Snow-Beard And The Seven Mares
There was a lone ship, fighting the treacherous sea, the waves causing it to move back and forth in the water. The ship sailed a widely known, treacherous, region of the sea, and was being manned by a crew of rogue elves. Deep within the ship’s hold, a prisoner, in a rusted steel cage held a Dwarf. This dwarf wore his family’s leather scout armor proudly, his fine bronze skin, muscular tone body, and a beard of grey-white color still vibrant, though his predicament was not. He was known as Snjór Skegg in his homeland, though he is far used to the name Snow-Beard, as the humans call him.
Snow-Beard paced to and fro, hoping that an idea, perhaps one that could lead to his freedom, came to him as he tried to think. He sat on the black-crusted plank of the ship, hoping to achieve at least some rest. Maybe something good can come of some sleep? As he began to recollect the actions and happenstances that lead him to his imprisonment, the sleep arrived, transporting him inside his memories.
Long ago, the Dwarfs of the Thorium Hill, discovered a strange relic within one of their many iron mines. A wondrous gemstone emerald. Curiously strong copper held the gemstone’s many cracks and streaks together giving it a very old look. The ability to remember, or even find, information on such ancient looking relics belong to a select few who had pursued such artifacts and information as a career: the Lore Masters. The knowledge gathered was not at lesser cost, the hunt for old writings and ancient scripts holding in account the gathered plunder of their empire, was sought after by Lore Masters. Finally, when expedition after expedition had returned with nothing, a recently passed widow of many years left her belongings to the kingdom. Among her numerous memoirs and personal items, an old, dusty book was found. It held the accounts of her husbands many journeys, one of which was a hunt for a green stone, named in his book, the Lore Stone.
It was the find of the century for the dwarfs, who now had access to a great deal of lost knowledge. However as soon as the stone was outside of dwarven territory, traveling to another city for further research, the caravan guarding it was attacked by rogue elves, and as a result, the stone was stolen.
Snow-Beard was tasked by the High King, ruler of the dwarfs, to recover the Lore Stone…Which is how he ended up on the ship captained by the ruthless elf lord.
Snow-Beard’s nap was broken as two elf solders awoke him, throwing him into the captain’s quarters. Inside the quarters Snow-Beard saw the villain he had been tasked to find: Lord Valen. A tall elf of the South-Lands with lite pale skin, long dark blond hair, pointed ears, and clear sighs of wear on his face from ether age or his dark magic. Wearing his armored lord’s robe which was a emerald color with darker green metal surrounding the lavish leather, he was truly an intimidating adversary, if first Snow Beard could get a free hand and fight him.
“Well, how is our… Little friend doing this afternoon?.” Lord Valen spoke. An almost high class, arrogant tone as he addressed Snow-Beard.
“I figured you elf's were stuck up, even ones who are disgraced and banished from your own homelands.” Snow-Beard replied, sneering. His disgust towards Valen evident.
“Yes, but didn't that little incident only prove that my kind is not ready for the future? Unlike myself. However, that is of little concern to me now. I am much more interested as to why an old oaf such as yourself was sneaking around my vessel.”
“You know why I'm here knife-ears, I want what you stole from my people!”
Snow-Beard yelled, slamming his foot on the ground as hard as he could defiantly.
“Oh of course…” Valen motioned his hand over his chest to an amulet, which Snow-Beard noticed was the Lore Stone.
“The Lore Stone. The one item your kind managed to make that actually has some value.”
“Unless you needed a fancy necklace that stone has no use for the likes of you!” Snow-Beard spat.
“Ah but it is more important then you will ever know... with the coin I will gain from this stone I can fund all sort of projects for the good of my fellow elves.” Valen sneered.. A sinister perk in his composed, precise smile.
With a wave of his hand, the captain lord ordered his minions to drag the dwarf to the captain’s wheel. There Snow-Beard could see where the ship was sailing into, and that was an area of the sea known as the Forever Fog, a gigantic wall of grey white fog that stretched across the horizon as far as the eye can see; It is said in tales that if one sails into it, they never come out.
Eventually, the ship stopped a mile away from the Forever Fog, as Valen quickly told his crew to prepare for company. An hour later another ship approached Valen’s vessel, Snow-Beard figured no one would noticed the selling of illegal relics near the Forever Fog.
While Valen was showing his stone to his buyer, Snow-beard took his chance with all his strength, he busted free of his bindings.
“Get the damned dwarf you worthless fools!!!” Valen screamed at his crew.
Snow-beard jumped past a few elves and quickly grabbed an axe from one of the well stocked weapons racks aboard. Snow-beard began to swing the axe at a charging elves. Snow-Beard was losing room to swing, and more then a few minions surrounded him. Grabbing a nearby lantern and throwing it at some cargo, it catches on fire. Snow-beard then, jumping off the ships side into the ocean water, swam as fast as he could, hoping to god that he can out maneuver elves in water.
“Damn it you fools! Get that fire out!” Valen yelled at the top of his lungs as his elf crew quickly ran around.
Snow-beard thought he made it but found himself pulled into the Forever Fog. After a hour of swimming in the Forever Fog, Snow-beard reached a shore of a main land, where he lays down on his back in the sand, panting heavily. The exhausted dwarf stares at the stars of the night sky as the fog dissipated, noticing the more brilliant and beautiful moon in the heavens.
Snow-beard hade to think, he lost the stone to those elves and by all rights was now considered dead to the High King for his failure. He needed to think of what to do next. Snow-beard arises from the ground, spotting the forest near the beach and begins to trek towards it.
. . . .
It had been like any other night in Ponyville. The streets were empty, many of the ponies had turned in for the night, and Luna’s moon shone down from above with the stars. Crickets continued to chirp their nocturnal song while, one by one, the lights in the small rural village went out.
Elsewhere outside of Fluttershy’s cottage, three little fillies who were sleeping over with Fluttershy were now sneaking out of the cottage with some supplies and headed to the Everfree forest.
“It this a good idea girls? remember that last time we did this?” Applebloom mentioned to her friends Sweetie belle and Scootaloo as they continued to walk down the dirt path to the forest.
“Don’t worry we’re just getting Scootaloo’s scooter she forgot at Zecora's hut.” Sweetie belle said.
Scootaloo rubbed the back of here head, embarrassed a bit for forgetting it. The fillies continued to walk to the tree house with little knowledge on what would happen next.
Within the night of the Everfree Forest, the Cutie Make Crusaders traveled to their friend Zecora's hut . The forest was dark and foreboding but the little fillies marched on unaware of the beasts of the night that may stalk them. After some time they manage find themselves lost and off the dirt path.
“I think we are lost.” Sweetie belle whimpered.
“You might be right, let's try to find our way back Fluttershy’s cottage, we can go to Zecora's in the morning.”
Applebloom and Sweetie belle turned around to go back but Scootaloo did not want to leave her scooter. After much arguing they all agreed to go back home that is if they could find there way back home.
The three fillies wandered the forest for time until they found the dirt trail back to the cottage. However Applebloom heard a rustling in a nearby bush and alerted her friends, before they had a chance to investigate the bush erupted into pieces and from it came a black Timberwolf. This Timberwolf was a bit larger than most normal Timberwolfs, there is only one of it but it towered over the three fillies like a giant monster, at a glance this Timberwolf was made of black oak branches and tree limbs making it look even more menacing.
The Crusaders quickly ran away from the Black Timberwolf as fast as there little hooves could carry them. The large beast began to run after its prey, knocking bushes and tree limbs down with its great size.
. . . .
Elsewhere the dwarf, Snow-beard managed to make it from the beach to the forest area with ease but now found himself tripping over the various branches of the forest floor. He was used to traveling by road or stone, he even traveled through a barren desert one time, but he had never found the need to travel into various woods of his realm.
“Blast and damnation! I don't know how elves walk through this green crap without tripping over their pointy shoes!” Snow-beard loudly grumbled and moaned about this annoying situation.
Out of nowhere the sound of screams echoed through the forest making the dwarf stop dead in his treks. Snow-beard with his hand to his ear tried to make out what was screaming. By the sound of it for like three small children running from something large and vicious, by the sound of it the beast was closing in on the children. Snow-beard in his mind thought that he could just ignore it and go back onto his quest, but that's not the way a dwarf works. A dwarf knows the value of honor, bravery, and glory… no dwarf turns down a fight or challenge. So Snow-beard pulled his axe from its sheath began to run to the sound of these poor children, hoping he was not too late.
The Crusaders were running as fast as they could with little success as the beast begin to close up on them. It looked bad for the little fillies as they rain into a stone too big to go around to big climb over, they were trapped as the beast moved closer and closer. The fillies huddled against one another as the black Timberwolf now moved to make a large pounce upon them.
Without warning the beast was tackled by something and knocked into a tree. Applebloom, Sweetie belle, and Scootaloo watched as the black Timberwolf began to wrestle against a small creature of some sort, this gave them a chance to run into some bushes to evade the beast, but instead of running back home they hid in the bush and watched the strange creature fight the large Timberwolf.
Snow-beard wasn't sure what he was fighting and wasn't sure if those three little things will children but he was already in the situations so they can get out. He smashed the axe across the base of the beast, knocking some of the wood from the creatures construct to which the beast pounced on the dwarf trying to claw at him. Thankfully the dwarfs had tough skin making the beasts claws barely hurt Snow-beard who smashed the acts against the creatures for second time sending half of its face falling to the ground.
Snow-beard quickly through the axe at the beasts skull as hard as he could, causing the beast to abrupt and fall apart into a pile of twigs. Snow-beard panted heavily walked over and pulled the ax from the pile of wood that was once the beast.
“If this is the kind of monsters they have here, this realm might be more fun than I thought.” The dwarf sheathed his axe, believing that the three children must have run back to the homes he continues his trek across the forest.
The three fillies were amazed at what just happened, as the strange creature went into the forest out of their sight they quickly went and ran back to the dirt path straight to fluttershy’s cottage. They didn't say a word but had the looks of astonishment on there as they snuck through the door of the cottage and back into the bed they were sleeping in. They knew they had to tell somepony about this, but after a tiring night they felt that they could do it tomorrow morning.
Snow-beard had found a small cave in this blasted forest and decided he needed some rest for the night. He gathered some twigs and started a small fire keep him warm as he sat near the caves entrance all the while looking up at the beautiful stars and moon.
“I will say, this realm has one hell of a night’s sky.”
