Chapters In Southern Eriador
As the calm wind from the sea blew across the grassy plain, and as the radiant Isil shone across the land, there walked the figure of a man, hooded and alone. This wanderer passed through the land undetected and unbeknownst to the lords that ruled it. Lost in thought and his mind racing through the various outcomes, Sauron, known as Mairon to the Valar, walked alone.
His master had just been struck down in a titanic war that wrecked the earth and shattered the Continent of Beleriand and sank it beneath the waves. With their primary foe defeated and banished to the void, the Valar and their hosts returned to Valinor, and Sauron was left behind.
For the first time in his immortal life, he was experiencing doubt as he realized that the results of his actions were not what Melkor had promised him, he knew now the lies he was fed, the lies he accepted. His name was now the most reviled and feared in Arda and great hosts of Men, Dwarves, and Elves still roamed the Land searching for him to end his reign of terror.
For the first time since his coming to Middle Earth, he longed for home, to work again in the great forges of his old master Aule and to create items of beauty and have them shown all around as flawless and perfect, his name to be praised and not feared and reviled. He contemplated on his return to Valinor, he thought of asking for forgiveness and of begging to be let back. But he was no fool, he had done a great many evil things and his judgement would be as swift and final as Melkor's. This saddened him greatly and as he walked, something happened that had not happened in all of eternity, Sauron began to weep.
He wept for his fortune, he wept for those he ruined, he wept for his stupid actions and their inevitable consequences. As the "Great Enemy of Middle Earth" sat weeping, a small light shone on him and he jolted up startled and his hand went instinctively to his small sword, all that remained of his once great arsenal.
"Still that hand Mairon, you would really draw your sword against your master?" As the voice spoke, Sauron instantly recognized it and he fell to his knees and the two sat there for several moments like that, the mighty Valar and his wayward servant kneeling before him.
"Do you understand your actions and what they have wrought?" Asked Aule.
"I do," came the barely perceivable reply.
"I was tasked with finding you and ending your time on this world, and before I leave I will fulfill my duty," Aule said as he looked down at his hooded, former servant, "Cast aside that cloak and let me see you."
Sauron resisted the command for several long minutes, but his hand slowly removed the cloak as ordered and as he threw it aside, Aule's face clouded with sadness, Sauron's body was covered in scars and his complexion had lost its once grand vigor and he now looked as a corpse, even his build was greatly diminished, and though his muscles were as toned as ever, they were greatly diminished in size. As Sauron looked up at his master, Aule saw that those once beautiful were now bloodshot and dim.
"It saddens me to no end at how low you have been brought my lost pupil, and my heart aches for your punishment. But I have my duty and your actions have merited this punishment ten times over," as Aule uttered these words, Sauron's heart sank even lower and his head fell as he realized that he would not be among the living for much longer. Anger flared up within him, but it slowly diminished as the thoughts of his great and terrible deeds reminded him that he deserved no better.
"But," a pause that lasted a lifetime ensued as Aule thought his next course of action through, "I was not commanded on where to send you. In my days of crafting and learning all the techniques of the universe, I have discovered other lands and worlds beyond our own. One in particular may far more productive for you than simply sending you to the void.”
Sauron looked up in confusion and hope.
“While I will never forgive you for your actions, I will forever miss you Mairon. Before I send you away forever, I will drain you of almost all your power to ensure that you will never cause trouble again. When you arrive, you will be mistrusted and ridiculed, but if you learn the lessons of Friendship there, you may yet find peace,” Aule sighed, “Goodbye my old friend."
As Sauron was still reeling from this revelation, Aule made a gesture with his hand and Sauron doubled over in pain as his power was forcibly removed from him. After the pain subsided, he felt a strange energy surround him, as he opened his eyes, he saw bands of blue encircle him and the last he saw of his master's face was a sad but hopeful look and then he felt a sharp snag of immense pain and he knew no more.
Author's Note
Rewritten to fix grammar errors and a few lines that made no sense.
A singing bird and the rays of the Sun finally woke Sauron up. He was groggy and still in mild pain from whatever Aule did to him. He started as he remembered the events that led to him lying on the ground under an unknown Sun.
As he sat up, the pain wore off and he opened his eyes. He saw he was in a forest on a dirt road that went on farther than he could see in either direction. As he took in his surroundings, he felt a strange sensation in his stomach, a strange noise emitted from his abdomen and a sharp pain there made him feel as though he was dying. He thought up of various possibilities and he settled on Aule poisoning him as the most likely. As his head tried to figure out how to stop the pain, a thought wormed its way into his head. Food. It was a primal thing that was barely perceivable, but Sauron caught it and he recoiled in horror.
He was hungry. This revelation mortified Sauron and he thought that Aule had taken away his immortality, but a quick check by reaching within himself, he detected a small amount of energy still residing within him, it was enough to prevent aging, but that was it. He needed sustenance and he had absolutely no idea on how to obtain it.
As he sat on the side of the road musing this new problem, he heard the faint creaking of a wagon and he snapped his head up in time to see a small blue creature that resembled a horse, but of an incredible short stature round a bend pulling a wagon that was only a few inches taller than he. The strange equine stopped when it caught sight of him and it just stared at him with an expression of caution and curiosity.
Sauron looked over the wagon trying to discern who might be driving it. When he found none apparent he called out, "Anyone there?"
"You can talk?" came the reply, but Sauron had sworn that it came from the pony.
"Of course I can talk, now show yourself. I command it!"
"First off bucko, no one can command me but the princesses and I am right here, are you blind or what?" the blue pony said.
Sauron just stood there staring at this marvelous creature, who he now recognized as a unicorn from its horn on its head. He had known the mystical beasts to exist on Arda, but he did not recall them being able to speak."I apologize my little pony, do you have a name I may call you by?" He asked as he forced a smile onto his face that really just came out as a weird mix of a mild frown and glare.
"I am the Great and Powerful Trixie and you are in my way, please move and let me on my way," Trixie replied.
Sauron laughed at this tiny creature's audacity and laughed even harder at the fact that she had no idea who he was. He stopped. She had no idea who he was, did she? He decided to test the waters, "Do you know who I am little Trixie?"
"I know that you're a creep and that you're in my way. As for a name, I really couldn't care if you had one or not. Now then, I have a show in Ponyville and you're in my way. This is really important because I have to redeem myself and try to fix what I messed up." Trixie explained .
Sauron, who was still amused at the little thing's obliviousness, moved aside and gestured down the road, "That way to this town you called Ponyville?" he inquired.
"Yes, now good day sir," Twixie said as she resumed her journey.
"And a good day to you Miss Trixie." Sauron said, then he was reminded of his hunger by another sharp pain, "and miss trixie, you wouldn't have any food you could spare do you?"
Trixie reached into her saddle bag and tossed out an apple without stopping, "There you go, now good day."
Sauron moved swiftly to snatch the apple and he took a quick bite and he was rewarded with his stomach stopping its complaints. He finished the apple and tossed the core aside. By this time, Trixie's cart was far ahead and it soon disappeared around a bend. He sat back down and focused inward as he probed what strength he had left.
It was while deep in thought and concentration that he heard a strange voice, "Well, what do we have here? A Dark Lord? What luck! I used to be a Dark Lord of sorts back in the day, but sadly these cursed ponies managed to worm their way into my non-existent heart."
Sauron had looked up but found that he was faced with by far the most bizarre creature he had ever laid eyes upon, "What on Eru’s great Arda are you?"
"I am Discord, Lord of Chaos. I could ask the same of you, you are built like a human, yet your ears are longer and I sense a power within you."
"My name is..." Sauron paused. He had not given this much thought before, but here he had a chance t start anew, and while his name of Sauron was by far his most famous, it did mean "Dreaded Enemy" or something like that. He pondered it over and finally decided on a name that he once had, but had long since lost. He decided to give it a try.
"My name is Mairon."
Author's Note
Rewritten to fix grammar errors and to fix some lines of dialogue.
Author's Note
Sorry for the long wait, been busy with life and school. I'm currently moving into a new apartment and its been fun doing so.
I am also going to rewrite the first two chapters and flesh them out some more, I felt they were a bit rushed. Maybe this one is too, but oh well. Thank you all for reading this and supporting it, and without further ado, here's Chapter 3
Edit: Rewritten to fix the grammar and a few lines of conversation.
Road to Ponyville
"Mairon eh? That's an odd name, to each their own I suppose. Now, what is your purpose here might I ask?" the strange being inquired as he wrote the name Mairon into a small notebook that appeared and vanished just as quickly.
"What is it to you?" Mairon rebuked as he stood up.
"Nothing really, I just was sent here by dear Celly to see what caused such a great disturbance in the magical plain. I told her that I was busy with cleaning my realm and that it required at least a week to do, but she insisted, so I told her-" Discord rambled on as he picked an acorn from one of the trees and began to yoyo it.
Mairon stood there watching this strange creature and how casually it displayed such great feats of power. He chuckled at this strange creature who could perform such awesome feats of magic without as much as a thought. He then started laughing.
"-well, that's what Luna tell me anyways... hey! Are you even listening?" asked the draconequus who had turned into an old pony sitting in a chair knitting.
"I apologize, it's just you had just done something that many have tried to do and failed. It was kinda shocking." Mairon conceded.
"What is that? I do enjoy being the first at anything," he said as he turned into a weird looking Pony with a rainbow tail standing atop a pedestal with an overly large trophy.
"You made me laugh."
"Really? That's it? You're telling me that you have not laughed ever!?! Geez man, have you come to the right place, there's a quaint town to the west of here where an odd pink pony dwells. I think a visit with her oughta remedy this problem you have," he said as he began to head in the direction that the cart-pony had gone, "Well, aren't you going to come with? These woods aren't the most pleasant to be in."
Mairon stood there for a second and then began to follow the now floating draconequus, who then snapped his fingers and Mairon felt a strange pull as he suddenly found himself on the outskirts of a small but pleasant town. He looked around and could not see the strange creature anymore. His gaze settled back on the town. Aside from the towering Castle made from crystal, the town looked like a normal village.
Aside from being populated by colorful ponies who could talk.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! IT'S A NEW PERSON!!!!"
Mairon instantly kicked into fight or flight as he was suddenly assaulted by the most fearsome creature ever to have walked, a terrifying pink pony with a messy mane.
"OHMMYGOSH OHMYGOSH OHMYGOSH!!! Hello! How do you do? I'm Pinkie Pie, who are you? You look funny, do you like cake? Of course you do, here!" Mairon suddenly found a piece of cake inside his mouth after the pony shot her hoof into his face. He chewed, and against his better judgement, found the cake to be quite delicious.
"Thank you? You said your name was Pinkie Pie?" Mairon inquired as he swallowed.
"Yes, I am Ponyville's Premiere party pony!” the talking pink horse proudly proclaimed, “What's your name?"
"My name is Mairon,” He paused, “you wouldn't happen to know of the strange creature who bends reality do you? He kinda left me here at the edge of this town after he found me in the forest."
"Oh, you must be talking about Discord, yeah, he's weird like that, but I like it!" she said.
"Well, he said I should come here to talk to a pink pony who could solve my 'problem' of not smiling. I haven't smiled in centuries you see. Apparently it’s a prob-"
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAA!?! How can you NOT have smiled in suuuuuuuuuuch a long time!?! No matter, I know just what to do to fix that. COME ON!" Mairon suddenly found himself being dragged on the ground at breakneck speed by the strange pony as she made her way through town. He could see the looks of mild surprise n the inhabitants of 'Ponyville' as he was dragged through what looked like a town square. The duo finally stopped outside a cheerfully pink-painted building.
"Welcome to Sugarcube Corner! This is where I make happiness and make joy! Come on! You got to try my pastries, nobody, not even the Princess herself, can resist them!" Pinkie Pie dropped Mairon's leg and allowed him to stand up, then led him into the bakery. As he stepped inside the building, several smells assaulted his nose and he began to drool as the scent of cakes, cookies, and other sweets made him dizzy.
"This smells like nothing I've ever known before," Mairon said as he looked around, his lips cracking into a small smile as he passed shelves full of sweets more savory looking than the last.
"Glad you like it, take your pick, its on the house," Pinkie said as she took a seat at a booth.
Mairon grabbed what looked like a wheel with frosting on it. He made his way to the booth and sat down across from the pink pony who was literally diving into her cake. Mairon took a bite of his food and nearly got knocked out of the chair by the flavor.
"What is this!?! This would be worth a King's Ransom in my world," Mairon said as he took another bite, careful to savor it with care.
"That's a Doughnut, and you mean Arda right? Fun place, elves, dwarves, hobbits, dragons, but no ponies sadly." Pinkie said as nonchalantly as possible.
Mairon just sat there staring at the pink pony. Pinkie took notice, "What?"
"How do you-"
"Best not to question it. Pinkie is strange and we earned long ago to never question it," a strange lavender colored pony said. This one had the horn of a unicorn, but the wings of a pegasus and seemed a bit taller than most ponies he'd seen.
"My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I was told by my friend Discord that there'd be a human here at Sugarcube corner, and it seems he wasn't pranking me this time."
"My name is Mairon, and may I ask, where I am? This place seem so much different from my old world,” Mairon asked as he finished his doughnut.
"Well, I think this is a conversation best had at the castle, I have a library that we can use to maybe help you a bit," Twilight said as she turned to leave.
"Wait!" He stood up and turned to Pinkie, "May I have another doughnut?"
Pinkie laughed, "Sure thing, I'm glad you liked them."
Mairon grabbed another and followed Twilight to the strange castle.
Mairon exited the cafe and followed Twilight down the street, heading towards the large crystal tree at the end of town. He once again looked at the denizens of the town, and despite a few looks of curiosity, he couldn’t help but notice how serene they all were, smiles on their faces, going about their day. He then noticed how everyone of the adults had a marking on their flanks.
“Hey Twilight, what are those markings your kind have on their hind legs?”
Twilight didn’t even slow her trot, “They’re Cutie Marks, they appear to us as foals when we discover our calling.”
Mairon paused at this, “So what gives you these marks?”
Twilight slowed and turned her head to Mairon, “The Spirit of Harmony does, it guides all ponykind.”
“Spirit of Harmony? Interesting” Mairon mulled this over for a second before realizing that Twilight had started again and called his name. He kept this in his mind as they approached the giant tree castle.
Twilight opened one of the large doors with her horn and ushered Mairon inside. He marveled at how spacious and shiny it all was. Upon closer inspection with a nearby wall, he realized that the crystal was producing its own light and was softly changing colors within. He would have studied the wall further if not for an annoyed sound from Twilight. He pulled his head from the very interesting wall and followed Twilight up a set of stairs. They passed several doors until they came to a large double door, once inside, he let his mouth hang open.
Shelves upon shelves of books and scrolls. Such a trove of knowledge and learning existed not in all of Arda, from Valinor in the West to the farthest unknown East. Mairon stood where he was, just staring at it all. Twilight, noticing her guest’s expression, smiled and puffed out her chest in pride, “It’s my personal collection, I have over 20,000 volumes here. It is nowhere near the size of the Crystal Empire Archives or the Royal Library in Canterlot however.”
Mairon took a moment to respond, “This room would be worth more than all the riches of Khazad-dum back home. I can not imagine the pains it must have taken you to gather such a collection.”
“It wasn’t that difficult, I started with the remnants of my old library and just kept buying more and more. I still have room for thousands more,” Twilight said, “Now then, let’s get down to business.” Twilight summoned a couple of chairs from across the room and motioned for Mairon to take a seat. “To begin, you’re not from this world correct?”
“As stated just now, yes”
“Alright, so from that, I must ask, do you know magic?”
“Not in the sense that you know, judging from how you can summon objects with your horn.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, my power comes from within, the ‘magic’ where I come from is very spiritual and tied to the Great Song. I myself am, or at least used to be, a Maia, a very powerful spirit and among the first born into my world,” Twilight summoned a notepad and quill and began taking notes, “I possessed great skill in smithing and crafting. I was formerly under the lordship of a the Valar of the Earth, which is why I'm so good at smithing and crafting. I was then involved in a great war, waged for…” Mairon paused. Should he disclose what the war was fought over and which side he was on? He shook his head, no, he wouldn’t burden this pony with that just yet, “It doesn’t matter over what, but I fought in a great war and was on the losing side. A few events later and I was told I had lost most of my power and I was thrown into this world.”
Twilight continued to scribble notes for a few moments before stopping, “That’s interesting, so you come from a world of conflict?”
“Yes”
“Hmm” Twilight mulled this over for a second, “Well I guess I better tell you where you are. You are in Equestria, the foremost nation on Equus. I am one of four reigning Princesses that rule this land. You landed near Ponyville, a small town in central Equestria. I’m afraid that’s all I can say for now. Can you excuse me for a moment?” Twilight got up from her seat and summoned another piece of parchment and began to write on it. After a few moments, she rolled it up and shot it with her horn, the letter vanishing into thin air. She trotted back to her seat and sat down, “Sorry, I had to send a letter to Princess Celestia, she’s the primary ruler of Equestria. Have to keep her informed on this.”
Mairon nodded, “That’s smart. If I may ask, are there other intelligent races on Equus? Where I come from, there are quite a few.”
“Oh yes, there’s the Griffons, Thestrals, Minotaurs, Changelings, and a few more. For the most part we all get along, though there have been more than a few instances of disharmony.”
“Interesting, where I come from, the various peoples tend to be at each other’s throats.”
“Your world sounds dangerous and chaotic. I wonder why?”
Mairon, a skilled wordsmith and manipulator, spending thousands of years acting guiltfree, suddenly found himself feeling guilty. He knew the reason why of course, but he couldn’t tell these ponies, not yet, maybe even never. An awkward silence was descending, but both were saved in time by a returned scroll, this one bearing a sigil with a golden sun. Twilight opened it and began to read.
“Well, it seems the Princess wants to see you personally. I guess we’re going to Canterlot Mairon. I would say pack your things, but I feel that might not be an issue.”
Mairon rolled his eyes, “Very perceptive, how long is it to this Canterlot?”
“By train, one can get there reasonably quickly, about 8 hours. But it’s late afternoon now, we’ll leave tomorrow. I guess you can have a room here for the night. Be rude to leave you outside alone.”
“That’s kind of you, I am feeling slightly drowsy. This feeling is rather alien to me, I don’t think I’ve ever slept. This should be a new experience.”
“You never slept before? How is that possible?”
“I was a very powerful individual, I didn’t need sleep.”
“Huh, that’s odd, even the Princesses in Canterlot sleep. Oh well, follow me, I’ll show you to a guest room.” Twilight exited the Library and Mairon followed, stealing one last look at the trove of knowledge before leaving.
They took the stairs even higher into the Castle and stopped in front of one of the doors. Twilight opened it and gestured inside, “Here’s your room for the night”
Mairon took it in, it was a very luxurious room, not all together large, but very well appointed. He stepped in and sat on the bed, feeling the softness of the sheets. He was suddenly very aware of how exhausted he was.
“Dinner is at 6, I’ll send my assistant Spike up here to get you when it’s time.”
“I don’t think I’ll be making dinner, I suddenly feel very tired.”
“Oh, In that case sleep well, we leave early tomorrow morning.” Twilight took one last look inside before closing the door behind her.
Suddenly alone, Mairon stood back up and went to the wash basin and quickly washed his hands and face. He slipped out of his outer robes and threw them onto a chair nearby. After pacing for a few minutes, thinking about what he learned today and the fact he was now in a whole new world. After this, he finally settled down into bed and as the sun began to dip below the horizon, Mairon fell asleep for the first time
Author's Note
Well this one took a while, sorry for the massive delay, life has a way of taking time away from you. As always, criticisms are welcome and thanks to all of you for staying with it despite the long delay!