Of Magic and Machines- Dragon Rider
(Unknown world-Outlands of Equestria)
The sky was calm the land was calm however a massive wind was soon picked up flying across the plains of Equestria. A huge shadow of a massive being moved. Over the trees and mountains the massive entity flew over before landing on a small mountain. The being was huge his massive body was covered in metal with huge strong wings a titanic body and glowing lines as that of magma flowed under his from. The massive creature was a dragon the biggest dragon ever. Giving a massive roar the ground trembled the sky roared and the water nearby ripped under the power of a literal force of nature. With a powerful beat of his wings he took off.
As the titan of a dragon flew through the world, he felt something. He flew sensing this change and came landing on the ground. This was a calm field however you would expect a beast of this size not to see the tiny thing laying on the ground near by. However he saw the creature. It seemed to be asleep or out of consciousness.
The massive being looked down. “Hello?” Its voice was almost an echo.
Its voice woke up the little thing. Looking around it saw that it was in a shadow a massive shadow. Turning to the shadow it looked up. The dragon decided to break the silence. “Hello there.”
*Nicko’s Perspective*
Moments after arriving in this unknown world, Nicko was jolted awake by the sound of a loud roar that made the ground shake underneath him. His vision wasn’t exactly up to par during the first few minutes that he was up, but in his head, he heard a voice that was almost like an echo and not the voice of Eris.
“Hello?”
The single word caused the Rune Slayer to rise to his feet, confused by who said that. Upon looking around, he noticed a huge shadow lingering behind him. Slowly, he turned around, looking up at the behemoth of a dragon that had formed that same shadow. It was almost a mountain many times bigger than the human and had metal cover his bottom jaw and body.
“Hello there.” It boomed again.
“Holy crap!!” The young Rune Slayer cursed.
The dragon blinked at this and realized appearing as a walking mountain wasn’t the best idea. In a flash of light he shrunk down to a more smaller size. “Is this better?” He asked his voice still echoing.
“Sort of… Who are you though?” Nicko asked. The Dragon never really had the opportunity to introduce himself, nor say his name to the traveler. But for some reason, the Dragon reminded him of his teacher Ryu, the Elder Dragon.
“I am Neltharion the Earth-Wander, however you may call me Deathwing.” The dragon said. He noticed something in the kids hands. “The dragon soul?” He asked.
The orb glowed and repeated a message.
I am Deathwing. Call on me and the very world itself is no longer safe for your enemies. Let my voice be heard on your world! Know this there are I will not cross! Let us hope we can be allies.
The dragon looked it over. “I remember something like this happening the event was mostly drowned out with me regaining a memory.”
“A memory?” The Rune Slayer asked. “What kind of memory?”
The dragon looked up as there was nothing to do. The limited memories he had flooded him. “A memory of another form and a memory of me floating in a void with only rocks as they came to me its was eons ago but nothing more I could remember I do think I had a hand in creating this world.” With his claw raised the ground shock as it opened up and the wind blow behind him water flowed into the pulls he made. “I am both apart and am the very world itself. The Sun, Moon, Chaos, Love and Harmony have their avatars, their embodiments I am the very world itself.”
“Wow… That’s a lot to take in.” Nicko said to himself. Turning around, he noticed something was off as his eyes widened. “Oh crap. Faith!!”
The dragon himself was a little puzzled by what the boy referred to as Faith, but could tell that he was a little distressed. Soon though, before Neltharion could ask anything, Nicko asked him a question. “Did you happen to see a white haired girl, twelve years old, and had a jewel on her forehead?”
Neltharion shook his head. “I don’t believe I did. I was on my way to the badlands to see what had changed after my awakening. I only found you because my senses picked you up.” The dragon said.
“Crap. I need to find her. She’s my niece and came here with me.” The Rune Slayer told the earth-wander. “It’s her first time traveling to other worlds and now, she’s lost. Dammit! Some uncle I am!!”
Neltharion closed his eyes and stopped his claw on the ground hard. Unknown to the Rune Slayer a shock wave was sent out and traveled the whole continent. The dragon was looking for a being just like him. With his eyes closed he could see the outlines in the shock wave and saw many things. His shock wave finally came to the badlands. He saw a outline of a girl unconscious in the badlands. With the shock wave gone he opened his eyes. “I know where she is.” This confused the Rune Slayer to a massive degree he had his eyes closed for a few minutes what was he doing. “Before you ask I can see with the world call it a seismic sense. I sent a shock wave looking for a outline of a being like you and saw one with my shock waves… well its more of feel.” The dragon looked south. “She is in the badlands and its days away by foot.”
Neltharion turned to him. “However by air I can be there in less than a hour.” The dragon looked him over again. “My full size would be to much for you to stay on so there only one option” He lowered himself down. “Climb on I will ask the wind to aid us in our flight.”
The Rune Slayer did as the dragon instructed, climbing onto him. “T-thank you. I’m really grateful for this.” All Neltharion did was nod his head as he used his powerful wings to shoot himself into the air and take off.
The flight was fast as the ground below them gave way to towns a few villages and random roads until they came across the mountains of the badlands when they passed by the badlands came into view. It wasn’t an endless desert of rock. No, there appeared to be rivers with planets growing out and ancient water beds filled is water once again. “This is a perfect example of what my awakening had done to the world. Before I awoke, this land where few could live was a wasteland. Now, water has returned to the land and soon life I believe the Changelings who live here are vying with Chrysalis for her new lands orios I was coming to hopefully broker a peace agreement with the hives and maybe Equestria but I did not see this happening.” He saw a huge army of Changelings preparing for an invasion at the outside of the badlands. “Your niece is on the way to Chrysalis hive let us hope no scouts found her.” Neltharion went for the canyon and landed right at its opening. There was Faith inside the canyon.
Once they landed, Nicko jumped off of Neltharion and rushed to her side. The impact of the dragon touching the ground woke the young girl as the first thing she laid eyes on was her relieved Uncle. “U-uncle? Where are we?”
“In the Badlands. This is another Equestria, but we need to go.”
“Why? This place looks so-.” At that moment, she turned to see Neltharion in all his proud glory. “...peaceful.”
“Faith, this is Neltharion. Neltharion, this is my Niece. Faith Nocte. I am Nicko Nocte.”
Faith herself, finding the pronunciation with Deathwing’s name, then asked a question. “Um… do you mind if I call you Nel for short?”
“Its ok. Though my nickname, if you will, is Deathwing if that sounds better.” The dragon said. The name Deathwing didn’t sound very nice that the dragon knew. However before they could get any further, Neltharion looked up. “Its started.”
“What’s started?” Faith asked in confusion as she got up on both of her feet.
The dragon looked down at them both. “The changeling hives are about to fight one another I can not let Chrysalis hive fall.” The dragon said. He closed his eyes. “Discord informed me a bit before of the changelings. If Chrysalis sister wins, this Equestria will have a full on war.” He finished. The ground shook as a massive roar was heard. When they looked up they saw Changelings of massive sizes. Each one could break a hydra over its hands. The Changeling Titans.
“Dear Artemis, that’s a huge army.” Nicko swore as he looked at Deathwing. “I’m guessing we need to stop this civil war?”
A flash later and Discord appeared on Neltharion head. “Deathwing, what's taking so long?” He asked looking at him. “The wendigo are on the move again. Have you stopped the hives? Tell me Pupa taken care of?” The chaos entity asked.
“Pupa?” Faith asked. This caught the Spirit’s attention as he looked at the young code queen. “Deathwing, you didn’t tell me that you had some friends with you…”
“This is Discord, the avatar of Chaos. He sent me on this little mission he been trying to keep the wendigo at bay in the north.” Deathwing said.
The chaos entity jumped down. “Well, you did kinda set them free when you and Rainbow dash flew up north.” Discord said.
“Trust me, Neltharion. Back where were from, we’ve met the family.”
“Family?” Discord asked. “I have no family.” Discord finished.
Nicko sighed. “Not where were from. Eris, Chaotic, How about you come say hello?” Before Discord could even ask, both Chaos spirits emerged from the minds of Faith and Nicko. Eris herself almost resembled Discord, but was a female and had a grey mane. As for Chaotic, he was what some would call a cross breed. His Father was Discord and his mother was none other than Princess Celestia. Chaotic was two years younger in age than Faith while Eris and Nicko were both around 25.
“That might have been why I sensed you.” Deathwing said. However, Discord turned to him.
“This is not the time.” He said. Deathwing nodded. In a flash he was covered in magic and the Dragon form changed once again. Now stood a hulking man with skin of stone and cracks that pulsed with magic that looked like Magma. A mouth guard covered his face and stones emerged from his back as he carried a two handed weapon with him.
“Do you need any help?” Eris asked Neltharion as she stood by Nicko and her little brother.
Discord turned to the other spirits. “Me and the princesses are trying to keep the Wendigo king asleep we can’t have him awaken otherwise all the hate he’ll freeze the world.” Discord said.
“So what should we do?” Nicko asked. He wasn’t one for having to sit on the sidelines and wait patiently to do something. “You make the call, Neltharion. What can we do to help?”
“Do any of you have experience dealing with an army of changelings?” The dragon in human form asked. “Or are changelings just bugs where you're from?”
“Anthropomorphic ones, but you get the idea. We’ve dealt with them before and a queen that was really… disturbing.” Eris said. Soon, Nicko was the one to speak again. “Faith and I should split up. Chaotic can be with her and Eris could be with me. They know telepathy so they could contact you or Discord if anything goes wrong.”
“Ok then. Faith, goes with Discord. You come with me.” He said. Discord nodded with a snap they were gone. Appearing inside the caverns of the Wendigo frozen castle, they saw the four Princesses in a magic square with the wendigo king in the middle of the crystal that was where he was resting.
Meanwhile, Nicko and Neltharion were getting ready to face the onslaught. However right as they stood another army came from behind. It was Chrysalis and her allied hives. “Stop!” Neltharion yielded.
Chrysalis Jumped down. “You’re who Discord sent? Its too late. My Sisters wouldn’t be reasoned with she made it very clear.” Neltharion sighed. “Yes but you can’t fight her your hate for each other we’ll wake the wendigo king up and I can’t have that happen.”
Chrysalis blinked at this. “Then how are you going to stop her?” Deathwing gave a smile. “Either with diplomacy or something else.” Deathwing maul flew from his hands. He had… well… no combat training with it. “Sorry I’m a bit rusty.”
Nicko sighed as he drew his sword. “Need me to pitch in?”
Chrysalis looked at the human, a little amused by his bravery. “And just who is this… little thing?” The comment about his height made the Rune Slayer’s ears twitch and really irritated him. Turning towards the Changeling Queen, Nicko shot back a response that she honestly did not expect to hear.”
“I am NOT a thing!! My name is Nicko Nocte! YOU WILL FEAR MY LASER FACE!”
However, before they could do anything they regret they were held in place by the earth. “Can you both not fight with an army behind us?” He asked. As he retrieved his maul he turned and saw the Changeling army with Pupa leading them.
“Well sister, dearest came to surrender? My, who is this?” Her voice was alluring as if she had perfected it. Sadly, Deathwing didn’t have time for this.
“I am Neltharion. I come asking for hostilities to cease between you both before you release something far more dangerous to the balance of the world.” He said to her.
“Hello?” Chrysalis asked. With a stomp the rocks returned letting them both go free.
“Oh really now?” Pupa said. “And I’m suppose to believe the vague threats of you, my sister and a red haired runt?”
‘Oh no.’ Eris said mentally to Neltharion. ‘This could be bad.’
“How its not like…. he going to do something drastic isn’t he?” Deathwing asked. He then face palmed. How he even know how to do this was anyones guess. “He going to do something that will end up hurting him and me right?”
‘This happens anytime he is referred to by his height-.’
Before Eris could finish speaking, Nicko was walking outward, sword drawn. “Do you really want me to kick your ass? Cause I can make that happen right now if you want.”
“Is that a threat?” Pupa asked.
“No, it’s a challenge. We’ll settle it with a duel. I win, you and your battalion can pack up your stuff and high tail it back to where you came from. You win… well, we’ll see once we get to that point.”
Pupa had a smile. Eris felt something off about Pupa. A shadowy voice speaking to her. It was unnatural ancient and powerful. “Perhaps, but heres the thing…. no chaos spirits, no divine intervention, pass this point.” Eris realized something was a trap. A huge trap.
‘Nicko. Please be careful.’ Eris told him as he fixed up his arms. The female chaos spirit left, standing beside Discord now as Nicko took off his long red coat, showing his sleeveless undershirt that had a turtleneck collar. He gripped his weapon tightly as he looked at Pupa.
“Ladies first.”
Pupa smile before casting a spell on herself. An aura of dread formed around her. With a blast she sent out a dozen green fireballs. Before disappeared and appeared behind him to do it again.
“Pfft. Nice try.” Nicko said, activating his Storm Blade skill, which caused a cone of mystical blades to swirl around in a circular motion and turn all of Pupa’s fireballs to ashes. Next, he detonated two runes on the soles of his feet to swiftly charge straight at the Sister of Chrysalis, getting behind her as he struck her near her back hooves where her hamstring would be.
However, unknown to him, Pupa had a smile. Nicko suddenly felt pain rushing right though his body. He tried to cast a spell or rune and the pain burned him. “Like it? Its a bit of ancient magic the more magic you use, mana, whatever... the more it burns your body. And here’s the really sadistic part… I have to undo the spell on me to get rid of it. Any attempt by you and well.” A image of a skeleton on fire formed.
Deathwing glared at her. “Why do I feel I know that breed of magic somewhere?” He asked himself.
However, To Pupa’s surprise, Nicko was not flinching in pain. In fact, he was grinning. “You are a real idiot. I use Mana, yes. But… what you don’t know is what you caused.” Now, a blood red Aura glowed around Nicko as he put his sword on his shoulder. “Let me remind you something. Burning me doesn’t help you any. Why?”
A finger snap later and his hand was enchanted full of fire. “I AM FIRE!!!” Ignoring the pain, Nicko made his move while Pupa was standing still. The Changeling thought that the boy was going to attack head on, only to be shocked when he leaped back and dropped a series of rocks at her feet. With a finger snap, Runes that were inscribed on the stones began to glow violently and soon detonated, hurting her and sending broken pieces of stone as shrapnel.
Pupa laughed. She underestimated him. Maybe she should stop playing around? “Perhaps I should just break my seal? No that would be to fast.” With a smile, the ground below her formed a dark circle and the changelings near her died into green energy which healed her back to full. The magic was, well for those who feel magic, was like death.
Her eyes glow as Nicko felt pain once again. Energy leaved him as she decided to eat part of his mana for a temporary boost. ‘Mana drain? I know that spell.’ Deathwing was getting a horrible vib. “Nicko, finish this fast. Kill her!” Deathwing commented.
Nicko, hearing the Dragon, now knew that he had to go past his limits. A surge of magic flew into the air as he casted Phoenix Talon, A skill that enhances his powers for a good thirty seconds. Which, of course, was all he needed. Charging forth, the Rune Slayer used Wind Blade to strike Pupa near her heart as the Rune Slayer broke her guard. The attacks that followed scarred the changeling and any counterattacks from her caused the red aura around Nicko to pulse, making her stagger. Lastly, to finish the job, The Rune Slayer casted a Sphere into the air which grew by the minute. A black hole soon formed as it picked up Pupa and encased her in a Runic Prison.
A series of Mystical Swords soon enclosed on the Changeling, wrecking her and tearing her apart as the spell soon concluded. What was left looked like a lifeless body.
Deathwing gave a sigh however the titans and army moved to attack them. “Really?” He asked himself. With a magic burst, he transformed back to his dragon form. He towered over them. “Leave now!” He commanded. No one noticed the body disappeared however it didn’t matter.
With a deep sigh the wendigo king fell asleep again.
Discord returned with Faith to find Nicko looking over with Deathwing as the Changeling bowed before Chrysalis. Deathwing held a dragon soul in his hands. “So thats how it works?” He asked looking at the token. He gave kinda a laugh. “So basically they’re how many others?”
“Can you elaborate on others?” Nicko asked. “Do you mean Displaced?”
“Yes, is that what they are called?” He paused for a moment. “So let me get this straight I’m a human who went to a convention and became Deathwing?” He asked. However before they could go any further, Deathwing realized something. Nicko’s reality was a few years ahead of his own. “I have something to warn you about.”
The dragon raised his claws and a perfect map of Equestria formed. Unknown to them, this was a replica of another map. A magical light floated off to a place near the boards. “Here is where a threat to all of Equestria…. No, the world was beginning in my world if you say is true about other worlds, then this is a threat none can ignore.”
“There is a unicorn who has found a way to remove cutie marks, stripping you of part of your individuality. If Luna and Celestia were to lose their marks, it would be deadly. We learned of it just a few days ago. Yours has had years”
“What is the Unicorn’s name?” Faith asked. Saying a unicorn could basically mean anypony. But saying a name could help them find this individual that the dragon was referring to. “Do you know what she looks like?”
“Her name is Starlight Glimmer. Her mane has two colors and she has light violet fur.” He ripped the world up to form a basic sculpture of her. “The last thing her cutie mark is painted on simply splash her in water and it will fall off. But be sure to smash her vault and get back the marks.”
“Thanks for the tips.” Nicko said, pulling out a Rune Slayer’s mark and setting it down by the dragon. “Keep this. It’s my summoning token. Use it when you are in trouble and require my services.”
“Take mine too.” Faith said, holding a small pendant with a spear like blade at the end. “Just in case you need both of us.”
As the dragon touched the items, he could hear the saying of both Uncle and Niece course through his head. Nicko’s voice first, then Faith’s.
I am Nicko. The Rune Slayer with a kind heart. The power that's in my grasp and that you control will become the power that the darkness will fear. May there be light on the roads that you travel.
Have Faith in yourself as I do on my journey. Call upon me; The kind queen of the Nasods, and I will support you and become a Nemesis to those that want to hurt the innocent.
Deathwing nodded before handing them both two new Dragon Souls. “As you have given me gifts, I give you each a new Dragon Soul.” His chant could be heard one more time as the pull of dimensions could be felt.
I am Deathwing. Call on me and the very world itself is no longer safe for your enemies. Let my voice be heard on your world! Know this there are I will not cross! Let us hope we can be allies.
“I thank you for your generosity, Neltharion. I wish you safe travels on your journey.” Nicko said as he used his own Token to create the gateway to return home. Faith herself, was waving goodbye to not only the dragon, but also the princesses that had just arrived only a few moments ago.
“Goodbye, Nelly!! I hope I can see you again in the future!!!”
With that, both humans entered through the cerulean gateway as it closed. Neltharion himself, smiled. But soon, Discord was by his head, pondering something.
“So… Nelly… What’s next?”
Deathwing rolled his eyes. “The wendigo King is fast asleep, but I fear that something else lurks. But I know one thing.” With a flash he was back to his titanic size. “Whatever it is we will be ready!” With that the Dragon, the princesses, and the avatar of Chaos took off for Equestria.
Castle of Friendship (Nicko’s world)
Nicko and Faith had finally returned back to their quarters in Twilight’s Castle after quite some time away. Both of them felt calm and relaxed, but Neltharion’s warning kept ringing inside the Rune Slayer’s head. So, getting on top of it, he went to go see the princess. Faith herself, decided to go find the Cutie Mark Crusaders so she could play in the snow.
The Rune Slayer soon found Twilight in her personal study about a few minutes after looking around her entire castle. The Alicorn noticed him moments after hearing the teen knock on the door. “Oh hello, Nicko. How was your trip with Faith?”
“Pretty good. But I had a question to ask you.”
“Okay, what is it?”
“Well, the guy I met, his name was Neltharion. He warned me of a Unicorn that was able to steal Cutie Marks with her magic-.”
“Oh you mean Starlight Glimmer. We already took care of that.”
Nicko blinked a little upon hearing that. “When?”
“A couple of days after the Tirek incident, the girls and I went to her village along with Amy, Jane, Yuri and Molly…… Let’s just say what happened there, stays there.”
Flashback
“Hello there, You must be Twilight Sparkle and her friends. And-. Oh my… who are you exactly?”
Amy shrugged, looking around the room. “Honestly, I’m just here to raid your fridge.”
“O…… kay. Diamond, the food stampers are here!”
“Tell them I have a gun because I PAY TAXES!!!”
“And how does that relate to Starlight Glimmer?”
“Word to the wise, never piss off Yuri.”
“ … What did she do?”
“She dropped the town’s water supply on top of Starlight Glimmer’s head once she heard of how she was deceiving the town. That’s why they call her “The Smiling Savior” now everytime she goes there.”
Before Nicko could even respond to that, the two of them heard a few voices outside the door. Some of the guards that were on duty were also confused by what was going on.
“What? What do you mean you don’t have that? You know what, screw it. Just take my phone and hit random.”
“Oh boy…”
“What’s going on?” Nicko asked. Before he even got an answer, he heard the same voice again.
“One……… Two………”
The door to the main hall of the castle slammed wide open. Standing at the Entrance was Amy, her younger sister Molly and their resurrected mother; Jane. From Amy’s phone, lyrics of a profane, yet popular song were blaring through the hallway as they made their way inside. Nicko’s only response was for him to facepalm himself.
“Okay, turn it off. Turn it off… It did not work…… it did not work.”
“Following your example, I see?” Twilight asked sarcastically. “Before I forget you said something about Neltharion. who is that?”
“Remind me later.” Nicko whispered.
“Heh… Kinky.” Soon though, Amy’s attention was elsewhere as she saw Nicko standing right next to Twilight. The Crimson Avenger honestly did not even realize that a good friend was back until she laid eyes on him. “Oh sh*t, is that who I think it is? I gotta go say hi!”
“Excuse me ma’am, but we can’t let you go past here-.”
“OUTTA MY WAY!!!” Amy responded with pushing the guards so hard, it felt like the muscles in their bodies were getting torn apart. Molly herself stepped over the fallen guards while Jane strode past them as they woke up the stairs.
“Hello girls.” Nicko replied. He received a hug from Jane, a pat on the back from Molly, and a fist in the face from Amy.
“Oww. What the hell was that for?”
“That was for making me lose my bet with Pinkie Pie.”
“Wait…… Bet?” The Rune Slayer asked in confusion as he got back up off the floor. Molly herself sighed along with her mother as they looked at Amy. “Well, Amy and Rainbow were betting with Pinkie to see how long you would be stuck in stone before you became free. They thought twenty years while Pinkie thought seven years.”
“Yeah and that made me lose three million bits!!”
“Geez… so much for confidence.”
“So how did you get out?” Came the question from Jane. Soon, They heard the sound of feet and hooves as the five of them saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Spike, Faith, Button Mash, Rumble, and Babs Seed taking their snowball fight from the Castle grounds outside to the hallway.
“Hi Uncle Nicko, want to join us!?!” Faith asked before having Moby and Remy knock back a few snowballs like it was a game of tennis. The Rune Slayer facepalmed himself again as now the attention of the Andersons was now on him.
“Uncle… Nicko?”
“You heard that right. She’s my niece. Faith Nocte. Which means Anson is her father.”
“Wow… Talk about unexpected.”
“Coming from the queen of unexpected…” Nicko snickered back at Amy shortly after making that comment. He ignored the lines that followed from Amy and just focused on his Niece and how she was enjoying herself. In his head, the lines of a song came into play as he decided to join her.
This is my December, this is my time of the year
This is my December, this is all so clear
This is my December, this is my snow covered home
This is my December, this is me alone
Later in the day, Faith was with her uncle. Alone, in her quarters. She wanted him to come see her for a moment as she looked back at Nicko. “Did you have fun today?”
“Y-yeah… But…”
“Hmm? What’s wrong?” Nicko asked, upon noticing her say “but” in the previous sentence.
“I…… I miss daddy.”
Nicko soon got down on her level as he patted her on the back. “I know you do, honey. I miss him too. I’ll make sure that we will get home soon. I promise.”
Faith now had her arms around her Uncle as she embraced him in a warm and tight hug and Nicko did the same thing. “I love you, Uncle Nicko.”
“I love you too, My little Faithy.”
End Log 4