The Rogue's Diary, or The Tale of Travis Tav

Chapter 4 - PrEquestria: Part 3 (The Rescue)

Through the adventurer’s eyes, Dusk could barely see the two humans standing mere hoofs in front of her in the darkness of the dungeon: A bulky, dark-haired one with a thick beard, wearing armor much like Travis’; and a thinner, red-haired one, who had a pair of large bumps barely visible behind her heavy metal armor. The two seemed to have been having a conversation before noticing their prisoner had awoken. “Ah, look who’s awake,” a stout voice said as the bearded human reached up and patted Travis on the cheek. The rogue’s eyes were focused solely on the large-breasted guard. “Now, I’m not the kind of guy who’d normally do this, captain, but an assassin - and of the Horde, no less - infiltrating a building as important as SI:7 must have a good reason...Hand me your dagger.” The human pointed at a blade on the guard’s belt. "A reason that I plan to discover."

“You’ll get no information from me...Katherine, on the other hand, might.” Travis’ voice was weak, though loud enough for the guard to hear, as she grabbed a metal tube with a wooden grip on it and pointed it at the rogue. “Oh don’t point your gun at me.”

“How do you know my name?”she asked. Dusk could tell Travis was smiling as another guard cleared his throat behind the woman.

The guard captain spun around, gun still pointed at her prisoner. “Uh, y-you’re wanted outside. More Defias prisoners, I think,” the new guard said saluting, clearly scared witless. With a sigh, the woman leaned the weapon back against the wall and walked out, guard following her.

Now alone with Travis, the bulky man stepped over to a nearby table and removed a thin-bladed knife from it. “Not gonna give me any info, you say?” he asked, to which the rogue shook his head. Shame...You know, these are real nice daggers...” Walking back to the prisoner, he ran his fingers along the smooth metal blade, unnerving Dusk. “The size of the blade makes them perfect for -” the man’s voice was interrupted by the sound of a bone breaking.

Stretching his arms, Travis moved towards his staggered foe. “You really need to pay more attention. I had those shackles picked when the guard came for Kathy.” The rogue delivered another punch, knocking his enemy to the ground. After quickly stumbling to his feet again, the wounded human charged, dagger still in hand.

Following a short struggle between the two, the rogue headbutted his captor, who retaliated with a quick stab at Travis’ face. Crying out from the pain of having a dagger thrust into his eye, the rogue stumbled towards a nearby sword. As he grabbed the handle, Travis turned and swung, scoring a direct hit on the neck of his opponent. “When I woke up today, I didn’t expect to get stabbed in the fucking eye...” the princess heard him think as he slowly made his way towards the exit.

“My stupidest move of that day must have been leaving the actual prison...A bullet to my chest and a blackjack to the skull left me unconscious once more.”

As Travis stepped out of the dark jail holding his face, a loud bang startled Dusk. “Cuff him TIGHTLY this time...boys...” Katherine said as Travis looked towards her. The guard captain was pointing her smoking weapon at the rogue’s chest. “Make sure he doesn't...what is that...? One of you, cut that book off!” As one guard sliced the string holding the journal to Travis’ belt, another came and chained the adventurer’s hands behind his back before bludgeoning him. "How did I miss that...? More importantly, actually, how did you get it?"

________

Dusk felt the chill of the cold water as much as her undead hero had as he jolted up with a yelp. “Who are you?” the guard captain asked gravely. The princess could see she was holding Travis’ journal as well as a bucket - Likely what held the ice-cold water. “Answer me! Who are you?” she shouted.

Standing up, Travis let out a series of coughs. Clearing his throat, he spoke. “My name is Travis...And you, are my daughter.” Silence followed the rogue’s answer. With a thwack, the rotting adventurer was again on the floor of the prison cell.

“My parents died when I was a child!” Katherine said angrily. “Tell me the truth! Who are you? Why do you have my father’s journal?”

The princess could tell her hero was weak, and the repeated blows were doing nothing to help. ‘I am your father. If you don’t believe me, fine, kill me. I don’t give a damn anymore!” Travis shouted, matching his offspring’s anger. “I shouldn’t have even taken this damn assignment...My wife definitely didn’t survive the Scourge, my brother died with her, I lost my god-damned eye, and to top it all off, my own daughter doesn't believe me!” A deep silence followed the rogue’s outburst, before another thwack, and the sound of bone breaking against stone.

“I’m. Not. Your. Daughter.” The guard captain had punched Travis, knocking his rotting jaw off, and again knocking him to the ground. As she walked away, she threw the journal aside.

“My daughter left the cell and locked it behind her...I laid on the cold floor for hours, wondering how I could get her to believe me...If I could get her to believe me. When sleep finally took over, I dreamed only about my time as a father.”

“Then the alarms sounded...and they came.”

“You sure he’s in here?” a strange voice asked.

“Yeah, positive! I saw him bein’ dragged off by a couple soldiers a few days ago,” another replied.

“How do we know he’s even still in here then? For all we know, he could be long dead...or moved, you know?” a third pointed out.

“Wouldn’t he already technically be long dead?” a fourth asked. “What? It’s a serious question!”

The voices mixed together in Travis’ head, none of which the weakened hero could separate from the rest.

“Ah, here he is!” the fourth voice shouted prior to a few seconds of struggling. “Screw this...Hey, Ger! Need your help in here!” he shouted.

“Lemme guess: You’re too weak to open t door by yourself?” a raspy, echoing feminine voice asked and chuckled. The rogue attempted to look at his rescuers as the door was pulled from its hinges, though let his head fall back down as his vision was impaired by exhaustion and blood.

“Darnit! I wanna see these people!” Dusk thought, anticipation growing.

“One hand, dude. ONE HAND. You’re too damn weak, man...ho-lee-crap you look terrible,”the echoing voice said, a hint of surprise in her voice. “What the hell happened...oh damn...no jaw.”

“Nothing a bit of 'SCIENCE!' can’t fix...Hey, you still have that vial of cauterizing stuff and the healing potions? Ok, give them here for a minute,” a wheezing voice said as a bony hand grabbed Travis’ head and turned it, before placing a piece of cold metal where his jaw had been earlier. “Alright, sweet-cheeks, let’s get this on...” The princess could feel an assortment of pinches and penetrating points as the metal was attached. "Next up...we graft it.” the voice continued as a burning sensation covered the gap between the flesh remaining on the rogue’s face, and the material covering the piece of metal.

“Ok, stand him up, sis’.” Before the request had even finished, Dusk could feel the body she was trapped in getting higher. “Here...drink this, buddy...yep, just like that.” The princess could feel the energy rushing back into Travis’ body. “Think you could introduce yourself to us?” The rogue opened his good eye as much as he could, and saw the faces of his helpers: A familiar, four-foot tall green man; A woman in thick, white robes with a hood to match; A burly man in black platemail armor with a sword and shield; and a second woman, decorated by black and blue platemail and a large blade on her back. If not for the pair of glowing blue eyes, Dusk would not be able to recognize the face of the fourth.

“Why are you here, Death Knight? Hiding among the Horde until you could finish the job?” Travis spat at the woman who had attacked him in the Plaguelands years ago.

The armored zombie laughed. “No, and there's a pretty big difference between losing to me when I’m still in training, and losing to me now, you know.”

Giving his companion and Travis confused looks, the armored man spoke. “You two, uh, know each other, then?”

“We’ve met,” the two responded simultaneously. From the corner of her eye, Dusk noticed the robed woman lean over to pick up the journal Katherine had dropped before.

“Hey, hey, drop that!” the rogue said, approaching the woman, who surrounded herself with what appeared to be a shield of pure light. “That was a gift from my daughter!”

After opening the book and glancing over the first page, she turned to face the journal’s owner. “Travis Tav,” she said quietly. Surprised, Travis nodded, only to be tackled by her and her male ally.

Over the chuckling of the two standing rescuers, Stormwind’s invasion bell could be heard. “Oh crap, we gotta go!” Grob shouted, pulling the trio of undead apart.

“Now this is just getting silly,” Dusk thought with a snicker.

The man in heavy armor grabbed one of Travis’ arms and flung it around his neck. “Come on, Trav, we got a few flyers hidden...somewhere, I forget where, exactly. We were killin guards for hours, man.” The shield-bearing man laughed. “No worries, though, Kathy’s alright. We made sure not to kill her,” he said.

“She was actually about to go help you escape when we ran into her.” The robed woman handed Travis a sheathed sword and a leather belt with a single dagger hanging from it. “And we left the mounts around the northern area, by the farms.”

“Grob did something even more suicidal than I ever thought someone would - He fought through an entire city of Alliance guards and heroes, risking life and limb, with the help of only three others...”

“For me.”

________

Exiting the prison yet again, Travis could see the sky was dark, and the city was illuminated by flames. “For every fireball one of their mages threw, I threw three,” the Death Knight said with a shadowed grin.

“There they are! Fire at will, men!” a powerful voice shouted as a barrage of loud bangs filled the air.

Travis was ready for death, when he heard an even louder crash. Barely able to see what had happened, the rogue could tell that the shield-bearing warrior had blocked every shot fired at the group, and the platform the firing squad had been standing on seconds before had been destroyed. “Ok, as cool as that was, Grob, we still gotta hurry,” one of the rescuers said as a wall of stone erupted from the ground, sending a small group of guards into a nearby canal. “That, too.”

“My ass is grass if I ever show my face on Kezan again, but damn this is fun!” the shaman said, a massive smile plastering his face.

As a large platoon of soldiers turned a nearby corner, a bout of obscenities flew from the Death Knight’s mouth. “Screw it! Grob,” she said as a shadowy hand pulled the goblin towards her. “Go get our mounts!” the ex-Scourge warrior shouted as she whipped Grob over the surrounding humans.

"Damn you!" the goblin screamed as he flew through the air.

“You can put me down now...I can still fight, after all.” As the warrior removed Travis’ arm from his shoulder, the two drew their blades and stood ready to face the battle.

“With each slain soldier, a pair seemed to take their place. The battle seemed to have been going on for the entire night...It was as if we were fending off all of the Alliance while waiting for Grob.”

Dusk could see that the group of Forsaken was getting weak from the never ending onslaught of guards and heroes of the Alliance. “Ok, just...I need to get out of this!” the Death Knight’s voice echoed as she removed her helmet, revealing short, moldy, wheat-yellow hair. “That’s *wheeze* a bit better, I suppose.” A small group of glowing musical notes floated from the priestess’ hood as the sounds of whirling blades filled the air. “Looks like we’ve gotta make room for a landing, huh? Step back, you three,” the armored woman said as she sheathed her claymore and cleared her throat.

“She, er...she began to sing.”

“Cross every ocean, running through the battlefield, strong like the hammer of Thor, GODS OF ICE!” as the Death Knight’s hands began to glow, and her voice rang through the princess’ ears, Dusk could see frost slowly growing on the humans’ armor, and some stop dead in their tracks as ice gripped their feet. “Marching under grey sky, master of the thunderstorm, we'll win the war because GODS OF ICE!” With a final shout, the small army of humans were frozen solid in blocks of ice. “I love doing that so, so much,” she said as Grob landed with three windriders following, an unnaturally large smile on her face. “Oh, hey. Dead dude with an eyepatch. What're the chances?” The woman pulled the black leather band from the bald head of a slain soldier and tossed it towards the rogue. “That’s even in my books, so you bring up our fight again and you die.”

Travis, the warrior, and the priestess all stared at their grinning ally, confusion in their eyes. “...If it’s about the singing, I’ll explain later, if we can get going before they-” the Death Knight was interrupted by an immense heat in the air as the sky turned red. “Woah, it’s not dawn yet...is it?”

“ALL WILL BURN BENEATH THE SHADOW OF MY WINGS,” a massive dragon roared as it flew over the group’s heads.

“That can’t be good,” Dusk thought, noticing the creature land somewhere near the entrance Travis and Grob took to get into the city.

The five members of the Horde stood silently for a moment. “Run?” one asked.

“Run,” the rest responded.

________

“We touched down to make camp somewhere in the Duskwoods...not too many people travel there, due to the rumors of feral Worgen and zombies running around.”

Travis and his rescuers looked through the tree cover as their fire burned. “You two still haven’t told me who you are, or how you know me...Both are things I would like to know,” he said, attempting to be as serious as possible as he shuffled around on the log he made his chair.

“We’re hurt, Travis...How could you not recognize your own wife and brother?” the warrior responded, removing his helmet. His face was far from undamaged, but one could still see the sanity in it, and his hair was long and braided, with very few mold patches visible. The priestess pulled her hood back to reveal the almost flawless face that Dusk recognized as Linara Tav, though her lovely red locks had been replaced by green, leafy clumps.

“I suppose we can’t really blame him though, Ron,” Linara stated. “I mean, you had your head covered the entire time, and I’m pretty sure he hasn’t seen me in a dress for...what, thirty six years? Paladins aren’t really known for wearing them, you know.” Travis nodded as the armored woman stood and stretched. “Where ya goin', Gerenah?” the princess heard the Death Knight mumble something about being hungry. “We’ve got some food here, still.”

Gerenah stepped over her log and walked into the forest. “Not that kind of hungry, Lin. I’m ‘Death Knight’ hungry,” she said back. “Gonna hunt down some worgen and bottle me up some blood. One of you explain it to our new friend, and I’ll tell you about the singing when I get back.” Travis looked to his family as he grabbed a charred crocolisk tail.

Ron yawned. “First, since it’s probably on your mind: Yes, that was a helicopter. I made it,” he said flatly. “Now, on to her...Long story short...she’s, uh, a vampire,” a silence followed the comment. “Most Death Knights rely on simply the killing they do to sustain themselves, but she’s able to drain life essence or whatever it is from blood to heal her or stave off the Hunger, she calls it, so she can go long periods without murdering anything. ‘Harming’ is a different story, though.” The rogue nodded in understanding and turned to his wife.

“Why are you wearing a dress, anyways?” he asked. Dusk thought the woman looked strange in the outfit, compared to how she’d looked in her metal suit.

“Well, you know that the Light doesn’t take too kindly to undead.” Linara leaned forward. “Because of how I died though, it left some of its power with me. Skipping the long and boring explanation, I went from being a paladin to a priestess,” she said. “And I haven't found anybody willing to make or sell me a shirt and pants, so I'm stuck in a dress.”

The princess sat with the four heroes until their ally returned, with what appeared to be a Diamond Dog slung over her shoulder. “Miss me? Too bad, I’m here now,” she said with a weak chuckle. “Before you say anything about it, yes, I’m going to explain the singing.” The hero cleared her throat. “All Death Knights are to have basic training in Blood, Unholy and Frost magic, so they have runes seared onto their flesh that let them channel those magics. Sometimes said runes don’t work properly though, and if that happens, the Death Knight in specific would be killed, and their corpses burnt. When I was in training though, the Scourge took a suggestion - Weird, I know - ‘Power Phrases’, they called them,” Gerenah paused to allow her explanation to sink into her allies’ brains. “My Frost rune didn’t work too well. Best I could do normally was a chilly gust of wind. My Unholy and Blood magics were stronger than they should’ve been, though, so they gave me a chance to redeem myself - Twelve hours to find a phrase or word that would make my magic stronger. I honestly didn’t think that stuff would work, but I tried, and...well, my Frost phrase just happens to be a song.”

Grob laughed. “Did you try and find one for your other magics? Were they songs, too?” he asked. The Death Knight smacked the back of his head hard enough to knock him off his seat, to which Dusk giggled.

“I blew a peasant’s head up with an Unholy spell from eighty yards, and you already know I can survive on blood exclusively because of my magic, so I kinda didn’t even bother.”

“I never thought I’d see my family again...never thought I’d see Grob again.”

“Sylvanas be damned, I’m through with her duskbat-shit insane suicide missions.”

________

Dusk stretched as her mind returned from its voyage into Travis’ past. Opening her eyes, she was greeted by the friendly smile of Lilac Delight - a close friend and a personal guard of hers. “Morning, Princess. Almost time for you to examine the Equestrian Status Report,” her strained voice said. Lilac was quite a strange unicorn: She was born blind, though able to “see” using the sonar she sends out, and her voice always sounded as if she had spent hours beforehoof coughing.

“Thank you, Lilac,” the princess responded with a yawn. “I’ll head down to get breakfast and then do that. You want me to let your brother know his shift’s over on my way down?” she asked as stepped from her bed and walked towards her door. Her brother had volunteered to handle the sun and moon and just give her lessons on moving the latter until her foal was born.

“No, Silver’s got a great internal clock, he’ll know,” The blind unicorn said before leaving Dusk’s room and slowly trotting down the hall, following the sound waves she produced. As the princess made to leave her room, a flow of ponies halted her.

King Honeydew pushed his way through the crowd into his daughter’s room. “Oh! Sweetie, why aren’t you in bed?” he inquired. “You should be resting! Please, get comfortable and let these ponies take care of you. We’ve brought you a healthy breakfast and the weekly status report for you to look over.” A pair of ponies stepped towards Dusk and guided her back towards her bed. As she laid back down, a tray with an assortment of fruits and grains landed in front of her, followed by a few sheets of paper. “I wish I were as intellectual as you, sweetie...I hate having to have you work like this.”

The princess chuckled nervously and thanked the ponies for their services as they left her again alone. Leaning over to take a bite from an apple, she hovered the page up and read. After reaching the end of the final page, something caught Dusk’s eye: Residents of town found dead; Population decreased from 12,000 to 0 overnight; Third in a half-decade; Evidence points towards diseases and mass-murderers; No DNA found; Patterns point towards next target being Canterlot in approximately two years. “Oh no...I have to warn dad...though, two years...I think I’ve enough time to finish this food,” she said, the entirety of her attention now focused on her meal.

________

“W-when was this again, princess?” Silver Lining asked nervously.

Dusk blew her mane from her face. “About...ten months ago, I believe,” she responded calmly. “I told dad though, and he said he’d have the most powerful unicorns he could find put up defenses by the end of the year.”

Rather than subside, Silver’s look of fear intensified. “That’ll only make it worse...” he thought to himself.

The princess ignored her friend’s reaction. “Well...”

________

Dusk cracked her neck. She had been unsuccessful in her attempt to sleep since telling her father of the potential danger, and had decided to keep up on Tav’s adventures.

Immediately upon opening to her previous place in the book, a large smile spread across the dark alicorn’s face.

Chapter 5 - PrEquestria: Part 4 (The Heroes of Time)

“The day after Deathwing shattered Azeroth, Thrall resigned as the Warchief of the Horde, and Gerenah left to escort him to Hyjal for a ritual that would apparently heal the world. The Bilgewater Cartel has found reason to join the Horde, as well, so Grob shall be safe within our ranks. After almost a year, she returned with a message - The Dragon Aspect of the Bronze Dragonflight had summoned us to the Caverns of Time for an important mission...though one of his assistants held us back as he was instructed to tell us to form a guild. ‘Your experiences shall be shared, and your spirits shall be safe’, he claims.”

Venturing once more into the adventurer’s past, Dusk found herself near the five heroes, who were standing in a small circle in front of a creature in bronze-colored robes.

“You all know your roles. Travis, the charter,” the unknown man spoke in a regal tone as the rogue placed a sheet of parchment in the center of the group. Travis released the page, and instead of gravity pulling it to the ground, it floated and began to glow. “Now, cross your weapons above the charter, and speak your vows.”

The five nodded as they raised their weapons: The curved blade of the rogue; The knightly longsword of the warrior; The staff of the shaman; The dagger of the priestess; And the claymore of the death knight.

The instant the armaments came into contact with one another, the parchment’s glow intensified. As the group spoke, the words that came from their mouths appeared on the page between them. “Oh sweetness, are they saying what...mother of my mom that parchment I found in the book is their charter,” the princess said, a hint of glee in her voice. When the Five Riders finished speaking and the glow from the sheet had subsided, the robed creature stepped aside and gestured to a portal behind himself.

“You are first needed in the Dragonblights. Our Aspect will guide you from there,” he said politely.

As the group left earshot of the dragon, Dusk noticed Travis staring at his hand. Leaning over to view it, the princess found herself looking at a black symbol on the rogue’s palm - The skull of a horse with five seals surrounding it: Adorning one was a shield; Another, a golden cross; The third depicted a totem; The fourth, a single drop of what the dark alicorn assumed was blood, and the fifth; A pair of daggers.

“I think you guys should know, I’m a little scared,” Ron said nervously. “I mean, I’m known among this flight. I’ve killed more than my fair share of them, and now they’re asking us - Me included - for help...It’s like that ‘enemy of my enemy is my friend’ thing. If they need the help of someone who has no problem killing them, then this must be big.”

Grob jogged to catch up to the warrior. “Or you could just be reading into it too much,” he said. “Maybe they’ve forgiven you.”

The armored man looked down at the shaman. “I highly doubt that.”

As the guild stepped through the portal, the cool, gustless cavern gave way to a hot, windy wasteland. In the distance, Dusk could see a tower standing thousands of hooves tall, with a familiar dragon impaled on it. “The dragon that attacked that city,” she thought to herself.

“We were greeted by none other than the Timeless One - Nozdormu.”

“Greetings, Mortals,” a floating man said. “Ah, delightful to see you again, madam De -”

“Gerenah. My name is GERENAH,” the death knight interrupted. “I told you in Hyjal before Thrall was orc-napped that I like to be referred to as Gerenah.” She crossed her arms as she glared at the man.

With a sigh, the creature spoke again. “I apologize, madam. I am Nozdormu. This is Dragonblight, in the future we are to stop from ever taking place.”

Stepping forward, Ron looked the dragon dead in the eyes. “What could be so big that you had to ask someone who’s killed hundreds of your kin for help?” he asked, seemingly ready to spring and grab the aspect of time’s throat should the answer displease him.

"The enemy of our enemy is our friend, hero." As the creature snapped his fingers, four portals appeared behind him. “Enter a portal and defeat all who stand behind it. Do so twice, return, and I shall show you why I have summoned you here,” he said before disappearing.

“We did what Nozdormu wanted. We closed the portals. When we got back to him, he sent us through one last portal - This one led to his dragonshrine: A bowled-in miniature desert, in the center of which stood a massive black and bright blue dragon.”

“We need the Dragon Soul,” the aspect said in response to the four and a half pairs of eyes staring at him. “To simplify the situation - Deathwing is planning an assault on the Wyrmrest Temple. To stop him, we need to travel back to the Sundering and collect the Soul. This dragon is blocking our progress.” The six stood silently. “That would be your cue to kill it.”

“And so we did. Nozdormu explained that the dragon was truly the corrupted version of him, and that we had ‘freed him’ from the endless cycle he was trapped in...or some such nonsense. After another quick briefing from the dragon, we were sent through another portal.”

The world spun and twisted as Dusk found herself trapped in the body someone pushing themselves up from the ground.

“Where are we now?” Ron asked.

“So I’m seeing things through the warrior’s eyes now, huh?” the princess thought aloud.

As the Five Riders looked at each other, Dusk could sense an uncomfortable feeling coming from them. “I - What - We - You - How - YOU’RE AN ELF!” they screamed simultaneously.

“Yes, yes. I had to put Nightelven disguises on you to make this easier,” a feminine voice said as a baby dragon flew in. The small, scaled creature’s form shifted into that of a pale, green-eyed elf. “Look, just go down there, kill that demon...” She pointed to a large, orange-skinned creature with an even larger spear. “...Find Illidan, and -”

“Kill him?” Grob interrupted excitedly, only to be smacked upside the head by a duo of metal-plated hands.

“No. Find Illidan and help him. Right now, we are at the Well of Eternity, the day the Sundering took place. Illidan came here to try and stop the demons.”

“Being ordered to help somebody I’d killed, thousands of years before I would have even been born...I learned just how Ron felt. We did as we were ordered - We found Illidan shortly after killing the first demon.” Travis’ voice narrated the Five Riders’ experience, and Dusk watched through the eyes of Ronald as he sliced through demon and elf alike.

“I must’ve skipped over the part where he killed that guy...or he just didn’t write about it,” the princess thought. “I’ll have to check later.”

“We closed a number of demon portals, killed a demon that called himself the ‘First of the Fel-touched’, and fought our way to the queen of the Night Elves, whose guards threw themselves to their deaths, as if they believed they would be permitted to spend some time in Azshara’s bed with her had they succeeded. When the queen fled, we made our way to the side of the Well. After fighting our way through a small army of demons and a colossal Abyssal, we struck down the captain of Azshara’s royal guard, and the foul demon Mannoroth.”

A blast of cold air alerted the five heroes to Nozdormu’s presence. “I have one final mission for you...Escort Thrall safely to Wyrmrest. Deathwing’s assault has begun, and the World Shaman must reach the temple swiftly,” the aspect said as he waved a hand towards the frozen wasteland on the other side of a portal.

“We made swift work of the escort. Though the Twilight’s Hammer sent Elemental Ascendants and assassins alike, Thrall made it safely to the temple, where the final obstacle stood between us and success - The Archbishop of the Alliance known as Benedictus.”

“The bishop proved to be as powerful as a tower made of thin metal.”

The robed orc bowed before his five guardians. “Thank you, heroes. It was an honor fighting beside you, and I should be safe until one of Alexstrasza’s drakes finds its way here.”

In response, the Five Riders saluted  “We would follow you to the ends of Azeroth, Thrall. You accepted the Forsaken and Goblins into the ranks of the Horde, and led us to victory countless times as Warchief.” With large smiles, the guild paused. “We would gladly surrender our lives to defend you from Deathwing and all others who may threaten you or your family.”

________

“What a thrilling tale of heroism and loyalty...A perfect way to...” Dusk yawned. “...Relax, before...” the princess fell back into bed and began snoring loudly as sleep overtook her.

________

“Oh, Travis, I love you! Have my foals!” Dusk cheerfully shouted.

“As you wish, milady. Please assume the position,” Travis replied.

“No, you cannot, for she is mine!” another mare called angrily, confusing the princess.

“As her father, I shall take the princess!” As a fourth voice spoke, Dusk woke up screaming. The king was standing by her bed laughing. The dark alicorn could never appreciate her father’s sense of humor. “I wish I knew you talked in your sleep earlier, sweetie...That was hilarious!” he said through his snickering. “And sorry, kiddo, but Travis wasn’t all that open.” Honeydew smiled. “Before his wife, he was always trying to get mares into bed, but he kept getting shot down. Oh, and when you’ve finished with his book, I think your mother’s museum would benefit from having it in their exhibit on the ponies that fought for the Rising Sun.” As Equestria’s ruler left his daughter’s room, the small figure of a pegasus turned the corner to meet him.

With a relaxed smile, Honeydew turned to the pony. “She’s a big fan of yours, you know,” he said.

“Well, I left it in the library hoping for someone to find and read it...Speaking of which, you know where she is in it?” the pegasus asked.

“Well, from what I saw before waking her up, about where you, er, killed a religious figure.”

“Religious figure?” the figure scoffed. “He gave that title up the moment he allied himself with those apocalypse-loving pricks. He even claimed himself that there was ‘no good, no evil," and "no Light’...The man was obsessed and insane - I...we...did him a favor.”

Walking away, the king continued. “Come on, Tav. We don’t want my daughter hearing us, do we?” he asked, leading the pegasus along. The silence the king was all too familiar with filled his head. “So...any chance you’d be willing to tell me what came after that scuffle with the bishop?”

Chapter 6 - PrEquestria: Part 5 (The Hour of Twilight)

“Well, since you asked so nicely...A number of drakes came for us - One for each of us Riders, and one for Thrall. We were to head to the other side of the temple to help twenty others break the siege there, and Thrall was to wait with the dragon aspects. We killed a couple of elementals, got to the temple with our group, took down the massive stone guy that was pummeling the side of the tower, and I found something awful strange on him...a small rock with a gem of solid shadow inside.”

As Travis entered the temple, staring at the crystal he revealed from a rock he’d picked up, a strangely dressed man approached him. “You would be mister Tav, I presume?” he asked.

“What's it to ya?” the rogue replied, not looking away from his plunder.

“You’ve done quite well on my missions, Tav...In fact, I came here specifically to reward you for just that.” Travis looked at the man addressing him and was filled with fear and regret instantly.

Dropping to one knee, he spoke. “I apologize, prince Wrathion. This is, erm, Deathwing’s son, guys. He was sending me jobs to perform, and he’s probably the only uncorrupted black dragon,” Travis explained, standing back up. “What did you have in mind, though?”

With a smile, the dragon pointed to the gem in his assassin’s hand. “Regarding those, and these...” he said, handing the rogue an oaken box. “Inside that box are a pair of daggers. Apply those shadows to the weapons whenever you can, and their power will grow...though I must warn you, the more powerful they get, the more they desire the taste of death - Something they will get wherever and whenever they can...and you would be the closest to them.”

“All of Deathwing’s most powerful lackeys had rocks like that one...and I relieved them all of them.”

“The second creature we fought used the magic blood of an Old God’s minion to fight us...unsuccessfully, of course. The third one, though...I still hear the whispers to this day...The maddening whispers brought on from its void sphere...telling me my friends will betray me, and that the deaths of all those I cared for were my fault...It gets hard to ignore, but it is possible.”

“Deathwing’s fourth lackey was a joke compared to his fifth...The only one to kill any of us. Of the twenty-five fighters we had, five lived.”

“I will drag you with me, into flame and darkness!” the large purple dragon roared as he began to glow.

“Oh hell no. Get behind me, guys,” Gerenah calmly said as a faded green wall appeared in front of her, and her armor began to frost over.

Cackling, the dragon’s glow intensified. “That won’t save you, pitiful creatures!”

As a large purple wave erupted from the dragon, Ron leapt between it and his allies. “Not today, you scaly bastard!” he shouted, shield raised. Upon impact with the warrior, the energy dissipated, and a large wave of pure force washed over the Five Riders. “Craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap!” the heroic undead could be heard as he flew away.

“Ron, no!” Linara screamed as she sprinted towards the edge of the tower and leapt off.

“Thankfully she had cast a levitation spell on herself...Though the aspects were not pleased with having to wait and risk losing Deathwing.”

“I assume only you four attended the funeral?” the king interrupted, his voice tinged with sadness.

“Funeral? Oh, oh no, he lived.”

Freshly pulled from the snow, Ron sat, rubbing his head. “Holy...Damn that hurt!”

Pulling him back onto his feet, Gerenah snickered. “Of course hurt, I mean, you were kinda blasted off a tower, after all. Can you move on your own? Good, ‘cause we can’t wait - Deathwing’s on the move and we need to catch him pronto.”

“If anything, your highness, he was angry as hell.”

“Can’t say I blame him.”

“Deathwing’s last line of defense felt his rage first-hand...First time I ever saw him put away his shield in favor of a second weapon, last time those fighters would ever be seen crying...or with limbs.”

As a massive puddle of blood pooled around Ron’s feet, sobbing could be heard nearby. “Oh quit crying, you little bitch! It’s only your arms and legs!” he said angrily as he picked up a torso with only a head attached before walking to the edge of the ship. “Oi! Pay attention to me you glorified hamburger!” the warrior yelled as he whipped the limbless fighter at a Tauren riding a dragon.

“Wait a second, you’re telling me that he cut someone’s arms and legs off, insulted them, and then threw them at a minotaur?” the king again interrupted.

“Yes. It went quite a bit better than one would expect, too - The guy on the dragon got knocked off and fell into the ocean. His ride tried to fly over us and spat up a few of them rocks when one of my friends pulled it down and beat on it.” Travis sighed. “Those crazy whispers were at their worst the second we set foot on Deathwing’s back, and they still haven't stopped.”

________

“YOUR ARMOR MEANS NOTHING. YOUR FAITH, EVEN LESS,” Deathwing roared as a large metal spike shot from his body.

“Here it comes! Get ready to bust it as soon as you can!” As the rage of battle went on in front of Dusk, she noticed the Five Riders stumbling around as if confused.

From the corner of her eye, the princess saw a strange sight. “Mom?” she asked aloud, unable to believe she was seeing her mother before she became an alicorn. “What are you doing he-” a heavy pain to the side interrupted Dusk, and she found herself lying on the floor of her room. “Ouch...Guess I’ll have to find somewhere else to stand next time.” The bright-maned alicorn touched the page she had been on and waited - Nothing happened. “Come on, work!” she grumbled angrily.

After furiously poking the page for a few moments, the princess noticed something strange. “The symbol isn’t glowing anymore...Ponyfeathers. Might as well read from where I left off...”

The reading royalty had not noticed when the sun rose through the sky.

“The daggers the Black Prince bestowed upon me now glow with the might and rage of the dragon they were forged of...and I can feel them feasting upon my very soul. I fear that they may live, and that using them would be equivalent to me allowing an unwelcome visitor into my abode.”

“I shall keep a tight leash on them...They shall be fed when their service is required, and never before.”

Pondering the last entries she had read, Dusk stared at the crease between the pages of the book. “Did he stop numbering them...?” she thought, flipping a page. “Well, if he did, it was only five years, max.”

“Entry Twenty-Three: Mere...mere ramblings, my previous entries...Not worthy of being called entries, not worthy of being present in my journal...”

“No, I must keep my sanity...Years after the Destroyer’s demise - I’ve lost count of how many...so many numbers, so many voices - we received word that we had been drafted into the Frostwolf forces, and were to report to the Alterac Valley. We arrived at the Frostwolf Keep, and were assigned to the next shift defending a tower, but we were to report to the supply officer first.”

“The supply officer gave us each unique masks that an ‘unknown customer’ had requested made for us as a reward for halting the Twilight’s Hammer. Gerenah’s was of simple design - Black with irregular dark red areas to resemble blood; Ronald’s was carved to resemble a red dragon’s face; Linara’s was white with bright blue wings painted around the eyes. It would apparently change to different shades of purple when she harnessed the shadow energies she had begun to practice with.”

“Grob’s was quite well designed - A jagged stone face with eyes of Amethyst, and fangs of Emeralds; Mine was the simplest - Leather scraps stitched together with thick thread. The design would apparently help to hide my face in the darkness to further intimidate my foes...should they survive to look upon my face.”

Dusk sighed in relaxation. “I can just imagine how they looked in those masks...”

“We finally arrived at our post. The soldiers we relieved had set up a campfire, which we took advantage of. After an hour, we began asking about the experiences we had had before meeting each other, as well as how we actually met - Excluding how I met Gerenah on friendly terms and how I and Grob became friends. Only a fool tells a story when the audience was present, and they surely wouldn’t be interested in as boring a story as how I became acquainted with our Goblin friend.”

_____________

A.N

First off, I'm hoping Section 3'll be the last with any PrEquestria parts, because I'm really getting tired of them, and I'm almost done with the storyline for those parts anyways (2.25 left).

Thanks for reading, keep watching, add to favorites, or even "Read Later", as long as it gets (preferably positive, but negative is acceptable as well) attention and feedback.

Right now, we're getting to the point where I stray from the lore more and more.

Link to the song Gerenah sang: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqOi-ZSavnM

Yes, Travis survived 100 years in Equestria. How? Wait and see, friends...wait and see.