//------------------------------// // Chapter 22 // Story: The Elder Scrolls: The Dragonborn of Equestria // by Urimas Ebonheart //------------------------------// The Elder Scrolls: The Dragonborn of Equestria Chapter 22 I look at the paper and read it. Applicant: Farengar Battle-Blade. Age: 25. Gender: Male. Race: Nord. Weapon of choice: Greatsword. Secondary Weapons: Shortbow, Dagger. Armour: Heavy Enchanted Plate. Magic: Healing and Levitation, still learning more. Illnesses: None. Combat Experience: 6 years, also aided in the the defence of Canterlot during its invasion and protected the Princesses. Physical abilities: Great arm strength / Average leg strength Flight Abilities: Unknown, applicants armour provides a set of magical wings, but he has yet to try them. Ranged abilities: Average accuracy, more training required. Magical abilities: Healing is superb, would make a great combat medic / Below average levitation, more training required. Endurance: Applicants custom made armour is very durable and resilient, can take a heavy hit without getting badly winded. Magical Resistance: Applicant is not very resistant to offensive spells but due to an enchanted ring, he can resist manipulative spells. Assessment: Over all, he would be more than qualified for a position in the Canterlot Elite Forces, possible roles are combat medic, front line defender, and heavy assault. Decision: Accepted. Signed: Sargeant Nightwing I smile and hand the form to Luna. "About the flying part, I can fly for an hour, maybe two," I inform Nightwing, he responds with a nod. "As I mentioned, I think you would do better with the Canterlot Forces than waste away here," he tells me. Luna then speaks up. "I agree, you don't have to just stand around doing nothing all day, you'd be selected to go on diplomatic missions as an escort to protect me, my sister, or a selected ambassador. You'll also be called to defend against any invaders or to track down wanted criminals," she explains. "You could even be my personal bodyguard," she adds at the end with a smile. I frown. To be honest that does sound more exciting and what I'd prefer to do, but would it be fair to Moonbeam to just up and move again? "What about Moonbeam? And Armoured Honour? She just settled in and Honour transferred here just to be my partner," I reply. "Moonbeam can live with us at the Castle, she can make friends with the foals at Celestia's school for gifted unicorns, and Honour can still be your partner, the fact he is strong physically and has the ability to use magic now will mean he'll be accepted into the forces as well," Luna says. Nightwing's eyes widen at the news. "An earth pony that can use magic? That's impossible!" he exclaims. "Not at all, it seems that anypony can learn Farengar's form of magic," Luna tells him. "Then that settles it, he can even teach the Elite Forces to use this new magic of his!" Nightwing says. I have to admit, it would be better than here, the ponies here are afraid of me. At the castle, I'll fit in with the soldiers there, they'd respect me rather than fear me, I've impressed the castle staff already by getting rid of Blueblood. With a sigh, I agree. "Alright, I'll go. We'll leave when Moonbeam gets home from school." Luna smiles while Nightwing nodded. "It's for the best really, you'd do much more good there than you would here, I'll inform Armoured Honour of the news," Nightwing says. I chuckle and get up. "Guess I'd better go and say goodbye to those that care." Nightwing nodded again and goes back to his paperwork, Luna and I leave the room as the mayor is trying to get an unconscious Skybloom awake. She looks over at me and smiles, I walk over to her. "Good morning mayor, it would seem I'll have to sell the house already, I'll be heading back to Canterlot tonight," I tell her. She gives a confused look. "Is there a problem?" she asks. "I guess you could say that, something important happened and I'll be living at the Castle now," I reply. "That's okay, just lock up the house and bring back both keys when you're ready to sell it, I'll only be able to offer you eight-hundred bits back for it though." "That's alright, though the front door window might need replacing," I tell her. "Why's that?" "Someone threw a brick through it." "Very well, it's a shame really, you would have been a great addition to the guard here," she smiles and goes back to Skybloom. We leave the building and head off to Twilight’s place, we arrive within ten minutes. Luna's leaning against me again with a very large smile. I knock on the door and spike opens it. "Hey dude, here to see Twilight?" he asks. "Yeah, is she home?" I reply. "Yup, TWILIGHT! FARENGAR IS HERE TO SEE YOU!" he shouts up the stairs. Twilight pokes her head down the stairs and smiles. "Hello, Farengar. What brings you here? I thought you started guard duty today?" She walks down the stairs and invites us in. I sigh. "There's been a change in plans, something happened last night, so I'll be joining the Canterlot Elite Forces," I tell Twilight. Twilight looks between me and Luna with a confused look. "What happened?" "Can we tell her?" I ask Luna. She nodded and I continue. "A Daedric Prince broke into the Dreamscape, and offered me a challenge. I foolishly accepted and Luna was turned into a suit of armour and a sword," I explain. "Later on Celestia showed up and was turned into a large earth pony complete with saddle and stuff." Twilight’s cheeks turn slightly pink at that. "Our last obstacle was an ancient dragon who was captured by the Prince to kill us, after finding out about me he became my ally, he helped us escape from the daedric god," I finish up, not mentioning Maren. "Oh my, he can't get into Equestria can he?" she asks. "I don't know, I made him really angry as we left, if he could get to here, he would of done so by now," I reply. "So, then I guess this means no more study sessions?" she asks with a sad smile. I give her a sad smile as well. "I'll try to get Celestia to send you a copy of the book, can you call the other girls so I can say goodbye?" I ask her. Still with a sad smile, she nodded and heads out to gather her friends, I've removed my helmet while we wait. Twenty minutes later, they've all arrived and all look sad, even Rainbow Dash looks a bit upset. "Why do you have to leave? I know most of the town doesn't like you but... That's not a reason to just go," Dash says. "It's not just that, I'd put my talents and abilities to better use with the Canterlot Elite Forces... and there's also this." I turn to Luna and kiss her, the others gasp as Luna smiles into the kiss. Fluttershy blushes while Rarity faints, Twilight knowingly smiles and the others just stare slack jawed. I break the kiss and look back to them as Luna snuggles into my side. "Since when?" Applejack asks. "Last night, I just wanted to say goodbye before I go, thank you for being so kind to me," I tell them. They smile and nodded. "Twilight, I'll need the spare key back to give to the mayor," I tell her. "Alright," she replies and walks off upstairs. Pinkie looks sad. "I never even got to give you your party," she says and I ruffle her mane. "It's alright," I tell her, Twilight returns with the key. "Here you go,"she says and levitates it to me, I take the key and put it in the bit pouch. "Well, I have to go pack and get everything ready," I tell them. They all say goodbye with a group hug, except Rarity who's still out cold, I put my helmet back on and I head home with Luna. Once home, I get everything packed and ready to go in the Living room within an hour. One pile has my belongings, another has Moonbeam’s. "That's all of it, now what?" I ask. "I can take this all to the castle," she says. "Alright, I'll wait here." I reply. She smiles as she and all our stuff teleports away. I sit down and think, Maren's gone, Sheogorath destroyed her, I will make him suffer for it. My thoughts are brought to Luna, despite how others have treated me, she has stayed by me and helped me when she could, a smile forms on my face which is instantly gone when I hear howling and screams. Rushing outside I'm met with four timberwolves running towards town chasing Fluttershy and some others. With my armour’s enchanted leggings, I burst forward and draw my bow. I take a shot, barely missing Fluttershy and hit the first timberwolf in the leg, as it falls over from the pain I put the bow away and draw my sword and I continue to run forward. I rush past Fluttershy and with my enhanced strength, ram straight into the second timberwolf, sending it back three metres. I quickly turn and thrust my sword right through the third timberwolf's skull with a sickening crunch. I then notice something about the fourth timberwolf, it has a large scar across its face as well as being bigger. "So, you're the leader," I growl out. It howls at me and charges. With my enchanted boots, I leap over the beast easily, I grab its tail and swing it into the first timberwolf, sending them back a few metres. The second timberwolf is back up and tackles me to the floor, I grip its upper and lower jaw trying to stop it from biting my face off. With the enchantment of the gauntlets increasing my strength and a roar of my own, I tear off its lower jaw with a snap and it stumbles back bleeding profusely while whimpering. I get back up, retrieve my sword and charge at the last two, the first one tries to run but with an arrow in its knee, it doesn't get very far. I jump onto its back and impale its spine. The beast howls out in pain before it dies, the leader looks on with, to my surprise, a look of complete fear, I stand up point my sword at the creature with a glare that shows no mercy while the blood of its kin stains my armour and blade. It turns tail and heads back to the forest, but I won't allow it to be a threat again. I take flight and close the distance quickly, I dive bomb and impact its head with my boots, crushing its skull. I hear a noise coming from the forest's edge so I turn to see a small timberwolf pup whimpering, it's small, very small, probably a newborn. I walk over to it and point my sword at it, it cowers and curls up into a ball trembling violently. I continue to look at it, deciding on what I'm going to do. I raise my sword to strike... but just can't bring myself to do it, it's only a pup. With a sigh, I sheath the sword and pick the young wolf up. It whimpers for a bit but settles down once it realises I'm not going to hurt it, Fluttershy runs over to me and her eyes go wide. She examines the pup carefully, she says it's extremely malnourished. She then tells me to follow her to her cottage, I do so and five minutes later, we arrive. I enter the charming little house, homes for animals litter the area as small critters scurry about. She tells me to place the pup on the couch, I do so as she goes and prepares a bowl of clean water and a fish for it. In a soothing motherly tone, Fluttershy comforts the pup. "It's okay, you're safe now. Here, eat this." She places the fish in front of it along with the water bowl. The wolf looks at it then at Fluttershy and then me, its tail starts to wag back and forth as it digs in. I can't help but smile, it reminds me of my uncle's tamed wolf named Gunnolf. When it finishes, it looks back up at me, as if waiting for something, I scratch it behind the ears and it pushes its head into my hand as it yaps happily. "Fluttershy, why isn't it afraid of me? I mean, I did just kill its pack," I ask her. "Young timberwolves are loyal to those that are strong and can protect it and its pack, by killing the others, she now recognises you as the alpha," she explains. "Its a female?" I ask with surprise. "Yes, I know it's hard to tell, but its a girl," Fluttershy replies. I smile and look at the pup. "Then what shall I name you?" Fluttershy looks at the pup and asks it for her name, I thought that was silly but the pup actually barks back with what appears to be a smile. "She says her name is Tala," Fluttershy says looking up at me. I raise an eyebrow at her. "You can understand her?" I ask. She hides behind her mane and hoofs at the floor. "It's my talent, I look after animals and over time, I've learnt to understand them," she replies. "That sounds handy, so what now? Will she follow me for the rest of her life?" I ask her. "Yes, unless you're beaten by another, but as she grows older she'll stay loyal to you as long as you can protect her." I look down to the pup and smile, she's sitting next to my leg looking up at me waiting for my commands. "Well, looks like we've got a new member to our family, what's a timberwolf's diet?" I ask. "Mainly meat, but fish is a good, easily attainable source since pegasi eat it now and then, also a steady supply of clean water," she explains. "Wait, pegasi can eat meat?" I ask with shock, I thought the ponies were all herbivores. "Only fish, we need the small amount of protein to help keep our bones and muscles strong for flying, it also makes our coats, feathers, manes and tails more aerodynamic." "Huh, learn something new everyday. Well I better be going, Luna's waiting for me and I need to clean my armour." And with that, I say goodbye and leave with Tala following behind me. As I walk through town, I start hearing more whispers. "Is that a timberwolf?" "That monster can tame other monsters?" "Did you see how it killed those timberwolves?" "Yeah it showed no remorse or regret, just like to those ponies." I sigh and again ignore them, but two mares walk up to me, they cringe at the blood on my armour but thank me for saving them, I smile and say 'you're welcome' and head home. I arrive and find Luna looking around for me, she hears the door open and her eyes widen when she sees the orange coloured blood staining me. "Farengar! What happened?" she asks, starting to worry. "Timberwolves attacked some ponies, I've already dealt with them, but we have a new family member," I reply and look down. Luna follows my gaze to the small pup who's looking back at her with a wagging tail, Luna blinks a few times and looks back at me. "You're telling me you now have a pet timberwolf?" she asks stunned. I tell her what Fluttershy told me, she smiles and kneels down. "Hello, Tala. My name is Luna." The pup barks and nuzzles Luna, Luna returns the gesture with a smile and stands back up. "Well, your life certainly is never dull it seems," she says with a giggle, I chuckle and agree. Luna's horn then glows and my armour and weapon are clean again. I spend the next few hours with Luna chatting about the past while playing with Tala. She tells me of the time she returned from the moon and how Twilight and her friends freed her from her dark side, she also tells me of a prank she pulled on Celestia, she gave her sister's slice of cake she was eating wings and it flew off while Celestia tried to catch it. I tell her of the time I tried to get water from my uncles well, only to fall in and return home wetter than a fish, which she had a good laugh at. We talk about more things, getting to know each other better. The time is now one in the afternoon. "Would you like to go and get some lunch?" I ask her. As a response, her stomach growls as she blushes making me chuckle. "I'll take that as a yes then." I stand and hold an arm out to her. "Shall we?" She smiles and places her hoof in my palm, I pull her up and head out and lock the door, Tala following behind me. We arrive at The Hey Barrel, the familiar waiter comes out and bows to Luna. "Your majesty, it is an honour to have you with us today, may I take your orders?" he asks. I order a Baked potato with butter, a salad and a light Ale, Luna orders the same and I ask for a cooked fish and water for Tala. Ponies just stare at us both while we wait, some shocked and some glaring. "I stop a gang from terrorising the town and they call me a monster for it, I save three ponies from becoming a meal and I'm insulted for it, was never like this in Skyrim." I chuckle. "I'm sorry about that, ponies are just used to peace and violence is rarely seen, but deep down I'm sure they're grateful," she replies with a hoof on my hand, I smile and give her a quick kiss, which makes a few ponies gasp and a flash of light goes off somewhere. I look around for the source but spot a roll of paper on the ground and pick it up, it's got news and articles all over it. Prince Blueblood imprisoned for attempted murder! The prince, who has now been stripped of his title, has been placed in the dungeons for attempting to murder a newly discovered creature called a nord at the Castle, witnesses say the prince cheated during their duel and stabbed the nord in the back, which he responded by talking Blueblood's horn, read more on page 5. In other news, a gathering of the world's leaders has been called to Canterlot today as... I stop reading as Luna looks over my shoulder at what I'm reading and her eyes widen. "That reminds me, Leaders from the other races are coming here to meet you in a few days," she tells me. I just raise an eyebrow at her. "Why?" "You're a new intelligent species on Equis, they'll want to know what your intentions are here, it's mostly just a formality," she assures me. "Sounds like it'll be interesting," I reply. Our food arrives just seconds later and we both start to eat. After we're done, I pay the bill of thirty bits and head to the Town Hall. Upon arrival Skybloom looks over to us with a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry for what I said about you, both of you, I... Thank you for saving my sister from the timberwolves," she says, now that she mentions it, one of the mares did have a colour scheme similar to hers. "No problem, is the mayor available?" I ask. She smiles with less nervousness and nodded. "Just knock on her door." I do so and knock. "Come in!" says the mayor. I enter and close the door after Luna is in, Tala is just sitting quietly next to me, the mayor bows and smiles. "Welcome back, so what can I help you with?" I pull out both keys and hand them to her. "Ah, I see. Please hold on a moment." She digs through files and papers, she pulls out a few pieces of paper and hands them to me. "Please sign here to indicate that you're no longer the owner of the house." I do so and she hands me a bag of bits. "Very good, here's the eight-hundred bits. Also, here are the adoption papers, you'll need to keep these with you until they can be filed at Canterlot." I thank her and say goodbye. I still have three hours till I have to pick up Moonbeam. "Now what?" I ask Luna. She hums for a few seconds and smiles. "How about a trip to the spa?" she asks. "What's a spa?" I reply. She gasps. "You've never heard of a spa before?" I shake my head. "No, but if there are any in Tamriel, I've never heard of them." "Well then, we'll have to fix that won’t we?" she says as she pulls on my arm with her magic. 'Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this?' I think to myself as she drags me away.