The Alicorn Scrolls

by Terrarian Pony

Chapter 7~ Warriors of the Old Times

Author's Note:

Author's note: This story is in no way related to the canon storyline, other than specific characters, and only small bits of canon lore. Note that some of the locations mentioned in the story are completely made up. This contents of this story may include violence, romance, same gender romance, gore, references to several video games, and PINKIE PIE! If any of you are offended by any of the content listed above, this story is not for you. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

P.S. You may notice that some sentences are in the the Dovah language from Skyrim. If you want to know what it says, I use this website here to translate. Make sure to switch the translation to "English to dragon".

By Terrarian Pony

Story:

Terrarian Pony presents

The Alicorn Scrolls

Chapter 7

Warriors of the Old Times

...

Paarthurnax, true to his word, brought the two of them most of the way. They went past the Everfree Forest, even past the old castle of the two alicorn sisters. Paarthurnax dropped them off there, and told them to continue southeast.

"Thank you, Paarthurnax." Terran said, gratefully. "Hopefully we will meet again."

"Of this, I have no doubt." Paarthurnax said with a grin before flying back to his mountain. As the two of them made their way southeast, Terran was slightly upset that he couldn't study the old castle, but he understood that there was more at stake then just knowledge.

The path was dark. Darker than the Everfree Forest. Somehow, even scarier as well. He didn't know why, but Terran felt a distinct urge to look behind him. When he did, he saw two yellow eyes, surrounded by the silhouette of a pony. Assassin? Maybe someone was just lost. Or maybe...

"I think we need to move a little faster." Terran suggested.

"I don't like this place." Tulip said, anxiously.

"Well, we're already halfway through. Let's keep going, but quick."

Tulip starts flying while Terran quickens to a slow trot. The trees looked as though they had been burned to charcoal, and the sky had a red tint to it. Terran felt something in the air. It was ominous and terrifying. The eyes of several pony-like figures were on them, but they were making a scream that no pony could ever make. Suddenly, one jumped out of a bush and hooked onto Tulip, gnawing on her wing, growling ferociously. "AH!" Tulip yelled in panic. "TERRAN HELP! GET THIS THING OFF ME!"

Terran skidded to a stop and looked back at the endangered wyvern. The creature looked like some sort of zombpony, but there was something different about it. It was charred, and wore a knights' helm and other gear, and it's eyes were glowing yellow instead of the usual bloodshot red. There was a dark aura around it, giving off smoke. It had wings, indicating pegasus, but they were so worn to the bone, that the creature couldn't fly if it wanted to.

As Terran ran after Tulip to save her, he was jumped by a creature wearing the same apparel. Except this one looked like a unicorn, it's horn twisted and bent, but it emitted a faint glow, keeping Terran in place as it attacked his right foreleg. He screamed in pain as more of the creatures came out to feast on them. Tulip was being pulled on either side by the things. Terran looked desperately for a way out of this, but couldn't. The smoke was blurring his vision, and he couldn't get free of the spell. It was all over. They were finished. Or maybe... maybe there was one hope.

"Fus... RO!!!" The word came out like the sound of thunder. The burned creatures were pushed back slightly, and Terran's aim was just right that he made the creatures attacking Tulip flinch enough that she was able to get free, and gain enough time to charge up and zap the creatures into dust. Terran was still held in place however, using his unrelenting force shout to knock the creatures away.

"Terran!" Tulip shouted. "Fire! Fire!"

Fire? Terran thought, mildly confused. What fire? Wait a minute... Terran remembered Paarthurnax, and a couple of other dragons shouting a word before using their spitting flames from their mouths. Paarthurnax also gave him the ability to use said word. But somehow he couldn't remember the word he'd had used.

"What was the word!?"

Tulip zapped another one of the creatures, attempting to defend herself. "Yol!" she screamed. "The word..." ZAP "was yol!"

That's right! It took all of Terran's strength to turn his paralyzed head towards the undead unicorn that was immobilizing him. Soon after, he shouted so loud, Paarthurnax could probably hear it from Mount Everhoof. "YOL!"

A burst of flames caused the creature break it's concentration. It didn't scream as it was being burned, but Terran could tell it was getting weaker. Finally, it slumped to the ground. Unfortunately, using the fire breath shout took a lot more energy from him then unrelenting force, so it would take longer for him to recover from the shout. But Tulip swooped in, zapping the pony-like creatures until Terran could recharge. One last burst of flames, and the creatures had finally begun to back away into the forest. Terran was out of breath now, and so was Tulip.

"Th-that's... strange. Zombponies don't retreat." Terran quickly observed.

"Hey, let's not besmirch this blessing." Tulip said.

"Agreed. Let's go before more come."

...

The forest clearing was just ahead of them. Finally they were out of the creepy forest. They saw, just up a hill, there was what seemed to be a lodge. It was broken down, and ruined, and there seemed to be some sort of traps lying about. Wooden spikes, pitfalls, and bear traps. Ancient runes were placed to fend off... something. Perhaps the same creatures that attacked in the forest. But what had happened, then? Terran began on the path, up the house, carefully avoiding any obstacles. "We have wings, you know." Tulip pointed out, matter of factly.

Terran looked back at her. "I need to figure out what happened here." Terran said, aching to use his skills of deduction for something other than witty humor"That may require some risks."

"Well, good luck with that. I'll... meet you there." Tulip took off, but Terran was too fixated on his study of the runes to even hear her leave. Runes were a form of writing, yes. But they were also used in spells. Usually for traps, or the occasional exorcism. He couldn't read runes, however. They were far too complex to understand. He doubted that anyone in the world would even know how to read these anymore. He kept going, frequently stopping to examine small details. Armored zombpony impaled on a spike, a recently dead bird, a broken spear...

He made his way to a set of concrete stairs. In his way, was the skeleton of an armored pony with arrows in his back. The armor was rusted, and one of the arrows seemed to have pierced through the back of their neck, and straight through their mouth. That was the killing blow, he was sure of it. Who were these ponies? And what were they fighting for?

"Get away from me you freaks!" Tulip yelled in panic. "Gah! Take that! Ack!"

Terran hurdled the skeleton, and suddenly felt something grasp at his leg. He came to the ground with a slam. He looked behind him to see the skeleton had come to life and grabbed him in it's hooves. He kicked the thing, and it let go.

He flew over to where Terran heard Tulip yell, right by the entrance to the lodge. She was being held and bound by a small group of skeleton ponies. Leather braces kept her wings strapped to her side, and she had a muzzle.

"FUS!"

The skeletons were knocked back, and collapsed to pieces. Terran landed right in front of Tulip. "Are you hurt?"

"Just my dignity!" Tulip shouted. "What kinda weirdo bounds a wyvern in leather! Might as well wave a metal rod in the air and say 'OH! ME! ME! ZAP ME!' Morons!"

The bones from the skeleton began to reform into ponies again. Terran pulled Tulip behind him, and stood posed in a defense position. Suddenly, a voice came from the lodge.

"Dragonborn." A youthful-looking soldier pony with armor came from the front door. As the others reformed, they stood at attention. It was a male, pale-blue unicorn, with brown eyes, and a purple mane. "It's been so long since we've met one of your kind."

"Okay... not creepy at all." Tulip said, brow raised.

"Please tell me I didn't just walk into the remnants of a long dead cult who worships dragonborns." Terran said.

"Not quite." the strange pony said. "Although, we were a group tasked with protecting the dragonborn. Unfortunately, the previous one we had, sacrificed himself to lock away a great evil, and he had no heirs. But you are here now, hmm? Let me guess... the world is coming to an end once more?"

"Maybe, question mark?" Terran said, with a scrunched look.

"Did you really just say question mark?" Tulip asked, rolling her eyes.

"Alduin is back. A uh... friend, said that you could help me? Though, it looks like you guys have seen better days yourselves."

"I cannot deny that truth." the strange pony admitted. "We are no longer fit to be who we once were. Something in this place... it's keeping us alive. Well... physically that is. I'm afraid whatever we would have been able to help you with, we no longer have the ability to do as such."

"I'm sorry for interrupting, but... who are you guys? Do the others talk, too?"

"I am Tektus, commander of the last remnants of the Blades. I'm afraid my colleagues no longer have the ability to speak. I have been using a spell to differentiate myself from the rest of these skeletal beings, and to speak on their behalf. It makes for rather boring conversation if you ask me. But they do as I say. If I need something done, they are the best ponies I could ask for. I am just glad to finally have someone else to speak with for once in a long time."

"Uh... ehem." Tulip said, reminding of her predicament.

"Oh, right. Um... you think you can let my friend go?" Terran said.

Tektus nodded towards the other guards, and they ran to help Tulip out of her binds.

"That's it!" Tulip shouted. "The next person dumb enough to tie me up, scratch at me, bite me, poke me with a metal stick or any kind of stick, or even looks at me funny, is getting a one-way ticket to the lightning show!"

"Apologies for the inconvenience." Tektis apologized. "My Blades must have mistaken your wyvern friend for a dragon. We do not take very kindly to dragons around here."

"Technically we were allies with the dragons..." Terran said. "but then Alduin appeared, and they begun following their former master, all that jizz."

"Allies?" Tektus gawked "Really. Did you actually think you could tame such beasts' anger?"

"There are a few that stayed true. Not all of them are necessarily bad, or even loyal to Alduin."

"Dragons do not have loyalties. They are far too greedy."

"That's not true." Tulip commented. "We met a dragon that practically saved our lives. Well, saved his life. Probably didn't give a hoot about me."

"That is likely because it wants to take over after you slay Alduin."

"You don't take the time to meet many dragons, do you?" Terran observed.

"The only good dragon is a dead one, I say." Tektus explained.

"Yeah, about that. Dragons are coming back... to life I mean."

"Hmm... that is no good at all. I do believe, however, there is a way to defeat Alduin. But first, I need to know if you are truly Dragonborn."

"What do I have to do?"

"Seriously?" Tulip gawked. "What's this? More trials. Can't we get to the action already?"

"You mean like the hoard we just dealt with back in the forest?" Terran said. "I think I prefer a something smaller for once."

"Ah, you refer to our more... feral brethren." Tektus said hesitantly. "They've had the misfortune of turning into charred husks, by a dragon named Durunslaadnahkriin. A dragon well known for vengeful curses."

"So this... Durun-somethin-something cursed you, and now you live forever, and you can't leave?" Tulip said, repeating everything Tektus said in a nutshell.

"Precisely. But we... or rather, I, have been studying a way to break this curse. So far, nothing."

"Back to the topic at hoof?" Terran said.

"Of course. Tektus said. "I must know. Are you truly, who you say you are."

"I never said anything. You only assumed because of the way I throw my voice."

"I assumed because of the way you carry yourself. You look like dragonborn material, now let us see if you are."

...

Terran had learned all about the Blades, and their mission to protect the Dragonborn. It turned out, that Starswirl was not actually the first to go against, and beat Alduin. What Terran wanted to know was, why didn't he know Starswirl was Dragonborn until he met the unicorn? Tektus told Terran that if he can win against the oldest dragon, then he is worthy of the dragonborn title.

"But I'm only a beginner to this sort of thing." Terran said, modestly. "How could I beat a dragon like that?"

"You'll know how, when the time is right." Tektus claimed, decidedly not specifying what meant. Tektus took him through the lodge. It was a nice place, if a bit dusty, but at least there weren't any cobwebs as Terran had expected. Just the identical skeletons of pony soldiers milling about without much purpose. There was a bear rug in the middle of the room. It looked quite fresh, all things considered. Tektus brought Terran through the back door, which lead to a training yard, full of training equipment. Targets, dummies, and weapon racks. Behind all of it was a gate. A pegasus was carrying a sack full of what sounded like metal, and dropped it in front of Terran. Terran looked in the sack and found the same armor that all the skeleponies were wearing. "The armor of the Blades. It will protect you better than... whatever that is."

"Crystal Empire armor isn't that terrible."

"Whatever you do" Tulip teased. "don't insult his shiny armor. He's sooo nerdy about it."

"Okay, maybe I nerded out once about it." Terran admitted. "But only because of it's sophisticated structure and..." He saw Tulip's grin and shut up.

"Let's be honest." atulip said. "That armor was probably more ceremonial, than combat-worthy."

"Well... technically yes. At least the armor in this bag isn't as rusty as the ones you guys are wearing. How old are you again? No offnese, but I've never heard of the Blades, and the Guild of Knowledge would surely have known about it.

Tektus rolled his eyes. "Wha- you're kidding me. Our dragonborn is a bookworm? I suppose that explains a lot about you. Did you check the 'Extremely Ancient' section?"

"Sorry" Terran said. "that archive was archived under 'conveniently non-existent, or unstudied'. Believe me. We have more information on the Dusk Ponyhood, than we have on you guys."

"Ironic, isn't it. When the Blades were around, we were all that your guild wrote about. Why do you think that is?"

"Likely because our Guild Master is too paranoid to share that information."

"No. Because your guild is not interested in the past. They never were."

"What?"

"Have you ever noticed how the Guild of Knowledge was always involved in political affairs?"

"No. Well, yes. But as far as I've known, we've never come into face-to-face contact with Princess Celestia, or any of the Princesses until just recently."

"There is probably a reason for that."

"What are you suggesting?"

"Just keep an eye on that guild of yours. There is a reason they are known as the Persuasive Few. Now, head through the get, keep going, and you will find him."

The gate opened slowly as Terran approached it. Going through the gate, he arrived in a forest much like the one he just came from. Tulip came up right beside him. "You sure you want to go with?" Terran asked.

"I don't like being surrounded by creepy skeletons." Tulip answered nonchalantly. "I can handle this 'oldest dragon'."

They reached a clearing in the forest. It was mostly empty, save for a giant mound in the middle. A plethora of vines grew just behind them as they entered the clearing, and a giant, white claw rose from the mud of the mound, and slammed onto the ground next to Terran. Another followed shortly, and the mound began to clear revealing the form of ginormous, pale-white dragon, with eyes as black as voids, and claws as sharp and rigged as stalagmites. It's wingspan were as large as ten houses lined up together. Tail as long as a whale, with spikes pointier than pyramids. The dragon looked down at the dragonborn with a wide grin, completely dismissing the wyvern.

"Welcome Dovahkiin wah dii golt do praan!"

...

To be continued...

Comments

[Terrarian Pony]

Oh good! I can finally take a break! This one took way to much dialogue, and too much effort for my creativity.