skin as it continued to slowly crawl over him. With a final snarl and a glare in his eyes aimed at Remus, the dragon's eyes and face were taken by the golden flows of energy and he was very much dead. For a second, the skeleton teetered on its skeletal feet before it fell back, crashing into the ground with a deafening clatter of bone and fallen scales. Everypony and the red dragon looked on in both horror and confusion. Nopony but the Newcomer and the Newcomer's companions had a clue what he'd just done, and very few even wanted to know. When the dust settled, the red dragon found himself staring down at the skeleton of his friend in confusion. He blinked his wide eyes in shock before he turned to the pony before him. In blind rage, he roared in sheer anger, his wings extending as his arms and claws tensed and flexed to reveal his muscles, posing a threatening sight to any. Apart from Remus, Durnehviir and Lachance, who all heard only one word of that sentence. Posing. The dragon reared its head and breathed a jet of fire down on the Newcomer. The biped dive-rolled out of the way, the dragon taking flight, while the Newcomer remained still. Celestia, Luna and Discord all took flight too, the winged Elements of Harmony holding themselves up while Celestia carried Twilight, Luna carried Rarity and Pinkie while Discord held a slightly annoyed Applejack. For all of fifteen seconds, the dragon continued his stream of flames, Lucien taking cover behind a convenient rock, his sleeve covering his face, while Durnehviir hovered in the sky, unwilling to interfere without a request from the Dragonborn. Once the dragon had stopped his flow of fire, the grass around the stallion remained on fire, setting the silhouette of a pony stood in a ring of fire against it. Soon enough, the flames cleared to reveal Remus, the leather armour having been burned off of him, a few patches of black soot here and there, but was otherwise completely unharmed. He brushed a patch of black soot from his shoulder nonchalantly before he spoke. "My turn." Gol Two spike of earth shot from the ground beneath the dragon's feet, impaling him to the ground. The dragons responded with a pained roar to match that of his cohort easily, howling into the air. At an unseen command, Durnehviir swooped down and caught the Dragonborn as he hopped up, making him vanish in a blast of dust. Before anypony knew what was going on, Durn had flew up the length of the dragon, hung for a second over his maw and the last had leapt off. "He did not just…" Luna began. "He bucking did" Celestia replied in a mutter. The last fell into the dragon's open mouth in a free fall, his hooves snapping to the side as a pair of swords materialized in his hooves as he fell into the dragon's mouth. Shocked for a second, the red dragon swallowed instinctively before hiccupping. "Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods, oh gods" Remus chanted as he slid down the dragon's throat. Purple and red muscles surrounded him, all wet with saliva and likely something twice as repulsive. Streaks of red and blue marked veins and arteries, the walls of the throat expanding and contracting around the Dragonborn as he crawled down the seemingly endless neck. I'm not even going to try and describe the smell. When he decided he'd had enough, Remus posed he swords against the wall of the dragon's throat and thrust both. His ears rung and his whole body shook as the dragon loosed another roar of pain, this one much more panicked as he felt it thrash about wildly, ripping its claws into its own chest as Remus cut through the windpipe in a sawing motion. Another ungodly roar as he progressed, blood pouring from the dragon's internal wounds. Remus pulled himself thought the opening, feeling blood splash all over him, only his mane protecting his eyes. Using a rough guess, Remus dragged himself, using his ethereal swords through the dragon's chest until he found himself around where he felt the heart would probably be. He slashed through a random piece of chest and found himself in what he assumed to be the place this dragon's heart live. He assumed right. Above his head was a rapidly beating muscle of red and blue, its speed indicating panic. Now that he thought about it, he could hear the dragon shouting 'get it out, get it out' through the walls of his chest. The last just grinned. "Heeeeres Remus" he goaded as he summoned a bound axe and swung it over head, feeling it land in the heart with a satisfying 'thwack!' Yanking the ethereal Daedric axe out of the heart, another rush of blood followed after, covering the slightly maddened Dovahkiin in the dragon's vital fluids. Rearing the axe once more, he swung it overhead, watching it hack deeper into the heart again. Another of pain, this one accompanied by a second, much more extensive gush of blood as the heart beat wildly, forcing blood from the wounds in gallons. Heaving the axe out and swinging it again, the blade ran right through the arteries, severing them and leaving the heart hanging from the veins on one side. Remus soon solves that as he ripped the heart clean from its blood vessels, more blood and roars pouring into the chest from outside the cavity in the chest. Outside, Celestia and everypony else could only watch as the dragon thrashed around, clutching at its chest in something that made it look like it wished for agony instead of whatever it was suffering now. Its eyes opened wide as something happened inside it, its maw opening but nothing coming out. It teetered on one foot for a second before it fell back, still holding its chest. Everypony and the Newcomers companions all hurried over to the body of the dragon; they could all here the sounds of rushing winds coming from the dragon, stopping when the sounds were loudest. The biped was stood closest to the dragon, its black cloak and hood obscuring its body and face, the dragon to the left, forming a towering vigil of wing and muscle, waiting for somepony to make a wrong move. The sounds of the gales rushing by intensified as the outside scales of the dragon began to burn away, revealing a skeleton and a pony, covered in blood and grinning like a mad-stallion. The Newcomer trotted calmly out of the dragon' corpse, his breathing controlled and looking remarkably healthy for somepony who'd just slaughtered his way through a dragon. Standing between the dragon and biped, the red stallion cracked his neck left and right, looking at the ponies stood before him. "It seems we got off on the wrong foot…"