Previous Chapters Next
Close
1. End of a Battle, Start of a New Story531 words
2. New Stallion in Town3,097 words
3. Adjusting1,344 words
4. A Particular Party for a Particular Pony4,144 words
5. Breakdowns2,438 words
6. And I Just Retired1,709 words
7. Information Exchange1,584 words
8. Dreams2,299 words

7. Information Exchange

After what seemed ages, Princess Twilight, Fluttershy, and I myself had finally gotten though learning the basics of our respective worlds. Her world had one moon and sun controlled by princesses of the night and day where as mine had two moons and we speculate move across the void of space due to gravity or will of the gods. And we still aren’t sure which, I though grumpily. Everyone having marks on their flanks was a cutie mark and was a sort of right of passage for growing girls (fillies) and boys (colts) to find their special talent and place in life. Mine we had no such luck in interpreting it. I honestly don’t know why a mark of Azura’s would appear on my flank. Magic was interesting to talk about with the princess. Turns out, her talent is magic, and right now she was levitating a scroll and quill to write down the information provided. So far, she had a scroll on each college of magic, including mysticism, two on animals, and one on a brief synopsis on various conflicts. Fluttershy, on the other hoof, was in tears with how she had heard of the multitude of vicious animals prone to hunting sapient beings. We also compared our respective knowledges of magic. We ended up on recent events down that line of thought.

“So, that recent rumble, that held a lot of magic in it, though I couldn’t tell what it was before it disappeared. What was that?”

“That would be what is known as the Thu'um, or Shout, in common tongue,” I calmly explained, “and it's used either by masters after decades of training, or mortals with immortal souls. These are called Dovahkiin.”

“Dovahkin?” Fluttershy chirped up as she so rarely did save for a query on animal and plant life in Tamriel. “That sounds scary.”

“They are, for the dragons of Tamriel.”

“Oh! Oh! Another scroll!” And with that, the princess tossed her current scroll from her magic and plucked up another blank one in its place. The eager look on her face for knowledge was mildly off-putting. I did not let it show.

“Dragons, in Tamriel, are large reptilian beasts. Sentient and with their own language, they had once ruled over mortals with an iron talon,” I slipped into a lecture/story mode, “though it wasn’t always to be this way. You see, dragons are immortal as after they die a physical death, their souls don't leave their bodies.” Princess Twilight's eyes widened and Fluttershy gasped. “Instead, the soul sits waiting for another dragon to come by and use it's Thu'um to bring them back. To be honest, with flesh on their bones, it would probably look like they were waking up.” I took a brief pause before continuing, “It was because of this, dragons there thought that they were destined to always rule after mortals. However, there were some mortals that were then born with a soul of a dragon. They are called Dragonborn, or Dovahkin.”

“So, that rumble, was that because of training under a Dovahkin or Thu'um master?”

“Well, yes and no.”

“Pardon?”

I took a deep breath, “Yes, I trained under masters, but also no, because that was a completed Shout. Also, I am a Dovahkin,” and I braced impassively for a response.

“Oh, okay- wait, what?!”

“I'm not sure how Dovahkin come to be, though, I can shout without decades of training.”

“That's what you did, then,” Fluttershy spoke up. “You shouted that Timberwolf apart!” Though “spoke up” was still just below normal speaking volume for this mare.

“Yes. It is also possible to do other things with this power, though those that don’t have the soul of a dragon cannot learn as quickly as I did. It takes years to even grasp the concept of the first word of a shout for most.”

“That’s, impressive,” the princess stated, almost numbly. Not sure if she was mildly disappointed that I may not be able to properly teach her or if she was trying to process it all. “Wait! I have an idea!” Perhaps not. “You could teach Spike!”

“What?”

“Teach who what now?”

All of us turning to my left saw said young dragon, a look of confusion about his scaly features. He then pointed to me and inquired, “And why are you on the table?” It seems myself and the princess both had forgotten about my wounds whilst exchanging what we knew. Thankfully, I was all wrapped up and I jumped down -taking care to land on three hooves instead of all four- and addressed the problem.

“I don’t know if I can teach him to Shout.”

“But he’s a dragon,” the princess explained, “surely-”

“Ah, true, but a different kind of dragon. I’m not sure if he can learn to do as I do.”

“Well, there’s no harm in trying, right?”

“Wait, why do I need training in yelling? I can do it just fine!” To prove his point, he puffed up with a deep breath of air, only to have his scaly muzzle wrapped in a magenta aura muffling his cry.

“Not that kind of shouting, Spike. The magic kind.”

“Oh, okay.” A few beats passed before he flinched and exclaimed, “Wait, what?! You mean I could learn magic?!”

“Maybe,” I stressed, “though first off, that should be delayed for a while. I am injured, and it takes energy and time to train as it does to heal from wounds.”

“Aw…”

Favoring my left foreleg, I hobbled around and began to head for the door. “Wait, where are you going?” Fluttershy questioned.

“Out to find a quiet place to meditate,” I replied, “I can't just sit around and do nothing. Also, I don’t feel as though the castle's a good place for meditation.”

“Uh, why?” Princess Twilight sounded almost hurt at that.

“I mean no disrespect, your Highness, though an out of the way place is better than an easily accessed one.” I turned to the dragonling. “I may be able to give you a head start if you come with me, Spike.” Eager claws on crystal clicked after my hoofsteps as I began my search for a meditative place.

~(☼~

It took a while, though I finally found a place that was perfect. It was close to a cottage that looked as though a druid resided in it, so I wasn’t too far from someone in case someone became injured again, as the Everfree Forest was still close by. I learned Fluttershy lived there upon seeing her walk to the front door and wave shyly to me before entering. The quiet mare shouldn't cause any disturbance. I sit on the ground cross-legged, straighten by spine, and place what I believe my wrists to now be on my knees. A little tricky as a pony, but not impossible. I kept my eyes open and waited for Spike to mirror my movements. Once he did, his claws automatically had his index claw and thumb closed together.

“Now, first this is first. You must know the word and meaning of a Shout,” I began, “as failure to do so will fail in properly Shouting.” An eager nod. “Alright, then. Let's start with Yol. Fire.” Spike then groaned audibly.

“Come on, I know about fire. I’m a dragon!” He waved his scaled arms in protest.

I glared back at him, “Then perhaps you’d care to tell Twilight how you injured yourself Shouting or how you didn’t learn anything to tell her about it.” I was met with a tangible silence and his eyes slammed shut. “Very well.”

“Breath. That’s the main key to it. Fire requires breath. Air. Where I am from, the wind is called Kyne’s Breath. The breathing of a goddess. In. And out,” I stated as I began to follow my own instruction and too, closed my eyes. “Fire. It burns all it touches, reducing most to cinders, others liquid rock or metal. Other time, simply providing light as a torch, or even a simple candle or a spark. Meditate on this meaning, within and without. Understand the nature and relationship is has with you, especially as a dragon. Heat-resistant scales. Fire-breathing. Let your natural breath improve the flame within.” The flame within me grew warm, and I sensed a light warmth coming from Spike as well. “Now picture yourself within the source of fire. The heart of the flames. Within a campfire. Now a furnace, a wildfire. You are within it, and it, within you. Both unharmed by either. The fire large, yet stagnant in size.” The heat from Spike was starting to grow at an alarming rate. “Now what is... going… on….” I couldn’t form the words proper as a small emerald inferno surrounded the dragon, only lightly scorching the ground underneath himself.

“What? Should I open my eyes? Am I doing it?” The moment his focus ended, so did the flames. His eyes opened, and his disappointment was palpable. “Aww, man. I thought I had it. What are you looking at like that?”

Just realizing my jaw was slack, I corrected with an unintentional clack. “Perhaps you did better than you thought." I pointed a hoof to the scorch marks surrounding him. “The flames were controlled, yet intense. Perhaps I may be able to teach you to Shout.”

“Wahoo!”

“Once I’m healed, hatchling!” I stated, laughing.

“Oh! Right.” Though sheepish, the young dragon was still excited. A training plan began forming. Princess Twilight would be eager to learn this.

Author's Note:

Feel free to chime in with ideas or comments! Theories, perhaps?

996 views