Tea Time Troubles
There was only darkness. It was all that could be seen, the inky blackness that never ended. It was such a stark contrast to the blinding light that had been experienced in what felt like moments earlier. But that light had ended so suddenly, with no warning or precedent, then the darkness came to replace it just as quickly.
If there was anything that the golem Shale could admit to fearing, besides those flying pests of course, was that very darkness. The black nothingness that stretched on and on, with no sign of ever stopping, consuming all until there was only itself to be seen.
Now Shale felt to be in that very darkness. The very darkness it had experienced all those years ago, what had brought it to lose its true self. It was there before it now, as ever expanding as it always was, looking so eerily familiar that if the golem had skin, it would certainly be crawling.
As all else seemed to become lost to it, Shale's mind flared to an focused concentration as it could have sworn it had heard something, a noise that reverberated through the black void. Moments passed where the statue questioned if it wasn't simply its own imagination that had conjured the idea, but it sounded off again. The noise was slightly more clear this time, almost sounding like a voice.
Again and again, as time slowly ticked by, the voice became much clearer. It soon turned into several voices, coming to the point where words could be understood.
“Where was it found?” The voice speaking sounded oddly gravely and rough, as though the speaker was gargling stones in his throat.
“Outside, just standing there in the open.” The second voice was nearly the exact same as the first, though having a slightly deeper pitch.
“Was there anything else? Did you not search?” the first voice said, sounding both angry and irritated.
“No, nothing, just this strange thing,” the deeper voice said, whimpering slightly.
A third voice then appeared, much like the previous two, though its pitch was higher. “But, we still have this treasure. And such pretty gems it has, too bad attached to such ugly rock-thing.”
An annoyed growl sounded, followed quickly by the voice of the first. “Fine! At least these precious jewels are plentiful still. I've never seen gems with such beauty. Hurry now, get them out of this thing now!”
Suddenly, Shale felt a heavy thud strike its chest, sending a vibrating shock wave to tremble across its body and rattle into its stone head. Again, the strike occurred, accompanied by a grunt of exertion. Then, as a third strike came, the golem opened its eyes to see the darkness vanish instantly, forcing the living statue to gaze up at a cavernous wall and to see several creatures standing over it.
It took only a moment for Shale to realize it was on its back, looking up at what had to be the ceiling of a crudely dug cave. Though the surrounding are wasn't what the golem's attention was focused on. It was the strange creatures standing over it that brought on a moment of examination.
They were three, odd looking beasts. Looking at them, Shale found a sliver of comparison to a mabari hound it used to travel with. Though their eyes looked dulled to the point of stupidity, with elongated under bites and dusty vests that they wore along with diamond-studded collars. Most noticeable was their forelimbs, looking long and gangly, giving them an almost fully upright posture as they sat idle. One of the three appeared to be the leader, wearing a red vest that was colored differently than the other two, as well as the added ornamentation of an amber jewel on his collar.
Another standing beside him was larger in size and looking dimmer in intelligence, though Shale had its doubts that the gap was very wide. His coat was a lifeless stone grey, looking covered in dust and dirt. In his hand was the most primitive looking spear that the golem had ever seen, comprising of a pointed, triangular rock fastened to a long stick.
The hound looked down at Shale, meeting its gaze for a few moments. “This rock-thing is creepy, I think it's staring at me,” the big hound whimpered.
He whined again as the leader smacked him upside the head, snarling a little as he eyed the beast. “Quit with the sniveling, you stupid mutt, and keep trying.”
Doing as he was told, the larger hound raised the spear up and brought it down onto Shale's shoulder. The strike held the same vibrating thud as all the others before it, it did little in actually damaging the golem's hardened exterior however. Again, the spear was raised up to be brought back down on the stone surface. This time however, the weapon broke, the spear-head splitting into several pieces while the stick snapped in half.
“Worthless tool,” the leader growled. His gaze turned away to look deeper into the cave system. “Bring me the sharp, curved tool! I want those precious gems!” The leader was then handed a rusty pickaxe, the wooden handle was battered and looked as though something had been chewing on it.
The hound leader raised the pickaxe high up and over his head, preparing to bring it down on the golem with full force. Shale realized that its quite observation of the strange creatures had run its course, not wanting to see what the digging tool would do to its stone body..
As the leader brought the pickaxe down, his swing was halted on the spot as the golem's massive arm shot upward and grabbed onto the hound's throat. Startled helps escaped the two other hounds while the leader whimpered as his body shook like a leaf. The creature's eyes widened in pure terror as Shale stared at him, its eyes narrowing to form a deathly glare.
Commander Cousland held his head in his hand as he look down aimlessly at the table he was sitting at.
Twilight had led him to the table to sit down and relax. It had been somewhat difficult as he realized that the pony didn't have any chairs, instead he had to sit atop a cushion placed on the floor while the table itself was nearly dwarven sized compared to him. Though it was somewhat uncomfortable, having to haunch his back slightly over the table, he knew there wasn't a better option.
Several minutes ticked by with the Warden simply sitting in silence, alone except for the thoughts that buzzed through his head about what he had just seen and experienced. Much had occurred that he needed to dwell on, but the the pounding in his head proved to be more powerful and kept his own inner monologues at bay.
Eventually, Twilight returned to the table, a metal tray levitating in the air beside her. It was set down gracefully, displaying a quaint tea set resting on top of it. The commander didn't know what it was and could only stare at it while the unicorn took her place at the other end of the table.
The kettle glowed in a magical aura as it was lifted into the air and into the air, tipping it over a small cup to allow the liquid to pour into it. After both cups were filled, the kettle was set aside and Twilight levitated one of the cups toward the commander.
Having no idea what kind of substance it was, he was somewhat hesitant to drinking it. Twilight noticed it as well, and after a reassuring sip from her own, the Warden picked up the cup and took a small sip from the steaming liquid. It tasted strange to him, like an ale that was far too weak to be considered one, but it warmed his body well and he felt his tensed body slowly relax to it.
As the human and pony drank their tea, Twilight spent the time to explain to him what Equestria was. Though she didn't get into any kind of grand detail on anything, she made sure to cover anything that he would most likely need to know.
Now, all the commander could do was stare down at the wooden surface of the table dejectedly, barely able to believe what he was being told. “Flying ponies... creating weather... moving the sun and moon... By the Maker, I'm not even close to my own home, am I?”
“I'm afraid to say that it seems to be the only explanation,” Twilight said, her tone being one of pity. “I've certainly never seen a creature like you before, neither has anypony else apparently since you're not listed in any record I've ever seen. I'm also certain that an entire civilization of you wouldn't go unnoticed for so long.”
“I still can't believe it...” Commander Cousland muttered. As he thought on it more though, it did make a small amount of sense. He had become aware that there were in fact other worlds or realms beyond that of their own and the Fade. It was a fact made to him when standing before an Eluvian some time ago, that such artifacts could be used to traverse into them. Now with his mind cleared, he could recall what had happened before he awoke within the strange library.
“So, do you remember what brought you here?” Twilight asked, curious as to how the human had managed such a feat.
The commander nodded his head slowly, his mind already replaying the events. “Me and my men, we were going after this blood mage.” He stopped as he noticed Twilight eying him strangely. “Mage is what we call people who can use magic.” When the unicorn nodded in understanding, he continued. “We found him and realized he was using an Eluvian, an ancient artifact that can be used as a portal for communication as well as physical travel, to summon some kind of creature. We were almost killed to make the spell work, but it was disrupted. Then... all I remember was this blinding light and then... nothing else.”
“That must have been what sent you here,” Twilight murmured. The young scholar was still reluctant to accept that the creature sitting next to her was from another world of existence, but the evidence pointed toward that conclusion. Though, as she thought on it, she used to think that time travel was impossible as well, so she couldn't be too much of a skeptic.
They both remained silent for some time, allowing the knowledge of what had been said to sink into them. Commander Cousland began to eye his teacup, noticing the handle at the side of it, which allowed him to grip it as he drank. It seemed peculiar to him, since the creatures using them were without fingers and he noticed Twilight used her magic. He then put it out of his mind, thinking it was something that wasn't worth the time.
“So,” Twilight said, breaking the silence that fell between them, “what happened to your friends.”
The commander didn't answer right away, catching the fact that she referred to them as his friends. It seemed odd to him, as he didn't initially refer to them like that toward her. “I don't know,” he said simply. “For all I know, they're still in Ferelden and only I was sent away. Maybe they're scattered to other worlds that are out there, maybe they're dead. There's no way for me to know for sure.”
Twilight frowned as the full weight of the situation fell on her, seeing a creature so far from their rightful place with no clear way of returning, to be lost in a land that was so foreign. As her eyes trailed away from the tea set on the table, the scholar caught sight of the nearby window. Outside, she could see that the bright skies had turned dark, Luna's moon having risen high up into the sky. It occurred to her just how long the day had been, time almost flying by as she discovered the strange creature.
“Well,” Twilight said, stifling a yawn as her body began to tell her how late it had become, “perhaps it would be the best if we turn in for the night. I'm sure after a rejuvenating rest, it will be much easier to think on how we can continue with your arrival.” The commander simply stared at the unicorn for a few moments, as though he wasn't understanding what she was implying. “Of course, you're welcome to rest here, I bet even humans need sleep.”
“Yeah...” he replied hesitantly, “but you really trust me, a strange creature who appeared out of thin air, to stay here?”
Twilight smiled at that, noticing how civilized he was. “Of course, I can't very well throw you out in the cold night air. Especially when everypony else might react differently to your arrival.” She trotted passed him and headed for the basement door. “Follow me, I'll show you where you can stay.”
Pausing only to question the pony's nearly unreal hospitality, the Warden did as he was told and followed her. As Twilight opened the door, her ears perked fully upright as she just remembered something, causing her to quickly shut it.
“Before we go,” she said, smiling somewhat uneasily toward the commander, “I need to tell you that there's someone else who lives here.”
“Another pony?” the commander replied. “Is it one of those earth ponies or pegasus...suses...,” he strained slightly at the word, “you've mentioned?”
“It's pegasi,” Twilight corrected, “and no, he's not. He's my assistant, you two have atually met before and... you kind of attacked him.”
“I did?” he questioned, having no memory of such a thing.
The scholar noticed the human's confusion to the statement. “I suppose you must have been out of sorts a bit... but nevertheless, I just wanted to tell you now so there aren't any more surprises like that.”
As the Warden nodded, Twilight reopened the door and trotted down the stairs. Following the unicorn, the commander looked about the basement to see the many more books that lined the walls. As they both reached the bottom, the Warden noticed the small, purple-scaled creature who was placing a book on one of the shelves.
“Oh, Spike,” Twilight said with an impressed tone, looking about the clean floor, “you've cleaned up everything.”
“Yeah,” the infant assistant said, making sure the books were in the right order, “but I can't do anything about the damage to the floor so-” Spike stopped as he turned around and saw the human beside his caretaker. “What's he doing here?”
“What's he supposed to be?” the commander asked, eying the dragon.
“Spike,” Twilight said, addressing the dragon, “he's going to be staying here, remember? That's why I sent you down here to wait for us to be done talking. And, Commander,” she turned toward the human, “this is Spike, he's a baby dragon.”
“A little small for a dragon,” the Warden remarked, “and he can talk too?”
“Hey,” Spike snapped, “I'm not small! I'm just the right height for my age, Twilight says so.”
The commander raised his hands up defensively as he saw how heated the dragon had become. “Sorry, I mean no insult by it. The dragons I usually see are much larger, even for newborns.”
“Oh, you have dragons where you're from?” Twilight asked, ignoring her assistant.
“Uh... yeah,” he answered, having trouble looking away from the strange looking dragon. “They look a lot different than he does though, a lot meaner as well.”
Turning toward his caretaker, Spike approached Twilight and leaned close to whisper to her. “He's not mad about the whole book thing, is he?”
“The what thing?” the commander asked, hearing them despite the added secrecy.
“Oh he doesn't mean anything by it,” Twilight quickly said, nudging Spike closer toward the stairs. “Now he has to be getting ready for bed right about now. Don't you, Spike?”
“Alright, alright,” Spike said reluctantly. The Warden and scholar watched as he slowly trudged up the stairs to disappear into the library.
“Anyway,” Twilight said, turning toward the small room that was connected to the one they were in, “I have what you can sleep on through here.” With her horn glowing in a magenta aura, Twilight approached the doorway and slowly backed away from it. Following her was a bed, floating vertically through the doorway before it was within the room and she placed it on the ground. “You can sleep on this. It used to be upstairs, but I had to bring it down here for space. It's only been used a few times by my friends too, so it's almost like new.”
The commander approached the bed, running a hand across the blanket. “Wow,” he remarked, feeling the soft mattress, “this looks comfortable.” The bed also looked to be about the same size as one from his own world, leaving him just enough room to sleep on.
Happy to have helped the human, Twilight trotted toward the stairs to allow him to rest. Looking back, she stopped at the base of the stairs as she noticed him removing his armor. He had his back to her as one by one, each piece of metal was stripped away and placed in a neat pile. With an observant gaze, the scholar stared at the human as his natural body began to be displayed. Even with the light fabrics he wore underneath, she was able to gain much detail about his body, seeing his strong, muscular frame.
After every piece of armor was removed, the Warden turned to see Twilight standing there. “Is something wrong?” he asked, causing the unicorn to subtly jump as he became aware he had noticed her.
“Oh uh... no. I actually wanted to make sure you had everything you needed,” she said, silently scolding her inner scholar for nearly creating an overly awkward situation.
“No, I'm fine,” the Warden replied with a smile,” but... thank you, Twilight Sparkle.”
The unicorn couldn't help but giggle lightly, only used to hearing her full name from the princess and the Canterlot Castle staff. “Just Twilight will be fine, Commander,” she said, turning to go up the stairs.
The commander nodded as she went up the stairs. “You can call me Warden,” he returned, “everyone else does.”
Twilight stopped ascending the stairs to look down to him, smiling herself as she too nodded. “Well then, good night, Warden.” The young scholar then continued up the stairs as the commander turned toward the bed.
Upon entering the library, the unicorn was met with a disgruntled dragon, eying her flatly as he crossed his arms. “Do you think it's a good idea to have him sleeping here?”
“Why not?” Twilight asked. “It's not as though he has anywhere else to go. Besides, he doesn't seem dangerous, just... confused and I trust him.” Not only that, but the young scholar was brimming with excitement over learning more about where the human comes from, especially since they apparently have magic there as well. A yawn escaped the lavender mare, again reminding her of how late it was. “Just go to bed, Spike. Maybe you can learn to trust him in the morning.”
Though still unsure about the human, Spike couldn't deny how tired he was. So without another word, the little dragon climbed into his basket bed and slowly drifted to sleep. Twilight did the same, resting her head against her pillow and becoming completely relaxed, her mind curious as to what the next day would bring.
Waking up in a small, closet-sized room filled with brooms, mops and buckets, the King of Ferelden quickly realized that he was in a strange place.
Alistair was alarmed of course, seeing the strange walls around him, the entire place looking like a castle of some kind. His curious mind quickly broke down however as he noticed the strange, four-legged beasts that patrolled the hallways. They looked vicious to him, wearing heavy, golden armor, and having pointed horns atop their heads. He could only imagine what it would be like to be run through with one of them.
Now he chose to run, not wanting to engage the beasts directly, or be caught and possibly taken to whatever master that was controlling them. All he could think to do was escape the castle and figure out where he was. The plan proved difficult to complete as he had no idea where he should be going. It made him realize what bad leadership material he was, as well as make him wish his old friend was there with him, the one who always seemed to know where to go. The king was at least glad he was competent enough to evade the patrolling beasts, not being seen in the slightest. That luck quickly changed however, as he turned a corner and crashed into someone.
“So much for my stealth skills,” Alistair murmured in his dazed state. As he regained his senses, his eyes widened as he looked at what he had just ran into.
It was one of the beasts. Though this one was noticeably different from the others. It was somewhat taller, though slimmer in the legs and body, with little armor except for a plate wrapping around the neck and small caps on the hooves. The creature also had a much longer horn, looking as though it could easily pierce the strongest of armor. Alistair also saw what looked like wings at the creature's sides, colored in a dark azure that matched its body.
As the creature picked itself up, it looked at Alistair with the same amount of shock and surprise as the king showed toward it. Their stare down of startled realization lasted several moments, with both of them as still as statues.
Not making any sudden move, Alistair slowly inched his hands toward his sword and shield. Before he could even wrap his fingers around them however, the creature noticed his action. In only a few seconds, he found himself covered in a dark blue aura and then thrown against the nearby wall, the back of his head striking it with a heavy thud.
As the blue glow disappeared form his body, the last thing Alistair saw was the floor rushing toward him. The impact was never felt by him however, his world being submerged in darkness long before it could happen.
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this is very good so far keep it up.
They seem to be getting knocked out a bit to easy for heroes.
Only mistake I saw.
Poor Alistair, lost and captured by royalty. Will certainly make for interesting conversation. Shale with the Diamond Dogs will also be a laugh. The one that concerns me though is the templar's reaction to a world on magical creatures...
Alistair just got owned by a goddess. whadya know.
Hmmm... Alistair and Luna? Oh my... the amount of snark and ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE is going to be epic next chapter. I hope.
Ok so, this one is a bit better example of the last chapter comment. Ok so Celestia is strong but I doubt she would put her whole power into submitting him, so he could at least momentarily dispel her tk with templar powers? Well it all depends on how you are building the world and structure of magic. Looking forward to that. I wonder how human magic will react in Equestria.
1563324 Everyone knows video game heroes are weak to cutscenes.
1563480 would he even have time to respond to suddenly being thrown across a room in a may unlike any magic he had ever encountered before(not needing to go through the motions of spell casting)? and would the Templar training against magic help at all here seeing as the draw magic from a completely different source, drawn from the unicorns body instead of the fade? Only time will tell
Can't wait for next chapter. hopefully more alistair
Speaking of Dragon Age and ponies, I suddenly remembered this.
LUNA! thats not how you treat royalty!
Alistair shouldn't be going downt that easy he went up against the archdemon after all.
Yelps.
And on to the next chapter!
Oh shit, Luna got him...
1568228
Oh god. How could I have forgotten this part?
1934190DAMNIT LUNA!
1934190 Why... Why did u do this?