//-------------------------------------------------------// Fragility and Strength -by ponyreader11- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// Where in the Nine hells am I? //-------------------------------------------------------// Author's Note I don't know how often I will be writing, but I will try to get a chapter out at least weekly if my schedule will permit it. This is my first story so any feedback will be greatly appreciated. With out a further a do! Fragility and Strength! Where in the Nine hells am I? The air was vibrating with the electricity and magic that were colliding in this battle of foes. Obsul has been fighting this warlock for 25 minutes now and was becoming exhausted. Voluxian has proven to be quite a pain in his side as of late due to the trouble that he has caused. They weren't always enemies they used to be close friends. But his friend is no more now since his Patron Domilus took over his body. The party was held in cages guarded by a possessed dragon Domilus summoned. The elf Frig had been gagged so she couldn't sing or speak to help her friends. While in a stone cage at the dragon's foot pinned to the ground lay the Half-orc Paladin Aldric. Obsul had come to free them and prevent Voluxian from sacrificing them to open a portal for his patron. Voluxian now out of spell slots brings his daggers out intending to slash Obsul. Obsul thinks to himself 'Think man, THINK! How can you save your friends? I don't wish to kill Voluxian but I don't know if I have a choice!' Obsul then proceeds to raise his tower shield in defense as the two of them begin to circle each other. "Voluxian, I know you are still in there old friend. Please resist him, you are better than this. What would your sister Ilda think if she saw you this way..." Obsul chokes out in between labored breaths. "Your tenacity is admirable dragon-kin, but your friend is no longer here. I have locked his mind and soul away to be merely my puppet now! And once I am finished with you, your friends over there are going to make fine sacrifices and their blood being the final key for me to enter this realm to reclaim my true right of power!" Domilus states as he throws a dagger trying to find a weak spot in Obsul's defensive stance. Too which Obsul simply sidesteps. 'That's it! I have no other choice at this point, forgive me old friend, and may you rest in peace.' Thought Obsul as he prepared his ace in the hole. "Black Chain!" He shouts out as two black chains shoot out from the ground wrapping around his friends' wrists pulling him to his knees. "My dearest friend forgive me for what I am about to do, but I am left with no other choice!" Obsul roars as he raises his spear tip at Domilus' chest and commands its activated ability piercing strike. The spear lights up and lets loose a torrent of lighting piercing Voluxian's chest. Just as the light dissipates from the strike Domilus grins and says "Worthy attempt but you only delayed me. I won't let it happen again! Reality shift!" As he states the last two words his body begins to glow with magic wildly striking out and striking Obsul in the chest knocking him down. Obsul manages to get one final look at his friends as the cages vanish and his vision is engulfed in a whirlpool of color as the magic surge forces him through the portal that appeared. Twilight and her friends were exploring the old castle of the two sisters when a storm broke out. They had decided it would be best if they waited inside to wait the storm out. Weather in the Everfree was unpredictable after all since no weather ponies could tame it. "Hey Twi, are you feeling all the raw energy in the air from all this lighting? I have never seen so much in one place." Rainbow dash stated while staring in awe at the storm while with a little concern. The lightning strikes seemed to be getting ever closer she noted as well. "I can feel the energy behind those strikes for sure Rainbow. You should probably stay away from the window for now until the storm passes. Why don't we tell stories to pass the time?" Twilight replied. "It certainly will take our minds off the storm. Maybe we can even play games such as scrabble or chess!" "Oh, my dear twilight, a game of does chess sounds good right about now! I can use my magic real quick to make us the pieces." Rarity stated with great enthusiasm. "Ooooh, oooh, I get to play winner. We can play so whoever loses has to help me with my super-secret surprise for our new guest!" Pinkie pie exclaimed as she leaps into the air throwing confetti seemingly from nowhere. "Now what do ya mean by that pinks? As far as I can tell we are the only ones here. Unless that was your darn pinkie sense going off just now, I don't know what you mean by our new guest." said AJ in her normal southern drawl. "And quite frankly I would hate it if they are unfriendly. Though I do feel mighty sorry for them if they are out in this here storm." "Oh my... I hope they are ok out there. I don't even think the animals that live here are out in that storm." Fluttershy then jumps as a lightning bolt then crashes through the ceiling in the center of the room startling everyone present. "Deary me, that was a close call girls." Rarity called out. As she is looking around and spots something lying in the center sparking with raw magic, though unsure as to what it is due to the smoke at first. Obsul was watching the colors in the vortex around him change as he has been falling. He knows he might never be able to see his friends ever again, but at least he was able to save two of them. Though regret now began to course through his mind, ‘What have I done? I know Voluxian was possessed and there wasn’t anything else I could do to help him... Poor Ilda. She is going to be facing such hard times when she finds out her brother won’t be coming back.’ “Hmm, I have been falling for some time, I should have come out of this damn portal by now.” As soon as he uttered those words it seemed as if something heard him, and the exit opened up right below him. “Oh come on!” Obsul yelled as soon as he saw himself falling towards what appeared to be an abandoned castle amidst a forest with a storm raging. ‘Think Ob, come on there has to be a way to slow my fall so I don’t die on impact. WAIT I still have my gear!’ Obsul then grabbed a tight hold of his shield using it as a windbreak and pressing himself against it trying to remain as flat as possible to catch wind resistance to slow himself. ‘This is going to hurt! 10, 9, 8, 7, 6,’ Obsul mentally cursed himself as he crashed through the roof because a bolt of lighting decided it needed to acquaint itself with him driving him to the ground. After the dust settles he begins coughing and manages to roll himself over and get onto a knee. That's when he hears multiple gasps. Obsul looks up and sees 6 multicolored ponies. “What the fuck? Where did that bastard send me?” After he asked that, the ponies watched as he collapsed from fatigue with his adrenaline finally wearing off. “Quick girls we need to stabilize him and get him to a doctor, I will send a letter to Princess Celestia!” Those were the last words he heard before he blacked out. The six ponies looked on in shock as the figure who crashed through the roof managed to rise to its knee and speak. They all then see the wounds he bore and gasped. That's when he looked up at them and spoke saying “What the fuck? Where did that bastard send me?” After he said that he had collapsed. “Quick girls we need to stabilize him and get him to a doctor, I will send a letter to Princess Celestia!” Twilight shouted as she summoned a quill and parchment, and began to furiously scribble away at it before sending it off in a poof of magic. With the letter sent they very quickly went to work trying to bandage the creature's wounds with the first aid kit that Apple Jack had brought with her in case any of them got hurt. After about 2 hours they managed to bandage all of his wounds. With a sudden flash of light, a scroll appeared in front of Twilight with a royal seal on it. She very quickly unraveled it with her magic and began reading, ‘My dearest Twilight, the issue you presented is quite serious indeed. I will have a royal chariot on its way to pick this creature up and bring it to the castle infirmary. Please do be cautious if they wake up, for we do not know how they will react, especially if they are wounded as bad as you say. Sincerely Princess Celestia.’ Twilight looked up as she finished reading looking on at this strange creature as it lay asleep noting how much like a dragon it looked, from the sea blue scales and their various tones, to his mouth which was filled with razor-sharp teeth, and then its claws as well which seemed strong enough dig grooves into the stones beneath. She hoped that they were doing the right thing. Obsul then began to stir as the storm faded and the chariot landed. Medical guards rushed in with a stretcher and put him on it. “Where in the nine hells am I?” He managed to mutter before blacking out once more. //-------------------------------------------------------// Awakening to a new world //-------------------------------------------------------// Author's Note Thank you to everyone who has been reading up this point. Something to keep in mind is that not everything will line up completely with d&d rules and so on due to how my DM was. Though as far as lore goes I am going to try to keep it as accurate as I can. Awakening to a new world ‘Where am I’ thought Obsul as he was floating in a void that he presumed was his consciousness. ‘Where is that beeping coming from, it doesn’t sound natural. That's beside the point, I need to wake up, I don’t know where I am.’ With that conclusion in Obsul's thoughts, he began trying to reach out with his mind to his limbs to see if he could feel them. Once he managed to get his hand to twitch after what seemed like hours that when he started to return to consciousness. As Obsul opened his eyes he was blinded by the bright daylight coming through the window. Obsul let his eyes adjust to the light in the room and noticed he was completely naked. With a little further inspection he sees the contraption that seems to be making that beeping noise. The window was rather tall allowing him a magnificent view of Canterlot. To say he was stunned by the view would be an understatement. It was here Obsul heard the door open and heard a gasp. He turned his head to where he heard the gasp come from, and to his surprise he saw yet another colorful pony. ‘So I wasn’t hallucinating when I saw those six ponies.’ The pony seemed to compose himself as he walked over with some sort of coat over him, and it was here he noticed the clipboard floating in a magical aura. When he saw that magic seemed to exist on this plane he smiled to himself. “Ahem, do you speak our language by any chance good sir? Because I have a few questions to ask you. Also, don’t be alarmed, I am a doctor for the royal palace.” The strange equine proceeded to speak, all the more to Obsul’s astonishment. All he could do was nod his head that he understood the language. Obsul then lifted his arm and made a drinking motion with his hand because he noticed just how dry his mouth was. The doctor seemed to understand and floated over a glass of water that had been on a nearby stand. Obsul took the glass and drank slowly until he finished his glass. With a satisfied sigh, Obsul spoke up, “I do understand your language. I do apologize as well if I am a little taken aback. See where I am from ponies normally can’t speak unless some sort of spell or curse was placed.” With a little shock at hearing the low grumble that accompanied hearing this creature speak, the doctor replied in kind. “What do you mean by that? Well, that’s beside the point that can wait, we should introduce ourselves. I am royal doctor Gold Cross. What is your name, if you have one?” Obsul was happy to see that this equine seemed friendly enough. Surely if they weren’t he would have been tied down rather than nothing. With a short yawn, he replied, “Ahh, well it’s a pleasure to meet you Doctor Gold Cross. My name is Obsul. I am sure you are wondering a lot right now so let us get through this quickly.” Gold Cross nodded as he scribbled Obsul’s name onto the clipboard. “We will start with just a few basic questions. Firstly how are you feeling? Any aches, pains, and or soreness anywhere. As well why were you able to heal from your injuries so quickly? You have been out for four days, and yet; all the gashes, burns, and bruises on your body have healed almost completely. When I first saw you when you were dragged in, I began trying to set to work on healing you but your body was already visibly mending. So we hooked you up to an I.V. drip to keep you hydrated.” Obsul was taken aback, he had been out cold for four whole days. With a knot in his stomach, Obsul replied. “Have I really been out for that long? As far as aches go, I am just a little sore from not having moved for so long I guess. As far as my natural healing, that is a longer story, one I don’t wish to share right now. I thank you for all of your hospitality, but where is my equipment? I wish to get up and be dressed and to be on my way.” He hated the fact that he couldn’t seem to call upon his attuned armor and weapons for whatever reason. Gold Cross sighed deeply, “Your stuff is over there on a chair for you,” as he motioned to a chair in the back corner. “But as far as your weapons go, we cannot permit you them yet, as you have yet to be determined as a threat or not. I will step out and allow you to get dressed, come out when you are ready. The princesses wished to meet with you once you woke.” With all that said the doctor walked out of the room. Alarm bells were ringing throughout Obsul’s mind. ‘Great I am somewhere unfamiliar supposed to meet the local royals, and I don’t have my weapons. Sure I can make do with my spells, but those can only go so far, and I do not know if they will work.’ With a reluctant sigh, Obsul got up and walked over to his armor and his bag of holding. “At least I still have these,” he stated to himself. Once he composed himself and checked himself in the mirror to make sure he was presentable. He had to look his best if he was to meet royalty. It had been twenty-five minutes that the doctor and Obsul have been walking. Every twenty meters Obsul took note of the fact there were what appeared to be guards all in gold armor. Though it seemed they had finally arrived at what appeared to be the entrance to the throne room door with two guards on either side, though the two-guard groups were different. The ones on the right side of the door were dark in color and bearing purple armor, and they appeared to have similar features to bats as far as their fangs and wings were concerned. On the left were two more guards appearing the same as the rest he had seen up to this point. The bat ponies seemed to be glaring at him, but he simply held his head high with a hard stare forward. The doors eventually opened up and they were allowed entry. Immediately he saw the two equines on their thrones. The one on the left having brilliant white fur and a mane that was a multitude of colors between and seemed to flow in some ethereal wind. While her sister on the right was a deep blue with a mane that shone as if the starts of night themselves were in it. Most notably they were a fair amount taller than the other ponies he has come across yet so far, and they had both wings and horns to his surprise. The one on the right spoke up first, though her counterpart seemed to glare at her for speaking so hastily. “Are you a threat to our dear ponies? For if you are tis is where thine road ends. Now speak!” The one on the left quickly spoke up, “Luna, that is not how you address a guest who hasn’t shown any hostility thus far.” With that said she turned her head to face Obsul, “Please forgive my sister for being so blunt and rash. We are concerned about whether you will remain friendly or not, especially with the weapons you were found with. But first, let us introduce ourselves, I am Princess Celestia, and my sister here is Princess Luna. What is your name?” Seeing as it was his turn to speak up, albeit taken a little off guard by Luna’s bluntness at first. With a short bow, Obsul spoke. “Thank you for your hospitality and kindness thus far. Tis very appreciated to speak with thee, and thine sister. My name is Obsul.” He hoped his knowledge of old common would still hold true as he read it from books. It seemed to work, because the two princesses seemed surprised, especially Luna. Luna vocalized her surprise, “How is it that thee knows old equish so well traveler? It is not taught anymore from what I was lead to understand by my sister when I returned from my thousand-year banishment.” Obsul was barely able to hold his surprise in when he heard that she had been banished for one thousand years. Obsul kept his composure and spoke carefully. “I am well learned through old texts of which I used to read on my adventures. Now, as well I assume you and thy sister have heard of how I arrived? I was thrust from my realm and landed here for some reason,” as he motions to the surrounding area. “I am not sure of where I am, so forgive me if I have my guard up and speak with great caution. Princess Luna, I am certain you may understand this from your caution of me earlier.” Celestia spoke up, “Yes we are aware of how you arrived. But by what force managed to rend you from your realm with such force? Making portals to other dimensions is by no means easy. And as for your caution, you need not fear. We seem to agree to be friends thus far, yes? For now, though we do wish to keep an eye on you due to recent events from the previous invasion a few months prior now. So please do not hold us ill for this.” “I can understand the caution, though I do wish for the return of the rest of my equipment, I can make a promise on my ancestry that I am of no harm to those who have been as kind as yourselves. And I do not wish to discuss the events that lead up to me being flung through the portal. All you need know is, I have lost my greatest friend because of it.” Obsul spoke up, trying to keep tears in when stating the last part. “Though if it will put your minds at ease I will submit to your conditions, I just wish to have access to a library and training grounds so I do not lose my edge.” Celestia and Luna looked at each other and whispered amongst themselves for about two minutes. Finally, Luna spoke up, “Tis is agreeable to allow you access to such places. You will have your gear back in good faith, but do not cross us lest you wish for the wrath of the sun and moon to descend upon you!” Celestia adds on, “As well you shall be provided an escort for the time being, and will be provided sleeping quarters. You must be quite tired. If you get hungry the royal kitchen cooks will prepare you a meal, all you need do is ask.” With a respectful bow, Obsul speaks up. “I thank you for your kindness and generosity. I will not disappoint you, our word is everything to my kind. And I am very tired so sleep would be greatly accepted.” He smiled trying to show his more thankful side. ‘I was not expecting this to go that well. Though rest does sound quite good right now.’ With that Obsul was dismissed and shown to his room. When he entered he couldn’t stop himself from giving a short whistle. “Damn they really have amazing rooms; the carpet is so soft on my feet, and it looks like they have running water as well.” With that, he went and laid down on the bed and swiftly fell asleep.