//------------------------------// // 8 - Moonchild // Story: Kulaas Ahrk Dovah // by SkarinOfAtmora //------------------------------// With renewed vigor, Celestia and Skarin charged Alduin head-on. The mighty dragon roared in response and swiped at them with his tail. Skarin slid under it and took his chance to cut at the tail with his dragonbone sword and Celestia flew over it, leaving her surprised when her sword erupted into flames as it struck the beasts tail. Trying her luck, Celestia pushed on and went to stab Alduin from above. The dragon was, unfortunately, very agile for his size and smacked the princess away with his wing. Skarin quickly rose to his feet after the slide and slashed the dragon's rear leg. Alduin quickly turned his head and tried to grab Skarin with his large maw but as he opened it to devout his enemy, Skarin showed his shield into Alduin's maw, effectively locking it in place. "That actually worked... " Skarin said to himself in disbelief. Alduin was surprised as well and tried to crunch the shield to pieces but dragon bones were tough, even for the mighty World Eater. After being smacked away, Celestia quickly regained her balance by flapping her wings and did not expect to see what was happening. Alduin fiercely tried to either crunch or claw the shield out but with little success. Wasting no time, Celestia rushed Alduin with a mighty war cry and slashed on his right wing, the sword this time causing a fiery explosion. It seemed to do the trick as Alduin roared in pain but also crushed the shield with his teeth. Glaring at the princess he swung his tail once again but the princess blocked it with her shield, the force of the impact causing her entire body to shake. With Alduin distracted, Skarin continued his assault, holding his sword with two hands, but the strikes merely grazed the dragon's tough scales. Noticing the pest that was cutting him with a sword, Alduin shouted at Celestia. "FUS RO DAH!" Celestia never felt such a force in her entire life as it flung her away like a rag doll, sending her crashing into a house and through the wall. "CELESTIA!" Skaarin yelled in concern and rushed towards the princess and cleared the rubble off her as fast as he could "WULD!" faster than the wind, Skarin appeared by her side and helped her on her hooves "You alright? " "We are barely scratching him. " she said through gritted teeth. "Dragon god, remember? " Skarin said and looked at Alduin "I never said this was going to be easy. " Alduin rushed forward. "Here he comes! " Celestia was ready for a fight but Skarin had another plan as he raised his sword at Celestia. "Raise your shield!" Celestia quickly understood what he wanted to do and obliged "RAAAAAAAH! " bringing down the sword with all of his might, Skarin slammed the shield and it shimmered with a golden aura. Just in time as Alduin only a few feet away "NOW! " Skarin jumped to the side and Celestia bashed Alduin's maw with the shield. The stored energy from before was unleashed and struck Alduin with enough force to send him tumbling back. "Now's our chance! " Celestia was ready to attack and flew forward with her sword raised high. Skarin smirked and got to his feet, thoroughly impressed by the princesses battle spirit. He charged the beast once more. As all this was going on, the surrounding ponies were looking on in awe. Not only at their princess but at the strange warrior that fought beside her. Never had they seen such armor or even that kind of powerful magic. The unicorn's felt especially useless as their offensive spells did nothing but bounce off the dragon's scales. Probably the reason why their princess didn't use her own magic against the beast. "We should help. " one of the guards said to the ponies present. "And do what? " another questioned. "Anything! Our lives depend on it! " the first one countered and some agreed with him. "Just look at the bucking thing! " the second pointed at Alduin who was busy trying to fight off both Skarin and Celestia "Even the princess is having a hard time with it! " "That is no reason-LOOK OUT! " Alduin suddenly appeared close to them and was about to snap his jaws at one of the guards. "WULD NAH KEST!" a gust of wind knocked away the guard in danger and once he looked up he saw Skarin, sword in hand, keeping Alduin at bay as the beast closed it's maw on the sword "RUN! GET THEM TO SAFETY! " Skarin yelled and tilted his head towards the civilians. The guard stood frozen in shock, his legs giving out and whole body trembling. Alduin used Skarin's short moment of distraction and yanked his head back, taking Skarin's sword with him. Tightening his jaw he snapped the sword to pieces and went for Skarin again "RAAAAAAAGH! " to everypony's surprise, Skarin actually punched Alduin on the nose with his fist and it seemed to stagger the dragon "GO! " he yelled once more and continued punching the dragon. Others quickly came to the guards aid and dragged him away to safety. "HYAAAAAAH! " Celestia came flying down from above and impaled her sword into Alduin's back. His pupils shrank and he let a painful roar shake the area around him. Alduin tried to shake Celestia off but the princess stood firm and tried to push the sword even deeper into Alduin's back. As she did so, another fiery explosion happened and this one appeared to do real damage as Alduin fell to his side. Celestia jumped off just in time to not get crushed by the dragon. Everypony thought it was over as the dragon was writhing on the ground in pain. But Skarin knew better. Celestia flew at Alduin again, her shield glowing once more, charged only moments before by Alduin trying to scratch her with his claws. She bashed the shield into the sword and it was almost buried to the hilt in the dragons back. She felt pretty satisfied with the result but the victory was short lived. As Alduin was thrashing about on the ground, the damned tail, once again, found it's target and smashed into Celestia's back. The pain that shot through her was unbearable and she immediately knew why. Her wings had been broken. Falling to her knees she could barely breathe from the pain, her mane and tail no longer fiery and fueled by the ancient power she held within. Alduin once again reared his ugly maw and went right for Celestia. "TIID KLO UL!" a strange feeling washed over Celestia, as if time itself was being bent by Skarin's shout. She felt time slow to a crawl yet somehow Skarin moved unfazed. Right into Alduin's incoming maw. Pushing Celestia aside, Skarin took her place and awaited the jaws of death. Celestia began to reach out to him but her whole body moved so slow she knew there was nothing she could do. Skarin merely gave her a small smirk as time resumed it's regular course and he was swept up by Alduin. "SKARIN! " finally finding her breath, she yelled out to the dragonborn who was being used by Alduin as a chew toy. But the stubborn Nord wasn't about to give up. His armor was strong enough to provide him with one chance and he needed to make it count. Pulling out a dagger from his right, he stabbed Alduin in his right eye. The dragon immediately let go of his prey and began clawing at his head trying to get the dagger out. Sakrin fell to the ground and quickly made his way towards an injured Celestia. "Are you alright? " he asked in concern but he already knew her wings were broken. "Don't ever do that again! " Celestia punched him in anger and Skarin chuckled at her. "No promises. " he looked at Alduin who was still trying to take out the dagger "We got him good. " his voice didn't carry a victorious note. Sure enough, Alduin finally got the dagger out, his eye bleeding profusely "But it's not over yet. " "What does it take to kill this dragon? " Celestia was barely hanging on from the pain, her wings lying limply by her side. "A dragon. " Skarin narrowed his eyes at Alduin "Listen- " he turned back to Celestia "-I can only do this once per day. Let's hope I can at least drive him away. " Celestia looked at him with a raised brow. "Do what? " she asked as Skarin faced Alduin. He took a deep breath before... "MUL QAH DIIV!" an ethereal red and blue energy encased Skarin's body and formed what appeared to be an ethereal copy of his armor and even draconic wings and tail. Celestia felt the power behind that shout and shuddered before it as Skarin ran towards Alduin. "FUS RO DAH!" both shouted at the same time and the shock wave of the colliding Thu'ums sent tremors through the battlefield, leveling down more houses and sending ponies flying away. The unicorns among them managed to grab everypony with their magic and lower them safely to the ground. Meanwhile Celestia, guarded behind her magic shield, watched in awe as Skarin battled Alduin blow for blow, shout for shout. It was in that moment Celestia realized how powerful Alduin was compared to her. There she was, ruler and protector of Equestria, broken and beaten and yet Skarin somehow managed to hold his ground. Her magic would have no effect on him as she saw her unicorns's spells simply bounce off. She cursed herself for not listening to Discord, a thought she never thought she'd have, for not letting the cavern be and avoiding this mess in the first place. Yet, she felt hope in her heart and that hope came from watching Skarin fight Alduin. He was brought down but only to get back up again and continue his assault, never backing down even when Alduin managed to crack his armor. Then she noticed Skarin's face grimace in pain every time he hit Alduin with his right hand. It must be broken but he still fought on. She tried getting back on her hooves but the pain was too much and the rest of her body protested as well. She felt weak, useless, unable to protect her ponies and it scared her. What if only Alduin had awakened? They would stand no chance against the World Eater and she knew it. Perhaps they could subdue him with the Elements of Harmony but that was a long shot. Skarin and his friends tried it but it would seem fate was not satisfied with the outcome. She looked on at the battle and prayed to anypony or anything thing for Sarin to survive this battle. Not to win, but to survive. She needed him to survive... "FO KRAH DIIN!" Skarin froze one of Alduin's legs to the ground and quickly climbed onto his back. With a mighty heave he pulled out the sword and jumped back down again "WULD!" the shout carried him forward and the sword found it's target and impaled itself hilt deep into Alduin's chest "RAAAAAAGH! " Skarin tried to push the sword even deeper but it would not budge. Alduin reared back and let out a mighty roar and the sky immediately went dark "Oh shit... " he looked at the scared ponies that were still watching the battle for some reason "TELEPORT OUT OF HERE NOW! " the ponies wasted no time and a unicorn grabbed hold of any earth pony or pegasi they could and vanished. Flaming rocks appeared high above and were plummeting to the ground. Skarin did his best to avoid them but there were simply to many. One meteor smashed into him and his ethereal armor vanished, the dragonbone armor cracking and falling into pieces to the ground. The impact sent him flying backwards and he landed face-first into the hard ground. Skarin turned on his back just in time to see another meteor about to smash into him. He crossed his arms to protect himself, fully knowing it wouldn't help much and made peace with his fate. However, he felt the meteor hit something and yet he was still alive. Cracking his eyes open he saw Celestia had crawled over to him and encased him in her protective magical barrier. "Hello. " she smiled though pain was evident in her features. She was covered in scratches, her wings dragging limply behind her, some ribs were definitely broken and she even had cuts that were bleeding. "Hi. " Skarin replied and chuckled "Nice weather we're having. " he waved his hand to the falling meteors. "I shall have a talk with Weather Control about that. " Celestia laughed at Skarin's confused expression "Later. " she used his own words against him and looked at Alduin who was still trying to pry the sword out of his chest "What are our chances? " she asked though already knowing the answer. "Slim to none. " Skarin grunted and rose to his feet. "So there's still a chance. " Celestia smiled and rose to her hooves as well "And as long as there is one, I shall not fall. " Skarin laughed at her words and slapped her shoulder. "Spoken like a true Nord! " she winced in pain and Skarin quickly waved his arms in front of him "Sorry! Sorry! " Celestia shot him a glare but then chuckled as well. Their attention was diverted from one another as a sword fell at their feet and hooves. It was Ceelstia's sword and it only meant one thing "Son of a- " "LOOK OUT! " Celestia's warning came to late as a large meteor smashed into the ground in front and being no longer able to sustain the barrier both were caught by the shock wave and sent tumbling painfully back. Groaning on the ground they could hear Alduin approaching, the meteor storm apparently over. "You insolent, disgusting, lowly- " Alduin's speech was cut short as a new voice spoke that shook the area around them. "ARCHERS! FIRE!" Celestia knew exactly who it was. Looking to the source, she saw Luna with dozens of her Night Guard, and even Celestia's own among them, bows and flaming arrows being released. Each arrow found it's mark and small explosions occured with every hit "AGAIN!" another shower of arrows descended upon Alduin and the beat was being driven back "AGAIN!" as more and more arrows flew they formed a shade above the battlefield and rained down fire upon the World Eater. Wave after wave there was seemingly no end to the arrows and Alduin had only one option. He beat his black wings and ascended into the air. Opening his jaws wide he shouted one last time, putting everything he had into this last ditch effort. "YOL TOOR SHUL!" "BARRIERS!" Luna shouted in her Royal Canterlot voice and the unicorns formed a magical barrier that barely managed to repel the inferno. Once the flames disappeared, Alduin was already on the run and out of reach of the archers. Luna glared at the escaping dragon "Coward... " she quickly located her sister and Skarin and walked over to them. Luna knelt beside them and smirked "Next time, do not hesitate to wake me from my slumber, Tia. " Celestia laughed though it caused her pain. Luna slung one of Celestia's arms over her shoulder and helped her up to her hooves. "I shall remember that, Lulu. " Celestia smiled in reply. "We mellowed him out for you. " Skarin added from the ground he found to be very comfortable at the moment. Both Luna and Celestia laughed at his comment, the latter clutching her ribs in pain. "Sure you did. " Skarin turned his head to see Shining Armor kneeling beside him and laughed to the Captain "C'mon, let's get you patched up. Don't want you bleeding all over my barracks in the morning. " The medical wing of Canterlot castle was in chaos. The doctors and nurses were all over the place for one reason: their princess was injured. "Would you all quiet down? " Skarin asked in annoyance causing Celestia to laugh. She was currently being treated by two nurses who tended to her wings. Magic aside, wings needed proper time to heal "I'm trying to get some rest over here! " "Quiet you! " one nurse yelled at him with anger "Our princess is hurt! " "And what am I? A sack of potatoes? " Skarin asked and raised his broken arm that merely received a simple bandage. "Walk it off. " the second nurse said with a deadpan look and Celestia chuckled. "Now now, my little ponies, be nice. " she looked over to Skarin with an apologetic smile "He did save my life after all. " the nurses looked at each other and then at Skarin "If it weren't for him I wouldn't be here right now." they seemed to be thinking something over before speaking. "Thanks. " they said in monotone and Skarin frowned. "It's nice to be appreciated. " he huffed and laid back in his berth. "They're a little protective of me. " Celestia said before wincing at the pain from her wing. The two nurses began aplogizing immediately but a quick word from Celestia calmed them down. "Really? I haven't noticed. " Skarin rolled his eyes and then examined his body that was covered incuts and bruises "This'll hurt like a bitch in the morning. " "Language! You're in the presence of the princess! " one nurse scolded him and Skarin had to bite his tongue lest he shouted inside the medical wing. Skarin growled and raised himself with a grunt. "You know what? Screw this! " he jumped off the medical berth, the nurses scolding him for his language again which he ignored. Celestia shot the nurses an angry glare and the two cowered under her gaze. She then looked at Skarin who was headed for the door. "Where are you going? " she was getting off her berth as well, much to the protest of her entire medical staff. "Out. " was Skarin's simple answer as he slammed the door open and proceeded down the hallway. Celestia quickly followed him, her medical staff hot on her hooves in an attempt to stop her. "You're injured! " she finally caught up with him, much to the staff's objections "You need to rest! " "I'll be fine. " Skarin took a sniff of the air which Celestia found odd "This way... " he said quietly though only Celestia heard it and followed after him to another hallway on the right "Besides, it seems the doctors have their hands full with you. " "I will heal you myself if I have to- " the staff gasped in shock "-but please go back to your bed! " she pleaded with him but to no avail. "No. " Skarin shot back and continued sniffing the air "Almost there... " he took a left, a dozen ponies in tow. "I shall drag you back if I have to! " Celestia then shook her head in confusion "What are you searching for anyway? " they came to a large wodden door. "This. " he took a deep breath "FUS!" he literally shouted the door apart from it's hinges. "Was that really neccesary? " Celestia yelled at him as he stepped out into the dark courtyard, a large forest at the edge of it, only illuminated by Luna's Moon. "Yes. " Skarin simply replied and Celestia could tell he was very, very angry. "Skarin! Stop! " she grabbed his shoulder and turned him to face her. She quickly recoiled from the touch as she felt something unnatural was about to occur. A black mist began to surface from Skarin's body and he hunched over in pain. She and eveypony else could hear bones cracking and his form changing shape to something beastly. White fur began to cover his growing body, black claws protruding from his fingers, his mouth lenghtening and forming a beastly maw. As his body was transforming the ponies were taking cautious steps back and once he fully transformed they stod frozen in place of the monster in front. Skarin was no longer there and in his place was a huge white beast. They recognized it from old tales and myths. It was a lycan. A werewolf. Celestia looked at Skarin's new form, the beast panting from the exhausting transformation, and unlike the others stood her ground. Then Skarin let out a terryfiying roar that sent the ponies screaming in fear and into the castle. Celestia remained calm as Skarin looked at her, only his blue eyes remaining after the transformation, his razor sharp teeth on display. She took a carful step forward, then another and another before she was right in front of him. Her hand reached out and she placed it gently on his cheek. His features calmed down and he looked at her with an expression of pain and sadness "Please... Let me help you. " she smiled warmly and Skarin turned his head away "Skarin... " he roared in anger and sprinted on all fours towards the forest "SKARIN! " she yelled after him but it was no good. There was no stopping him and she couldn't fly after him since her wings were broken and casting magic could only anger him more. A flap of wings above her caught Celestia's attention. "I'll take it from here, sister. " Luna flew after Skarin and Celestia nodded in thanks. She looked at the forest for a while longer as horrible sounds filled this quiet night in Canterlot. She feared the worst and was about to teleport to Luna's aid before her sister contacted her telepathically "I shall contanct you once he's done." this confused Celestia. "Done with what? " "Eating..." from Luna's tone, she could only imagine it was not pretty. Celestia took one last look at the forest before going back inside to give her staff a stern lecture on hospitality. It wasn't until an hour later when Luna finally decided it was safe for her sister to arrive. Celestia focused her magic and teleported to Luna's location. She appeared in a clearing in the forest and saw Skarin's maw covered in fresh blood. He was sitting on his haunches and appeared to be somewhat calmer. "What happened? " she asked Luna but to her surprise Skarin spoke first. "Angry. Hungry. Healing" his voice was like an angry growl but she still understood what he said. Feeling what her next question would be Skarin spoke again "Wild boar." "Weren't thou black in thy dream? " Luna asked and Celestia raised a curious brow. He looked scary enough as it is, she couldn't imagine how scary he would look covered in black instead of white fur. "Kodlak died. I became alpha." he looked sadly at the ground an scratched at it with his claw. "Skarin... " Celestia approachd him once again "Please tell me what is going on. " she looked at him sadly, her expression begging him to let her help. Skarin looked to the side and barred his teeth once more. "Escaped. Again. " Celestia nodded in understanding. "We'll get him next time. " she replied and Skarin turned to face her. "Alone. You safe." he growled out and Celestia frowned. "Alright, listen here you stubborn mut! " she poked him in the chest with a finger to both Skarin's and Luna's surprise "I am not some weak princess that needs saving! I have fought countless wars and fiends by the time you learned to walk! " Skarin's expression turned to one of shock and lisght mirth "So get this through your thick skull! You're not in this alone! You have me and Luna and all of Equestria behind you! " she pushed forward and Skarin scooted back a little "And if that won't be enough to stop Alduin then we request aid from the Griffon Kingdom! " Celestia continued her assault and Skarin scooted back a little more until he bumped into a tree "And if even that isn't enough then we call of of Equus to our aid! " she got right in his face now "And last of all, we're here for you. " her expression changed to a sincere, warm smile "I'm here for you. " Skarin looked to the side, feling like a child being lectured "If there's anything you want to talk about, please, feel free to come to me. " she cupped his cheek again "Because that's what friends do, right? " Skarin looked at her uncertain. "We know thy past was hard. " Luna joined in on the conversation "But thou needeth to have a future as well. " Skarin's ears fell flat on his head "Thou art angry, we understand for we are too. " Luna looked at Celestia "It is as my sister said, we are here for you. " her horn glowed, a loud cracking sound was heard and a thick log floated over "So you can stay here and pout or we can make the best of your beastly form! " Luna grinned widely and Skarin chuckled though it sounded not so friendly. "Funny. " Celestia looked from Skarin to Luna and began laughing. Soon Skarin joined in and was followed by Luna. After the laughter died down Skarin thought why the heck not and got into position of a dog waiting for the stick to be thrown. "You want it? " Celestia asked teasingly and Luna wiggled the log in her magical grasp. Skarin decided to play along and barked, his tail wagging behind him "Alright. " Celestia nodded to her sister "Fetch! " Luna threw the log deep into the forest and Skarin ran after it, leaving the two sisters laughing. "T'would seem we made an interesting friend tonight, dear sister. " Luna said through teary eyes. "I have to agree. " Celestia replied just as Sakrin burst through the trees with the log firmly in his maw. Applying more force to his bite, he snapped the log in two "Though he does lack a certain finesse to him. " Celestia picked up another log with her magic and threw it into another direction with Skarin already chasing it "And I wouldn't want it any other way. "