Dovahshy May Dry
Life and Death
Author: Draconis187
“Careful Fluttershy, we don’t want to wake her up.” Baral whispered to Fluttershy as she attempted to get Alva’s journal from her coffin while Alva was still sleeping in it. Fluttershy got very close to her head as she reached for the little book.
“I wish I was a unicorn right about now.” She whispered. She was so close to Alva’s face that if she were to awaken, Fluttershy would be unable to defend herself.
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“So, let me get this straight.” Twilight said, deep in thought. “You broke into somepony else’s house and tried to steal their journal?!”
“Yes, we had our suspicions since Hroggar moved in with her the day after the fire occurred. Not only that, he also acted as if he never cared about them and everypony in Morthal knew he was a kind, loving man to his family.” Fluttershy responded.
“Twilight! You shouldn’t interrupt somepony when they’re telling a story!” Pinkie Pie said with a frown.
“Ok, I’m sorry. Continue Fluttershy.” Twilight said, looking a little disheartened.
Fluttershy nodded and continued her story.
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“Glad that’s over.” Fluttershy said as she wiped the sweat from her brow as she and Baral left the house. “What next?”
“Well, we read the journal for a start. If we are correct and she is a vampire then we present the journal to the Jarl. If we are wrong, then this is one messed up town.” Baral responded as he opened up the journal.
As Baral read the journal, the colour began to leave his face. His expression became very solemn. Seeing she was worried, Baral read out a few arts of the journal to her.
“There are more of them?” She wheezed. Baral just nodded at her. The duo ran off to the Jarl’s home. Baral went in to speak with the Jarl while Fluttershy went off to collect some herbs and berries that were native to Hjaalmarch’s climate. After a good hour Fluttershy returned to see several men and women, all kitted in armour. She spotted Baral ahead of the group with Thonnir. She landed next to them and they headed for Movarth’s lair.
“The Jarl mobilized a task force to help kill the vampires.” Baral pointed out as they ran outside Morthal’s borders.
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“Wow, you were going to do battle with vampires?” Cried Rainbow Dash, clearly in awe over her friend’s guts. Fluttershy nodded and giggled after Dash got hit with a cupcake from Pinkie Pie who gave her an angry look. As Pinkie turned to Fluttershy, she pulled out some popcorn and a soda seemingly out of nowhere and proceeded to eat it with vigour.
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The group arrived at the entrance to Movarth’s lair and were about to enter until they noticed the apprehensive movements of the guards.
“What’s wrong?” Baral asked.
“They’re worried about fighting vampires.” Thonnir replied.
“Fine they can stay here like sissies while the real men do their job.” Fluttershy said, hurting the guards with her choice of words. Without another word, Fluttershy went into the cavern with Baral in tow.
“Damn, that is one hell of a talking horse he’s got.” Thonnir said, scratching his head.
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“You seriously said that?” Princess Luna inquired. Fluttershy nodded.
“The one vampire, Alva manipulated Hroggar into killing his family. She was under Movarth’s orders so it made him equally responsible for their deaths. A young, innocent girl… died so young. She… could have done a great many things when she grew up… but she never got the chance.” Fluttershy said with tears running down her face. Pinkie gave her a light hug, giving Fluttershy time to let her feelings out. Pinkie’s mane got so wet that went flat.
“Thanks Pinkie. Sorry about your mane.” Fluttershy said. To her surprise, Pinkie’s mane blew back up into its original shape with a comical popping sound.
“Don’t be a silly filly! My mane is completely waterproof!” She said with a huge grin. Everypony shared a good laugh as Fluttershy continued.
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“Uh!”; “Oof!”; “Ahhh!” Amongst other noises were heard through the caverns as the duo killed the vampires they came across. Fluttershy wasn’t cringing as she killed them though. In fact she seemed to be trying to hit them harder with her arrows. She had even crept up behind one and slit his throat with her dagger.
They soon came across a large banquet table with Movarth sitting at the head. The duo just attacked him without a second thought. He blocked Fluttershy’s arrows and blocked Baral’s sword. Changing tactics, Fluttershy flew up into the air and flew straight at Movarth, her greatsword held high. Movarth tried to avoid her attack and had foolishly stepped into Baral’s backhand slice. There were two thuds as Movarth’s head and body fell to the floor.
Sweeping the cavern for any more vampires, the duo eventually emerged from the cavern victorious.
“Go tell the Jarl that the vampires will no longer be a problem. If you need us we’ll be in Ustengrav.” Baral said to the shocked guards. Fluttershy giggled and followed Baral to their next destination.
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“What were the vampires like? Did they have red eyes, big teeth… oh oh wait! Did they turn into bats and fly off into the night?” Pinkie Pie squealed. Fluttershy shook her head.
“These ones were heartless, remorseless monsters. They loved to inflict suffering on others. When they tried to take over Morthal, I-I snapped. I wanted to hurt them so badly, I couldn’t control myself. I became as heartless as the very monsters I wanted to kill.” Fluttershy said with her head hung low, her shortened mane still managing to cover her face.
“No Fluttershy, you did what you thought was right.” Princess Celestia responded, finally deciding to contribute her thoughts to the Element of Kindness. “You were doing it for the safety of Morthal in the same way you did for us and Equestria. I know you made the only possible choice.”
Celestia smiled at Fluttershy as she tried to smile back.
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In Fillydelphia King Clavus was walking through the jails they were using as a makeshift prison. He stopped by a cell in which was a particular pink Alicorn. Her hooves were in shackles and her horn had a magic clamp on it, preventing her from using any form of magic. He chuckled at her.
“How is my lovely Crystal Princess doing?” He sneered. Princess Cadance looked at Clavus, desperately wanting to kill him.
“You… will never… get away… with this. T-Twilight will come for you.” She said softly. She was so weak, she barely had the strength to move let alone fight the King of the Changelings.
Clavus just laughed and carried on walking further into the jail. He saw many ponies, all chained, weak and seemingly near death. Twenty-three died in the past two weeks from unnatural causes. Their bodies had finally given up on them after all the love was drained from their bodies. The Changelings didn’t bury or even remove the corpses from the cells since the only things they could smell were emotions.
Clavus stopped by another cell, smiling at the white unicorn held within. He was as weak and thin as his Alicorn wife, with the same small, magic-negating clamp on his horn. He looked at the King with disdain.
“Why are you here? Have… you come… to gloat again?” Shining Armor said between the odd cough of blood. His coat was dirty and scratched. He had multiple cuts that were still trying to heal but a guard would always come by and make sure they didn’t.
“Hah! As much as I’d love to partake in a lovely pastime, I'm afraid I’d have to decline. No, I've come to ask you a question. How does the Crystal Empire look this time of year?” King Clavus asked with a cruel laugh as the rest of the colour in Shining’s face left.
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“Wait, the Horn wasn’t there?!” Pinkie squealed. “What big meanie pants take it?”
“Turned out a woman named Delphine, the innkeeper in Riverwood had taken it, or so the note said. We both prepared ourselves for a trap just in case.” Fluttershy responded.
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The duo entered Riverwood’s local inn, the Sleeping Giant. They met the owner Delphine who lead them into a secret room behind a cupboard in on of the rooms. The room they entered had an alchemy lab, an enchanter’s table amongst some chests.
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“Good news Miss Fluttershy! The doctor says you are able to go home but he advises you to not do anything too strenuous.” Nurse Redheart said, almost bursting into the room.
“Well, I’d best get home and feed the animals.” Fluttershy said, getting up. “I’ll tell you the rest along the way.”
Fluttershy collected her gear and noticed her locks of hair were still in the pockets of her coat. She pulled them out and turned to Rarity. “Um, Rarity, could you please do that thing you did for that sea serpent's moustache?"
“Of course darling! Just hold still for a few seconds.” Rarity responded. The locks of pink hair were wrapped in Rarity’s magical aura. The hair strands attached themselves to the severed locks and became whole without any pain or discomfort.
Fluttershy gave her mane a twirl and smiled. Her mane was back to normal. She turned to Rarity.
“Thanks.”
“Don’t worry darling, it’s the very least I can do.”
The group left the Hospital and headed for Fluttershy’s cottage. As they got out the doors they were greeted by the population of Ponyville and a very large number of Pegasi. As they looked up they saw Cloudsdale was moving across the sky.
“I didn’t know Cloudsdale could do that.” Fluttershy remarked.
“Of course not, it’s not common knowledge. It takes a lot of category 5 storm clouds to make Cloudsdale move. It was a last resort since category 5 clouds are extremely hard and dangerous to get.” Rainbow Dash said with a smirk.
Fluttershy nodded and continued her story…
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“Well this is interesting.” Baral whispered to Fluttershy as the duo hid behind a rock. Delphine was hiding behind a tree, watching the scene unfolding in front of them. A black dragon was seemingly resurrecting another dragon. They spoke to each other in a language that sounded like their Shouts. They were waiting to see what the two were going to do until they heard the black dragon say something.
"Sahloknir, krii daar joorre." (Sahloknir, slay the mortals, they don’t know that though). The brown dragon turned to the rock the duo were hiding behind.
As it came swooping down, it breathed fire down on them. Baral and Fluttershy split up in opposite directions. Fluttershy pulled out her bow and shot at Sahloknir’s wings. The arrows were hitting their marks, some even went through his wings. Baral used Whirlwind Sprint to stay ahead of the dragon’s breath attacks. Delphine was giving them assistance by using an Iron Bow but her aim wasn’t as good as Fluttershy’s.
“Any ideas Fluttershy?!” Baral shouted between his dodging. Fluttershy turned to Baral with a smile.
“Remember Whiterun? Same thing, just keep him busy!” She shouted back. Baral nodded as Fluttershy threw her bow and quiver to him. He shot at the flying dragon while Fluttershy flew up towards him.
“FO!!” he shouted. His ice breath hit Fluttershy before she could dodge it. She fell to the ground with a thud. Baral ran to her as she got back up.
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“Didn’t it hurt?” Twilight asked as they passed Town Hall. Fluttershy shook her head.
“That armour was tougher than it looked, not too mention it was heavily padded on the inside.” Fluttershy responded with a smile as she waved at Vinyl who had apparently been playing since Ponyville was freed.
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“Fluttershy! Are you okay?” Baral said. Fluttershy rubbed her head as she got off the ground. Her chestplate was cracked and her left hind leg was hurt but she was alive.
“I’m fine.” She responded as she tore off her armour.
As she shot off towards the dragon once more she noticed that she was flying a lot faster. She dodged the dragon’s attack as she wasn’t weighed down by her armour. She landed on his back and targeted his wings’ pressure points. He let out a cry as he couldn’t feel his wings anymore and he came down to earth with a huge crash. Fluttershy landed next to Baral who gave her back her bow. Fluttershy then took cover behind a large formation of rocks, pelting Sahloknir from afar.
Sahloknir wasn’t going to let Fluttershy get away with hurting his flying capabilities and went for the rocks she was hiding behind. He sadly was so filled with rage that he didn’t notice Baral jump on his back. As Sahloknir got to the formation and breathed in to Shout at Fluttershy, he felt something slide under his throat which stopped him dead in his tracks. He looked down and saw Baral wielding an Ebony greatsword. It was covered in blood, and he saw why: his throat was bleeding. Baral had cut a jugular vein. As he was about to attack with his last few moments, Fluttershy shot an arrow into his left eye and then fired another one into his right eye, effectively blinding him.
The group stood back and watched this newly resurrected dragon thrash about as it slowly died. The duo felt that same feeling identical to the one they felt back at Whiterun. Delphine watched in awe as the duo absorbed the dragon’s soul.
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“What happened to that armour?” Twilight inquired.
“We left it there. After the battle we saw the armour was far worse than I thought. I was glad it protected me from the fall. After that I stopped flying up after the dragons, it was too dangerous to try on my own.” Fluttershy said as they reached Fluttershy’s cottage.
As they entered, Fluttershy got mobbed by her animals as they were overly happy that their caretaker and friend had returned. As Fluttershy put her weapons on a table, Princess Luna pulled her to one side.
“Fluttershy, I must ask of you to let us examine your weapons. I think the magic and materials they are comprised may serve us well. Not to mention if you teach your skills to our troops, it might give them an edge against the Changelings.” She said. Fluttershy just looked at Luna.
“Well, it won’t work with my pistols since the demonic energy in them makes them very temperamental if tampered with. You can take my swords though.” She said, giving the Princess her Ebony greatswords and dagger. Luna took her three weapons and left for Canterlot with Celestia.
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The sisters returned to Canterlot and gave Fluttershy’s weapons to the Royal Armourer. As he left to study the weapons Luna turned to her sister, concern written all over her face.
“Sister, Chrysalis may be no more but there is still one more issue: King Clavus.” Celestia nodded her head.
“I agree but we’ve had reports from scouting parties near Trottingham; Manehattan; Fillydelphia amongst other locations, all stating that King Clavus is there. The strange thing is that the reports are saying he at every one of those locations at the same time. I’m sure one of them is the real one but the problem is which one? Our forces were almost completely devastated.” Celestia responded. Luna looked out into the distance with Ponyville in the horizon.
“We have no choice but to try each location. We will never know even if he leads the next attack.” She said, not looking at her sister.
“We must do something sister, and soon. The fate of Equestria may just rest with Fluttershy.”
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As her friends left, Fluttershy put her jacket back on and went out into an open meadow outside her house. Tom was left there after the events with Discord. She looked around and noticed nopony was around.
“Perfect.” She muttered. She reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a flat, small, black bat brooch and threw it up. As it flew up it came to life and multiplied until there was a huge cloud of them. As she put her hooves forward the bats began to land on them and each other until they created a strange shape. They flew off and vanished, leaving Nevan behind: a purple guitar with lightning bolts for strings.
She started to play a slow, sorrowful melody. A few bats appeared and started to circle her. As she stopped, they flew off. After looking around to make sure nopony heard her, she took a deep breath.
She began to start playing a faster tune. More bats appeared to encircle her. She increased the tempo until she was playing at the same tempo as a rock song. Electricity crackled as she played, the bats flying around her at high speed. She then tosses the guitar into a 180° flip and grabbed the other end and the guitar switched into its scythe mode.
She swung it around her body, and swiped at Tom with an underhanded slice and swung the scythe around her body again but she shot up into the air as it spun. She then dropped to the ground, slicing the scythe down into the earth. She pulled it out and put it into guitar mode. She swiped the electric stings at once, sending out a shockwave. Tom then broke into rubble, all no larger than a bread box. Fluttershy threw Nevan up into the air as a score of bats covered it. They all flew off and left the bat brooch it came from behind. Fluttershy caught it with a smile and placed it back into her pocket and headed home.
She began to search through her pockets as she walked. “How did Dante get these to fit inside the coat?” She said to herself as she pulled out two peculiar, serrated swords.
One was blue in colour with a blue skull as the pommel. The other was red-orange and also was adorned with skull of the same colour as its pommel.
“ How are you miss Fluttershy?” Asked the red-orange blade, Agni.
“Fine thanks Agni. How are you Rudra?” Fluttershy inquired.
“I guess I’m ok, uh thanks?” The blue blade replied.
“That’s good. I hope you two are ready, I have a feeling this battle with the Changelings isn't over… not by a long shot.”