Author's Note
It's ya boi Symphony back at it again with the 1 am shitposts!
YOU DIED
Rage.
Pure, unfiltered rage.
Those are the only words that came to Twilight Sparkles mind as she flew over the town and witnessed the destruction caused by the rampage of a legendary dragon. A beast of terrible power, as if taken from the deepest and darkest nightmares known to ponies.
His black and scarred hide, worn from centuries of battle and conquest. The dark magic festering inside him released in the shape of black crystals jutting out from his shoulders and the bases of his massive wings.
A dragon that was feared as a deity of destruction amongst the populace. The young princesses heart wrenched as she laid eyes upon the numbers of crushed and destroyed homes.
How many ponies were still trapped? How many had lost a member of their family before she and her fellow royalties appeared and teleported mostly everypony to safety? The thought nagged at her as she went down to land next to her former mentor.
She landed a few paces behind Celestia who was eyeing what was once a bustling town but was now a wasteland of cinders and wreckage. Celestia closed her eyes, shook her head and turned around.
“Have we had any confirmed sightings of the dragon?” Celestia asked, her eyes set with grim determination to end this once and for all.
“Yes, princess.” A guard replied, walking beside the princess. “The bastard was spotted circling the lower plains. We have sent out scouts but none of them has returned yet.”
“Be on your hooves, full attention and have sentries placed in all directions.” Celestia said, her voice nearly wavering as she saw a small form lying in front of a destroyed home covered by a white sheet with a mare sobbing next to it. Celestia averted her gaze and looked behind her, noticing Twilight staring at the scene with wide, teary eyes. Twilight's legs were shaking.
Celestia walked to her and slowly turned Twilight away, breaking her line of sight and placed a comforting wing on her back.
“Come, Twilight.” Celestia said softly. “You shouldn't have to see this, I'm sorry for bringing you here...”
“Who would do such a thing?” Twilight asked after recovering, shaking the image out of her head.
“We don't know much about him, he can appear and disappear for no reason but destruction always follow him. “ Celestia mused. “His name is...”
“...Darkeater Midir has disappeared from his lair, Ashen One. Thou must follow the archdragon's steps into another world.” Shira, the maiden knight of Filianore turned around to face the knight behind her.
The Ashen One's grip tightened on the sword he was holding, giving her a stiff nod and turning around to walk away from her.
“I shall open the portal to him.” Shira picked up a small black crystal brimming with dark energy to her head, muttering a few words of incantation.
A few seconds later, a bright yellow portal appeared next to them. Stepping forward to the portal, the Ashen One raised a single hand in a show of determination and walked through.
Shira sighed as the portal closed behind him. From a corner of the room a figure walked forward from leaning at a wall wearing a set of extremely heavy knight armor.
“Do you think he has what it takes?” Lapp asked, eyeing the spot where the portal had been a few seconds ago. “His heart is in the right place but his skill with a blade is... lacking for a better word.”
Shira was quiet for almost half a minute until she released a breath of she wasn't aware she was holding, shaking her head.
“Probably not.”
Back in Equestria, the scouts had returned with information and the princesses were flying down to what seemed to be a giant cave filled with luminous crystals. Far in the back, they spotted a large figure lying down in what seemed to be a deep sleep. Twilight took a small step forward but was stopped by Celestia.
“We must think of a plan of action first.” Celestia whispered to her, not wanting to attract the attention of the dragon.
They moved from the mouth of the cave, both not daring to make a sound as they moved. A bright flash appeared behind them. A swirling mass of gold magic appeared after the flash and they could see a shadow moving toward them. A... hand poked through and after it a strange being came.
He was a head taller than Celestia and he was fully covered by a suit of armor. On his back was a great sword even larger than him. In his left hand was a light green and darker green shield painted with a beautiful artwork of vines.
The being stared straight forward into the cave, eyeing the great dragon lying within. The princesses could have sworn they heard a loud gulp from the creature before he started walking with determined steps toward the cave. Stopping a few meters away, he brought out a pair of binoculars and stared.
“Um... hello?” Celestia said to their newest addition. He jumped and lost his grip on the binoculars, sending them flying straight up. He fumbled to catch them and did after a few tries.
A glowing flask filled with a strange even brighter glowing liquid spilled a little down the leggings of his armor. He quickly righted it and swore.
Behind them, the ground shifted and turned before a handle of a sword came out from the ground slowly. Once it stopped, the ponies saw a strange coiled sword bound to a small mound of dirt covered with bones and skulls. The knight stepped forward and held out his right hand.
A fire came to life that covered most of the coiled sword, he lowered his hand and turned back to the cave.
“Who... Who are you?” Twilight asked him. He stared at the gathered ponies, as if noticing them for the first time. He shook his head and brought forward a small orange soapstone and crouched down to the ground.
He wrote a few words in a strange language Twilight hadn't seen before. She gasped as his written words started shifting, until it became something they could read.
“The Ashen One..?” She said, looking up at the intimidating figure who nodded. He sighed and then turned to the cave, walking toward it slightly faster.
He entered the cave and a deathly quiet laid with the ponies as they noticed him stopping. They could hear a small 'pat' followed by a terrible smell. The Ashen One waddled for a few steps until he righted himself and coughed, then continued toward the dragon.
When he was halfway into the cave, the beast came to life and stared at the intruder. The dragon stood up and roared at the Ashen One, who drew his sword from his back and readied his shield.
A few more moments of silent staring between the two combatants followed. The Ashen One started walking slowly toward the dragon who did the same. Strange music started sounding out of nowhere.
Eventually, the Ashen One was sprinting toward the dragon who was lumbering at him in a great pace. When close enough, the darkeater tried to hit him with a massive hand. The Ashen One reacted quickly with rolling toward him and did a lunging thrust against him with his sword using both of his hands.
Midir growled in annoyance and slammed down with the same hand as before. A sound that could best be described as ketchup being forced out of a nearly empty bottle layered by the crumpling of metal echoed throughout the cave.
The ponies gasped at the death of the knight and as quickly as it started, the music stopped. They could have sworn they saw a grin on Midir's face as he ground the spot where the knight laid squished.
A strange sound was heard behind them and the air next to the bonfire shifted and the flame of the bonfire turned into a familiar shape.
The Ashen One gasped and ran his hands all over himself and shuddered. Shaking his head, he hefted his zweihander to his shoulder and walked toward the mouth of the cave again. This time however, the dragon was prepared and waiting for him.
Launching into a sprint, the Ashen One once again switched up his hold on his sword, placing his shield on his back and grabbing the hilt with both hands. Dodging a swing of the dragons' giant talons he followed up with a heavy over-head swing that connected with the beast's head. The dragon roared in pain and anger, staggering for a few seconds.
The knight reinvigorated his attacks, following up swing after swing not giving the dragon any reprieve from his barrage of attacks. Eventually Midir had enough and with a mighty swing of his arm he hit the warrior and sent him flying out the mouth of the cave and embedded him in a wall. A pained whimper was heard from the crevice, followed by silence.
Once again, the same sound from before was heard by the bonfire and the Ashen One stood there, shuddering and glanced at the crevice.
“Um...” Twilight stared at him. “Do you need help?”
The Ashen one sniffled and shook his head. He was a knight of valor, not some casual bandit who needed a summon for a trifling matter such as a dragon!
...Right?
He brought forward a backpack and turned it upside down, shaking it. A rattle came from it and out fell several weapons and strange trinkets. A giant, dark grey sword that looked too big, too thick and too rough to be a sword. It was more like a heap of raw iron clanged to the ground at the top of the pile.
Scratching the back of his helmet, the Ashen One retrieved a large greataxe with a long handle and an intricate faded gold design on the dual blades. Hefting the axe on his shoulder, he walked back toward the mouth of the cave.
The ponies felt a rush of heat and black, abyssal fire shot out from the cave followed by screaming.
Once again, the knight appeared next to the bonfire with an exasperated sigh. He kneeled down and rooted around in the pile of items until he found what appeared to be a small rock layered by cracks that glowed with fire. He stood up, took a deep breath and pushed it toward his chest. Instantly, he was covered in flames momentarily and his armor looked almost as if it was on fire on certain spots.
He then glanced around on the ground, tapping a foot impatiently. Without notice, he ran over to a spot and knelt down again, placing his left palm down on the ground, then stood up and took a step back.
A hum filled the air as another strange creature much like the Ashen One appeared. However, this one was garbed in a much heavier, more imposing armour. In his right hand was a large halberd with a peculiarly shaped blade. In his other hand was a massive iron greatshield with sections in the top and bottom cut out.
“Ashen One. Maiden Shira asked that I came to assist you in overcoming the beast.”
The aforementioned knight nodded and jammed a thumb at the ponies who were staring at them.
“By Gwyn's grace, are those horses talking?” Lapp said, tightening the grip on his halberd. The Ashen one shrugged and nodded then turned toward the mouth of the cave.
The dragon inside did a movement as if he was rolling his eyes and huffed, getting ready once more to fight.
“Allow me to take point. You just make sure to attack when safe and heal if injured.” Lapp passed him, walking into the cave first and dashed to the left. The Ashen One followed and dashed to the right.
The heavily armored knight dropped his shield and started swinging his halberd in a perfect circle above his head, glaring straight forward. “Come, Darkeater! Face your end!” He bellowed and charged.
A fierce battle followed as Lapp dodged every single attack the dragon had to offer and even dodged a massive blast of dark magic. The Ashen One, however was standing to the side with his shield raised and only sprinting forward to hit the dragon in the ankle twice when Lapp had his attention before running back.
Eventually, the dragon slumped forward from sustaining too much damage.
“Now, Ashen One!” Lapp yelled at the knight who jumped, then ran to the dragons head. Brandishing his greataxe, he hefted it high and swung down with massive force.
A final dying howl was heard from the dragon and he was no more. The duo exited the cave and turned to the ponies.
“I say...” Celestia said once she had composed herself from watching the battle. She turned to Lapp. “As the co-ruler of this land, We owe you a great deal for defeating that beast.”
Lapp stared at the horse for a few seconds. “Thank you, I couldn't have done it myself though. The Ashen One did help.”
“Really?” One of her guards said, receiving a slap on the back of his helmet by a comrade.
“Well... He did make a valiant effort but he did help by summoning you here. So... Good work, team?” Twilight piped up, glancing between the knights.
The Ashen One sniffled once again.
He had still not got good.
