The Other Side of Nirn

Chapter 7: Failure

“So how long was I out?” Dylan said, unable to understand why his memory was so fuzzy.

“A few weeks, not too long considering what you managed to do,” answered Rikku.

After a few moments of silence, Dylan shouted “Fire Blade!?” as they walked. Dylan suddenly noticed that it was quiet next to him. He looked behind him and saw the worst possible thing.

“DUCK!” Dylan shouted as he got down on the ground temporarily. Rikku had stopped to admire a necklace made of opal for a chain and a diamond inlay when an arrow was shot from the bushes. When it passed him he got up and galloped to the bushes.

“Quick!” shouted Rikku when he passed her. But he had already reached the bushes, and nothing was there but trampled leaves left behind by a quick hurry.

Dylan noticed a gold tuft of fur caught by the bush, but it was not enough to find the culprit.

“This place was supposed to be peaceful,” Dylan whispered to himself in clear disbelief. “There isn’t supposed to be violence.”

“I heard shouting,” said a white unicorn with midnight black hair. He had red eyes that would normally be expected of vampires and a black hoof with a snowflake over it for a cutie mark.

“Somepony shot an arrow here, we don’t know why,” said Rikku, quick at trusting the pony.

He quickly took in the sight and paled (assuming it’s possible). “Come, we must go indoors,” he said as he left to the inn.

Rikku, being quick to trust, followed him. Dylan, however, was wary of the strange pony, and followed only to keep an eye on Rikku.

Jordan was speechless. Not only was there another one after Dylan and his friends, but they had shot at the same time as him. Had Dylan not looked at the time he did, he would have had an arrow cut his neck deep enough to guarantee his slow death, and the pony with him would have been shot by the other arrow. He, however furious, had seen an opportunity and had seized it as fast as he could, hoping the other pony would have quick instincts to trust at a time such as that, and they had.

He had led them to the room he had managed to rent with the money of a stallion lucky enough to be allowed to live, however getting cut on the leg and taken to the village’s healing chambers. Jordan had coated the dagger with a poison that will erase the memory of the stallion meeting him, therefore removing the memory of being threatened.

“You’re lucky to have seen that arrow when you did,” Jordan said.

“Indeed. Had Quickslip not stopped, however, I would not have looked back,” Dylan answered.

“All I wanted to do was look at a necklace that would have went great on Mace,” said Quickslip.

“My name is Frost Blade. It is an honor to make your acquaintance.” ‘Although it would have been greater to have killed you,’ thought Jordan as he held out his hoof to shake.

“Quick Slice,” Dylan said, extending his hoof out.

As the three spoke, they were unaware of the pair of ears listening in on the other side of the door.

‘Do not worry my child,’ thought the golden pony as she listened, ‘I will keep you safe.’

Sadie walked through the orchard, unseen thanks to his invisibility spell. He watched Bonde work in the orchard, seeming as if she had bucked apple trees all her life. Course, she probably has, considering her past. She was perhaps the most unique warrior of Tamriel, even if she denied that it was true.

As she bucked the trees, Bonde and Sadie both perked their ears up to a noise that was barely audible. Then the arrows came forth, all aimed for Bonde.

Knowing the danger that was coming, she quickly galloped behind a tree thick enough for her to be safe behind. Sadie, knowing that he was invisible, went from tree to tree to find the archer who was clearly skilled, for Bonde had to keep moving so as to not be shot by a deflected arrow.

When Sadie was coming closer to the archer, a twig cracked beneath him. ‘DAMN!’

The archer then came out of the bushes, and next to him with a dagger next to her was… ‘Double damn!’

The archer was a brown unicorn, but had many of his features hidden under a cape and hood that was held aloft by his horn. He was holding Applejack’s sister in his magic, just inches away from death, fear in her eyes.

“Come any closer, and the filly here gets stabbed!” said the archer. Sadie knew he would have to reveal himself to keep the filly safe, so he did so.

“Let the filly go and let us negotiate,” Sadie said with as much calm as he could gather so as to get him to release Apple Bloom. Unfortunately, he sounded more scared than anything else.

The archer just smiled. “And give you the upper edge? I think not. I would rather keep her in my grasp.”

“Release her, or you get killed by your own arrow,” said Bonde, or at least she tried, for she had an arrow in her mouth. “You should not let your defenses down.” Again, she tried to speak, but the arrow in her mouth prevented any speech.

The archer then chuckled, and spoke. “And you should be careful for what you request.” What came next was so sudden, even Bonde was slow to recuperate. The archer threw Apple Bloom to a tree, kicked Bonde into a tree ten meters away, and picked Sadie up and threw him into a branch toward the top of one of the trees.

Before Sadie could get off his cut and bruised back, he had a dagger move toward his throat.

“Prepare to meet Sithis, for he will eagerly be awaiting you!” said the archer.

Sadie grabbed the dagger with his magic, but all that caused was slowing down the blade. Sadie didn’t have much time, and Bonde had received a brute of a crash, for she was knocked out, her legs twisted and bent in ways unimaginable. He saw Applejack, but by the time she’d reach them, Sadie would already be dead or dying.

Sadie closed his eyes as he gave up hope, and prepared for the inevitable. He had run a good life, and had saved hundreds of people. He had stopped numerous enemies. Manimarco, Umaril, Dagon, Jygalagg, the Blackwood Company, and even ran a major role in the victory of the war. He thought it funny, how with a little bit of help, he had managed to save the world countless times, but when it all boiled down to now, he couldn’t save himself.

He suddenly felt a familiar sensation around the dagger, and felt it stop. He opened his eyes, and close enough to use his magic, he saw Naranel.

“You owe me another!” shouted Naranel with strain. As the archer tried to take full control of the dagger, he did not notice the two earth ponies now close enough to yell at him. Applejack stopped by her sister as Big Macintosh came closer and closer to the archer that had hurt their sister.

“You… will… DIE!” shouted the archer as the dagger gained only a single millimeter to Sadie’s neck.

“Nope!” said the heavy voice of an angry Big Mac.

Big Mac then reared up, and came down upon the archer’s rib cage, the archer having only moments to realize that he had let his guard down too long.

Leaving Big Mac to break the archer’s body into multiple pieces, Sadie and Naranel ran to their broken friend.

“Hard Mace!” they began to shout.

“No need to shout,” she answered weakly with a grin on her face.

“Can you heal her?” Naranel asked his brother.

Sadie nodded and began to lower his head to Bonde. However, before he could begin his spell, Bonde spoke. “No, heal the filly. I will heal in time.”

“Are you sure?” Sadie asked.

“Yes, and besides, there’s always Phoenix,” She answered as a smile spread across her face. But she winced in pain as she did.

Knowing Bonde’s stubbornness, Sadie went to where Apple Bloom lay, unconscious and with many cuts and bruises. “May I?” Sadie asked, not wanting to alarm Applejack.

All Applejack could do was nod. With that permission, Sadie leaned his head down and began to heal Apple Bloom, first starting with a few broken ribs he hadn’t noticed at first, and moving on to where all that was left was a few small bruises and thin, short cuts that should all finish healing in the next few hours.

The adrenaline from the battle having left, Sadie began to sway back and forth, pain from cuts, bruises, broken ribs, and fractured legs causing his vision to become blurred. And then, unnoticing, he fell, his vision going black and his brother shouting his pony name. But all he heard… was silence.