Author's Note

Sorry about this being paced a bit fast, but I was anxious to start getting this to current times. If there are any issues with it, please pm me or notify me in the comments.

Chapter 11: Disaster strikes

Seven years after the founding of Hammerdeep

King Ornir holds onto his throne as he rides out a really violent shaking hits the mountain, causing boulders to fall from the ceiling and crash upon the floor. He waits for the shaking to pass for a few moments longer until it finally subsides and says, "Guards, give the order to abandon the remaining mine and have the fuel for the forges collected and taken to our new home of Hammerdeep, I only hope they have the large smelters ready by now. Be sure to have some of the fuel kept alight or we will have no way to light them. Once the fuel is all moved, have them start breaking down and moving the equipment." He watches them take off on their tasks immediately, then walks away from his throne before stopping in his tracks. Feeling that something is going to happen, he returns to his throne and removes the Arkenstone from his throne when a loud crack is heard below him. He takes off running down the path as the platform where his throne rests begins to tilt backward, eventually beginning to slide towards the back and off the platform. He stops and looks back in shock at barely saving the Arkenstone and his life, then sighs and wanders through the halls to examine the damage caused by the shaking.

On the other side of the portal, in Dark Watch

A few days pass by as Banil moves the remaining fuel and equipment towards their new home, noticing that they are also beginning to carry a few chests with them as well. Curious he stops one of the chest carriers and asks, "What are ya all carrying in those chests?"

The laborer looks to the dwarf and replies, "We are carrying these chests to the treasure vault at the king's orders, he is trying to save whatever he can before the mountain collapses and eventually dies. He stays behind to ensure that every dwarf makes it out."

He nods and replies, "Thank you for telling me this, better catch up to the others."

The laborer nods his head and rushes back to the cart, then helps his brother to pull it towards their new home and says, "We are finally moving to a much safer home brother, our mother would have wanted us to make the best of this adventure. What do you think about us giving up mining and start up a farm outside of Hammerdeep?"

The brother looks back and smiles saying, "Yeah our mother would definitely want us to do that, I think that would be a good idea indeed."

A week passes by as He watches as countless carts make their way back to be loaded once again. With a heavy sigh, he sends for his second in command.

A few minutes pass as Asulfur stops before Banil and says, "What do you need me to do sir?"

Banil looks at his friend and says, "Gather whoever you can, we are returning to Erebor to aid the king with the evacuation of the city so get moving." He watches him take off immediately to get whoever he can find.

Shelly watches as her friend Asulfur rushes out of the city with a small group of dwarves towards the pool to Erebor, causing her to worry and follow after them.

In the city of Erebor two hours later

King Ornir watches as the treasure vault empties a bit more and heads back up the flights of stairs to the main floor, glad he at least managed to save most of what the dwarves needed to have in the new city.

Asulfur spots the king on the main floor, directing a few more stray dwarves towards the portal saying, "My king, we are here to aid you, how may we serve?"

The king looks at them and says, "Go and quickly search for any remaining dwarves still in Erebor then meet us at the portal if you find no one, Shelly and Banil come with me to grab what we can from my room." He then takes off towards his room as the two mentioned follow behind him.

As they reach his residence a few minutes later, Banil looks around the room and says, "What do ya want us to take sir?"

King Ornir looks to his chest while wiping some sweat off his brow from the intense heat and says, "Dump that chest out and toss my books in, there is a hidden stash containing some scrolls, three of which describe how to make black arrows. After that, toss whatever clothing you can fit into it after I put my personal journal into it." He then sets to locating his journal in the room.

Banil gets started on his task and opens the chest, dumping the contents on one side of the room and places it in the center of the room with the lid up. He then grabs the few books on the shelves, then searches for the hidden stash. One of his fingers finds a hole and pries open the cover, revealing a group of six scrolls. Grabbing them all and setting them in the bottom of the chest, he starts to grab whatever clothing he can and starts to set it inside.

Finally finding it, he places it and the Arkenstone in the chest before finally grabbing his weapon off the floor saying, "Okay that is everything, let's get out of here." He then waits for Banil to close the chest and pick it up before following him out of his room.

Shelly follows them at a gallop as they run down the path back to the main floor, then turn and head for the platform leading to the portal back to where she came from when she feels the floor start to shake. Losing her footing and falling to the floor, she scrambles to get back onto her feet.

They are almost to the stairs leading towards the portal when a boulder starts to fall from the ceiling, catching Shelly's eye and causes her to charge forward and push the king out of the way. Sliding across the floor when she stops and suddenly screams out in pain as the boulder crushes her back legs.

Ornir scrambles to his feet, feeling very mad about being knocked down. He turns his head towards her as Banil stops to look back, seeing that Shelly is injured and needs help. He looks to Banil and shouts, "You go on, I will be right behind you after I get her out from under that!"

Banil nods and obeys his king saying, "Yes sir, ah will set the chest by the portal and come back to help." He then takes off towards the stairs.

He jogs up to the downed pony and sees that one of her legs is crushed, then sighs and says, "I am going to have to chop your leg off, the boulder is too big for even two of us to move Shelly."

She takes a breath as tears run down her face out of her eyes from the pain and yells, "JUST DO IT AND GET ME THE BUCK OUT OF THIS MOUNTAIN!"

King Ornir uses his ax to chop her legs off cleanly, feeling sorry for the poor mare feeling so much pain. He sets his ax down to pick her up and toss her over one shoulder with his hand holding her there. He then picks his ax back up and starts to head down the stairs as the mare passes out from the pain and stops screaming.

Asulfur and Banil are about to go aid the king when he shows up carrying the body of Shelly and asks, "What happened to her, is she going to be alright?"

He looks at them and nods his head saying, "She saved me from a boulder that landed on her back legs and completely crushed them, I sure hope she will survive this. Now let's get out of this mountain before she dies and goes berserk." He watches them all go through the pool when he hears a massive crash and a roaring fills the air followed by smoke and ash. He wastes no more time and rushes into the portal as he feels the pinch, and rushes out towards the other side.

Asulfur watches the king get blasted out of the portal along with Shelly, water sprays everywhere as the air becomes filled with glimmering sparkles that linger and drift throughout the air. He looks back at the pool and sees that it barely has any glow to it and says, "I sure hope that I am wrong about this..." before wandering into the pool and ducking down under the surface. Not feeling anything different, he stands back up and says, "We are now officially stuck here with no way back to our home in Erebor."

King Ornir coughs and says, "Today is a sad day for all of us Dwarves, no songs shall be sung on this day or night. We shall mourn our loss for a whole week, meaning no grand feasts or any ale or mead of any kind during this time of mourning." He hears a sputtering cough from the side of the room and rushes over to Shelly saying, "Hang on young one, we will get you aid!"

Shelly weakly lifts her head and says, "Too weak, it's too late for me. Tell my sister Lucia to protect and watch over the herd now, she is the leader. It was so much fun to learn what you had to offer, I only wish I could learn more." She then lowers her head back down to the ground and focuses on her breathing.

He kneels down beside her and replies, "I will be sure to do that, do you want to be buried like one of us?"

She takes a breath and softly smiles saying, "That would...be nice, there is a special cave that ponies visit once a year. It is a deep cave that is somewhere in the forest, Lucia and the herd will lead us there."

The king nods and picks her up in his arms after handing his ax to Asulfur saying, "Alright, let's not waste time then."

Asulfur holds the ax and runs ahead of the group as they make haste towards Dark Watch to find the herd when they find them waiting at the top of the stairs, shocking him as he slows to a stop saying, "Which one of you is Lucia?"

A black mare with violet eyes and a white mane and tail steps forward nervously and stammers saying, "T-That would be I, what do you wish of me?"

Ornir sighs and steps forward, kneeling down saying, "Your sister was badly hurt by a falling boulder when she pushed me out of its way, I had to chop her legs off to bring her home from Erebor. She has something to tell you."

Shelly opens her eyes and looks at her sister, then takes a breath and says, "My time to lead is done, it now falls to you to continue to lead, watch and protect the ponies. Please lead them to the special place we visit once a year, I wish to be buried there as one of them."

Lucia's eyes fill with tears as she sobs and nods her head sadly saying, "O-Okay sister, I will not let you down and do as you wish. Please follow us there."

Banil looks to her and softly asks, "We do not have the necessary tools for the burial, can we go to Dark Watch first for what we need?"

She sighs and looks at him and the large ornate chest he is carrying, then nods her head saying, "Yes we can. Let us be on our way, the journey there is a bit long and a little challenging."

Ornir hurriedly follows them to Dark Watch to get what they need to carve a stone tomb, then looks to Banil and says, "Before you come back here, I want you to bring it with us and keep it out of sight."

He cocks his head to the side and looks at the king in confusion and asks, "It, my king?"

The king nods his head and says, "Yes, bring the shiny, sparkly thing with you when we travel to the cave, there is something very special I want to do for Shelly as thanks for saving my life." He watches as Banil nods his head in understanding before going to his quarters to set the chest down.

Banil hurriedly reaches his quarters and sets the chest down, opens it, then grabs the Arkenstone. Placing it in a pocket in his vest, he then closes the chest and grabs his pickax before rushing out the door.

Ornir impatiently waits for the others to return with the tools needed as the last dwarf finally returns, turning his head to Lucia and says, "We are ready now, let's hurry on our way."

Lucia leads them through the woods to the special cave that her sister requested to be brought to, heading down into the deepest parts of the cave that are dimly lit by slightly glowing flowers. She and the herd stops outside of the innermost part of the cave and says, "This is as far as we ponies dare to go, this place is too special to us so be very kind and gentle if you go further in."

The king nods and looks to the others saying, "Alright, all of you take off your boots. Let's start this as the carvers do." He then gently lays her down and starts removing his boots, setting them to the side before he picks her back up and strides into the room silently. He carries her to the side of the chamber and softly asks, "We are here Shelly, where do you wish your tomb to be?"

Shelly opens her eyes slowly once more and looks around the chamber with what strength she has left and says, "Is floor rock or soil?"

Ornir looks at her and feels the ground then replies, "It is soil, what shall we do?"

She smiles and says, "Move soil away from center, then place tomb. Set me in tomb, and fill with dirt last..." She closes her eyes as her last breath leaves her lungs.

He nods his head as a few tears escape his eyes saying, "It will be done as you request." He then sees the others already getting started on moving the soil from the center of the room clear down to the stone bottom, with a few others going outside to search for a suitable stone to carve into a square tomb.

The ponies watch as the dwarves work to follow her request to the letter as Lucia lays on a stone and sobs over the passing of her sister.

Several hours pass by as the dwarves finish carving the tomb, then carry it to the center of the room and set it down. The king then walks over to pick Shelly's body up to set her inside of it, gingerly laying her down upon the stone. Turning his eyes to Banil, he asks, "Please bring the stone here Banil, there is one here that is more worthy of this stone than I."

Banil brings the stone to him silently and hands it over without a word, then heads back to the group to watch him proceed.

Ornir holds the shimmering stone in his hand and looks at it briefly before looking to the group and says, "Shelly was a good and honest soul, her curiosity and thirst for knowledge knew no bounds. She was a guardian right to the very end of her life, may she continue to be a guardian in the next life." He then turns around to face the tomb and lays the stone upon her barrel, then slowly starts to scoop up the soil with both hands and lays it around her body so the stone is not disturbed. He continues to slowly lay soil in the tomb when the other dwarves join in, following his example and place soil around the body.

When the tomb is full, the dwarves walk over to get the lid and slowly carry it to the tomb then set it down atop of it squarely. To finish this process, they grab a wooden mallet and strike the edges of the lid to make sure it is tight. They then move the dirt back to the center of the cavern to cover the tomb and all stand at the entrance with their heads held low.

Ornir then surprises the dwarves and kneels down with his head held upright and says, "Kneel before royalty." He hears the dwarves kneel down behind him and says, "We dwarves of old bow to the new Queen. All hail the Guardian Queen!"

Asulfur and the other dwarves all repeat him as a slow rumbling sound starts to fill the air around them, making them all look for the source of the noise. He catches a brief glimpse of a rainbow shoot out from where the tomb rests, sending them all flying backward into the wall. He starts to hear a cracking sound as a strange sprout starts to poke out from the top of the mound above where the tomb is and asks, "Am I seeing things, or is that a sprout growing from above the tomb?"

The king watches as the sprout gets bigger and taller then says, "You are not seeing things, a sprout is growing from where the tomb rests." He watches it continue to grow in size as he notices that he can see through one of the leaves and says, "I think that whatever is growing is made of crystal, I never thought that the Arkenstone was actually not a gem, but a seed. We shall have to guard this sprout against any who wish it harm." He is about to give Banil an order when he hears a gentle giggle come from somewhere in the cave.

The dwarves look around the room for who the voice belongs to when a pony with a pure white glistening coat, an auburn mane, and reddish-brown eyes appears on the far side of the room and sighs saying, "It was very nice of you to leave your most prized gem with my body, even I had no idea that this would happen. Thank you very much for replacing the dirt around my tomb, I can assure you that you don't need to protect me. There was an immense amount of magic inside of that seed, I do not know how it got there. With how much magic was kept in that seed, I feel like I can gift it to many creatures. I shall wander around this young world and learn what I can of it and help other races along, so I have much more to learn. Explore this world to your hearts' content, for magic now fills the very air you breathe. I shall endeavor to fulfill my role as Guardian Queen with my new life, King Ornir. So thank you once again, I must go now but I will always be watching over all of you. Be sure to try to at least make friends with the dragons of this world, not all of them are greedy and aggressive."

King Ornir watches as the pony smiles back at him before turning around and walks away when he says, "We will try to be friends with them as long as they don't try to take our gold and homes from us, may you always continue learning new things, Shelly."

Shelly stops and looks back once more and says, "Those small green creatures are not from this world, their presence here threatens the balance and beauty of it. It pains me to say this, but you must root them out and destroy them all so that balance returns." She then returns to walk away from them and fades away from their sight.

The king turns around and looks to his subjects behind him and says, "Let us return now to Hammerdeep. I want Asulfur and Banil to return to Dark Watch with the other dwarves of this group after taking me to Hammerdeep, you are hereby named Governor of Dark Watch. Form an army and begin training new troops, for war has begun and you are the front line. As soon as I return to the city, I shall begin forming an army and will build up a new arsenal to replace what was lost."