//------------------------------// // Like a Potato in a Treasury // Story: A Tale of the Misplaced Guard // by CyclicStoryWriter //------------------------------// Like Potatos in a Treasury Ulfgar walked out of the tower and down to the ground with his 'criminal'. He set her down and nodded towards the group when she looked like a shocked chicken. "Look, I don't like this place and it looks like you don't like it either. Let’s make both of us happy by leaving here." Ulfgar stated. She quickly got the idea and caught up with the woman with the flowing magical hair. He stood away from the all of the others, content with the little peace he had. In his thoughts he took a look at the six travelers he had been following. Twilight seemed to be enjoying herself more than when he first saw her. Also he noted how the girls were about up to his eye slits on his helmet. Both of these thought was shook out of his head and he went back into his deep thought. 'Lets figure some things out. First off, I am not in Skyrim. So where am I? Secondly, since I am not in Skyrim all I have is what I brought with me. So I need to find some type of job and housing. Bringing up the last thing, I need to figure out where I am going to be staying for the first few days. Other than his gear, a few septims, and a wide variety of loot he had taken off the bandits. Nothing he had was enough to buy a house of any kind. He could possibly make his own tent, but the wildlife seemed more violent than the creatures he had grown to fear in his travels. Ulfgar was pulled out of his thoughts when one of the travelers began pulling him towards the others. "Come on Ulfgar. No one can make friends by standing by themselves!" Pinkie exclaimed when he realized what was happening. "I think I was doing fine where I was." Ulfgar replied as he was released. "So, have you made a decision yet?" Twilight asked. "I was just thinking about it before I was forced over here." He stated as he checked his straps. "He seems a bit cold to me." Rainbow commented under her breath. "Maybe he would be more civil if he knows who we are rather than just some random ladies." The one in the white dress countered. "I guess." Rainbow replied. "Then I guess I'll begin; my name is Twilight Sparkle." The purple mage began as she held a hand to her chest. "My name is Applejack. Pleasure to meet you!" The one with the accent exclaimed with an outstretched hand. Ulfgar grabbed her hand and was surprised by her grip. She had strength that was usually had by the men of his world. The thought of Skyrim eased him. This one he would easily get along with compared to the others. "My name is Rarity, I own and operate fashion boutique back in Ponyville." The one with the white dressed said. "My name is Pinkie Pie. Since you are new around here, I need to throw you a super awesome 'Welcome to Ponyville' party!" The pink one excitedly exlaimed, seeming to bounce where she stood. "My name is Fluttershy." The one that had tamed the manticore said barely loud enough for him to hear through his helmet. "I'm Rainbow Dash, Best flyer in all of Equestria!" The one he saw talking with the shadowy figures stated. "I have a few questions for you Mr. Ulfgar." Twilight stated more than asked. "Just Ulfgar, It's my only name." "Okay, now how exactly did you get here?" "Well, all I know was that I was fighting a dragon in the town of Whiterun before...Before some college mage tried to deal with the dragon!" Ulfgar began to explain before anger overflowed him. "Woah there partner, just simmer down! Let’s just take it easy." "What is the matter deary?" Rarity asked. "It is just how all the mages that go to that accursed college seem to think that they own everything. When something goes wrong for them they blame anything but themselves!" He replied as he pulled himself back together. "They can't be that bad!" Twilight shot back as she "They destroyed almost an entire town with one spell gone wrong and sent me and a dragon off here!" He replied trying not to burst out again. "I must say that your outfit is, unique to say the least. How could one wear something so rough?" Rarity asked as she eyed his attire. "What's wrong with it? It keeps me warm from the cold air of Skyrim and can block a good number of attacks without being too heavy." Ulfgar asked in reply as he looked at what he wore. "It just looks like..." She began. "It has been dragged through a thunderstorm." Rainbow Dash finished. "Well, I can't look nice after dealing with a cave full of thieves, a frost troll, and a dragon in one week." Ulfgar replied as he heard something coming towards them. Turning his head he noticed three golden objects being pulled towards where they stood. As they neared he could see that they were chariots that were being pulled by horses that had wings. In front of these chariots were two figures clad in golden armor. As they got closer the details on the armor could be seen; a star made out of a single diamond was placed right over the center of their chests. Their armor looked almost exactly what the imperials back home wore. On top of the helmets were blue hairs that looked like a warhorse's mane; short and cropped. The Chariots landed down in what space was open near the ruins they stood by. The others quickly got on to the chariots while he crept cautiously towards the armored, winged men and the golden chariots. "Come on! We don't have all day!" Rainbow shouted out from the chariot closest to him. "Man was not meant to fly." Ulfgar mumbled as he pulled himself up to a seat in the chariot. "But it's the best thing to ever experience!" Rainbow Dash replied. "As my time as a guard, the air is the last place you want to be. It either means a dragon snatched you up or a man decided to mess with a giant or its mammoths." He shot back as he concentrated on the floor of the chariots and not the scenery that was flying past him. "Well if you don't care for the flight, maybe we can just chat." Rarity said. "Sounds good." Ulfgar simply replied as he felt butterflies in his stomach. "What did you do as a guard?" Rainbow Dash asked sounding still edgy from the flying thing. "I mostly deal with petty thievery and drunken brawls. Been too long since we've had a good bandit raid." He replied. "What does that mean!?" Applejack shouted out. "Walking around town and roughing up a few idiots gets dull very easily." He replied turning his gaze towards her without looking over the side. "You could say that fighting off a bandit raid is like flying to you, Rainbow Dash." turning towards her. "Back in Skyrim, do you have any family?" Rarity asked. "I only have a cousin, other than that you could say that I have an adopted family." He replied quickly and hoping that something else would come up. "Do you know what happened to your actual family?" Rarity continued digging into the chink. "I don't know what happened to them." He replied harshly trying not to think about what did happen. "Don't you worry; I can already see Ponyville from here!" Applejack commented. Without thinking he looked up and watched as a town was slowing moving towards them. His stomach quickly tightened up and he looked back down at the floor just trying to stop the feeling from growing. This entire place seemed crazy in his mind. All he wanted was to be back in Skyrim. He didn't care where he ended up but anywhere in Skyrim would be easier for him to handle than this place. "My word, are you doing alright?" Rarity asked. Ulfgar was about to reply when he felt as though he were falling. More careful this time, he raised his head and looked past Rainbow Dash's head to see the buildings he saw before were now breaking over the edge of the chariot. The feeling in his stomach grew until the chariot was rocked from easing itself onto the ground. As the chariot slowed to a stop, Ulfgar took his queue to get off the wretched chariot and move off towards a tree. His legs felt like jelly as he made the trip. He took a few seconds to steady his breath and lose the nauseous feeling he had gained before. He could feel sweat slowly dripping down his face. A few moments later he lifted the helmet off his head and felt as a cool breeze brushed across his face. There always seemed like a different perspective with his helmet off. As if he was given different eyes to see through. He could see the forest to his right and a wide open field stretching out to some mountains on the horizon. A castle made out of pure white stone and trimmed with shining gold. This sent a cold shiver down his back as he remembered his time when he had taken to a dwarven ruin to rest for the night. It didn't help that the entrance collapsed on him and he had to make his way through the ruins filled with dwarven traps and contraptions. Not to mention the Falmer camp he had to sneak past with an injured leg and multiple cuts from dwarven mechanical balls. His hand began going up to his face to feel a scar that graced his lower face. Footsteps heading towards him made him quickly toss his helmet back on and direct his attention to whomever was approaching. Behind him he found that the six girls he had met before had gathered around him along with a child that looked to be Argonian. "So have you thought about your plans yet?" Twilight inquired. "I thought about staying at Applejack's if there are no objections." He stated as he saw a look in Twilights eyes that reminded him of the Thalmor. "Sounds good as long as you don't mind a few rules and working on the farm." Applejack commented. "I’ve worked on a few farms in my time." He replied. "Okay, Rule number one: no having weapons out on the farm. If you need to get something done, we have tools for that. Rule number two: since you are staying on the farm you will have the utmost respect for me and my family. Got all of that?" She said with a face similar to one of those Imperial officers. "Yes ma'am." Was all that Ulfgar could muster up at the moment. "Good, and don't call me ma'am. It just makes me sound like a princess or some fancy pants person up in Canterlot." Applejack replied as a smile spread across her face. "Alright, do you know where I can sell some stuff?" He asked as he adjusted his pack. "No but you can set up a stand in the market tomorrow. I can even let you use the old stand we used to have!" She said as she nodded towards the other end of town. Ulfgar got the message and waved to the other girls standing there. Twilight still had that look, like if she was going to break me just to get answers. Applejack said her goodbyes and started through town. He followed behind her as she pointed out various parts of town. Such as the library which was in a tree, a bakery that looked to be made out of some type of cookie, and the town hall. All through town he watched as the other villagers eyed him fearfully and headed inside their houses. "Don't worry about them. They'll get used to ya' after a while!" Applejack stated as she watched what was happening "It doesn't stop that feeling of being a potato in a treasury." Ulfgar mumbled to no one in particular. "I've heard my share of sayings but that one is new." Applejack said as the edge of town could be seen. "Back in Skyrim, your pay either came from your employer or the treasury. Anyone that has seen the contents of the vault are stunned at the amount of gold, silver, and other goods stored there. One time the treasury in Markarth got stolen dry by thieves. When the vault was opened again in the morning, it was filled to the brim with potatoes." He explained as they left the town and down a lonely dirt road. Applejack seemed to ponder what he said and lose attention to her surroundings. Ulfgar on the other hand watched all that was around him, out of habit and amazement. He had had an apple a few times on his journey but had never seen the tree that grew them. Also he noticed a child with an oversized bow trying to follow them without drawing attention. "Do you happen to have any siblings?" Ulfgar asked as he continued to watch a red bow out of the slit of his helmet. "I do, how did ya' know..." Applejack said as she turned to look at him. Ulfgar simply nodded back towards the shadows under the trees. Applejack squinted into the shadows until she saw the bouncing red bow. A look of small irritation spread on her face as she stopped in her place. "Applebloom! What are you doing!?" Applejack shouted out. "Drat! How did you see me?" The child replied. "I didn't, our new guest did. Now get out here so you can explain to me what you were doing." Out of the trees came a child that had red hair and a bow of nearly the same color. She seemed to find the ground real interesting. "Well?" Applejack restated with a stern voice. "I was playing in the orchard when I saw you coming home with this person. I decided to follow to see if you found a very special somebody." Applebloom replied as she played with the dirt with her right foot. Applejack looked like she was trying to respond but seemed to be stopped whenever she wanted to talk. Ulfgar knew that this would just make things worse and took matters into his own hands. "I walked into your sister and her friends when they were off on their adventure. I went along with them and helped them in the end. I decided to move to Ponyville and your sister said it was okay for me to stay until I get a place to call my own." He explained as he knelt down to close to her height. "So where did you come from mister?" She asked looking up at him. "Far beyond the mountains to the northwest." Ulfgar answered to the child. "So where exactly did you come from exactly?" Applebloom continued to inquire. "Right about now it would be time to get off work and head off to bed." He replied giving the most generalized answer he could think of. "WOW! What is it like back where you came from?" Applebloom excitedly asked, completely forgetting about what she first thought. "Well, it is far up in the north. So far up that most of it is covered in snow. Also there are trees there which are more than five men wide! Now let’s head up to the house, it has been a long time since I left home." He replied, pushing himself back up to his feet. She ran up and led the way down the path. Applejack waited until he was next to her and nudged him with an elbow. "Thanks for getting me out of that situation back there. I didn't really know what to say." Applejack confessed. "Don't worry, those cocky adventurers aren't the only ones with honeyed words." Ulfgar said as he continued forward. A house began appearing over the tops of the trees and he could see that Applebloom had already reached the house and excitedly waited with a large man and an old lady in a rocking chair. The man stood there wearing only a pair of pants letting his non scared chest show. The old woman sat there with a green dress and a white apron. Ulfgar still could not shake that one feeling he had since they passed through town. When he got up to the house, Applejack took up the lead and greeted them first. He reached the porch of the house and was met by an excited Applebloom. "Hey Mister! This is my big brother, Big Mac and my Granny Smith!" "Greetings." Ulfgar said with a nod to the two. "So you’re the new farmhand? What qualifies you for this?" Granny Smith questioned as she leaned forward. "I have worked on a few other farms on my travels." He answered. "How good are you in a fight?" She asked next getting looks from all three of her grandchildren. "I am skilled at all types of fighting but I prefer a combination of a sword and shield." he replied without hesitation. "How about hand to hand?" She continued as Applebloom suddenly had a large grin on her face. "I have dealt with more than my good share of brawls in my time." Ulfgar replied. "Granny, you aren't actually thinking about that are you!?" Applejack asked in disbelief. "Since he is going to be working and sleeping here; why not set him up in the Applebucking Competition; maybe even teach the Pears a thing or two." Granny Smith stated. "That sounds fine. Is that all for now? Being on the road as long as I have wears a man out." He asked as the load on his back suddenly felt heavier. "Big Mac can show ya'. I have a feeling you'll fit right in here." Granny Smith answered giving him a wink. Big Mac nodded for him to follow. They both went over to a red barn with white edges. The bare-chested man opened a door and motioned for Ulfgar to head inside. He was more than happy to step inside. The barn had various tools on the walls and hay all throughout its interior. Ulfgar spotted a loft up ahead and headed straight for the ladder. Once on top he tossed down his pack and rolled his shoulders. Behind him he heard the door being shut, meaning he was left to himself now. He quickly undid the straps on his armor and placed it in a pile off to the side. The hay looked so comfortable compared to the thin cloth that was supposedly called a makeshift bed. A small breeze brushed against his skin, touching him with its soft, immaterial fingers. Unfortunately it did not have the chilling bite that he had come to love. Laying himself on a pile off to the side of the loft, he looked through a small window. Hoping dearly that those he had left behind were doing fine; even though a small voice in his head said otherwise. His eyes closed shut and within a few minutes he had drifted off to sleep.