Rainbow Dash and the Nordic Pegasus

by MrTyreste

The Girl By the Forest

Part 4 - The Girl By the Forest

A cloud of smoke on the horizon greeted Fjord Runner and Spectrum Dancer as they emerged from the longhall to behold the sight before them. Pegasi ran in every direction to escape the ensuing chaos. Several Roman pegasi went galloping through the village, swinging dolabras and short swords at every mare, colt, and foal they came across. Scouts, from the look of it, took the city by storm as buildings began to burn.

"My chief! The outer farmlands have been overrun. My husband, he..." She cried hysterically as she fell to her knees. Brynhoof lifted her to her hooves, a stern look in his eyes.

"Fjord Runner, send for your father and gather what warriors you can to rally to the longhall." Brynhoof tossed a piece of parchment to the warrior and turned his attention to his own daughter. "Spectrum Dancer, take Star Chaser down to the river to collect water for a storm to put out those fires, and give us cover." She nodded as she took off, Fjord writing urgently and tossing the parchment to the unicorn steward who teleported immediately. ''Grimtrot, send out a search party to find out what we're dealing with outside the gates on the plains." A taller, sleeker Pegasi with a missing eye nodded just before running off to the tavern. "Forth, and fear no death!"

Brynhoof had his work cut out for him from the look of the smoke billowing from across the plains. He could faintly make out the shapes of two Pegasi flying towards the river to the East, one of which he knew instantly to be his beloved Spectrum. He had little time to think as a dolabra went soaring past his left flank, causing him to jump forward and draw his sword. The large pickaxe was heaved over the Roman Pegasus' shoulder in his teeth and he sent it crashing down in front of him again, just missing his nose. The warrior was unfazed as he thrust his shoulders up, sending his trusted sword up from his shoulders and into his mouth.

The mighty sword he had forged himself in his colt years had never failed him. Frozen Heart, he had called it, though never very imaginative in names, he had put every ounce of his soul into the making of that very blade. It was that same weapon that he had taken into battle against Clan Volsung and the blade he had met his lover on the battlefield with. And now it was time for it to serve him well again.

With one fell swoop he slung the blade down and cut the pickaxe in half before headbutting the Roman hard in the nose, sending him to the ground. Before he could defend himself, Fjord buried the sword deep into his throat, killing him instantly. As he watched his opponent die before his eyes, more Roman Pegasi came galloping towards him before taking flight in formation. A heavily armored stallion took the point as his fellow wingmen came behind him in a phalanx. Each one wielding swords and spears, the group of Pegasi came rushing towards Fjord with the intent to kill.

Before being caught off guard by a barrage of arrows.

The Romans fell to the ground, their wings pierced and spirits broken, and nursed their wounds until a second volley put an end to their lives.

"You're slipping, Fjord." Came a sweet, gentle voice from behind him. A young mare donning leather armor and wielding a longbow stood before him. Her coat was a brilliant yellow and her mane and tail pitch-black as night. Her name was Grace Wing, captain of the guard of the settlement, and his older sister. "Took years to convince the old stallion to finally make a permanent town, not going to let it die now, eh?" She smiled her smug smile as she handed a vest of chainmail to the warrior.

"How's our father?" Fjord said as he took the mail, slipping it over his shoulders and allowing his wings room to spread.

"He's fine, as per usual. He's preparing his armor and rallying the colts as we speak. I swear sometimes he cares more about war than his own kin." Grace said angrily. She had never gotten along with Bone Breaker, despite being the eldest of two foals. Perhaps it had been because he wanted a son as his first born, but instead got a daughter. Either way the two siblings were near inseperable in times of battle.

"We've got company." Fjord declared as another group of Romans came charging after them. Grace lifted a hoof and five stallions took their place beside her.

"Ready!" She cried, the stallions pulling their bows back and standing on their hind legs.

"Aim!" The Romans were not stalling. Nearly twenty Roman Pegasi continued their advance on the small band of warriors. It had become apparent that the scouting party did not make it back. They did not deter the enemy. They had made it here. But Grace showed no signs of backing down, not in front of her boys. She was one of the first female warriors in history, and she had a thirst to prove herself.

"Fire!" The stallions loosed their arrows.

==================

Equestria: Present Day

"Welcome to Ponyville!" Rainbow Dash made a triumphant gesture around her as they trotted into town. Fjord looked up and down the wooden and thatched buildings, and felt a sense of comfort wash over him. This town looked so similar to his village he had grown up in, even down to the roads, or lack thereof. For the first time since he had awoken, he was able to relax.

"Hey! Who are you!?" A pink mare shot out of Sugarcube Corner as the duo were passing by.

Well, so much for relaxing.

"I don't think I've ever seen you before, are you from around here? Oh what am I saying, I've never seen you so you can't be from around here. I'm Pinkie Pie, but my friends call me Pinkie Pie because everypony is my friend. I bet you'll be my friend too, just like everypony else. And just like all my friends I always give them free treats on their first day in Ponyville, so here!" It took everything the ancient warrior had not to murder the pink earth pony where she stood when a tray of sweets all but struck him in the face.

"What in the name of the stewards are these?" He grunted at the concoction of bizarre looking foods. Some were colorful, some were plain, some were just sticky. He didn't want any part of them. Pinkie Pie didn't take no for an answer as she brought out another tray of food.

"Pinkie, how have you not been fired yet?" Dash looked at the now ruined sweets on the grass. "Hey big guy, I have to go meet Twilight about something. Think you can handle being by yourself for an hour or so?" Fjord looked up at the now inflight mare and frowned.

"If I must, but please hurry back." He pleaded, but she was already gone.

"Are you sure there isn't ANYTHING you like?" Pinkie Pie smiled and blinked her eyes adorably.

Stewards give me strength... He thought to himself.

-----------

Out by the Everfree forest, the Nordic warrior trotted along a path that stretched beside the trees. He was unsure of where he was, despite growing up near the woods all his life. He had to admit, he was surprised at how well the ponies in this land had tamed their surroundings, up until the great forest. It made him miss his home, his family, and most of all his beloved.

"My darling Spectrum..." He sighed. It wasn't fair that this had happened to him. His fiance ripped from his hooves, himself now cursed to roam the world alone until the end of days. His days, at least.

"Angel!" A voice called out. Faint, but he could still hear the voice of what sounded like a mare. Fjord looked around for what might be considered an "angel" until he saw a white blur in the distance. He ran towards it until he beheld the sight of a small rabbit being strangled by a snake.

"Foul beast!" Fjord stomped on the snake's tail, causing it to loosen its grip on the poor bunny. In half a moment he closed his teeth onto the tail of the serpent and flung it into the bushes. The bunny, gasping for breath, looked up at the golden-maned warrior and gave a huge sigh of relief.

"You are brave, little warrior. My sister once trained a rabbit to fight pests in our home. Your owner, it seems, is looking for you." The rabbit's ears shot up as it leapt from the ground and ran off into the horizon, beckoning Fjord to follow it. Fjord ran and ran until he saw a yellow mare with a pink mane and tail pick up the rabbit and take it inside what appeared to be a small cottage beyond the creek. Fjord crept up to the window to see the young mare putting the rabbit into a small bed.

"Oh you poor baby, you must be so exhausted. I haven't seen you all day. Why don't you take a little nap?" She said softly as the bunny nodded its head happily. The yellow mare did something very strange, then.

She began to sing.

Hush now, quiet now, it's time to lay your sleepy head
Hush now, quiet now, it's time to go to bed

Fjord couldn't believe what he was hearing. These beautiful notes coming from this yellow mare were almost enchanting to his ears. Why, not even the greatest skalds or bards sang this beautifully. He felt he could listen for hours.

Drifting off to sleep, the exciting day behind you
Drifting off to sleep let the joys of dream land find you

"Such beautiful verse." Fjord whispered under his breath as the mare continued her song. Unfortunately, all it took was a whisper to startle the poor thing. "Oh, please continue. I love your singing." The female pegasus turned around shakily and saw the large stallion standing outside her window.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" The mare shrieked as the window flew open, and several objects flew out of it. Pots, pans, pieces of wood, books, anything the yellow pegasus could get her hooves on went flying towards the Nordic pegasus in full force. "Get away from my cottage!" She shrieked again. Geeze, that beautiful voice turned into a wail of some evil creature in an instant. The bunny erupted from its slumber at the ensuing chaos and noticed the male under attack. The bunny leapt from its bed and smacked the yellow mare with one paw to make her stop. "Angel, what are you?" Angel ran outside the door and climbed up on the stallions back and finally the top of his head. "Do you know this stallion?" She asked. The rabbit began a series of impressions, first of it being strangled, followed by it puffing its chest out to look really tough, then of it biting the air and throwing its head around like a crazy pony. The charades finally ended with the rabbit falling down and hugging the stallion's ear.

"So you're saying you were being attacked by a snake, but this pony saved you and helped you get back to me?" The mare asked. The bunny simply nodded its head in response. "Oh, I'm so sorry for attacking you, please come in." She motioned for him to enter, which he did. The inside of the cottage was cozy and full of small animals of all shapes and sizes. Different bird houses and animal homes lined the walls and floor as turtles, squirrels, rabbits, birds, and other sorts of critters ran along the floor.

"I'm really sorry for scaring you, Miss..."

"I'm Fluttershy, and it's fine. I didn't realize you had saved Angel's life."

"It was nothing. My people treated the animals like they were our fellow brothers and sisters." He smiled. "Also, I must say that I loved your song. It reminds me of the bards in my village." He remembered the bards and skalds who would sing of great heroes long ago in the longhall, or traveling minstrels who played tunes along the roads. Such people were respected among the Nordic tribes, and Fjord had always dreamed of being a skald, a warrior poet.

"You...liked my song?" Fluttershy blushed as she smiled. "Do you like to sing?" She asked him. While he did like to sing songs, he had never been one to boast, nor did he know many tunes, save for a few.

"Well, I do know one or two, but..." Fluttershy was listening as she was putting Angel back to bed. "There's a song they used to sing us in my village, perhaps I could...?" He suggested. Fluttershy nodded and pushed the little bed over to Fjord. Fjord Runner cleared his throat and began.

We drink to our youth, to the days come and gone
For the days of darkness are now nearly done.
We'll drive out the Romans and restore what we own
With our blood and our sweat we will take back our home
For the day will arrive, when the sun comes alive
And the moon doth follow in the manner we thrive
And on the day of promise, when the wolves come to claim
Their prize, we won't let them, for them we shall slay
For the peace that we fight for is now nearly come
And the days of darkness are now nearly done.

Fjord's singing was incredible. Fluttershy was hanging on his every word as Angel fell fast asleep. Fluttershy was completely moved, his voice sounding like that of a warrior, but soft like an artist as each word echoed gently within her cottage.

"That...was beautiful." Fluttershy said softly. "What does that song mean?"

"It's an old song from a long time ago. My people believed in a prophecy, that one day two ponies would control the sun and moon. It is believed that when that day comes, two wolves will seek to devour them. But it has not happened." Fluttershy gasped, realizing what he meant.

"Do you mean the Princesses?" Fluttershy asked. "Princess Celestia raises the sun, while Princess Luna raises the moon and stars. Do you think--"

Fjord turned around quickly and caught her by surprise. "The prophecy has come?" He said with glee. "Oh glorious day! This means my chief was correct. The wall of the prophets, it was true!" He hugged the yellow mare tightly. "Dearest Fluttershy, when might I see these two Princesses?"

"Oh, umm, the Wonderbolts airshow. The Princesses are making an appearance there. I have two tickets, but Rainbow Dash already has a ticket so...Would you like to come?" She asked meekly. She had nearly forgotten in all the excitement over this stallion. Fluttershy searched her table for the pass to the airshow and gave it to Fjord Runner. "It's this afternoon, we can head out now if you want."

Airshows, cottages, rabbits, and trains. This world has really changed since Fjord was here. But if he went to this airshow, maybe he would meet these ponies of prophecy.

And see Rainbow Dash again...

Comments

[Shadow Stalker 206]

I like it! Pretty solid on the Nordic lore too. I just cant wait to see what happens when he meets spike since he's a dragon. I hope it shall be quite humorous!

[MrTyreste]

1929814 Lol, I hope you're not expecting it to be like Skyrim. Though the Nordic Pegasi did consider dragons a worthy adversary. Ya never know.

[Shadow Stalker 206]

1929827 Ha! I absolutely HATE Skyrim for ripping off the Nordic culture. I'm an Asatruar which means I worship the Gods of old like Odin, Thor, Bragi, Tyr, ETC and the lore of my people Is something I take to heart. I think It's cool how well you integrated the lore . Skyrim is nothing more than a bastardization of the Nordic culture in my opinion. But I like what you're doing so keep it up!

[Dan]

Greetings from Minnesota, the 6th Scandinavian country.

My OC is a Nordic pony.

i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff116/Wookiee/IonStorm.png

Lutfisk and mead all 'round, then. Skal!

[SterlingMArcher]

This was great and the picture of Rainbow dash as a viking is awesome