What doesn't kill me...

Chapters

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five

Chapter One

Light breezy air floated over the sparse grass, bringing a small chill. It was the simple founding feature of a perfect day and, while the wind was nice, the serene peaceful view was not to be discounted by any means.The sky was blue and the grass was green and all seemed calm about nature on this day. Then, as if in defiance of this beauty, a rapturous roar tore through the scene, landing with cutting anger on the ears of four picnickers

Two of them, the elders of the set, stiffened in response. One of the pair was a muscular female with a smooth face, but adorned in light armor and weapons that betrayed any sense of mercy she might have on an attacker. The second, however, didn’t even put on any sense of gentility at all. Her features were hidden under large bulky sets of armor that covered every inch of her body, all except for a long scaly tail that wound out from her leggings that is.

The other members of the party had been around on one of the rare occasions where she reminded them that the armor on her body was not permanently affixed to her skin, as so many rumors of towns often said. During the birthday of one of the youngers she had worn a simple dress, the children had looked at her in fear, even knowing that it was their adopted mother that stood before them. She had never removed the armor since then. At least, not in public eye.

Displaying that same fear, the two younger ones heard the dragon call and their faces began to betray just how deep down their fear at the sound was founded. They glanced to the sky, then to each other, and lastly to their guardians. A dragon had begun it’s approach, they knew, and that was the most terrifying thing that could possibly happen in their minds. Both their elders stood from the ground, the armored one drawing her weapon first and stopping the other from drawing her’s at all. “Get my daughters out of here.” Was the simple command.

“My Thane…” Started the other, wanting to assist in the kill and beginning to beg that she would be allowed to help.

“Lydia. As Thane of Whiterun. Get. My. Daughters. Out of here.” The tone was absolute and had no rebuttal, a soft hiss betraying the anger behind the words.. Lydia, a bit saddened that the thane still hadn’t learned to accept help, acknowledged the command. She grabbed the children by the wrists and began to lead them away hurriedly, the children following obediently. And leaving their mother to fight a dragon.

The armored figure’s grip tightened on shield and mace and looked towards her approaching foe with growing anger. The daughters were too far away to hear the words that slid past their mother’s lips. “You ruined my picnic. My daughters were looking forward to it.” The dragon bellowed angrily in response. “Fine, if you aren’t going to be civil, I’ll end this quickly.”

The monster landed with a mighty thump, and as it readjusted to it’s ground legs, the suit of armor and the mother inside it closed the distance. It had just steadied itself when the mace smashed itself against the leathery skin of the wing, causing the dragon to roar in pain and try to protect it’s weakened limb. It bellowed a gout of flame at the armored foe and it quickly retreated from the flames. The dragon inhaled to prepare for another when it’s opponent downed several strange potions. Unamused the fire screamed it’s way over the armor and the form within.

With surprising agility the figure burst through on the other side of the flames, the embers licking the skin with a strange endurance. Surprised, the dragon was unable to protect it’s wings from the double blow that met it. A powerful sweeping attack and then a weaker backhand. Nonetheless, there was an audible crack on the return blow and the dragon immediately took the sky, wanting to put as much distance between the terrible mace and itself as it could.

It tore away from the fight, no doubt to try and get a better approach, and it granted the armored form a reprieve. The fires still licked the metal and another potion was quick to drop down the throat, to try and heal the scars that the flames had already inflicted on her flesh. She stood there, her vision slightly blurry, and looked towards the direction where she suspected the dragon would return from.

She was distracted, however, when she felt a pair of small forms hugging her legs. She looked down in a panic, ready to attack, but stopped when she saw her daughters. She looked to Lydia, who stood a fair distance away, in confusion and anger and only received a soft smile on her face. They thought it was over. They all thought it was over. “LYDIA!” She knew it was pointless as the roar of the angered monster echoed again. Lydia was too far away to do anything.

The woman in the armor turned to see the monster, it’s wing flapping uselessly in the wind. It was going to crash. It was going to crash into them, and she couldn’t do anything. Not with both her daughters here. She tucked herself into a ball, putting as much heavy armor in the way of the falling beast as she could, but she knew it wouldn’t be enough.

She closed her eyes tightly and hugged her daughters, this could easily be the last time they saw each other. She felt a growing fear and loss in her gut, and she felt the need to shout her emotions into the air, but she knew no words that would express what she wanted to say. A set of words burned into her head and she barely had time to process them before she let loose a guttural choking roar that shook the earth.

It was dragon, she knew that almost immediately, and the first word she shouted was escape. The second word, she thought, was ‘group’ or as close as you could get in the dragon tongue. The third word though, she didn’t know, it was like horse but not, similar but different, and she couldn’t for the life of her figure out what it was. But it didn’t matter. The magic that roared out of her throat encircled the family, almost as a protection. Lydia looked on in disbelief as this happened, having never seen anything like this ever before in all her adventures with the Thane.

Then, in a blink of an eye, the falling dragon was naught but ash, and the trio who had been there moments before was naught but empty air.

The mother awoke first, her head ringing. It took her more time than she would like to admit for her to notice the most pressing matter on her awakening. That being the fact that she was free falling. She panicked and saw her children, still hugging her legs, some unconscious dedication keeping their grips tight. She grabbed them by their collars and brought them up to her chest, carefully keeping herself positioned between them and the ground, she turned to see what they were heading towards.

There, below them, was a lake that seemed a little too shallow for her liking, and, to the left of it, a purple shape approaching at an astonishing rate. She recognized the form after a few seconds, but was in no shape to attack it at the moment. The purple dragon easily leveled itself and descended with them towards the ground. “I’m sorry.” Came the surprisingly adolescent tone, and the mother saw that the dragon was hardly bigger than she was. “I can only save the little ones.” The claws reached out towards the children, but the mother brought them tighter to her chest and looked at the dragon.

“If you harm them in any way.” She said in draconic, causing the would be rescuer to display a certain amount of fear and shock. “I will find a way to come back and eat your heart and devour your soul. Do you understand?”

The dragon looked at the approaching ground and back to the armored form, then nodded. “Good.” The children were let free, and the dragon grabbed them each with it’s claws, careful not to harm them, then detoured around to land them softly on the ground next to a white unicorn, who immediately approached them to see if she could help. The dragon looked back to the armored form, watching it’s descent into the lake. The fall seemed to last forever, but he knew that he couldn’t save her, not with that armor, not with that weight, he didn’t have the muscles for it. Or the time, since she’d delayed the rescue of the children.

He watched as she hit the water, and the loud splash that followed. He landed on the ground and lowered his head to look at the lake, somber at the loss of a caring parent. The children would be awake in a while, he hoped, and then they would have to figure out what to do with them, but for now. For right now, this mother at least deserved a moment of silence.

The white unicorn approached, occasionally flipping her view back towards the children and then towards the dragon. She let the moment of silence pass undisturbed, until she was forced to remind him. "Spike, we need to begin our trip back to Ponyville. Darkness is falling."

"Okay Rarity." Spike answered, still gazing at the pond but preparing to turn away. "Okay."

Chapter Two

As night fell on the lake, the sounds grew silent and the water grew still. The dragon had taken the children far away, the mare following him and keeping the children calm as they walked. Both dragon and mare knew they would be returning with the children to pay respects sometime in the near future, but they didn’t plan to make the trip for a long while yet. It wasn’t wise to leave the safety of towns, not often.

But, as the shadows of the nearby trees stretched and shrunk under the moving moon, something had started to stir under the water. Occasional ripples permeated the water at random intervals, until at last a form burst through the threshold of the water. Helmet clutched tightly in her hand, the dragonborn pulled herself from her supposed grave. Water dripped down the scales on her face, falling peacefully to the ground.

She cursed in a raspy voice before coughing slightly, getting used to the change from breathing water to breathing air. She stayed there for a moment, pulling herself together, keeping her senses attuned to her surroundings. She didn’t know where she was, but she knew what she needed to find.

Her daughters. She had to find her daughters first. She could worry about getting back home after that. She mustered her strength together again, muscles giving a subtle ache after all the swimming she’d done in her heavy armor. Before she rose from her bent over stance, she pulled her helmet on, hiding her features from view and protecting her face.

With a groan she pulled herself up, putting all her weight onto her two legs and slipping her right arm into her shield and grasping the hilt of her mace firmly with her left. She glanced around, looking for foes or enemies, and finding none she released the grip on her weapon. Feeling somewhat secure, she began her search of the area, looking for some kind of track that would tell her which way the dragon had went.

With careful hands, she brushed the ground lightly, feeling in the darkness for some sign. With a sigh, she stood to her full height again. “I guess, there’s no alternative.” Came the raspy voice behind the metal, followed shortly thereafter by a soft white glow behind the face, which began to fade away as soon as it had appeared.

Without even bending to look at the ground, the dragonborn could see what she’d been hoping for. Tracks. There were horseshoe imprints in the dirt, still clean because of the moisture provided by the lake. And next to them, claw prints, about the same size. The dragonborn scoffed at it, she’d been too panicked to fully grasp the size of the dragon when it had been over her. Now she found out it was only as large as a small horse.

Not bothering to fully contemplate the story behind the tracks, she glanced in the direction they went. Horses meant civilization, and while she wasn’t sure what to make of humans boarding up with dragons, she didn’t have the position to debate it. As long as she got her daughters back, she couldn’t care less.

She made to follow the direction of the tracks when she heard the sharp sound of a twig breaking. She turned to look back at the forest, hand moving to grab her mace once again. “Who’s there?” She asked the darkness, her voice demanding an answer. None was forthcoming. Her eyes scanned the forestry, looking for inconsistencies. But saw nothing out of the ordinary.

She raised her shield hand, a ball of light forming in her grip already. She pretended to use it as a torch, moving it around for a moment in hand, before suddenly tossing it into shrubbery. The light dashed away from her, and in it’s flight she saw a silhouette duck behind a tree, out of sight. The light stuck to a tree in the forest, casting it’s eerie light over the greenery there in.

She smacked her shield with her mace, taunting the figure, daring it to approach. It would be much better to end this fight now, rather than have it show up later to throw her off. She heard a sound from the forest, close to language, but just outside her understanding. Then silence, her grip tightened again, eyes shifting and looking for any moving shadows that her orb of light cast.

Nothing emerged from darkness. Until, that is. Everything did. It was a blur of black as three figures flooded forth from the shrubbery with unbelievable speed. She swung her mace widely into the attacking forms, and it connected with one, but the other two dropped her to the ground easily with their strength. One held down her arms while the other peeled her helmet off with a deft magical spell.

The dragonborn clenched her eyes shut in surprise, and felt two things like fangs slip into her neck. She attempted to shove her attacker away, but found he had already left her vicinity. An ache spread from her neck and rolled down her shoulder blades, uncomfortable and off putting, causing pain as it spread. She held still, waiting for it to pass, and listened to the forms that hung above her, which had started to talk.

“A new ally in our battle it seems.” Said one of the forms, though the dragonborn couldn’t tell which one it was in her pained state.

“A face composed a scales. She looks like the offspring of a dragon and a minotaur. I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“I don’t-” There was a gasp of pain. “I don’t care what it is. This better work out, I’m gonna need to use far more healing salve than I’d like to heal this.” The dragonborn deduced it must’ve been the one that she’d managed a blow on.

The pain left slowly and the argonian moved her hand around slightly to find her mace, careful not to alert her captors to her consciousness. She found it and gripped her old friend in her powerful grasp. “You can get your precious healing salve later, we need to get her back to camp before she gets up again. We’ll need to convince her to fight for us now that she shares our curse. Shouldn’t be too difficult.”

The dragonborn decided now was as good a time as any to spoil their plans. As she brought herself to her feet again, she set her legs and boots into a reinforcing position. She would not be going down again. All three of the monsters looked at her, the closest one looking at her in confusion as he saw her eyes. “It spread that quickly?” He asked, seemingly only to himself, as the other two ignored him. The dragonborn felt a small grin cross her face as she looked into the red cat slit eyes of the equine-like foes that stared up at her.

She’d fought for and against daedra and dragons, she’d destroyed armies of strange foes. Talking ponies, while a curious thing, didn’t faze her. Instead, she decided to answer their questions. It was, after all, the least she could do before she put them six feet under. “First, Argonian.” She said, her body starting to vanish into thin air. “Secondly, if you wanted to imprison me with vampirism… you’re a year late…”

Her form vanished completely as she manifested her vampiric abilities. She was one with the night and the equines all looked around frantically, trying to spot her against the darkness around them. One of them, the one that had bitten her, heard a cracking twig and spun his head to look. The speed of his moving skull was countered by the swing of a mace. It cracked against him and sent him spiraling several feet through the air, after which he came to a rest, motionless on the ground.

Her stealth gone now, ended by her swing, the other two saw where she was. The one who was unwounded attempted to jump at her, hoping for a repeat of his earlier success. However, he was only to be met by an armored fist. He felt blood began to trickle down his nose as he stumbled several steps back in pain. She closed the distance again quickly, slamming her mace into his forehead with an overhead swing. It connected loudly and sent his face into the ground, where his head bounced slightly from the sheer force of the attack before coming to a complete rest, not even a muscle twitch remaining in his body.

With that done, she turned to the last one. He looked at her in fear, his previous wound still bleeding from the first time she’d struck him. He began to back pedal, but was quite slow in doing so. After a moment he turned around fully and began to run back towards the forest. The dragonborn watched him go, eyeing his progress carefully. As he was about to cross into the bushes she took a deep breath. “FUS RO DAH!” She shouted, the magic of the words leaving her in a sudden purge. She watched as the manifestation of pure force quickly closed the distance.

It caught him suddenly and tossed him through the air, sending him sailing into a tree. He collided with a sickening crunch, then fell out of sight behind the bushes just as her earlier cast spell died, casting the woods in shadow once again. She slid her mace into it’s slot on her waist and turned away with a smile. “It never gets old.”

She turned away from the sight of the battle ignoring the pain in her chest, where the vampires’ tackle had hit, and turning her attention instead towards her helmet, where it lay abandoned in the grass after they’d taken it off her. She picked it up slowly, equal parts care and respect. With it in her grasp she looked at her reflection in the metal, almost reluctantly. Sharp teeth and red eyes and sickening smile lingering on her lips. The smile quickly died at the image before her and she slid the helmet on over her features, once again hiding them from sight.

“I’m on my way girls. I promise.” She drew the mace from her belt once again and looked in the direction that the tracks indicated the dragon and small horse had gone before setting off for herself. “Mommy just needs to do a little more fighting. Last time, I promise. One last time.”

Chapter Three

The dragonborn’s steps were measured and cautious. She’d spotted the town an hour or two ago and after looking around for a side entrance or other passageway she’d come to the conclusion she would have to go in through the front door. It didn’t seem too hard a challenge, only one of the strange equines stood guard out front. But it worried her. A small pony with yellow coat and pink mane looked so out of place next to the wooden barricade around the town that she felt extremely on edge simply approaching, let alone asking for entrance.

But, as there was no other entrance, she gathered her courage and approached. Her mace was hanging by her side as a show of trust and respect but at the first sign of trouble she was ready to grab it and smash it into the skull of her troubles, whichever one happened to be closest. She didn’t want to cause issues for anyone, but her children came first. And if they sought to keep them seperated she would put an end to it one way or the other.

The ‘guard’ seemed aware of her approach now and looked scared. The dragonborn couldn’t blame them. A mass of metal was more than slightly off-putting. A side glance told her the sun would be rising soon, and she prepared to stand against the rolling wave of pain that would come with it, hoping she could hide it from the one at the door. Giving even a hint that she was a vampire could dash all her chances of getting inside.

“Halt!” Cried the guard. The dragonborn complied, holding her hands in the air, showing she bore no weapons. Only the shield on her back and the mace by her side. The guard seemed surprised that her call had worked, remaining silent in surprise instead of actually doing anything helpful.

“I come in peace!” Called the dragonborn, her voice covering the distance easily and clearly. Ringing clearly and ignoring the metal helmet over her head completely. “I only want to see my daughters!” She continued, waiting for some response from her shell shocked conversation partner. “Please!”

The last word shook the guard from her stupor, and a look of worry replaced the surprise. “Oh my, they’re yours? I wasn’t aware. They’ve been asking about their mom. But Spike said you’d… passed on.” She seemed in deep thought before a blush of embarrassment passed over her face. “I’m sorry. The doors will be opening soon, you can come wait for them with me if you’d like, then I’ll take you to your daughters.”

The dragonborn closed the distance, still hesitant. She took up a seat on a pile of hay next to the guard. A shy frail mare who sat on a proper chair. Judging by the scuff marks near the feet of the chair it seemed it was moved outside for her to sit on. She immediately offered it to the dragonborn when she saw her eyeing it, but the armored hulk declined, stating she was just fine on the hay. Despite the generosity, something still seemed… wrong.

“You trust my word over this… Spike’s?” The dragonborn asked, but when she saw the fright that dashed over the features of the mare she immediately realized she’d been misunderstood. “I don’t mean just in general.” She hurriedly corrected, “I mean if he said I wasn’t alive anymore, why do you trust that I’m their mom?” She was worried about the safety here, if they let just anyone in who claimed to be a relative.

“Oh well, I’ve never seen anyone like you or the children before. It seems like it would be a large coincidence for you two not to be related.”

“You mean… bipedal?”

“Well… a little bit.” She responded kindly. “I suppose minotaurs and some dragons are bipedal but you’re not… proportioned right to be either of those. I don’t think a minotaur or a dragon would fit in that armor.” She smiled nicely and the dragonborn felt her worries beginning to lax. She kept her muscles taut though, wondering if there was some kind of peace spell being cast on her as she sat there.

No others? Redguards? Khajit? None of those? She’d thought at least one of the other races owned every inch of the world. Where had she ended up if none of them had found their way here? She’d been ready to bargain with bretons for an inn, now here she was, an argonian in a completely unknown world without even the familiarities of men and mer to comfort her fears.

“Oh.” The mare continued, not noticing the deep thought that wracked the dragonborn’s mind. “I haven’t introduced myself yet have I? My name’s Fluttershy. I guard the gate at night and make sure no one gets close to the wall, do what I can to help keep everyone safe while we work out a solution to this. What’s your name?”

That seemed… too open. There was something about this mare that the dragonborn couldn’t place. She felt herself on edge again and prepared to make a break for it, or rather to break someone else, if things went bad. She saw no harm in giving her name however, she was somewhat reluctant. Not many knew it, it was almost a secret between her and her daughters. But then again, no one had ever bothered to ask before either. Mercenaries are hired to get a job done, not to get friendly with.

“Letha.” She responded truthfully, almost absentmindedly. “I travel.”

“Travel? Like to the forest?”

Letha looked to Fluttershy and saw her eyeing the mace at her side. “Wherever I’m needed mostly, wherever my family needs me to be. Earning gold or protecting nobles, whatever comes along.”

“Family? Do you have a husband?”

“No, not really. It’s just me and the kids and whatever companion the hold gives us to baby sit while I take care of their issues.”

“Oh, I see.” Fluttershy glanced downwards, almost in shame.

The sound of the gates opening echoed suddenly and the argonian felt a pounding headache move through her head. She remained seated straight up, watching as her vision blurred and tossed itself into a messy jumble. She remained seated like that until her vision cleared, with the ever present pounding reverberating around in her head, almost crippling. Just like every other morning. She heard a voice and glanced up to see Fluttershy looking back at her.

“Are you coming?” Fluttershy asked with a kind smile, it seemed like she was repeating herself. Letha nodded and stood from the hay, following after her into the city. A pair of guards waited just inside. They looked over Fluttershy and then over Letha. An exchange of nods between Fluttershy and the guards transpired and then she led Letha into the city proper.

Fluttershy began to give a proper tour as the passed landmarks but there was just something that wouldn’t let Letha focus. Then, all at once, it came to her. The clarity brought her to her senses and she looked around at their surroundings, no one else was close by. Letha rested an armored hand on Fluttershy, bringing her to a quick stop as she jolted with fear as the chilling metal touched her skin.

“Is everything alright Letha?” Fluttershy asked harmlessly, looking at Letha with a worried face, unable to read her expression beneath the metal.

“You’re a vampire.” Letha said in a quiet tone, her voice sure.

“What why-?” Fluttershy began to protest, but was cut off as Letha answered the question.

“It’s small, but it’s rooted. It’s been there a long time.” Letha’s hand began to move to her mace and she looked around more frantically, panic building inside her.

“Letha no, listen. It’s not the same.”

“What?” Her voice was practically a hiss as she wrapped her hand around the handle of the mace. “How is it not the same?”

“No it’s… Twilight said it was like a minor version. I got it a while ago when I had a bad encounter with some vampire fruit bats. I’m sort of a vampire in that sense, but I don’t crave blood, only apples.” Fluttershy was beginning to panic as she saw Letha getting prepared to draw her weapon, worried for what might occur if she pulled it fully out of her sheath, she looked dangerous enough with it put away. “Apparently it prevents me from getting the full thing, that’s why Twilight assigned me to watch the gate, because it’s the least risk.” Her tone was pleading now. “Please don’t draw the weapon Letha. Your children are just a few steps ahead. I don’t want them to have to see you die.” Tears were beginning to gather in her eyes. Guards had started to approach in curiosity.

Letha glanced at the guards, then at Fluttershy, who was looking at her with watering eyes. Slowly, she let the mace slide back into the sheath and let go of Fluttershy’s shoulder, her metal arm swinging back by her side. Fluttershy rubbed the water out of her eyes and smiled again. “Thank you.” She said. One guard began to speak as he approached, having seen the tears that still lingered on Fluttershy’s eyes.

“Something the matter Miss Fluttershy?”

“No nothing Flash. We’re just talking about how excited the kids will be to see their mom again. I got a little emotional is all.” She smiled again and the guard nodded before he walked away, signalling all the other guards to return to their posts. He spared one more glance to the pair before he did the same.

“Thank you.” Letha said as they began to move again. “I’m just a bit… on edge.”

“It’s okay, I’m just glad you made the decision you did in the end. I was really worried for you and the kids.” Fluttershy glanced over her shoulder to Letha to show another kind grin before they continued on. “But, I’m curious, how did you know I was a vampire, or, I guess at least part vampire?”

“I don’t mean to worry you Fluttershy, you’ve been nothing but kind to me and you care a lot about my children. That’s why I’m about to tell you the truth, but I ask that you not pass it on to anyone okay?” They were only a few feet from their destination. Barely seconds more until they were inside.

“Pinkie Promise.”

Letha had no idea what that meant but decided it would have to do. “I’m a little more than part vampire.”

Letha let the secret spill moments before the door to the house opened, giving Fluttershy no time to hide her surprise or fear. Spike and Rarity were inside, and a few feet away two little girls played with a small furry half-dragon half-pony creature. They were chasing each other in circles when the wooden door squeaked open and everyone’s attention turned to the new arrivals. The girls were the first ones to react, running forward to the door.

The armored figure crouched immediately and held out it’s arms, catching both of them in a hug. An act they returned gleefully. “Mom! You made it!” Squealed one of them. Wrapping her arms as far around the helmet as she could. “They said you might not be coming but we knew you would.”

Spike and Rarity made their way to Fluttershy, who still stood completely frozen in the doorway. Spike spoke first, Rarity pausing to scoop up her child into welcoming hooves. “Is something the matter Fluttershy?” Spike asked, worried about how Fluttershy looked like she’d seen a ghost. She remained staring forward until the small bundle escaped from Rarity's hooves and ran towards her. "Aunt Shy!" The little thing shouted as it ran. "Anything bad happen last night?"

Fluttershy came to at the voice and saw the trio exchanging a huge group huge in front of her. It was a kind of love that you couldn’t fake. The worry she’d felt only moments ago seemed to fade immediatly and she turned to look at the little one, happiness painted on her face. “Not a thing.” She said cheerfully before looking back to the family reunited. “Not a thing at all.”

Chapter Four

A figure in heavy armor walked slowly through the town of Ponyville, but it was not because of the armor that she kept a lagging pace, rather because of the two small girls who ran around her ankles. The figure was smiling but none could see it, not beneath the helmet that blocked the entirety of her face from view. She hadn’t felt the sun on her skin in a long time. She remembered when it had been warm and welcoming, whereas now it only brought searing pain.

She missed it.

One of the girls tripped over one of Letha’s large metal boots, stumbling and threatening to fall onto the coarse stone, but with impressive speed, speed that seemed unhindered by her attire, Letha grabbed the child around the waist with both hands and swung her into the air. The girl let out a squee of glee as she found herself weightless. Letha tossed her into the air and the girl laughed as she saw the world fall away. She enjoyed every moment of it. As she fell back down she knew her adopted mother would catch her. She always had.

Gentle hands caught her, soft despite the gauntlets. And she was tossed airborne again. She began to laugh and the second child began to pull on her mother’s boots. “Me next!” She shouted happily as she watched her sibling, sister in all but blood, fall back into mom’s ready hands. “Me next, Me next!” Letha caught her airborne daughter easily and lowered her to the ground. In a large sweeping motion she grabbed her other daughter and tossed her into the air. She giggled delightfully and Letha continued the game, giving each daughter equal time and attention.

From a fair distance Rarity and Spike watched the play, their own daughter running around their knees. Jumping lightly about, almost weightless. Spike grabbed her in big careful arms and pointed her in the direction of Letha, smiling as he did so. “What do you think Kiri? Want me to toss you like that?” He said with a big grin.

Kiri backed up as best she could in his grasp, pushing herself closer to his shoulder. “N-no.” She said, panicked. “You know I don’t like heights Dad!”

“Oh, here we gooooo.” Spike smiled and grabbed Kiri by either side, winding up to throw her into the air. “Hope you’re ready Kiri.”

“Aaaaaah!” Kiri screamed, her voice tinged with equal parts panic and glee as she felt her father's muscles tense. “Moooooom!”

Rarity smiled to herself as she worked on the small jewelry that rested on the table, letting Spike continue his charade for a moment before she cut in. “Stop teasing our daughter Spikey Wikey, you know she’s scared of heights.”

“Alright then.” Spike said in false defeat. “I guess I’ll let you stay on the ground for now…” Spike deposited her safely onto the cobblestone, where she shook from adrenaline and fear. “Say… you aren’t scared of… ice cream are you?!” He said suddenly, the shivers from his daughter disappearing almost instantly.

“NO!” She shouted happily. “Race you inside!” She ran in through the door and disappeared inside. Spike smiled to himself and began to follow when Rarity stopped him. He paused at the table outside their house as she held out a hoof. She finished stringing the gem she was working on, then she looked to Spike.

“How do you think Letha survived that fall?” She asked softly, her voice low enough that no one could hear her. “Even if that armor cushioned her fall somehow, it looks far too heavy to swim in. Certainly not with whatever air she managed to breath in before hand anyway. So how…how do you think she...” Rarity let her words drift off, unsure how to continue the thought.

“I don’t know.” Spike said, kneeling on the bench across the table from his wife. “I thought she was as good as dead when she hit that water. I don’t know anything that could’ve survived that.” Rarity shook her head at the answer, clearly not liking the breadth of the mystery. “But, what I do know is… those kids are pretty happy to see her.”

Rarity looked at Letha and smiled again, “Yes… they certainly are.”

Spike took a moment to appreciate the scene before he got off the bench. “Well, I’d better get in there and make sure our daughter isn’t tearing the house apart trying to get that ice cream. Give me a shout if you need anything.” Spike turned to head inside.

“Will do.” Spike had just touched the door knob when his wife’s next words shot a chill down his spine. “Wait... is that… Shining?”

Spike whirled around to see the self same captain of the guard that his wife had spotted heading for Letha. He began to make pace towards them when his daughter came outside. “Dad? I thought we were getting ice cream?”

Spike kept his pace as he called back to his daughter. “Stay with Mom for a minute Kiri. I’ll be right back.” He kept walking until he was side by side with Shining Armor, both of them only a few feet from Letha, who seemed to be sensing an approaching interaction. “I thought you and Twilight wouldn’t be back for a few days still.” Spike said, keeping his eyes facing Letha.

“There was a change of plans, we came back early.” Shining offered. “Flash tells me you let a strange creature past the gate without so much as a simple blood check?”

“Her daughters were here, I wasn’t going to just-”

“You should’ve followed procedure. I know she’d want to see her kids but we need to make sure she’s clean first. We’re operating on the front lines here, we can’t risk an infection at any cost.”

“Sir!” Flash Sentry caught up to the group. Appearing as if from thin air and falling into step with them. “It’s not Mr. Spike’s fault sir. I let it,” Flash paused, regretting his choice of words. “Sorry, I meant… I let her in. I fully accept responsibility.”

“Calm down Flash, I’m not here to string anyone up. I just wish you’d followed procedure. She’s just going to go see Twilight, Twilight is going to make sure that she isn’t a vampire sent here to destroy us and then we’ll all get on with our lives. Okay? That’s all.”

Spike and Flash slowed their steps, letting Shining move ahead of them. They glanced at each other, and then to Shining Armor who was, for all intents and purposes, repeating what he had just said to Spike and Flash. Letha nodded along, slowly, and when he finished he began to lead the way back the way he had come, back towards the castle.

As Letha passed by Spike she stopped. She knelt down in front of her kids carefully, slowly, and looked them in the eyes. “I need you girls to stay with Spike okay, Mommy’s gonna go talk to the princess.”

“What’s a princess?” Asked one of them almost immediately. “Is it like a jarl? Are you gonna fight with them? You said you wouldn’t fight anymore Mommy. You promised!”

“I’m not gonna fight with her. I’m gonna chat with her and then do a little bit of work and then we’ll get a house here. Just like I did in Whiterun, you remember?”

“Oh yea…” She responded, walking slowly over to Spike. “Okay momma! We’ll see you after you get a house!”

“Yea!” Shouted the other one. “Try and get one near the park! It’s so pretty there!”

“Of course girls, I’ll try my best.” Letha stood up from her crouch and placed a hand on Spike’s shoulder. her voice was low and Spike had to strain to hear it. “Don’t let anything happen to them.”

“Of course, you’ll only be gone a few minutes though, I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.” Spike wasn’t sure why they were whispering, only that Letha had started it. Shining Armor stood nearby waiting.

“Yea…” Letha responded, taking her hand off Spike’s shoulder. “Just a couple minutes.” She walked up to Shining Armor who turned around and began to lead the way once again, Letha just behind him. Flash dispersed to the front gate, taking up his position there, leaving only Spike and the girls.

He began to lead them back to the house, his mind full of questions about the exchange that had just taken place. “We’re about to have some ice cream girls, you want some?”

“Ice cream!” They shouted in unison before running off towards the house. Spike trailed behind, his pace weighed down by his thoughts. Letha had seemed worried about something, but he couldn’t place what she would be worried about.

He eventually shrugged it off and went inside the house, Rarity following him in. Spike served everyone a small bowl full of ice cream and handed them around, everyone enjoying the treat that they had. He left the ice cream out, so it would be soft when Letha returned.

Yet… even after everyone had finished their bowls. Even when the kids had started running around playing again, even when the sun had passed it’s noon time glare, Letha didn’t return. Spike placed the ice cream back into the icebox, the chilling enchantment cooling it down as he laid it to rest inside. He leaned out the front door, watching the road, waiting.

He wondered about what was going on, about what had happened. He worried that Shining Armor had been justified in his worries about Letha. She’d been gone far too long. Had she gotten into a fight with Twilight? That didn’t seem plausible. He didn’t know much about Letha other than that she probably should’ve died but she hadn’t. What he did know was that Twilight could handle herself against god like beings with ease. Letha, for all her armor, didn’t seem the type to pick a losing battle.

As Spike was enraptured in his thoughts he didn’t hear Fluttershy approach, but he knew she was there before she spoke. She coughed lightly to let him know. She hated scaring people, and always did her best to avoid it. When Spike turned to face her she got the recognition that he knew she was there.

“What’s the matter Spike?” She asked softly, looking out into the road. Trying to spot what had kept his attention. There was nothing there though and so she looked back to Spike, whose face betrayed no clues to help her solve the problem. Instead, she waited for him to offer an answer. And, after a moment, he did.

“Letha isn’t back yet.” He said simply, nodding to the road.

“Oh dear… where’d she go? Maybe we can try and find her. I hope she didn’t get lost in town, she’s only been here less than a day after all and I didn't give her a map.”

“I don’t think she’s lost, Fluttershy. She went to see Twilight and I think that Shining Armor would’ve-”

“Oh dear.” Fluttershy cut in, Spike was shocked by the simple fact that she’d interrupted someone. It made him pause, speechless, as Fluttershy continued. “Oh dear oh dear oh dear. We’ve got to go and make sure she’s alright!” She sputtered, already heading out towards the road to follow it to the castle.

“Fluttershy? Hey Fluttershy what’s the matter? What’s going on?”

She turned to face Spike and looked for all the world like she was trying to say something, but holding herself back at the same time. “I can’t tell you!” She said at last, “I made a Pinkie Promise!” She began to pick up pace and ran down the road, maneuvering as best she could between carts and pedestrians, the adrenaline making her forget about her wings again.

Panic began to settle into Spike’s bones and he felt his pace picking up, he felt his feet move faster and faster but he wasn’t running towards the castle, not yet. He was running back to his house. He peaked in through the door and saw Rarity sitting in a chair watching the children run around. “I’m going to see Twilight!” He blurted hurriedly before he began to pull his head back out of the home. “I’ll be right back!”

“Spike? What’s the matter? Spike?!” But Spike was running too quickly to answer. He would’ve had to shout at this point and he didn’t even know what he would say. So instead he ran. He ran and ran until the traffic became slimmer and slimmer and he ran until he could see the castle hanging just ahead of him.

He paused at the archway and inhaled deeply through his nose, catching his breath. He looked around but found no sign of Fluttershy. No sign at all until, that is, he spotted the two guards positioned at the entrance looking curiously down a hallway. Barely thinking Spike followed their sight, causing them to blink in surprise as he ran past.

He heard clashing echoes that sounded almost ethereal and he heard shouts from three different voices that intermingled with each other in confusing patterns. He ran through the castle seeking the clamor. A voice in his head berated him, told him that he had no reason to run like this. What did he even think he could do? But he pushed it away, the sound of his heart beat all but drowning out the voice in its manic erratic song.

It was true, he didn’t know what he was going to do. He didn’t know what he could do. But he did know one thing. He would help. He would help as best he could.

Chapter Five

Spike turned corner after corner with panting breath. The castle, for all the things it got right, was still an extremely confusing place, though Spike blamed at least part of his confusion on himself for not coming here more often. Ever since he moved out of Twilight’s care… he hadn’t really gone to see her much. She was kind, sure, but more often than not she could be a ruthless task master when she got wrapped up in one of her projects. So… it wasn’t like Spike was avoiding her, or so he said to himself, it was more that he didn’t want to go out of his way to see her some days. Most days.

The pang of guilt was drowned out as Spike finally arrived at the room he’d been looking for from the start. He was just in time to see an oversized purple sword swing down like an executioner’s axe on Letha. She had her shield up and caught the blade on it, fighting against it even as the sword was pressed harder and harder against it. With a very unwomanly grunt, she swung her shield out and forced the sword away. It recoiled heavily, and Twilight stumbled as her magic was pushed out of her control, leaving its owner wide open for a counter attack, and Letha seemed to consider it for a while. Instead Letha stood up straight and attempted to mask the heavy breaths that were echoing out of her helmet.

“You come to my home, Vampire? And you think I’ll let that STAND?” Twilight’s voice was bellowing through the room. The sword swung down once again, and it was blocked, once again. Twilight pulled it up of her own accord this time, glaring angrily down at her opponent. “I have friends here! I will not let you hurt them!” She brought the blade against the shield again, only for the same result to play out as always. Twilight swung and swung and swung the blade, anger growing with each attack. “WHY. WON’T. YOU. FALL!?!” Each word punctuated by an attack.

Spike tore his eyes away from the battle, looking for Fluttershy. Amidst the scratched and chipped stone he found her, in a corner near the door, crying silently as she gazed on in fear. He knew the look on her face. She would have traded the world to bring this fight to a peaceful end, she would have sacrificed to avoid it all together. But right now, right here, she couldn’t do anything and it was tearing her up inside. So she stood there, helpless, hating herself and hating the circumstances that led here, but not for a moment hating her friends. Spike wasn’t sure if he should comfort her or not. He didn’t even know if he could comfort her at all. So he simply waited by the doorway.

Twilight fell silent as she judged her opponent, understanding that brute force would not break the defense. As she did, Letha addressed Spike, her eyes never leaving her opponent. “I told you to watch after my kids. Why did you leave them to come here?” Spike could hear the sound of fatigue creeping into Letha’s voice, but pretended not to notice.

“I left them with Rarity, she’ll look after them. I needed to come here and try and help.”

“No what you-” Letha dodged a beam of light that darted across the room with ridiculous speed. As a similar beam passed by in the next instant Letha caught it on her shield, and the magic shattered to pieces. “What you needed to do was stay with my children. I did not leave them in Rarity’s care, I left them in yours and if you can’t do a simple baby sitting job then-”

“Don’t talk you my ex-assistant like that!” Twilight shouted, a battering ram appearing from thin air and ramming into Letha’s chest piece. Letha crumpled from the blow, folding over the blunt end of the battering ram until it smashed against the wall. Letha collided and the wall seemed worse for the wear than Letha did. She looked ready for another, but the battering ram remained in place, pinning her to the wall. In vain she tried to move it, but to no avail.

“Do you yield this fight?” Twilight shouted across the room, weariness hiding behind her words.

“Fight?” Letha said with a light joking tone. “This isn’t a fight.” She placed her hands on either side of the battering ram, a strange purple light dancing across it’s surface. “This is a sparring match at best.” The battering ram exploded, shards of wood flew into the air and landed in a circle around ground zero. “I promised I wouldn’t fight you. So we’re sparring is all.” Twilight looked on in surprise.

“Magic? I hadn’t thought-” Twilight’s voice trailed off and she looked at her opponent with a glare. “Whatever you call this battle, you can not win. You will surrender or you and all you love will die.”

“Twilight!” Spike shouted, shocked.

“I will not lose my friends Spike! I will protect all of you, even if it means the deaths of intruders!”

Fluttershy spoke up with an indignant tone, angry that her friend would even suggest such a thing. “She has children here Twilight, do you intend to kill them too?” Fluttershy's tone was extremely bitter, and it was enough to catch Twilight's full attention. The aggresive anger seemed to fade from her face and the familiar demeanor that Fluttershy knew best made itself apparent.

Twilight glanced uneasily between Spike and Fluttershy. “She has… children?”

The rustle of armor from across the room drew the attention of everyone there. Letha’s hand rested lightly on the hilt of her mace, not yet drawn. “You think yourself a protector and you assault a would be ally? You think yourself so certain and you rush into battle on assumptions alone?” Letha looked to the ground for a moment, taking a shuddering breath. “Perhaps we have more in common than I thought.” Letha’s gaze moved to Spike, then to Fluttershy who’s tears seemed to be ending, and finally to Twilight. “I offer you peace one more time Twilight Sparkle. Should you deny it, we shall see how YOUR protections fare.”

It was a loaded question, and it held a far larger threat than a simple mace. Twilight gazed at the armored figure below, on edge about the violence that the words promised. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to put trust in such a figure. She was also vaguely aware that that was extremely hypocritical of her, since the battle had started with an attack from Twilight, and not from her foe. The air was tense as Twilight judged the character of her opponent, but it was broken with a simple call from the doorway.

“Mom!” All eyes snapped over, and watched as two small bipeds ran into the room, followed very shortly by Kiri and then Rarity. “Mom you’ve been in here FOREVER!” Said one of the girls as Letha’s hand moved away from the hilt of her mace. She was picked up by her Mom and balanced on her shoulder. The girl looked between Twilight and Letha, picking up on the tension that was still moving between the two. “Mom what’s going on?”

“Me and Twilight Sparkle were negotiating for that house that you were talking about. We were just discussing the payment for it.”

“Aww, you have to pay for it? Last time you just helped out a bunch and got it for free.”

“Yes, well, new lands I suppose.” Letha responded easily, tickling her daughter’s belly and making her giggle in response.

“Actually.” Twilight said, an idea coming to mind. “If you’re in the business of paying with favors, I do have something that I need help with. We can discuss it at length later, and if you decide that it's something you aren't comfortable with, then I’m sure we can work out something else for payment.”

Letha looked at Twilight in silence, off put by how good it sounded. She tried to pick up on the catch, but came up empty. So she sought another source. “Can I trust her Fluttershy?" Letha said, glancing side long to the pony. "You know her better than I do.”

“Of course!” Fluttershy practically shouted, happy things were finally working out for the better, happier still that the fighting was over. Realizing, however, the volume that she had spoken at, she promptly fell into much more familiar words. “That is, I would trust her with my life Letha. Anyday.” Twilight smiled at the words, a bit of pride and a bit of thanks filling her heart.

Letha nodded a thank you and looked back to Twilight, taking her daughter from her shoulder and placing her lightly on the ground. She was silent for a moment longer as she stood back up to full height. “I accept your offer Twilight Sparkle, and thank you for your time.”

“Of course Letha.” Twilight said with a genuine tone, and a smile of kindness. “And thank you for your time as well.”