World of Warcraft: The Ties that Bind

by Blackdrag-rose

Suramar: Interlude

Lyra moaned as she finally regained consciousness, but when that happened she discovered that her body was definitely in pain and it made it nearly impossible for her to do anything, so she couldn't open her eyes, couldn't move her arms, couldn't move her legs, and couldn't move the rest of her body. About the only part of her body that wasn't shot and in pain was her brain, allowing her to think and try on focusing on certain sounds around her, but all she could actually hear were the sounds of birds and other animals. Occasionally she heard the sound of adventurers walking through the streets, indicating that she had to be in Dalaran, but no one ever came near her and talked with her, as if she was truly alone... to which she allowed herself to slip back into a dreamless sleep.

She had no idea how much time passed since she first regained consciousness and when she later regained consciousness, but this time around she felt some sort of liquid being carefully pushed into her pained mouth, meaning that whoever was near her wanted her to be hydrated. At the same time she felt demonic and arcane sources nearby, no doubt because whoever was near her wanted her to restore the energy she had spent during the fight with Xavius, but at the moment she was still feeling nothing at the moment, which was likely annoying her nurse. She heard the sounds of claws touching the floor around her, making her think it was Trixie that was in the building, but she couldn't be sure as she drifted back into her sleep and left the waking world behind.

That happened several more times, where she couldn't determine the amount of time between falling back asleep and waking up, though she could feel some slight movement returning to her overtime, but not enough for her to really do anything substantial... until she finally received a burst of energy that allowed her to move.

When she finally opened her eyes she found herself resting in the Dalaran clinic, where she had found herself after Xe'ra's vision of Azeroth and Equus dying at Sargeras' hands, though as she carefully looked around the clinic she discovered a few arcane artifacts resting around her bed. She could tell that several of the artifacts were from some of the more magical races of the Alliance, and none from the Horde, while at the same time some seemed to be from the Nightborne. She guessed that the few shal'dorei artifacts were gifts from either Thalyssra or Ly'leth, or possibly both of them, wishing for her to get better from whatever she had experienced. At the same time she found a few fel artifacts, no doubt ripped from the hands of the demons that had held them and given to her so she could recover as well... though she carefully pulled herself up and noticed that she was alone again.

Or, as she soon discovered, she had company and was only regaining her senses, as she couldn't believed that she missed seeing someone to her immediate left... someone that was very happy to see her.

"Lyra!" a voice said, to which she felt Trixie's arms wrap around her neck, which brought a smile to her face despite the fact that she was still in pain, before a hand slapped her across the face and sent her back into the bed that she had been sleeping in, "Don't you ever do that to us again!"

"You should be more gentle with me," Lyra replied, to which she coughed for a moment, because her throat was still dry from not drinking too much liquid, before she was handed a cup and greedily drank from it, "Now then, what shouldn't I do again?"

"I told you, back in Val'sharah, to stop harnessing the power of the Fel energy and the Dark Magic together," Trixie stated, though that was when she sat down and stared at her fellow Equestrian, as if she was studying for any further signs of corruption, "Lyra, when you combined the two energies in the Rift of Aln, in the fight against Xavius, you poured all of your power into the attack and utterly obliterated him. And when I mean you poured everything into your attack I mean you delved into the depths of your being and pulled every last drop of power out of your body... before you collapsed and refused to get back up."

"How long?" Lyra asked, to which she coughed a few more times before getting it under control, as the last time something like this had happened she missed three days of events, "How long was I out."

"Two weeks." Trixie answered, though at the same time she crossed her arms and frowned, because she was worried about her friend and didn't want to see her like this all the time.

"T... Two weeks?!" Lyra repeated, though this time around she dropped the cup that she had been holding, which Trixie caught with her magic before it hit the floor and returned it to where she had been keeping it the entire time, "You mean to tell me that I've been unconscious for TWO WEEKS?!"

"That's what happens when you push yourself to the limits and use all of your energy like that," Trixie said, as she had been expecting Lyra to be like this when she discovered how much time she had missed due to her actions in the Emerald Nightmare, even if it helped her and the others out in the end, "Would you like to hear what you missed?"

Lyra was shaken by how much time she had missed, but she still believed that it had been the right move to listen to the spirit of Ysera and her master, Lord Illidan, to which she simply leaned back on her bed and nodded her head, where Trixie offered her some small food items to eat while she recapped what she had missed.

"Let's see, we got the essence of life necessary to save Shal'Aran and the Arcan'dor," Trixie stated, recalling everything that happened since Lyra terminated Xavius and purged his influence from the Emerald Dream, save for the small fragments of N'Zoth's power that was lurking beyond their reach, "The Arcan'dor, in it's new tree form, has begun to bear fruit that eliminate the thirst in the Nightborne, though it's an extremely slow rate and will take time before everyone of them is free from the Nightwell. Thalyssra has also called for the other leaders of the elven races, Tyrande for the Night Elves and Lady Liadrin for the Blood Elves, to assist her in planning the siege of the Nighthold... despite the fact that they already started the invasion of the city and are pressing forward."

"You mean Thalyssra is advancing without us?" Lyra asked, because she would have thought that their friend would have waited before going to war, especially after all the effort she, Trixie, and the other heroes went through to get the essence of life for her.

"Yes, because now is the best time to do so," Trixie said, though she let out a sigh, as she and the other heroes were bracing themselves for the eventual invasion of the Nighthold, where Gul'dan and Elisande were waiting for them, "Your forces have been telling Khadgar some news that might not be the best... they say that there is a very slim possibility that Kil'jaeden might be making his move soon."

"The Deceiver... coming to wage war with us while we're fighting in the Nighthold," Lyra said, as she could already imagine the powerful Demon Lord doing some serious damage while she and the others were focused on something else that wasn't him, "then what are we waiting for? We need to get moving before something terrible happens."

"You aren't going anywhere yet," Trixie stated, to which she rested a hand on Lyra's shoulder to stop her from going anywhere, as she knew more about what was happening than Lyra did, "Thalyssra hasn't said that she's secured the other way into the Nighthold, which we could use while the others are busy, so you have to wait and rest before we launch our invasion... though, if it makes you feel any better, Discord's appeared by that small pond again. If you're up for an incredibly small outing, I can fly you over to where the Spirit is resting and see what he wants, provided he stays in the area this time around."

Lyra stared at her friend for a moment, wondering what Discord might want while at the same time knowing that Trixie had stopped by to check on her once she heard the the Spirit was here, before she nodded and carefully pulled herself from the bed she had been sleeping in. She spotted her warglaives resting near the door of the clinic, where Trixie informed her that they hadn't been touched since they brought them back and the keepers of this building would make sure that they were held safe while they were gone. Trixie helped Lyra onto her hooves and aided her in walking to an area where she could safely transform into her blue dragon form, where Lyra climbed onto her companion's back and Trixie took off... to which she turned towards the small island that had the small pond they had seen Discord fishing at some time ago.

Sure enough Discord seemed to be minding his own business when Trixie got close to him, but this time around he didn't wave and disappear, meaning that he likely wanted to converse with them about something before he left them to their devices again.

"Ah, I see my guests have arrived," Discord commented, to which he dropped his fishing pole, which remained floating where he had been holding it, and turned towards the duo, all while raising an eyebrow as Lyra climbed of Trixie, who reverted back to her hybrid form, "I hope the two of you had your fill of excitement, adventure, and fun."

"I wouldn't call everything I've been through any of those words," Lyra replied, as she had joined the Illidari with one goal in mind, the complete and utter destruction of the Burning Legion, which she and the others were getting one step closer to completing now that Archimonde was already dead, "Speak your piece Discord, because I'm still recovering from an intense fight and I don't have the energy to waste on taking with you."

"I see... then I shall get to my point," Discord said, to which he snapped his talons and a portal appeared beside him, one that connected to a very familiar place that both Trixie and Lyra recognized, "You two aren't the first displaced ponies that I've been able to find, but thanks to the fact that I removed the nasty effects from my spell you are the first two that I can recall without causing serious damage to the two of you. Come along, Equus and all the other ponies are waiting for you two to come back."

"You came all this way, across the vastness of the universe, to take us home?" Trixie asked, though while her voice said that she found something like this hard to believe, which Lyra was feeling as well, her tone said something completely different, "Sorry, but we're going to have to deny you at the moment."

"Come again?" Discord inquired, because this was not how this meeting was supposed to go, as he was supposed to grab the two of them and leave before a certain someone noticed that the portal was even open.

"We have a war to win and a Legion to stop," Lyra stated, though this time around she growled as a dark green aura, complete with a black outline, appeared around her body as she faced the Spirit of Disharmony, "Trixie and I are important to the downfall of the Burning Legion, who could potentially raze this world and destroy it... and Equus in the process should Sargeras discover where it's located. We can't just leave our friends to face the last remaining Titan, who defeated his brothers and sister, to do as he pleases while an opening is being created... so you had best leave before I'm forced to put you in the group, just like I did with Xavius."

"Please, even with the power boost you got from being displaced by the mirror you wouldn't stand a chance against someone like me," Discord replied, though it was in that moment that he decided that grabbing them and making a run for it was the best course of action.

Lyra growled as she held her hands out, just like she had done in the battle with Xavius, and called upon a small fragment of her power, to which the two different colored spheres above her hands, Fel energy in her right hand and Dark Magic in her left hand. When she lived in Equestria, where she didn't have powers that could easily rival Twilight as a unicorn, or even an alicorn if she was lucky, she never dreamed of pitting herself against the Spirit of Disharmony, but now that she had something to fight for she wasn't going to abandon her friends in their hour of need. In her weakened state she knew that she wouldn't win this fight, if one were to break out, but for now it appeared that their desire to stay had caused Discord to stop moving... or maybe he could actually feel the power behind her spheres and was getting ready to call her bluff.

"Fine. I'll let the two of you stay here until you're ready to leave," Discord said, to which he gripped the portal he had created and moved it under his feet, like it was a rug, before he started to sink into it, "but know this; Sunset Shimmer is interested in this planet and the creature that seeks to destroy it. We'll be keeping our eyes on you and the moment you fail in this 'mission' of yours, and admit defeat, we'll call you both back to Equus."

Lyra stared at Discord until the Spirit was gone and the portal was closed, to which she sighed and canceled the spheres she had created, to which she swayed into Trixie's arms and remained there for a few minutes. The two of them now knew that Discord was actually watching over them and was waiting for them to admit that they had bitten off more than they could chew before pulling them back to Equus. The fact that they could go home didn't appeal to them at the moment, not when they had to find and defeal Gul'dan, recover Illidan's corpse and the Eye of Amun'thul, close the Tomb of Sargeras and likely kill Kil'jaeden. They were going to be busy for the next couple of weeks or months, but at the same time it raised a question in both their minds that couldn't be answered until the next time they were visited by Discord; why did the Spirit speak Sunset's name like he was afraid of her?

All Lyra knew was that something serious was happening back on their home world, something that she and Trixie would find out when they got back home, but for now they had to focus their attention of Suramar once more... and stop whatever foul plans Gul'dan was trying to put into motion.

Comments

[Ze1a7in]

Wow. The ponies back in Equestria have no faith in Trixie and Lyra. Lyra I can understand, but I would think Trixie would get a bit more faith.

[Blackdrag-rose]

8745138 Well... okay, I must have written something horribly wrong. I meant it in the sense that Discord didn't have faith in their abilities, because both Sunset and Celestia have faith in everyone that's been displaced (considering Sunset's own experiences and the fact that Celestia knows her ponies can overcome whatever is thrown in front of them). Twilight, on the other hand, trusts her mentor and has faith in them... sorry, I meant to convey that Discord doesn't have faith in them.

[Ze1a7in]

8745155
I figured, it was just a bit shocking how little faith Discord had. I mean, he and Trixie had to work together in the Season 6 finale, so I would have thought he had more faith than 0%.

Lyra, on the other hand, is understandable, as she is a background pony that has been thrust into heroics.