Ballad of the Dovahkiin

Chapters

Prologue: The Song
Chapter 01: The Bannerd Mare
Chapter 02: Dovahkiin
Chapter 03: Hope
Chapter 04: Shout
Chapter 05: Paradise Lost
Chapter 06: The Dead
Chapter 07: A True True Friend
Chapter 08: Not Alone

Prologue: The Song

A short time after dusk, within the confines of a closet in Ponyville's town hall, Twilight Sparkle paced back and forth. Next to her was an old tome of average size sitting atop an overturned bucket. Twilights eyes were fixed determinedly on the floor, as if reading words that weren’t there. Every so often she would dart back to the book, reading a while before resuming her pacing. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Twilight jumped and knocked over the bucket along with a couple of brooms, which made a loud almost comical rattle within the broom closet.

"Twi? Ya in there girl?" Came the strong accent of one of her best friends, Applejack.

Twilight laughed nervously to herself and fetched the book that was now laying closed on the floor.

"Yes AJ. I'll be just one more minute. I need to be absolutely sure I've got this song memorized. I really, REALLY don't want to make a fool of myself tonight, especially in front of Princess Celestia." She answered back through the door.

"Twi we've been waitin almost an hour now. Ah'm sure the princess will love whatever ya do out there tonight. Jus think of it as the hearth's warming eve pageant!"

All of a sudden the door burst open with tremendous force almost flattening Applejack to the wall.

"But that was the pageant Applejack! That was a story I've read a dozen times. I knew it by heart! We rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed….” Twilight kept repeating the word rehearsed; just long enough for Applejack to shake the cobwebs from her head. Before she could even think of getting a word in edgewise she was pinned against the wall by Twilight.

"What I'm trying to do is bring back a song from several THOUSAND years ago! It's probably even older than Celestia herself! What if I get it wrong? What if I mess it up so bad that I'll be banned from singing anything from the archives EVER AGAIN! What if..." Twilight didn't finish her sentence, as Applejack stuffed her hoof in her mouth.

"Twi..." Applejack began with well practiced patience, a genuinely amused smile on her face. "...I can understand, if maybe ya were performing in front of all of Canterlot. But this is a casual get together with the princess."

She made sure to emphasize casual, as she removed her hoof from Twilight's mouth. Twilight stuck out her tounge and gagged on the taste of dirt, apples and tree bark that was Applejacks hoof. She recovered just in time to see Applejack motioning to follow her.

"C'mon Twilight. Even if you do mess up, we’re your best friends! If anything we'll all get a good laugh out of it."

After a moment of thought, Twilight nodded and for the first time in that entire hour she was able to relax. It boggled her mind how much she had to learn when it came to friendship.

"You're right Applejack. It's time to finally sing this song! Let me just go fetch Lyra." Twilight declared loudly, striking a pose before running off past Applejack. Applejack shook her head and chuckled, following her good friend back into the main hall.

The decoration for the town hall was pretty modest considering the occasion. The royal flags that would have usually been hung on the balconies were absent. There was no cohort of Royal Guards dressed in decorative armor. Even the plush red carpet that heralded the arrival of royalty was tucked away in a corner.

Instead it more resembled a birthday party, complete with balloons, streamers and even party games. Princess Celestia herself was blindfolded, carrying a bat between her teeth and swinging at a paper banana hanging from one of the balconies.

"To the left princess!" Yelled the rainbow maned pegasus known as Rainbow Dash. The princess swung and missed big causing her to lose her balance slightly, she recovered with a chuckle and resumed her hunt for her bright yellow foe.

"Um...thats a little too far left...your highness." Said Fluttershy. Taking the hint, Princess Celestia adjusted herself to where she thought for certain the piñata would be. As soon as she felt the bat tap the hanging banana, she brought her head back and swung as hard as she could. Her bat made solid contact with the piñata, effectively shattering it and sending candy in every direction.

"Bravo!" Cried Rarity.

”Yay! Candy!" Yelled Pinkie, before diving into the candy that littered the floor.

Celestia laughed and removed her blindfold, watching with delight as the ponies she had lovingly called her friends devour and playfully fight over candy. "Dibs on the jawbreakers!" She heard spike yell, diving into the pile.

"Oh my little ponies." She smiled. "It has been so long since I have just been able to relax and have fun." She looked around the room and noticed that Twilight still wasn't among them. Her smile faltered a little as she scanned the room for her number one pupil.

The sound of a swinging door caught her attention and her smile immediately returned as she saw Twilight walk into the room with Applejack and a teal unicorn that Celestia knew was named Lyra. Her eyebrows were raised as she recognized the book levitating at Twilight’s side. It was a compilation of songs and ballads from cultures the world over. She smiled proudly. Twilight had written in a letter that she wanted to try and sing something special for the occasion. It was appropriate that Twilight would pick something so exotic and something that would challenge herself. She could hardly wait to see her star pupil shine once more.

Twilight stopped Lyra and Applejack just short of the snack table.

“Applejack, could you go and tell everypony that we’re ready to begin the performance?”

“Ah sure as sugar will.” Applejack said nodding once before turning to Lyra. “Are you ready Lyra?”

“Are you kidding me? This is a piece of cake! I’m just so happy you wanted me to help you perform for the princess Twilight.” Replied Lyra, bouncing on her hooves and grinning ear to ear. Twilight giggled and smiled back. Applejack took that as her queue to turn around and start rounding up the others.

A few minutes later everypony was gathered by the small platform at the back of the town hall. Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and the Princess all sat back looking up at Twilight and Lyra. Lyra strummed her lyre with her magic once and winked at Twilight for her to begin. Twilight took a breath and faced her closest friends.

“Thank you all for coming. I’m sorry I took so long. I’m especially sorry to you princess. I should have…”

“By royal decree…” Princess Celestia interrupted, raising a hoof. “…I command thee, Twilight Sparkle, to stop apologizing.”

Celestia winked and everypony laughed openly including Twilight who blushed in embarrassment.

“I shall begin then.” Her horn lit up and the curtains of the town hall drew to a close blocking what was left of the setting sun, allowing everypony to be covered in darkness. Suddenly, floating purple and white orbs appeared around the room, conjured by Twilight to set the mood. Everypony cooed in amazement before Lyra gave her lyre another drawn out strum.

“The song I am about to sing, is an ode to a hero.” Twilight began, her eyes closed and her expression calm. Lyra strummed again creating a connection between her music and twilights words. Everypony in the audience leaned forward.

“It is a legend from a country that may or may not have existed. The book called it the “Throat of the world." The song begins with a prologue…and it goes something like this.”

Lyra strummed her instrument once more. Twilight slowly opened her eyes. They were glowing white and pulsing with a faint magic. Her voice voice became mystical, almost as if there was somepony else singing along with Twilight.

We should have acted.

They’re already here.

The Elder Scrolls told of their return.

Their defeat was merely a delay,

After the time Oblivion opened,

“Obliviwhat?” Pinkie asked. Rainbow shushed her.

When the sons of Skyrim would spill their own blood.

But no one wanted to believe,

Believe they even existed.

And when the truth finally dawns.

It dawns in fire.

But there is one they fear.

In their tongue he is Dovahkiin

Dragonborn.

“Sweet!” Spike said pumping his fist, earning himself a ‘shush’ by an irritated Rainbow Dash. There was silence for a few seconds as Twilight caught her breath. Then Lyra started playing a slow melody, and Twilight began to sing.

Our Hero, our hero, claims a warrior’s heart

I tell you, I tell you, the Dragonborn comes

With a Voice wielding power of the ancient Nord art.

Believe, believe, the Dragonborn comes

Rarity swooned a little. “This sounds sooooo romantic.” Rainbow Dash sighed and turned to rarity. “Seriously? Can you guys let Twi sing?” Suddenly everypony shushed her at once and Rainbow Dash folded her fore hooves and pouted silently, eyes fixed on Twilight and mouth clamped shut. Twilight didn’t seem to notice, as she continued her song without missing a beat.

Its an end to the evil of all Skyrim’s foes.

Beware, beware the Dragonborn comes

For the darkness has passed and the legend yet grows

You’ll know, you’ll know the dragonborn’s come.

Dragonborn. Dragonborn.

By his honor is sworn,

To keep evil forever at bay!

And the fiercest foes rout when they hear triumphs shout,

Dragonborn, for your blessing we pray.

Lyra’s music slowly faded, and she paused for applause. Everypony in the room applauded, but their applause suddenly faded as they looked upon Twilight’s face. Her eyes were still white. Ablaze with magic. It almost hurt to look directly into her eyes.

“Twilight?” Princess Celestia asked concerned.

Dovakhiin…

Twilight said, still in a singing voice. Everypony sat back down, wondering if maybe Twilight simply hadn’t finished her song.

Dovakhiin… Dovakhiin…

Twilight began to levitate. The book that she had learned the song from slowly rose with her. It was now that Celestia knew something was wrong.

“Twilight!” She called out, but to no avail. Twilight couldn’t hear her. She continued to sing, but this time her voice was magnified and seemed to burn the air around her. Princess Celestia attempted to reach her with her magic, but much to her horror, her magic had no effect.

Dovakhiin. Dovakhiin.

Naal ok zin los vahriin,

Wah Dein vokul mahfaeraak ahst vaal!

Ahrk fin norok paal graan fod nust hon zindro zaan,

Dovakhiin, fah hin kogaan mu draal.

There was a brilliant white flash, knocking everypony, including the princess down. By the time everypony came to. Twilight was gone.

Author's Note

Author’s note: Thanks for reading the prologue. It’s not much but it’s something. I could really use some pre-reading help. I’ll fix any errors I find after I re-read it tomorrow. Comments and feedback are appreciated!

Chapter 01: The Bannerd Mare

Just so you know. Some words will be hyperlinked to media that will add to the story. It's entirely optional of course. Enjoy Chapter 01! The Bannered Mare

Cold. It was so cold.

Twilight shivered on freezing hard ground unable to move. Her eyes were shut, while her teeth chattered with every gust of wind that bit into her. Groaning she tried to move but couldn’t. Whether it was because of the cold or because of physical damage she didn’t know, but her muscles felt sore and numb. Gathering every bit of strength she could muster she attempted to move her hoof. That was when she felt that something was wrong, very wrong.

Opening her eyes felt strangely foreign to her, and the first thing she saw had her perplexed. Directly in front of her, no more than a few inches away, was what looked like the hand of a diamond dog, except it had no fur and it was very slender. She tried to move her hoof again, and to her confusion watched as the hand rose shakily off the ground only to fall again. A shot of pain ran up Twilight’s spine, and her heart started to beat rapidly, forgetting all about the frigid cold for a moment. With effort she was able to turn her head and look at herself, and what she saw horrified her. She had no fur. Twilight wanted to scream but found that her voice wasn’t working properly. She wanted to cry but her eyes wouldn’t let her. She was no longer a pony. She was something else.

For a final time, she tried to get up, but the last of her strength failed her. Cold snow gradually blanketed over her, causing the cold to feel even worse. Realizing the gravity of her situation, Twilight dropped from panic into despair. She was going to freeze to death alone as some strange unknown creature without any of her friends loved ones to be there for her.

A low growl came from in front of her. She forced her eyes open again to see three wolves emerge from the bushes around her. They approached cautiously, teeth bared. Two of the wolves left her field of vision, obviously moving to surround her. She wasn’t going to freeze to death, she was going to be eaten alive. At that realization her vision failed her, and so did the feeling to her new limbs. She heard the wolves approach from all sides, before they started yelping and backing away. Twilight could feel a fourth presence around her, something different from the wolves. She could hear them growling louder, barking loudly and snapping their jaws at this fourth presence, whatever it was. The last thing Twilight heard was the ringing sound of metal sliding on metal.

Meanwhile, worlds away in Equestria. The official time keeper of Ponyville was in for a rude awakening. Time Turner nearly fell off his bed as he awoke to the sound of unnecessarily loud knocks on his front door. The rhythm of the knocking would have been considered polite had it not been applied with the force of an angry Minotaur.

“Blast it all.” Time Turner muttered. Turning over and pulling the pillow over his head. He knew it was futile, but he never did like giving up sleep without a fight. After a moment and a heavy sigh he slipped out of bed and dragged his hooves down the steps of his home to greet his ill timed visitor. On his way he passed up several broken clocks listed to be repaired, photos, relics and a large blue box he had tucked away in a place nopony would think to look twice.

He finally made it to the front door and opened the door fully expecting to give the late night visitor a piece of his mind. Instead he starred in awe as Princess Celestia herself stood in his doorway.

“Doctor.” She greeted with a curt nod.

Time Turner recovered from his moment of shock, replacing his current face of awe to something resembling a warm smile.

“My my my…Princess Celestia herself. Please do come in.” He greeted enthusiastically, making way for the princess of the sun to enter into his home. Minutes later they were sitting in his study while Time Turner served his guest tea.

He took the time to notice the princess’ disposition. She was calm, yet it was forced. Something grave had happened and Time Turner had lived long enough to notice the discipline of a leader trying to remain calm for the sake of her subjects.
After Time Turner poured the princess her share of tea, he sat opposite of her and decided to break the ice first.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of this late night visit?” He asked sitting upright on the couch in a way that was unnatural for any pony to be sitting.

Princess Celestia lifted her eyes to meet Time Turner’s and regarded him for a moment. Time Turner had to stop himself from wincing. He could feel Celestia’s scrutinizing eyes, trying to find any reason not to trust him. After a good, long, moment, she levitated a book up and lay it on the ground in front of her.

“My star pupil is missing, and I believe this is the reason for her disappearance.” Princess Celestia then used her magic to flip the pages until it rested on two blank pages. Time Turner raised an eyebrow, as Princess Celestia described the night’s events. By the time Celestia finished her story, Time Turner was on his hooves, rummaging through his drawers frantically, after he couldn’t find what he was looking for, he dashed into the other room.

“Please help me find her Doctor.”

Doctor Time Turner emerged from one of the side rooms carrying an oddly shaped stick in his mouth. He walked up to the tome sitting on the floor.

“Not to worry…” He replied through clenched teeth. “We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

Princess Celestia watched him hopefully as the device he held in his teeth whirred to life, seemingly scanning the tome. She watched his face turn from Intrigue to confusion to a look of utter shock. His mouth hung open, allowing the device once held to clatter on the wooded floor. He paused for a moment before picking it up again and scanning each individual page, going back and forth between the pages filled with words and the blank page from which twilight had sung from.

“This can’t be right.” He finally said, letting the device clatter to the floor once more.

“What is it Doctor?” Celestia asked leaning forward, her forced calm giving way slightly revealing a copious amount of concern.

The Doctor slammed his hoof on the book. “This…no…THESE are perfectly normal pieces of paper!”
Celestia resisted the urge to face hoof and instead opted for a raised eyebrow.

“My magic didn’t detect anything strange…”

“Nononononono you don’t understand!” He interrupted loudly, backing away and collapsing onto the couch, sitting in the same unnatural manner he had done so before.

“Ever since I…” He paused, bringing up his forehooves to simulate quotation marks. “…landed. In this wonderful dimension of yours, I have not found a single thing.” He leaned forward to emphasize.

"Not a SINGLE thing, even remotely close to being normal on the scans of my sonic screwdriver.” He said gesturing at the device that now lay at his hooves.

“dirt, birds, oysters, cakes, apples, hydras, you…I mean just by being in proximity to that pink party pony alone nearly fried my TARDIS. This leads to my one solemn conclusion.”

He vaulted off the couch and turned the pages back to that blank page.
“These two pieces of paper in this book shouldn't be here. It CAN'T exist here. Someone or something, somehow and for some reason, placed that page of paper here outside the boundaries of this dimension’s rules.”

The Doctor closed the book and sat on his haunches.

“It was in perfect disguise. But why?” He muttered under his breath.

A moment passed in complete silence, both ancient beings staring at the blank page in front of them.

“Doctor. Where is my Twilight?”

“I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry. But I don’t have the slightest clue right now.”

At this declaration by the doctor, Princess Celestia broke down into tears everybit of forced calm gone. Time turner approached her and threw his hooves around her neck in an attempt to calm her. Celestia reciprocated the embrace, and the two just sat there in silence. Unsure of what to do.

Twilight’s consciousness stirred. She felt the comfort of a pillow beneath her head and the warmth of a heavy blanket over her body. She could hear beautiful music playing somewhere outside her room and for a moment she thought it was Lyra. For a moment she thought that she was back at the party passed out from having too much cake. But as she opened her eyes, she was greeted by the sight of her new limbs. Her hand was curled up into loose fists ony laying atop the other. Finding that her strength had returned, she slowly picked herself up from the soft, warm, mattress that she was now laying on. She discovered that she was wearing clothes now, albeit minimal they still contributed to helping her retain her warmth.

She took a good look at the room around her. There were no windows, and the decorations were minimal. She ran her hands down her body, trying to make sense of exactly what she was. She found that her coat had not completely gone. Upon closer inspection she realized that she had small amounts of hair emanating from her skin, though they were so tiny that she could hardly count it as a coat of fur. She reached up to her head, feeling that her face had been flattened up considerably. She ran her hands through her mane and brought them up to her eyes. She sighed in relief. Her hair was still a shade of purple, Albeit a darker purple than before, but at least the similarity remained. She noticed that several strands that ran down her face was still pink, as she felt around her head again her heart sank into the pit of her stomach. Her horn was gone. Without her horn she wouldn’t be able to do magic. Twilight thought that she couldn’t feel anymore helpless, never had she been so wrong.

She closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to feel if there was any magic left inside her. For the first time since her awakening she felt a small sign of hope. She could feel that her magic was still there, although it must have taken a different form in this new body.

Before she could investigate further however, the door swung open, and in walked a very terrifying creature. Her eyes were a vibrant, almost glowing, red. She wore a sort of hard armor that covered pale green skin. On her hip was a sword fastened to her belt, which Twilight eyed warily.

“Good. You’re finally awake.” The pale green creature said in such a harsh tone that Twilight couldn’t help but flinch. The being in front of her moved with a calm yet stern stride to the edge of her bed. Twilight backed away, pulling her covers with her until her back was against the wall. The creature gave an amused smirk.

“Scared of me are you?” She asked letting her hand rest on her blade.

“What is your name, harlot?”

‘Harlot?’ thought Twilight. It was then that it struck her. This creature was clothed completely. Whatever race she had transformed into must have thought that those without clothes were immodest. Twilight felt heat beginning to rush to her face, but she fought it back and decided to answer. But surprisingly, she found that it was difficult to talk. She tried to say a full sentence, but they died in her mouth. It took all her concentration to say her name.

“Twa…Twal…Twilight. Y…You?”

The creature raised an eyebrow at her, but did not inquire further about her name or her apparent speech impediment.

“I am Irileth, housecarl to Jarl Balgruf of Whiterun, and to get it out of the way, I am not the savior that saved you from the barrows.”

Twilight relaxed slightly, thankful now that the tension had lessened slightly.

“Nice...meet you…Irileth. Whiterun? Country?”

Irileth threw her head back and gave a large laugh causing Twilight to resume her position of having her back up against the wall.

“Country? You poor girl. Your head has yet to thaw. No. Whiterun is a hold within Skyrim.”

Twilight’s eyes grew wide in realization.

“Sky…rim.” She said in realization. Irileth considered her for a moment before moving to the foot of her bed and picking up a familiar looking tome from the floor. It took a moment for Twilight to recognize the book.

“This was found next to you. I assume it is yours?” Irileth flipped the book opened and scanned the pages. They were all blank except for two pages. On it was written the song Twilight had sung. “The ballad of the Dovakhiin.”

In a moment, the book was yanked from Irileth’s hands by an unseen force. Twilight threw off her blanket now and starred at the book flipping through all the pages without touching them. She Scanned them, felt them out with her magic, detecting nothing out of the ordinary, or any way to send her home, she gave a sigh of defeat and let the book fall on the mattress. Just then she heard the sound of sliding metal and looked up to see that Irileth had drawn her sword.

She was in a defensive stance and Twilight suddenly grew very afraid. Twilight tried to apologize for whatever it did that she did wrong, but again the words died in her throat as she eyed the menacing blade that hovered only a few feet from her face.

“You are a mage.” Irileth growled. Twilight retreated again, not even registering the fact that she still retained her magic abilities which in any other situation would have made her overjoyed. Irileth examined Twilight once more before putting away her blade.

“Forgive me. Years of service to the Jarl has made me…Vigiliant.” She said before moving towards the cupboard. She opened them and pulled out what looked like clothes. She flung them at Twilight.

“Put these on and follow me.”

Twilight couldn’t stop staring at the sign that hung above the inn. It couldn’t be a coincidence. A rather crude and strange drawing of a pony etched into wood swung in breeze. On top of the pony was a creature similar to Irileth, though somehow Twilight could tell that the creature was a male. On the sign were the words: “The Bannered Mare.”

For a moment, Twilight felt a small glimpse of hope. Were there perhaps other ponies here in this world? Maybe somepony could show her the way home. Before Twilight could think about it too deeply she felt a tug on her robes. She flinched as she turned to face an Irritated Irileth.

“Come with me girl. The Jarl’s time is precious.”

Twilight nodded and followed Irileth obediently, her studious eyes wandering and taking in the sights trying to learn as much of the culture as she could. By overhearing merchants converse she was able to determine that the males in this world were called ‘man’ and that females were called ‘woman.’ She also noticed that not everyone looked like Irileth. There were men and woman of different skin colors and shades of mane. Someponies even looked like reptiles and felines. It was a strange world she had found herself in.

“OH GREAT AND MIGHTY TALOS! YOU HAVE ASCENDED UNTO THE HEAVENS AND NOW RULE US, AS BOTH MAN…AND…GOD! I LOVE YOU!”

Very strange indeed.

Twilight tore her eyes away from the raving man, preaching in front of a large statue and focused on climbing the stone stairs in front of her. It surprised her how easy it was to walk on two legs. Sure she stumbled at first but after only a couple of steps she felt like it was the most natural thing in the world.

By the time she reached the top, the words of the preacher had faded to a distant echo and she was face to face with several guards and a massive door. With a wave of the hand from Irileth the guards opened the door and Twilight was treated to the sight of a massive, hall. She was vaguely reminded of Celestia’s throne room, though this design was much less…clean.

Guards lined the walls, and patrolled the balconies up above. There were tables lined with silverware and goblets, sitting at the center prepared for a banquet. Twilight looked passed these tables and looked at the man sitting upon a throne. He was a middle aged man with blonde hair and a beard to match. His eyes were a piercing blue and he wore a sort of crown on his head symbolizing his authority. His disposition was calm and collected, discussing with another man something that Twilight couldn’t hear, until she got closer.

“Jarl Balgruf, perhaps it would be wise to reconsider your decision to send soldiers to Riverwood.”

“I already told you Proventus. I will not stand Idle and let dragon’s slaughter my people.”

“But Ulfric may see it as a sign of aggression, you know as well as I do that our forces cannot stand against his.”

“I am well aware of the state of our forces Proventus, but still…” The Jarl wasn’t able to finish his thought as he caught a glimpse of Irileth followed by Twilight.

“Ah. I see that our guest has finally awakened.” Jarl Balgruf said maintaining his calm and commanding tone.

Twilight bowed her head low, knowing full well how to show proper respect to royalty. As she raised her head she could have sworn she saw Irileth smirk. If Jarl Balgruf was grateful for this sign of respect he did not show it.

“Do you have a name girl?” He asked, voice neutral.

“Twi...Twilight...” She said, cursing that her voice was still not functioning properly. Jarl Balgruf turned to Irileth who merely shrugged as she replied.

“Whatever happened to her must have damaged her ability to speak clearly.”

The Jarl nodded once and turned to Proventus who Twilight had figured to be his steward.

“We will continue this discussion some other time Proventus.”

“Very well my Jarl. Shall I call for dinner to be served?”

“That would be best Proventus.” Jarl Balgruf then turned back to Twilight, taking a moment to study her from head to toe. Finally he spoke again.

“You are very lucky to be alive girl. If that Red Guard had not found you on his way to the barrows, You would most likely be dead.” Jarl Balgruf paused allowing the gravity of what could have been to sink in. Twilight nodded, not breaking eye contact with the Jarl. Jarl Balgruff gave the first genuine smile Twilight had seen.

“Where are you from?” He asked.

“From…” Twilight managed to croak out but stopped herself. Should she say where she was from? If she told them that she was from another world, would they believe her? Would they even be able to bring her back? And if they could bring her back what would they do with the knowledge of Equestria? Her memory flashed back to Irileth drawing her sword. Twilight did not know if she could trust these beings with the existence of Equestria. She would have to find a way home on her own.
Jarl Balgruf raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

“You don’t remember?”

Twilight was startled out of her train of thought, and shook her head. She didn’t like the Idea of lying but she had to if it meant keeping Equestria safe. Jarl Balgruf sighed and straightened from his relaxed position.

“Well I can’t allow you to wander Skyrim with no memory or no home. You are welcome to stay at Whiterun’s inn; the Bannered Mare Inn. But do not expect to be living freely. You will earn your keep, understand?” Twilight nodded vigorously, feeling grateful and intimidated at the same time.

“She is a very capable mage my Jarl.” Irileth stated, crossing her arms and looking Twilight over once more as if she was about to spring up and attack at any moment.

“I have never seen Telekinesis with such control before. She levitated a book out of my hand and flipped through each individual page as if it were nothing. She’d make a fine assistant to Farengar.”

Twilight couldn’t help but blush at the praise, though in all honesty she doubted she could do anything else without her horn.
Jarl Balgruf stroke his beard in consideration. “An excellent suggestion Irileth, and perhaps when that Red Guard returns he can give more details about how he found you.”

Irileth snorted. “If he hasn’t already been impaled or beheaded by the blades of the Droug’r.”

“You underestimate the young man Irileth. He is one of the few survivors from the attack on Helgen, and he volunteered to enter the barrows with nothing more than the clothes on his back and a single blade. A man as resourceful and brave as him deserves some credit.” Irileth snorted and turned to sit at the banquet tables. Twilight however stood rooted to the spot. She had completely forgotten about the wolves that were about to devour her, and the fourth presence she felt just as she was about to lose consciousness. It suddenly dawned on her that the sliding of metal she heard was the drawing of a sword. If someone had risked their life to save her, perhaps she could trust them after all.

Proventus the Steward walked in followed by a number of servants. Each carrying large plates of fruits, vegetables, bread and….something Twilight had never seen before.

Jarl Balgruf motioned for Twilight to join him at the table, and Twilight moved to sit, suddenly aware of just how hungry she felt. The Jarl bit into a loaf of bread first and was surprised when Twilight levitated a loaf to her mouth and bit into it. He smirked and watched her carefully as he devoured the last of his bread, motioning for a few vegetables. Twilight however didn’t notice that she was receiving so much attention; she was too busy chewing this masterfully baked read. As she finished she turned her attention to the large plate of reddish… something…in front of her. Whatever it was, it smelled delicious. Curious she forced herself to speak.

“What…is…food?” She said carefully, hoping she wasn’t being rude by asking this question to the Jarl.
The Jarl paused just as he was about to take a bite of the red slabs on his plate.

“Deer Meat.” He replied amused.

Twilight froze and gazed in horror at the site in front of her. She wobbled back and forth, eyes unfocused, before face planting into what was left of her bread unconscious. For a moment no one in the room said or did anything. Finally the Jarl laughed .

“By the nine. She is going to be a handful.”

Author's Note

There it is. Chapter One. Hope you enjoyed it. Comments and Critique are always welcome.

Chapter 02: Dovahkiin

Late at night, Jarl Balgruf sat alone on the throne of Dragons Reach. In his hands was an unfurled scroll with the imperial seal etched into the parchment. The Jarl’s eyes darted through the letter, his expression growing more tired and annoyed the further he read. As he finished reading, the Jarl rolled up the scroll and set it on his seat. He leaned forward and removed his crown to massage his throbbing temples. He heard someone approach from the stairway, and for a moment the Jarl made a reach for the axe at the side of his throne, but when he saw his court wizard descend the staircase, he relaxed.

“Farengar, is it not a bit late to be wandering the halls? You’re not performing any of your experiments are you?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

The Jarl’s court wizard stifled a yawn, and shook his head. He walked over to one of the tables and poured himself some wine from a flask that was still on the table. The Jarl picked up the scroll and stuffed it in between his belt. Getting up from his throne, He walked lazily to the table and sat across from Farengar and poured himself his own goblet of wine.

“How is our guest Farengar?”

“She recovered hours ago my Jarl. In fact I was just about to check on her.” Farengar replied taking a good long sip from his Goblet.

Balgruf was about to take a sip from his own Goblet when he paused.

“Check on her? Is she ill?”

Farengar shook his head and gestured to his room directly behind him. Jarl Balgruf looked passed his court wizard and noticed a faint glow coming from the cracks in the door. How he managed to miss it before was beyond him. His expression became curious, placing the forgotten goblet of wine down on the table.

“What do you make of her Farengar?”

The Court Wizard made eye contact with the Jarl, a slight smirk on his face.

“She is unlike any adept I have ever met.”

Jarl Balgruf stood up and moved towards the door.

"Show me."

Twilight was sitting on the floor, a thick tome sitting in front of her. She read with the speed of an experienced reader, flipping page after page in only a matter of moments. She was tired and slightly hungry, having been robbed of her dinner earlier in the night due to the…meat. She had to prevent herself from gagging at the memory. It would be just her luck that the type of creature she transformed into was an omnivore. She had thought for a moment that she could survive without it, but knew deep down that if she wanted to stay healthy in this world, she would have to eat meat at SOME point. Twilight didn’t like that idea, not one bit. Reaching the final pages of the tome, she sighed and looked towards the pile of books sitting in front of her, prior events running through her mind.

After waking up from unconsciousness the second time that day she had come face to face with Farengar, a fairly young man who was friendly enough to let her borrow all of the books that were on his shelf. He seemed fascinated when Twilight used her magic to grip the books off the shelf and pile them on the floor for her research; it was an exact opposite reaction to what Irileth had done when she first saw her do it. He was excited and asked how much she knew about Alteration Magic. Obviously she knew a ton about her kind of magic. The way this worlds magic worked, was so foreign to her that she had to throw away everything she knew and start from scratch. The very idea sickened twilight worse than finding out she was meant to eat meat. She devoted her whole life to the study of magic, and now it was all useless.

She slammed the tome shut and fixed the pile of books with a stare of cold resolve and defiance. She stood up slowly and raised her hands from her side. She found that it was easier to use her telekinesis if she focused her magical energy in her hands as opposed to her head. It was even easier if she thought of it as having two horns instead of one. She focused her magic and every book in the room levitated. The formed a large circle around her. She took a deep breath and slowly made them rotate around her, marking pages of interest before closing it and setting it back on the shelf. She did this for several moments until she began to feel dizzy. Knowing that she was close to her limit, she stopped and set all the remaining books down gently on the ground. Feeling like that was enough study for the night she lay down on the bed Farengar had leant her and curled up into a ball, drifting off to a peaceful sleep.

She was so focused that she did not notice that she was being observed. Jarl Balgruf and Farengar had been watching her from the other room. Farengar was looking at the Jarl, awaiting some sort of reaction, his attention paid off as Balgruff stroked his beard and nodded his head.

“You and Irileth are right. She is very Capable.”

Jarl Balgruf turned and exited the room quietly, careful not to disturb the now sleeping Twilight. Farengar followed quietly. He waited till they were out of earshot before speaking.

“If she is truly capable, what is your take on sending her after that Redguard? He has been gone quite a while.”
Balgruf stopped and spun quickly, catching Farengar off guard.

“Are you Daft Farengar? Capable as she might be she is but an innocent child, without her voice or her memory. You would send her into the barrows?”

Farenger backed away, looking slightly ashamed. The Jarl walked back on his throne and sat on it surveying the empty hall, in thought as Farengar stood by him not saying a word.

“Have faith, Farengar. The divines work in mysterious ways, and we are living in such strange times. Perhaps it is destiny that the Redguard brought Twilight to us. Perhaps it is the will of the nine that they crossed paths in such a way. If that were the case, nothing will stop that Redguard from returning to us.”

The next morning, Twilight was put straight to work. She didn’t complain, after all they were giving her free food and lodging in a foreign and possibly dangerous world. She began the day assisting Farengar with organizing his research, a task she completed in record time much to the delight and bewilderment of Farengar. For almost the entire time Twilight had been organizing his research, Farengar had been sitting, mouth agape, still unable to resist being astonished at Twilight’s display of telekinesis.

“Done.” Twilight said happily, as she levitated the last books into place at the top of a shelf.

Farengar snapped out of his stupor and clapped his hands. He’s seen her magical capabilities before, but seeing his entire collection of books, maps and scrolls floating into the air at once and being placed one by one in their proper place surpassed even what he and the Jarl observed last night.

“Very good! Amazing! You make such advanced telekinesis look so easy”

Twilight blushed a little at the praise. Without even thinking she took a deep contented sigh and said.

“Feels. Home.”

“Oh? So you are starting to remember?” Farengar asked stroking the stubble on his face idly.

Twilight was caught off guard. She still didn’t know if she could risk revealing the existence of Equestria yet. Thinking quickly she shrugged, hoping that the response would be vague enough to let the subject pass. Thankfully it worked. Farengar moved to the large table that sat at the center of his study.

“Still having trouble speaking?”

“I… am…” Twilight started to respond, trying very hard to force words out of her mouth.

“…getting better.” Farengar finished her sentence for her, smirking.

Twilight gave a sigh of defeat and simply nodded. Farengar smiled and took out a blank scroll out from underneath the table and set it on his desk. He also moved over to his newly reorganized bookshelf and pulled out a couple of small books. Curious, Twilight moved next to him hoping to see what the two books were.

“Research?” She asked.

“Dragons.”

Twilight only gave a blank stare, as if expecting him to continue. She knew all about dragons, but they didn’t know what she knew. She had encountered dragons plenty of times, even faced them off with the help of her friends. But now she had to feign ignorance. Farengar saw the expression on Twilights face and closed the books.

“You mean you don’t know?” He shook his head.

“Of course you wouldn’t know. Memory loss. What was I thinking?”

Twilight sat down across from him and allowed the wizard to explain himself. He adjusted himself on his chair obviously excited to discuss the topic. He explained the dragon attack on Helgen, how everyone thought that they were just a myth. It was his job to find out as much as he could about the subject, and discover a way to defeat them. Twilight wondered why his explanation sounded familiar. All of a sudden she stood up in realization, causing Farengar to jump a little in surprise. Twilight retrieved her book from her room next door and opened it to the only page that had any writing in it. She showed it to Farengar, who smiled and nodded his head.

“The ballad of the Dovakhiin. The Dragonborn.”

“Dragonborn. Myth also?” Twilight asked still holding the book in front of Farengar. Before he could reply, the door swung open revealing Irileth. Her eyes falling immediately on Twilight.

“Are you done with her Farengar?”

Farengar stumbled a bit with his response, but eventually settled with a quiet “yes.”

“Good. Twilight, how comfortable are you lifting heavy loads?”

Twilight looked at Irileth confused before looking down at her slender hands and back up to Irileth, unsure of what to say. Irileth rolled her eyes.

“With your magic I mean.”

Twilight stood up looking as eager to help as possible.

“How… Heavy?” She managed to ask with surprisingly little difficulty.

Irileth put her arms on her hips and considered Twilight again.

“One hundred Iron daggers.”

Twilight Sparkle pushed herself to her limit. It was fine however. She wanted to test herself. She found that she could carry the crates filled with weapons easily for a short distance, but after several feet she would have to set the crates down.

“Woah, Woah, Woah! Watch the magic!” A guard exclaimed, jumping out of the way just in time before Twilight could drop the undoubtedly heavy create on his foot. Twilight apologized profusely, but the guard simply stormed off grumbling something about the “damn mages of winterhold.” Twilight wondered about what he had said, and decided to put it in the back of her mind for now.

Recovering her magical stamina she stood up again and levitated the boxes, cursing the strain it placed on her magic. Why the Jarl’s guards needed one hundred Iron daggers when they had perfectly good swords and shields were beyond her, then again what did she know of warfare? Just as she was about to take her first step, she was shoved out of the way by a running guard.

“Out of the way!” The crate of daggers fell on the ground, bursting and spilling its contents onto the side of the cobblestone streets.

“Hey!” She shouted angrily as she picked herself up, careful not to cut herself on any of the knives that had fallen. But as she looked up she noticed that the guard wasn’t the only one who was running. One by one she saw the people in the streets look up towards the skies, their face turning from confusing, to and expression of awe and then to sheer panic as they turned and started running away.

“Sound the alarm!” She heard someone say in the distance. Twilight surveyed the panic around her before turning to look at the sky herself. She heard it before she saw it;

a deafening roar, followed by smell of burning air. A long and powerful jet of flame nearly threatened to cook Twilight alive. She shielded herself and dove low to the ground, as the house next to her burst into flames. There was screaming, the loudest ones coming from the occupants of the house. Twilight could only stare helplessly as it the burning house was crushed underneath the weight of a creature that made her blood run ice cold.

“JOOR.”

The dragon said in what sounded like an ancient yet sickeningly amused voice. The beast had not noticed Twilight, and as the dragon launched itself into the air she did the only thing she could do. She ran.

Terrified for her life, she bolted, running through the back alleys and towards the gates of the city. Several citizens were already trying to get the gate open, but there were too many of them pressing against the gates that they could not be opened. Twilight slowed down. Just as she was about to reach them the dragon passed over head, sending a jet of fire over the people and killing many of them instantly.

Twilight made a move to turn around and out of habit, tried to teleport herself to safety. To her dismay, It didn’t work. She ran back towards the only place she thought she could find safety; Dragon’s reach. She saw that many citizens had drawn their swords, but were disorganized and had drawn their swords in a vain attempt to feel safe rather than have any intention of fighting back. Even the Jarl’s men fired stray shots into the air before they themselves turned and ran. Only one brave guard stood against the dragon and managed to knick the dragon in its underbelly with an arrow. It barely fazed the dragon, but it did get it’s attention. The poor guard fired one more futile arrow into the air before he was picked up by the dragons’ claws and flung high into the air, landing directly in front of Twilight with a sickening splat. It was at this point that Twilight couldn’t take it anymore. She fell to her knees, staring at the bloody and broken body of the guard before her. She couldn’t cry. She was too scared to cry. All she could do was stare into his lifeless eyes. She felt the mighty gusts of wind that the dragon made as it flew over her, apparently not noticing her. Then suddenly everything went quiet, she couldn’t hear anything and the slow beat of a drum started to sound, and then seemingly out of nowhere several voices started to chant slowly.

It was otherworldly, like something was singing from another world, as if trying to get her attention. She forced herself to look away from the guard, trying to find the source of the drums. She saw people running in every direction, but the chanting seemed to be pointing towards a single man. He was the only standing still amidst the chaos and death around him.

His back was to twilight but she could clearly make out the features of his armor. It was crude Iron, stitched together with fur and what looked like fur and leather. On his head was a helmet with horns coming out of either side of his head. On his back was a simple sword.

Twilight watched as this man took one step forward, and then another. With his right arm, he reached for his sword and drew it. The ringing of metal sounded strongly familiar Twilight, who had found the urge to stand up again. The dragon above seemed to hear the drums and chanting as well. It stopped it’s attack on the village and circled around, with a beat of its mighty wings it landed right in front of the man. It roared, and twilight’s hearing returned to her.

“Run!” She yelled as loudly as her poor voice would let her, but her advice went unheeded. The dragon lunged forward snapping its jaws. The man jumped back and simultaneously swung his sword upwards, cutting into the inside of the dragons jaw. Small droplets of dragon blood splashed into the air. The dragon roared and attacked again, pressing forward. The warrior struck again and again, the damage infuriating the dragon. The dragon reared back and roared letting out a jet of flame. The warrior sprinted passed the dragon and dove behind a merchant stand. The produce stood no chance, but the Iron warrior was able to run from cover to cover, narrowly avoiding the intense heat of the dragon.

Twilight stood there heart pounding as she watched the battle unfold in front of her. She had to do something. She looked around frantically and eyed the crate with spilled daggers on the floor. She looked from the sharp daggers on the floor to the house that had been crushed earlier, along with the residents inside. Twilight could make out what looked like a crudely made doll, partially burning at the foot of the destroyed home. Twilight eyed the daggers and felt something she had never felt before. Hatred. She was filled with such anger that she hated the dragon. It was foreign and it was terrible, but It gave her strength.

The warrior dove into a ditch filled with water as a jet of flame shot passed him. The dragon, seeing it’s opportunity, flew into the sky to get a better shot at it’s enemy. Just as it circled over him. It let out small shriek, several daggers had flown through the air and pierced the soft tissue of its wings. It turned towards the attacker only to be faced with several more daggers, flung at such a high speed. Most of the daggers ricocheted off the dragon’s hard armor, but several were lucky enough to pierce through the dragons many unprotected areas. One dagger even found itself lodged into its eye. The dragon roared painfully and spun in the air, firing jets of flame everywhere in fury. It spotted twilight.

Twilight was in a fit of rage, throwing dagger after dagger with her magic, making movements with her hands as if the daggers had come from her hands herself. She was so enraged that she did not realize how exposed she was in case the dragon decided to attack. The dragon swept down low, ignoring the pain a few well placed dagger had done to it, It extended it’s claws, fully intending to snatch the nuisance up and fling her up into the air. But it's claws felt nothing but air as it reached for Twilight.

Twilight had been knocked to the floor, the Iron warrior on top of her. He said nothing as he offered a hand to help her up. Twilight accepted hastily and shortly both of them were on their feet. The warrior removed his helmet and discarded it on the grass next to the burning doll. For the first time twilight could see his face. He was fairly young, with brown skin and disheveled black hair. His dark brown eyes watched the dragon circle around for another attempt.

“Take the left flank mage.” He said calmly and with confidence.

Twilight simply nodded and darted to the left taking much of the daggers with her in her telekinetic grip. She looked over her shoulder once and saw that the Iron warrior had disappeared. Having no choice but to trust him to take care of himself she ran around several burning houses and up the stairway to the shrine of Talos. She took the other stairway down, all the while looking up into the sky to find out where the dragon had gone. She spotted it in the distance shooting fire onto the ground in passing. Twilight could only pray that the Iron warrior was doing alright. She stopped and hurled her daggers at the dragon. This time the dragon dodged them, flying high and making a loop to fly directly at her. Her heart raced and she turned to run but almost ran face to face with Irileth, along with a whole company of Guards.

“Arrows at the ready!” All the guards readied their bows and arrows. Irileth placed a hand on Twilight’s shoulder as if to stop her from going anywhere. Twilight got the message and readied what was left of her daggers. Irileth snarled as she gazed upon the dragon that was flying quickly towards them at an alarming speed. Just when it looked like it was in range to breath fiery death upon them. Irileth gave the order.

“Fire!”

Numerous arrows flew through the air and impaled the dragon, some even ripping holes into its wings and lodged itself within the creature’s mouth. The dragon roared and spun in the air. It tried to recover but failed smashing into the low stone walls of whiterun before it rolled down and over another produce stand. The guards yelled and charged at the dragon with swords drawn. The dragon clawed itself back into the center of the city where it could maneuver on land more freely. One guard got to close and with one snap of the dragon’s jaws the man was seared in half. This gave pause to the other guards who backed away, forming a circle around the dragon.

Twilight then noticed a moving silhouette on the rooftops of one of the houses. It was moving fast. Twilight recognized him as the Iron warrior. He was carrying a sword and one of Twilight's daggers now and part of his armor looked like it had been singed rather badly. He moved across the rooftops and jumped. Twilight watched in amazement as the warrior flew through the air and landed on the dragon’s neck.

The dragon roared as the warrior plunged his two blades in between the scales of the dragons head. He did so repeatedly until the dragon stopped struggling and collapsed onto the ground. Then there was finally silence.

No one moved. Twilight pushed her way through the crowd of guards and into the clearing where the warrior still sat on the dragon. He managed to pull the blades out of the dragon’s neck, before rolling off the dragon and unto the cobblestone street.

Twilight moved to help him but Irileth held her back.

Something was happening to the dragon. It’s scales were pealing away, burning up like leaves thrown into a fire. He stood in bewilderment as a deep and powerful magic swirled up and out of the dragon and into him.

“I don’t believe it. That Redguard is dragon born.” One of the guards said out loud. The guards began to murmur amongst themselves while Irileth took in the sight before her with interest.

Twilight’s eyes widened as she looked upon the Iron warrior. She moved out of Irileth’s hand and stepped closer to the iron warrior.

“You’re not a myth.” She said, completely missing the fact that her speech had returned to normal. The Iron warrior returned Twilights look of awe with a look of confusion. Unbeknownst to all of them, including Twilight, the magic was beginning to circle around Twilight as well.

At that moment the ground shook, and lightning struck. An earth shattering voice split the sky causing everyone to lock up in fear. The voice declared one name.

“DOVAHKIIN!!!”

Chapter 03: Hope

Pillars of black smoke were still rising by the time the sun set on Whiterun. Any passersby would have heard the moaning and crying far before they took notice of the smoke rising from the partially ruined city. The stench of burning flesh drifted even further, carried by the northern winds. The guards of Whiterun, or what remained of them, worked without ceasing. Carrying bodies, digging out rubble and tending to the wounded. Many of the citizens participated in the reconstruction, though others decided to weep quietly in their homes, or by their ruins.

Jarl Balgruf walked down the steps of the upper city, leading to the ruined square where vendors would have at this time been selling their produce. He was flanked at either side by Irileth and Proventus as well as two guards that took up the rear, swords drawn, and eyes scanning the skies.

Jarl Balgruf stopped in front of the remains of two guards. Their bodies were burnt beyond recognition, their swords warped by the heat of the dragons breath. Jarl Balgruf resisted the urge to kneel before his faithful guards and settled to bowing his head in respect. Now was not the time to show weakness. He needed to be strong for his people, and for his hold.

"Casualties are...substantial, my Jarl."

Jarl Balgruf raised his head and turned to his adviser Proventus, giving him a stern look. Proventus however did not notice as his eyes were busy surveying the carnage that lay in front of him. After seeing the look on his face, Jarl Balgruf decided to overlook his advisers' earlier comment and proceeded down the stone path to where the dragon had been slain. He turned the corner of one of the shops and saw it behind the empty house known to his people as "Breezehome."

There it was, the bones of the beast that had murdered his people. He lips curled into a snarl and before anyone could stop him he marched up to the dragon's skull. His cohort made no move towards the dragon. Only Irileth walked with the Jarl to the Jaws of the beast. The Jarl looked at the hollow eyes of the dragon and snorted. He pulled out his battle ax and swung it down as hard as he could. The Jarls own arm shook with the force and his grip on his ax had threatened to falter, yet there was not a scratch on the dragon's bones. The test of the dragons bones did nothing to shock him from his anger.

"Dragons! Dragons in my hold!" He growled out in cold fury as he sheathed his war ax.

His anger subsided, and he looked to the sky as if to ask the very divines themselves his question.

"How can we fight them?" It sounded more like a plea than a question.

"My Jarl." Irilithe interrupted his thoughts by placing a hand on his shoulder. "The beast is dead. If one of them can be slain, there is a way to protect the city."

Jarl Balgruf shrugged her hand off.

"At what cost Irileth? Look around you, could we withstand another attack? Could Riverwood? Rorikstead? We stopped this dragon with an army, and I sent a mere detachment of Guards to my towns." Jarl Balgruf massaged his temples and walked around the bones of the dragon that had terrorized his city. A sudden thought came to mind, he didn't know why he felt the need to worry about their guest, but he felt it all the same.

"Where is Twilight?" He asked turning to Irileth, trying to keep his voice neutral.

"Safe my Jarl. She is currently assisting with the reconstruction."

Jarl Balgruf gave the first smile he could give for the day and was about to ask another question when Irileth interrupted him.

"She also stood against the dragon my Jarl. Head-on." Irileth said her own smile forming on her lips. The Jarl couldn't believe his ears, not just because of what Twilight had done, but because he could have sworn he heard a small hint of Pride coming from Irileth's voice.

"Did she now? So she fought alongside the Redguard?"

Irileth nodded and Jarl Balgruf crossed his arms, nodding his head in thought.

"I assume the Redguard has returned with Farengars' Prize?"

This time it was Proventus' turn to speak.

"Yes my Jarl. Farengar is currently studying the Dragonstone. Though he was accompanied by a cloaked woman. Me'thinks it is one of his mysterious... sources..." Irileth looked shocked for a brief moment and approached Proventus to inquire further about this mysterious visitor, but Jarl Balgruf stopped her, anticipating her well trained vigilance.

"We have more important things to worry about right now than Farengars strange visitors." He turned and glanced towards the tall mountain in the distance. It was massive, all other peaks in the land of Skyrim were dwarfed by the sacred mountain upon which High Hrothgar sat. He spun around and walked swiftly to the guards who flanked him.

"The men say, that the Redguard devoured that Dragon's soul. Is that true?"

There wasn't a hint of hesitation in the guards response. "Yes my Jarl. The dragons skin disintegrated, and something like...very powerful magic, began to pour into him." The other guard nearly dropped his sword in excitement as he added to the answer.

"There is no mistake my Jarl. That Redguard is Dragon born!"

The Jarl took a deep breath and commanded that the two guards help with the reconstruction of the village, after they had left. Jarl Balgruf once again turned to gaze upon that mountain in the distance.

"Perhaps it is fate indeed. That shout from the high mountain. Did you hear it?"

If his cohorts had answered him, he wasn't listening, he was too busy looking up at the mountain. The tallest and most sacred mountain in all of Tamriel.

"That voice...was the voice of hope."

Twilight wiped her brow, the stench of the burning bodies around her had become bearable, but only just. In front of her sat a lone child. Dried tears mingling with the ash streaks on his face. The sight of him broke Twilight's heart. She swore that if Fluttershy had been here, she would have died of sorrow. That thought hurt her even more. Her friends seemed so far away now. The child tugged on the sleeve of her robes.

"It still hurts miss mage..." The boy whimpered, indicating the gash on his calf that Twilight had bandaged earlier. Twilight felt another pinch in her heart. She didn't know much about the anatomy of these humans, but she had bandaged him up the best she could. All the other guards were running around dealing with people who were worse off. It was all Twilight could do, to help in the reconstruction.

"Can you make it feel better with magic?" He asked, eyes pleading. Twilight kept calm.

"I'm sorry. But I don't know enough magic yet. Where are your parents?" At this the boy teared up and pointed to the house behind him. Twilight's heart dropped through her stomach. It was the house that the dragon smashed when it first arrived. Finally, Twilight couldn't take it any more. Fresh tears started pouring from her eyes, and she grabbed the child and hugged him tightly.

"I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry." Twilight whispered.

The child hugged back and they cried together for a moment. Suddenly however, the boy stopped crying. Twilight let go of him and saw that the boy was looking at something past her in awe. Twilight followed the boy's gaze and almost leaped ten feet into the air. Not more than a few feet away dark eyes surveyed both of them. The Redguard, or as Twilight had discovered, the Dragonborn was watching them, eyes focused on the boy, a warm smile forming on his features. He approached them and knelt down, next to Twilight.

"I know a few things. Would you mind if I tried it? It might feel a little weird." He spoke calmly and with kindness, very different from the way he spoke battling the dragon. The boy nodded reluctantly, and the Dragonborn stretched out his hand. He closed his eyes and clenched his fist, a swirling golden orb of magic forming in his palm. The Dragonborn lay his hand on the calf of the boy and soon the orb of gold circled the boy. A moment later the light stopped and the Dragonborn stood up.

"Stay here." He said and he walked past them, down the street and around the corner.

Twilight was confused, but the boy took the moment to check his leg. Twilight watched in amazement as the boy undid his bandages and felt the underside of his leg. The wound had completely healed.

"Beirand!" Came a shout from down the street. A bald man with a mustache dressed in plain clothing was running through the street. Slowly following him, was the Dragonborn.

"Papa!" The boy, named Beirand shouted as he leapt into the air and ran to meet him with his newly healed leg.

Twilight couldn't believe her eyes. Beirand and his father hugged tightly in the street, exchanging words of affection that only a father and son could say. Twilight's switched her view from the happy sight before her to the Dragonborn, standing and watching the sight before them. Twilight felt something spark within her, not unlike what she had felt with her friends. It was admiration. Then the Dragonborn stretched out his hand.

"Of course!" Beirand's father said releasing his son and standing upright. "Thank you for finding my son! As agreed, have Ten Septims for your troubles."

Twilight's jaw dropped.

The Dragonborn took the small bag of gold and nodded, pocketing it into the small satchel hanging off his belt opposite of where his sword was. With hasty goodbyes, Beirand and his father had left, heading for the gates of Whiterun and out of the city. The Dragonborn watched as they walked out of the city.

"How could you do that!?" Twilight exploded, while the Dragonborn paid her no heed.

"You had to get paid to find his son!? What is wrong with you! Don't you think that just for a second they might need those bits, or septims...or whatever...!!" Twilight moved in front of the Dragonborn, shouting at him inches from his face, while the Redguard observed her with a blank, yet almost inquisitive expression.

"Shouldn't a good deed be it's own reward?! You know what?! I don't care if you're the Dragonborn hero! What you did was just....just..... UGH!!!" Twilight took deep breaths to try and calm herself down, it would have worked if the dragonborn had not still been staring at her with that contemplative expression of his.

"What are you?"

Twilight almost exploded again, but through some miracle she was able to keep her calm.

"I think the question you're looking for is. WHO are you? My name is Twilight Sparkle. And there's no reason to be so rude...mister..."

"Redguard." The dragonborn replied, still studying twilight with his eyes.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Fine...I can go by your title if you want..."

"I know who you are Twilight." The dragonborn said quickly cutting Twilight off.

"I wasn't completely sure during the battle, but now I am." He paused for a moment, making sure he and Twilight were looking at each other eye to eye.

"You're the mare that fell from the sky."

It was as if time itself stood still, and all of Twilight's rage vanished in an instant. He mentioned the word mare. The information racketed around in Twilight's brain sparking warning signs. How did he know? Maybe he saw her before she turned human? It's obvious that he didn't know that she was a unicorn from Equestria. He was asking about what she was, and that was a good thing. These thoughts and more came and passed Twilight in rapid succession as she struggled for an answer. The dragonborn for his part, stepped back and crossed his arms, taking in Twilight's reaction.

"Hey! You two!" A guard called from a distance. The guard was out of breath as he stopped in front of both Twilight and the Dragonborn.

"The Jarl want's to see both of you up in Dragon's reach. Now."

The Dragonborn nodded and moved passed a relieved looking Twilight, who spun around and followed the Dragonborn up the stone stairs to Dragons Reach. The walk was quiet and awkward, and Twilight couldn't help but try to start up a conversation halfway up the stairs. If he was her only hope of making it back home, she may as well try to befriend him. The Dragonborn knocked over a little girl who who was running down the stairs. The child shot out a quick 'sorry' but the Dragonborn didn't seem to hear her. Twilight sighed. If she was going to try and befriend him. She'd better do it now before he did something else to piss her off.

"Look. Maybe we started on the wrong foot." She said, picking up her pace to walk next to him.

"I still think what you did back there was wrong but, you could at least tell me your name. You know...something other than Redguard."

The Dragonborn stopped at the doors of Dragon's reach and turned to look at Twilight. Giving a sigh that hinted at annoyance.

"I told you. My name is Redguard. Problem?"

Twilight squinted her eyes unsure if Redguard was telling the truth or if it was truly his name.

Redguard shook his head and opened the door to Dragons Reach, a more than slightly annoyed Twilight following in his wake.

"Too easy." The child Lucia giggled to herself as she counted the gold she stole from the rude man's pouch. She sat on the stairs and reveled in her small victory. She was worried at first that the purple haired mage would have caught her, but luckily she looked distracted by something else. If being an orphan in Skyrim had taught her anything, it was how to survive by any means necessary, and thanks to the art of theft, she now had ten septims. Ten septims would be more than enough to eat dinner, if the bannered mare were open tonight. She smiled to herself and licked her lips, as she stood to get up. As she did so however, she noticed a strange lump in her dress pocket. She put her hand inside and touched what felt like a sharp rock. She pulled it out and gasped as she saw an emerald. Not believing her luck she quickly threw it in the bag with the ten septims and quickly stuffed the bag into her dress pocket. She looked up at Dragons reach and remembered the man she bumped into.

"Too...Easy..." She whispered to herself, before running off into the town.

Author's Note

Here's the chapter. Short and sweet. Expect the next Chapter to come out fairly soon. Again, comments are appreciated.

Also as far as the Dovahkiin's name? What do you think?

Chapter 04: Shout

** Not everything I wanted to write down, but you all have waited long enough. Sometimes it's better to present what you have instead of constantly trying to improve it. Please enjoy it for what its worth.

What had she gotten herself into.

No. She wasn't talking about being stranded in Skyrim. That ship had sailed, and Twilight had more or less accepted the fact that she may never find a way home. Right now, Twilight was concerned with whatever could have possessed her to volunteer as the Dragonborn's Housecarl.

"Catch."

"Oomf!" Twilight was almost knocked over as a pack full of supplies hit her in the face.

Twilight lowered the pack and glared at the back of the Dragonborn's head. If he felt Twilight's death glare boring into his skull he didn't show it. Instead the Dragonborn swung open the door to the weapons shop known as War Maidens and stepped in. As Twilight followed, she recalled the events that led to her current situation.

Twilight and "Redguard" entered Dragon's Reach. The tables that had once held plates of food were pushed to the side to make way for all the citizens of Dragons Reach who had become homeless due to the dragon attack. They were crying, eating, mending their wounds. But all stopped what they were doing, when Twilight and Redguard walked through that door. They all stared at him in awe and they began to murmur among themselves. At the head of the hall, sitting on his throne and leaning to one side, was Jarl Balgruf. To his right was Proventus and to his left was Irileth. All three were staring down at the Redguard expectantly as he walked up to them. Only when they were standing in front of the Jarl's throne had he decided to speak.

"Welcome back to Whiterun Redguard, or should I say, Dragonborn?"

Jarl Balgruf declared, and the murmuring of the refugees had increased even more. Redguard shifted his weight and although Twilight was behind him and could not see his face, she could clearly see that he was uncomfortable with the term.

"You say that with such conviction. I am not familiar with your myths and legends. But any man could have slain that dragon, had they the courage to stand, and the talent to not get killed."

Jarl Balgruf nodded. "And you showed an ample supply of both…along with the newest member of my court."

Balgruf glanced at Twilight for a second, and twilight couldn't help but feel a bit pleased with herself at the praise.

"She's didn't die. I'll give her that."

Aaaaand it's gone. Twilight tried very hard not to look irritated with Redguard, but soon found that feigning humility was the least of her worries.

"Is he really the Dragonborn?"

"I saw him devour that dragon's soul!"

"He must be it! He must be!"

Redguard looked around him and noticed that the crowd had formed around him. Jarl Balgruf did nothing but watch as the crowd, in their desperate and sorrowful state, circled the man to see if he was indeed the hope from the legends. Some were looking at him as if to expect him to suddenly transform into mighty Talos himself. Irileth leaned over and whispered into the Jarl's ear.

"My Jarl. Was this wise? Should I intervene?"

The Jarl said nothing and continued to watch.

Redguard and Twilight were now back to back. It was panic that had her rooted to the spot. Seeing some of the looks on their faces.

"He planned this." Twilight heard Redguard mutter under his breath. She gulped trying to find the wisdom in the Jarl's stirring of the crowd.

"Have him shout for us!" Everyone heard from somewhere in the back of the crowd. Twilight turned towards the source of the voice. It was female, and Twilight saw a cloaked, rather effeminate figure exit the hold.

"Yes if he is Dragonborn then let him shout!"

"Shout!"

"Please Shout!"

They prodded him. Some even tugging at his armor.

"Well?" Asked Twilight, now genuinley fearing for her life. "What are you waiting for? Shout already!"

"Shout what!?" He whispered back rather harshly.

"Anything!" She nearly yelled.

Redguard was about to respond when a sudden realization overcame him.

"The Words at the Barrows…"

Twilight had no idea what he meant. She was beginning to be dragged away and trampled by the crowd. Suddenly she felt a strong arm wrap around her. Twilight tilted her head up to find that it was Redguard protecting her from the increasingly rowdy crowd. He raised his head to the ceiling.

"FUS!"

All of Dragon Reach shook, and the crowd that had surrounded him disspersed. Twilight stood there frozen, still wrapped in Redguard's arm, not knowing what had just happened. She looked back up at Redguard who looked just as surprised as she did. His arm around her loosened and Twilight took the occasion to break away from Redguard's protective arm. A moment of silence, and then the cheering began.

That was the event that started it all. They were practically carried to the Jarl's study by the once jubilant crowd where he pleaded and bargained with the Redguard to answer the call of High Hrothgar. When the Redguard accepted he was to be granted a Housecarl, to which Twilight volunteered. Deep in her heart she knew that if she had any hope of returning home, it would lie with the him. After all, he was the Dragon Born. And the ballad of the Dragon Born brought her here. That makes sense right?

"Here."

Twilight flinched and brought the supply pack up to shield her face. After a few seconds of nothing hitting her she slowly lowered it to find that Redguard was handing her a sword. His sword. She starred at it dumbly for a few seconds before the Redguard sighed in irritation and took Twilights free hand. He placed the sheathed weapon in her palms and closed her fingers around the handle.

"I don't care how good Farengar say's you are with magic. If you don't understand how to use a sword, you will not survive." Twilight and Redguard made eye contact for a moment before he turned back towards the weapons and armor counter.

Twilight looked at the sword and back up at Redguard. What possessed her indeed.

Redguard himself wasn't liking the situation either. His new life in the north had gotten off to an excellent start. Being captured upon crossing the border. Almost roasted alive by a dragon. Attacked by ravenous wolves, draugr, almost being roasted alive by a dragon again, and now her. He threw a glance over at his new "housecarl," the exact meaning of the title "housecarl" being lost on him at the moment but that was not the issue. The issue was that she fell from the sky. In a form that was most definitely NOT native to Tamriel.

Pushing his doubts aside for now he placed a bag of septims on the table for Ulfberth War-Bear, the owner of Warmaiden's, to count. Once Ulfberth was satisfied at the amount he received, he placed two packages on the table, one of them larger than the other. He also took a single steel sword and placed it on the table. Redguard took the blade and unsheathed it, inspecting the balance and finer details of the sword meticulously.

"It'll do." Redguard said under his breath before putting it back on the table. Ulfberth scowled at him.

"No offense." He added quickly, before grabbing the larger package and walked into the back room.

Moments later he emerged wearing robes of white and brown, with steel nordic gauntlets and steel nordic boots. He flexed his fingers and rolled his shoulder making sure that the robes were an excellent fit.

"What happened to your armor?"

Redguard had almost forgotten Twilight was there, and was a little surprised at her question.

"I like this better." He replied simply.

Twilight just raised an eyebrow, expecting more of an answer than the one she got. Redguard sighed.

"If you must know, it compliments the way I know how to fight." He grabbed the smaller package and handed it to twilight.

"These are yours. Put them on and tell me how they suit you."

Twilight nodded and set down the pack of supplies she had been carrying in one hand. Without another word she began to slip off the magician robes she had received from Irileth.

Redguard cleared his throat, and Twilight looked up at him, then back at her robes that was already half off. Her eyes went wide in realization.

"Oh!…Right!" She declared before walking casually to the back room to change.

Ulfberth's jaw was open as he turned to the Redguard. There was an awkward pause before Redguard shrugged his shoulders, doing his best to shrug it off.

"Tourist."

Author's Note

Don't worry I have a name for Redguard now. You will find out in a couple of chapters.

Chapter 05: Paradise Lost

BALLAD OF THE DOVAKHIIN

Early morning, outside the gates of Whiterun. Jarl Balgruf stood overlooking the plains of his hold. Next to him stood Irileth. And the two of them stood in complete silence, reflecting on the past days events. It was only when the rooster crowed and hailed the coming of the new day that either of them spoke.

"I trust your wisdom my Jarl." Irileth sounded very much as if she was trying to reassure herself.

Jarl Balgruf didn't respond, but instead turned his gaze towards the mountain in the distance. The throat of the world stood tall, easily dwarfing the mountains in the distance. The peak, ever shrouded by the clouds, taunted his gaze.
"She volunteered herself Irileth. It is fate."

At that moment the city gates opened, and out came Redguard, followed closely by Twilight. She was clad in a similarly light outfit: Purple apprentice robes, with leather gauntlets and leather boots to help protect her limbs. Both Balgruf and Irileth were surprised and frowned at the sight of a sword around her belt. Twilight was surprised to see both of them, and she smiled the warmest smile either of them had ever seen. Jarl Balgruf called Twilight over to have a private word, while Irileth growled and marched over to Redguard, who to his credit, did not falter under the piercing red eyes of the dark elf. Acting on Instinct the Redguard rested his left hand upon the steel sword sheathed in his belt. Irileth came within inches of his face.

"You let so much as a scratch happen to that girl and I'll have your head sitting on a pike."

Redguard paused for a moment before giving a slight smile. "Protective are we?"

Irileth stormed past him and took one last look at Twilight before walking through the gates.

"Where did Irileth go?" Twilight asked when the Redguard approached.

"To attend to matters of the hold I would Imagine. She told me to let you know that she'll deeply miss you."

Twilight raised an eyebrow at him. Taken slightly aback by Twilight's skepticism, Redguard turned his attention to Balgruf who regarded him carefully, scratching the side of his beard.

"Twilight, may I have a word with the Dragonborn in private." Redguard sighed deeply trying to hide his irritation. Twilight nodded, before walking off down the path towards the stables. When Balgruf was sure she was out of earshot he turned to the Redguard.

"Dragonborn, have you felt anything...odd...about Twilight."

Redguard didn't respond at first. He briefly considered telling him about Twilight's true nature, but thought better of it. Instead he recalled the uncomfortable and admittedly frightening situation back at Dragon's reach. Being surrounded by a mob and being torn apart by their desperation affected him more than it probably should have. At the time, it felt only natural that he would protect her, it was only after the fact that he noticed something beyond a man's instinct to protect a woman.

"I may have."

Jarl Balgruff nodded thoughtfully.

"An aura of peace? A desire to protect? Dragonborn, she has been like a daughter to me, and I have known her for the entire length of the week. Powerful magic surrounds her Dragonborn, it doesn't take years of study in the arcane arts to figure it out."
Jarl Balgruff looked over his shoulder at Twilight, who was busy attempting to communicate with the horses tied to a fence.
"Take care of her." He said finally, before heading back inside the city.

Redguard watched the gates close on the Jarl of Whiterun, before heading down the path towards Twilight.

"Come on!" She pleaded, leaning over the fence and trying to look into the horse's eyes.

"Is there any bit of sentient thought in that oversized head of yours!"

The horse merely chewed its oats and ignored Twilight. She gave up and turned to see Redguard heading her way.

"What did he say?" Twilight asked, not expecting a serious answer.

Redguard hesitated for only a fraction of a second, but long enough for Twilight to notice.

"He's going to miss you too."

Twilight Sparkle would not stop talking, and for the most part Redguard didn't mind. She needed to vent her excitement in any way possible. He remembered how he felt when he had started his own wanderings all those years ago: Fearful, lonely and desperate. Time had forged him into the man he was today, it was a dark time for him and only time would tell how the trials of Tamriel would forge the woman...or mare...at his side. Redguard pondered the Jarl's words: "Take care of her." He shook his head, knowing full well that she would have to learn quickly on how to survive, with or without him.

"So. We made quite a team back there. You know...fighting the Dragon and all..."
Redguard barely glanced over at Twilight and nodded ever so slightly.

"I guess we did."

Twilight grinned, and waited for him to say more, but when he said nothing else she simply stopped walking, slumped her shoulders and sighed deeply.

"Not much for small talk are you Mr. Redguard."

Twilight thought she heard Redguard chuckle, and she resumed walking at a hurried pace to catch up with him.

"Look. You can tell me your real name you know. You don't have to keep putting up with the name Redguard. I mean, it sounds like a normal name where I come from, but that's the title of your race. Do you have another name I can call you?" Twilight couldn't see his face from where she was walking. Was he annoyed behind that hood? Trying not to laugh? She had half a mind to walk right in front of him and force him to talk, but from what she has seen so far, she might get bowled over.

To her surprise, he stopped walking and turned to her.

"Do you want to know the truth Twilight?"

The question was direct and Twilight couldn't help but cringe. There was no signs of hostility or sarcasm in the way he spoke but she felt intimidated all the same.

"Um. I would like too…if it's not too much to ask…"

Redguard took a good look at Twilight. He didn't smile at her, or give any indication that he was offended, instead he just looked at her plainly.

"I don't remember."

Twilight tilted her head confused.

"What do you mean you don't remember? How can somepo…er I mean someone not remember their own name?"

Redguard grinned again.

"You know what? I ask myself that question more often then I should. Lets keep walking, I guess I can afford a little story telling."

Twilight agreed and the two of them walked down the stone path, the sun still high in the air. It was a little while before Redguard spoke again.

"My childhood was rather…less than ideal. The earliest memory I have is of a prison. I was called Prisoner, Trash, Child…. " He looked at her and smirked. "…but mainly Redguard. Not once did any of my captives decide to name me, or reveal that I had a name. The high elves that held me captive were rather…cruel in that respect. After I broke out…" Redguard paused as if deliberating something. "…I kinda just, stuck with any name they gave me." He finished quickly, his eyes fixed dead ahead. He flinched when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder.

He turned to see Twilight smiling at him softly. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize that was the case. If your okay with the name Redguard, then I have no problem with that."

Redguard locked eyes with Twilight, the words of the jarl echoing around his head. 'Take care of her.'

Twilight let her hand fall and the two of them continued to walk. It was a while before either of them spoke again.

The sun had lowered a good distance since their earlier conversation. Twilight walked with a skip in her step, which for some reason, annoyed Redguard.

"Twilight you should really stay focused. Skyrim is a dangerous place."

"I am focused!" She said cheerily continuing to skip lightly across the road. If that wasn't enough. She started to hum a tune that was unfamiliar to Redguard.

"Winter wrap up, winter wrap up..."

Redguard shook his head, here they were walking through on the most dangerous regions in all of Tamriel and here was his Housecarl, skipping next to him. He looked up ahead and saw a structure of some sort. He saw the trail of smoke rising from the base as well as two bodies hanging from the stone bridge. One larger than the other. His eyes widened, his body tensed and he grabbed Twilight's arm.

"Hey what's the big idea?" She exclaimed, trying to fight his grip. Redguard's eyes were focused and Twilight followed his gaze to a trail of smoke rising from one of the towers. It looked like a campfire. Redguard looked to the right and saw only unscalable cliff. On his left was a raging stream. There was no other way to go but forward. He breathed deeply.

"Oh!" Twilight clapped her hands excitedly and dug into her bag with a free hand. She pulled out a map Farengar had given her marking some of the more notable landmarks of skyrim. "Valthiem Towers. That has to be it. We're making great progress!"

She folded up her map and put it back into the bag. She made to move forward, but was held back as Redguard squeezed her arm tighter.

"Listen Twilight, I need you to stay close to me. Do not speak, and keep your eyes on our flanks." There was a strong sense of urgency in Redguards voice that caused Twilight's mood to deflate. She nodded once and Redguard let go. She noticed his left hand was resting on the steel sword at his hip. Twilight felt her heart race as she followed Redguard down the stone road.

"Hold it!"

A woman wearing fur armor, and armed with an iron sword attached around her hip approached them. The woman's eyes darted between Twilight and Redguard.

"This is a toll road see! You'll have to hand over...say...200 gold to use our road."

Twilight gave a sigh of relief. 200 Gold sounded very high, but she had earned about that much in the week she had been working for the Jarl. Perhaps if Redguard and her split the costs they could...

"How about you let me through and I don't kill you?"

Twilight turned to Redguard a look of shock on her face, unable to believe what she had just heard. Redguard however, looked at the woman with cold contempt on his face. The woman laughed a sickening laugh, and approached both of them, drawing her sword.

"Hah! Tough talk for someone about to have their guts spilled!"

She charged. Everything seemed to move in slow motion for Twilight. She froze on the spot eyes fixed on the cold steel coming directly at her and her companion. For a moment Redguard seemed frozen as well, but just as the woman was about to reach striking distance, He extended his left hand and shot a stream of fire directly into her face.

The woman screamed in agony and dropped her weapon to clutch at her face. She fell to the ground and tried to crawl away from Redguard's persistent flames. Seconds later, Redguard released the spell, drew his steel sword and impaled her through chest, he twisted it for good measure, before ripping it out and silencing the suffering bandit. Twilight watched all this in a state of shock only to be shaken back to her senses by an arrow whizzing by her head.

"Into the Tower!" Redguard yelled, as he grabbed Twilights arm and pulled her to the open doors.

"You're going to pay for that!" They heard from the top of the tower, as a second arrow over shot them by several feet.

Redguard threw Twilight in and shut the door behind them.
"Y...You killed her! You Killed HER!" She screamed hysterically as she grabbed at her hair.

"She would have killed both of us. Whether or not we had the Gold!"

Redguard replied urgently as he barricaded the door. He turned his attention the stone stairs above him, hearing movement and loud voices getting closer.. He swore under his breath. He moved to Twilight and pulled her up from her panicked position on the floor. She resisted and thrashed about hitting him in the nose several times. After finally getting a good grip on her arms he pinned them to her side.
"FOCUS Twilight! I need you to draw your sword and protect yourself!"

At that moment A large Breton in full steel armor appeared at the top of the stone stairs. To Redguard's horror the man was carrying a war hammer. What was even scarier was that he seemed to know how to use it.

"Die!" He yelled before jumping off the top of the stairs, hammer coming down on both of them.

Thinking quickly, Redguard pushed Twilight to the opposite end of the room against a bookshelf while he himself jumped to the door. The hammer smashing the stone where both of them had once stood. Immediately the bandit turned towards Redguard, whom he must have deemed a greater threat, and swung his war hammer wildly. Redguard ducked and dived, swearing as he felt himself backing against a corner. But before the armored man could deliver the finishing blow, a purple glow enveloped him, the armored man looked around confused before finding himself blasted through both the makeshift barricade AND the door, smashing the man against the cracked stone mountainside. The armored bandit lay at the base of the mountain writhing in pain.

"I'm sorry!" Twilight yelled at the top of her lungs. "I'm so, so sorry!"

Twilight leaned against the bookshelf looking at the destruction of the door and the man that was yelling out in pain outside the tower. Redguard approached her cautiously, before looking back up the stone steps.

"Stay here." He said, Twilight only nodded in response.

Redguard moved up the stairs, sticking to the wall and holding his steel sword with his right hand. He came to an archway that opened into palisade steps. He listened. No one was coming down the palisade. He cautiously peaked his head by and immediately withdrew as an arrow sailed into the doorway.

"Shit!" He swore out loud. Staying here would eventually get himself and Twilight Killed. If they tried to make a run for it the archers would surely pick them off. There was only one choice to make. He had to chance it. Taking one last look at Twilight, he stuck his head out. An arrow sailed by, without any hesitation, he charged up the wooden palisade steps. He could hear yells coming from the opposite end of the river, but he ignored them. His priority was the archer that was on top of their tower. Luckily he didn't have to go far. Dodging another arrow and running into the archway on the second floor, he ran headlong into the archer. He had dropped his bow and was now wielding a war axe in his right hand, and a leather shield on his left. He swung, just as Redguard stepped into the archway. Ducking, he severed the archers leg in two with a well executed slice. and The yelling bandit collapsed on the floor. Redguard quickly ended his life with a stab through the heart. Without skipping a beat, he grabbed the leather shield and rushed out to the bridge.

It was stupid. He knew it. But he had to risk it. If the bandits crossed that bridge, Twilight would be in danger and unable to do anything in her current state of shock.

He forced his body to pump more adrenaline through his veins, an ability he had learned in his younger days.

He ducked, narrowly dodging one arrow and blocking another with the leather shield. Another fearless bandit ran forward to meet him at the center of the bridge. It was an orc, lightly clad and wielding axes. He jumped into the air, bringing both weapons down upon redguard and roaring in fury. Redguard grit his teeth in pain as the two axes connected with his shield. He staggered back and narrowly avoided the second attack by his opponents rush. The third attack however, was an unsuspecting kick and it connected fully with Redguard's gut.

His breath left him for a moment, and he doubled over as the orc took his time placing his blade on either side of his neck.

"Look me in the eyes. I want to see the fear in your eyes." He snarled, giving Redguard an evil smile. Redguard obliged and just when the orc was about to finnish him off…

"FUS!"

The Thun rocked the ruins and the orc was knocked off balance. Immediately, Redguard roared, knocked both the Orc's axes away, before stabbing him in the gut, drawing it out and finally decapitating him in one spinning motion. He panted. The last of his adrenaline draining from him. He started to run towards the opposite end of the bridge.

He didn't get far.

An arrow impaled itself into his shoulder, fired by one of the archers sitting on the other top of the other towers. He yelled out in pain and collapsed to the ground. He tried to bring his shield up but found out it was useless. His arm had broken from the impact of the Orcs' charge. They continued firing arrows and he caught another one in the calf before he was able to drag himself behind a pillar.

"Sitting Duck." He swore to himself. It was only a matter of time before they could get a firing angle on him. Another arrow pinged itself off of the stone pillar as he racked his brain for a way out.

Redguards yell of pain, snapped Twilight out of her panicked state. She was still quivering, but at least she had the good sense to move. She crept up the stairs slowly and peaked out of the stone archway. There she saw him. Redguard pinned behind a small pillar, trying his best to make himself as small of a target as possible. She wanted to help. But she was scared. She was so scared. What could she do?

Twilight slid to the bottom of the door arch as she searched desperately for a way to help her friend. Her eyes set upon the two human corpses hanging by their necks below the bridge. Her eyes focused on the smaller of the two…a child…The wind blew and the body turned,

"No…" Her lips moved, but no sound came out. Her eyes shut, not wanting to see the lifeless face of the child she knew.

"It hurts miss mage…"

The child that was reunited with his father.

"Papa!"

Something broke inside Twilight. Her eyes shot open and all she could see was light.

Redguard wasn't exactly sure what happened next. One moment the bandits were firing arrows down around him, the next they were gone, along with a quarter of the tower. Bits of stone rained down around him and he lifted his shield up with his good arm to block any incoming debris.

Looking back at the tower where Twilight was being housed, he saw no sign of her. With a groan he pushed himself up, and discarding his shield, limped back to find his housecarl.

"Twilight?" He called out. He stumbled forward, but recovered before he could fall flat on his face.

He gave a muffled yell as he yanked the arrows from his calf and shoulder, and healing himself with his spell. Limping down the wooden palisade and moved beyond the archway.

There was no sign of her. He limped back down the stone steps and leaned against the wall for support. Hearing voices beyond the destroyed doorway, he turned the corner.

"Twilight..."

She didn't hear him. She was too preoccupied with the guard she had pommelled into the mountain. He was still alive and doubled over, his war hammer laying in two pieces next to him. Twilight stood over him, her Iron sword drawn.

"S…Say you're sorry…" She said shakily, her hand barely being able to keep a grip on her blade.

At first, the bandit was confused, but then his confusion turned to laughter, or at least he tried to laugh as he was forced to cough up the blood that had made its way into his throat.

Twilight's grip on the sword seemed to be faltering.

"Say your s....sorry..." Her voice was even shakier and Redguard could see her shoulders move up and down. She was sobbing silently. This time the bandit could speak. He only said one word.

"Never."

Twilight raised her sword. "I'm wa..warning you! Say your sorry!" She said louder

This time the bandit laughed fully. "What are you waiting for? Do it!"

Twilight hesitated and she lowered her sword, turning away she finally let the tears flow. This was a mistake.

"TWILIGHT!" Redguard lunged for her, but tripped over his still healing leg. The bandit stumbled to his full height and drew an Iron Dagger hidden in his boot. He reached but didn't get very far. Twilight spun and without hesitation impaled the man in his gut. The bandit's face was frozen in shock, even as he slumped to the ground dead, sword still protruding from his abdomen.

Redguard was similarly surprised. As for Twilight, that was it. That was the final straw. She collapsed on the ground, wailing. Her sobs reverberating in the darkness that was now descending upon both of them.

They took shelter in the cove of an old ruin. It only had one entrance so it was easily defendable, and after Redguard had set up a roaring fire the cold ruin became alive with warmth. A stripped rabbit sat impaled on a stick, being roasted by the flames. He turned the meal over and looked at Twilight sitting across from him. Since she had stopped crying, they had said nothing to each other. Redguard had more or less recovered from his wounds earlier thanks to his healing spells. Twilight however, could not recover from the wound deep inside her. Redguard wondered if she ever would.

He remembered his first kill…In fact he remembered a lot of things he would rather forget…But this wasn't about him. He cut off a piece of cooked flesh with his knife and moved over to sit next to Twilight. He handed the meet to her.

"Eat it." He said softly. "You need to recover your strength."

Twilight paused for a moment before cautiously biting into it. In a matter of moment she had the entire strip in her mouth. She chewed with a pained expression on her face, before swallowing. Redguard saw her visibly suppress a gag. For a while they sat in silence, eating what was left of the rabbit. They bit into fruits, and Redguard noticed how Twilight savored the taste of her apple a lot more than that of the rabbit. The fire began to die down, and Redguard tossed another log into the fire to keep it going. He looked once more at Twilight and sighed as her expression still remained stoic.

"I think its time I was completely honest with you."

If Twilight was listening, she didn't show any signs of it. Redguard didn't mind, what he had to say wasn't easy for him to say. He fixated his stare on the fire. Listening to it crackle.

"The first time I ever killed someone…was when I was much younger than I am now…perhaps a decade ago."

Redguard felt movement where Twilight was sitting, but didn't dare face her, lest he lose the courage to say what he had to say.

"I killed a high elf…I didn't really know his name…but he was the only one to offer me any sort of kindness during my imprisonment. One day he let his guard down, I saw an opportunity to escape and I did, at the cost of his life."

Redguard cleared his throat.

"Afterwards…I became no different than the people we fought today. I stole…murdered in cold blood…rich, poor, young, old, it didn't matter. It only stopped after I was caught, and I was on my way to the executioners block."

Redguard shook his head.

"I had never been so scared in my life. The only thing that saved me was the mercy of a legionnaire captain. I forget his name. Instead of killing me right then, he let me go with nothing more than a tunic. He said I would die of starvation, or be mauled by the beasts of Cyrodil. But in reality he had given me a chance to live. To redeem myself. Since then I've been wandering. And…I've never stopped wandering…"

He turned to face Twilight, and was surprised to find her staring at him with the same stoic expression she wore staring into the fire.

"That's who I was Twilight…And I just wanted to let you know…You are a better person than I am. You…" He hesitated. "...killed to save yourself. I've killed and never thought twice."

Twilight's expression didn't change. Redguard lowered his head and sighed deeply. Picking himself up he lay down on the other side of the ruin.

"I'll take you back to White Run in the morning. Try to get some rest." He whispered before closing his eyes. He heard movement and suddenly felt a weight on his chest, He jolted awake only to find Twilight curled up into a ball next to him, laying her head on his chest. Without anything to say, and not knowing how to react. He just lay there.

"Can we burry Beirand and his papa tomorrow?"

Twilights voice surprised Redguard. He raised a hand and cautiously stroked her hair in an attempt to comfort her.

"Yeah….sure…"

Author's Note

After a long time. I have finally updated. I apologize. Really, I do. Once upon a time I had a job that required me to work 6 days a week. Then I decided to go back to college to get my bachelors, thus freeing up my schedule. Expect more frequent updates. School is crazy, but I'm crazier. Comment if you can. It really does help to hear from you guys.

P.S.
I swear. This only just got harder after watching Equestria Girls. I keep seeing Twilight with purple skin in my minds eye. Can somepony pass the mind soap?

Chapter 06: The Dead

It was nearly dawn when they awoke to prepare Beirand and his fathers funeral. They built a simple pyre by the riverside, decorated with some flowers hand picked by Twilight. She insisted that they lay side by side holding hands. Redguard, having no desire to deny her request, set about the task with difficulty as their bodies were already stiff from death. It was all he could do to link their arms together and close their blank eyes. After a solemn nod from Twilight, indicating that she was satisfied, Redguard set the pyre ablaze with his magic.

The two of them stood there in silence long enough for the sun to completely rise into the sky. Redguard could hear Twilight mumble a few final words, while he himself stood silent. No need to waste words on something out of his control.

As they were walking back to their camp in the ruins, Twilight turned to Redguard. "What about the...other bodies?"

There was no hesitation, no inflection of the voice that indicated sarcasm, no care at all in the response. "What bodies?"

The dark coldness in Redguards voice drew any thought of arguing from her, and with hesitation Twilight looked back at the tower. The carnage from the previous night lay exactly as they had left them. Birds and other animals had started to feed on their corpses. A fox had just finished tearing off a piece of a bandits leg. The very bandit she had killed. At first she looked away, but after a moment, forced herself to stare at the carnage. It was a dark world she had found herself in, and she hoped with all her heart this would be the last time she ever had to kill. Her eyes lingered on the bandits mangled carcass, and she mimed the words: "I did this."

She had killed somebody, and she was going to take responsibility for it. The fox had just started tearing at the corpse' abdomen when her stomach flipped. She forced it to settle before turning away and continued walking. She was surprised to see Redguard waiting for her.

"You did the right thing."

Twilight shifted her eyes away from Redguard and tilted her head down, clearly uncomfortable.

"Yeah…I guess I had to ki…kill him…"

Redguard shook his head.

"That's not what I'm talking about. No one walks away from their first kill unchanged. The fact that you chose to see and accept what you've done was the right choice."

Twilight was looking at Redguard directly now. The hood he wore darkened his appearance but those brown eyes always seemed to draw her attention. She had the nagging feeling that Redguard was trying to cheer her up, in his own kind of way and because of that she smiled at him warmly. To her surprise Redguard returned the smile and they went on their way.

"What in Tartarus is all this?" Twilight exclaimed staring at their campsite. Two piles lay beside where they slept. One was a large assortment of weapons and shields, the other was a much smaller pile of different small pouches, some smaller than others. Her eyebrow raised as she turned to Redguard for an explanation. Redguard however just returned the look with his own raised eyebrow and the two of them just stared for a moment.

Finally breaking the silence Redguard replied, in a sarcastic tone.

"What do you think?"

"You looted the bodies of the dead?" Twilight asked her voice steadily rising.

"Yes. While you were sleeping." He responded before bending over the pile of weapons and shuffling through them.

Twilight's eye twitched. Not only had they not buried the other dead, but they had looted their corpses. It looked like she was about to explode from all the stress of the past couple of days before she deflated with an exasperated sigh. Collapsing on her knees next to Redguard.

"What have we got."

"Not much." He replied, too busy to look at her. "Some septims, but not a lot. Either they hid most of their haul or they spent it all."

Twilight took a pouch and opened it, seeing only 10 gold septims. She counted the remaining gold in the pouches for a grand total of 137 gold septims. She took the money and placed them into their money purse, and continued to watch Redguard test the weapons. They were mostly swords and daggers and he carefully inspected each one. Finding a steel sword similar to what he currently owned, he got up and left the cave, testing its sharpness and balance against the blade he had purchased at Whiterun. Finding that the current sword he owned was still the better, he sheathed both weapons and stepped back into the cave, and then immediately did a double take. All the loot he had collected had been laid out on the tomb floor. They were organized, it seemed, by length and material type. A grinning, and content looking Twilight Sparkle sat across the row of weapons, smiling at him gleefully.

"What are you doing?"

Twilight's smile widened, and replied gleefully.

"Preserving my sanity."

Redguard approached cautiously and picked up another sword, not taking his eyes off of Twilight. He backed out and tested the weapon the same way he had done with the previous one. He repeated until he had tested every single blade in the row. After finishing he set himself down on the dirt floor for a break. Twilight tapped her fingers on her lap, considering the man in front of her.

"You take your weapons pretty seriously, are you trying to find the best out of all of them?"

Redguard nodded.

"I take staying alive very seriously. Some say it's not the weapon but the skill of the one who wields it, but I disagree. skill and equipment are equally important." He took a steel sword from the row he had first tested and handed it to Twilight. "I meant what I said before, If you don't know how to use a sword. You will not survive."

Twilight took a long look at her new sword. The old iron one was still stuck in the bandit she had slain. She hesitated but took the sword in its sheath and gripped it firmly. She nodded.

"I would appreciate a lesson some time." She said securing the blade around her waist. Though she fumbled, she was able to secure it properly without any guidance from Redguard. Redguard himself stood up and gathered his belongings.

"Maybe one day. For now we should start heading back to Whiterun, If we start now we can probably make it before nightfall."

"That would be best…we could…wait what?" Twilight stopped looking up at Redguard.

"Whiterun is only about a day away...."

"No that's not what I was asking. Why are we going back to Whiterun?" Twilight stood up and briskly approached Redguard.

"I don't know if its best for you to continue on. The trip will only become more dangerous the farther we…"

"No." Came a firm reply.

"What?" Redguard asked, almost not believing what he just heard.

"I said no Redguard. I'm not going back." Twilight's hands were at her side and balled into loose fists, her eyes locked with his. Frowning, Redguard crossed his arms.

"I don't think it's your decision to make"

"Horsefeathers! Of course it was my decision to make, I volunteered for this didn't I?" Twilight exclaimed in a tone of voice Redguard was surprised to hear. Couple that with the fact that Twilight had a point and Redguard was speechless. Twilight took Redguard's silence as permission to explain so she wasted no time.

"I know what you're thinking. I froze. I endangered you and I'm sorry. But I'm not going to find my way home sitting in Whiterun. You said that I was the mare who fell from the sky, Then you must know that I am not from this world." Twilight's expression softened, but the determination and passion in her voice did not falter. She approached Redguard, one hand to her chest and gestured with the other.

"I was taken from my home Redguard, against my will. Believe it or not I was listening to you talk last night. You know what that feels like."

Close, but no, he didn't know what that felt like. Redguard didn't have a family. He just woke up in a cell one day. Life was miserable from day one. But this only amplified Twilight's point. For a fraction of a second. Redguard had wondered what it would have been like to have a family to come home too, and wondered what it would have been like to be taken from them.

"I had a good life. Good family, good friends. And now they're all gone." Twilight continued. She paused for a breath and rummaged around her pack. She pulled out the book that brought her to Skyrim. "All because of a stupid ancient song about the Dragonborn."

Redguard took the book and flipped through the pages hesitantly. All the pages were blank and he was beginning to think that Twilight had handed him an empty book, until he came across a single page with a text he barely recognized seeing in one of Farengar's Scrolls. The ballad of the Dovahkiin.

"I don't know if I'll ever get home. I'll admit it's been hard to hold on to any hope at all. But if there is any chance I can somehow make it home. It will be with you…Dovahkiin." Twilight grabbed Dovahkiin's hands causing him to drop the book. She squeezed them hard and looked up into his face. There were no tears in her eyes but Redguard could see that she was fighting them off.

"Please…I just…I just want to go home."

Redguard was not the kind of individual to freeze, or to be shocked into inaction, but right now he was immobile. Breaking out of his stupor he yanked his hand away from Twilight's grasp.

"It may not be home, But I'm still taking you back to Whiterun." He said, trying to instill a sense of finality, but Twilight would have none of it.

"I'm not going back to Whiterun!"

"Yes you are!"

"Why!?" She yelled, stepping in front of Redguard and stopping him in his tracks. It took all of Redguard's will not to bowl her over, instead he concentrated all his frustration into a single statement.

"Because you'll get yourself killed!"

Both Twilight and Redguard took a step away from each other. Redguard was surprised that he lost control and shouted like that, but he hid his surprise well. Twilight on the other hand looked like she had just been hit by a Warhammer. Her face twisted into confusion and then lit up like the sky at dawn.

"Wait a minute. You want to take me back because your worried about me?" She said closing the distance once more. Excitement apparent in her eyes.

"Ha! You're worried about me! We really are friends!" She yelled clasping her hands together while Redguard rubbed his temples. There was some strange magic following this woman alright, and it was starting to get on his nerves. Before he could even think of a response. He noticed something odd. Twilight must have noticed it too because she had frozen on the spot. What they noticed, was a cool breeze and the stale stench of death, but that was not why it was considered strange. What made the breeze strange was that it was coming from beneath them. Suddenly there was the sound of stone sliding on stone, and then the ground crumbled beneath them.

Redguard quickly assessed the situation.

'Can't See. Can't Breath. Can't Move. Pressure from all sides. Dirt and stone pressed around me. I fell. I must be burried...alive.'

Panic began to sink in. He desperately tried to wriggle around and free himself from his dirt coffin but it was no use. His air was running out. Just as true panic had settled in, he felt the weight of the dirt around him give way and a hand grasp his arm.

Redguard's head broke the surface of the dirt, but the weight of the dirt was still crushing down on his chest so he still couldn't draw any breath. In the darkness he could hear and feel Twilight trying to dig him out, just when he was about to pass out he felt the weight of the dirt lessen just enough to take a breath. He gasped for breath and coughed as well, taking in some dirt. Twilight was grunting hard as she pulled Redguard from underneath his arms. Redguard kicked the dirt off him and before long they were both laying down on the ground catching their breath. After a while Redguard propped himself up but was instantly knocked down as Twilight wrapped him in a forceful hug, threatening to cut off his air supply again.

"Oh thank goodness. I almost didn't find you in there."

Redguard pushed her off of him gently. Twilight still continuing to talk.

"It was my fault! I stepped on a loose stone or something and it must've..." Suddenly a hand pressed against her mouth and Redguard muttered a very stern. "Shhh!"

Twilight nodded her head indicating that she would obey. Slowly, Redguard removed his hand and helped her up. Then he lifted his arm and sent a jet of flame into the ceiling. Illuminating their surroundings for a brief moment. His heart froze, and Twilight launched herself at Redguard gripping his arm in fear.

There were dead bodies. Dead bodies everywhere. They were laid out in open tombs, both standing up and laying down, adorned with ancient armor and ancient weapons as well as wrapped in ceremonial cloth. Then the flame went out.

Redguard bent over a little and whispered into Twilght's ear.

"Twilight, listen very carefully to me. We are in grave danger right now. I want you to watch as I light this place up again okay?"

Twilight nodded. Indicating that she understood. She didn't need Redguard to tell them they were in danger. Redguard cast his flames spell again and Twilight looked around taking as much detail as she could. She noticed an archway at the far end of this mausoleum. She also saw what looked like bones dangling from a sort of wire all the way down until about waist height.

"Did you see the bone chimes as well as the exit?"

"mmhmm" she replied quietly, her voice quivering.

"Avoid the bone chimes or we're dead. We'll have to crawl to make it to the exit. Understand?"

"mmmm hmmm." Twilight replied again. She didn't need Redguard to tell her that they were in danger. She had read all about the dreaded Draugr in one of Farengar's books.

"Okay then. Stay right behind me."

Redguard dropped down on all fours while Twilight followed suit. They crawled forward, Redguard illuminating the floor with his flames every now and then. He soon found out that some of the bone chimes reached all the way down to the floor and he had to signal Twilight to be careful. During the crawl, Twilight had stumbled upon some cloth with liquid that smelt oddly familiar. After a quick deliberation she discovered it was oil. Reaching out, she tugged at Redguard's hem. Redguard immediately turned around and upon seeing and smelling the cloth, grabbed it and wrapped it around a piece of timber that was laying close by. Lighting the torch with magic Redguard held the torch out in front of him so that they could see better. Because of this torch they were able to make the rest of the trip much quicker. Finally they reached the archway and discovered stairs leading upwards. Redguard gave the signal to stand up and Twilight nodded. As she stood she stepped on her own robes. Lost her balance and fell forward.

Redguard could only watch helplessly as Twilight knocked over an ancient weapon rack which then toppled over an empty bookshelf which somehow caused a domino effect knocking down every burial urn on one side of the wall, reaching a climax in one terribly loud crash. Twilight winced and both her and Redguard stood rooted to the spot, listening. Nothing stirred. Both Redguard and Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. Twilight stood up and raked her entire body with a low hanging bone chime.

"Run like hell!" Redguard damn near screamed as he grabbed Twilight's arm and yanked her toward the stairs. The bones had barely finished their deathly melody when the collective moans of the dead reverberated around the enclosed crypt. The sound of cracking bone and shifting metal could be heard as Both Twilight and Redguard pounded up the stone steps. several flights later they came upon an old and rotting oak door with a simple lock. Redguard tried to beat down the door thinking it had weakened with age but the aged wood held with stubborn resilience. Redguard reached down into his pouch and drew from it a simple looking lockpick.

"Twilight draw your sword and cover me!"

"What?!" She yelled back at him.

"Damn it Twilight! It's fight or die! Draw your sword!"

"O...Okay! I won't let you down!"

"I'm counting on you!" Redguard yelled back as he got to work on the lock.

Twilight drew her sword and prepared to fight. She starred down at the darkness below them. At first it looked as if nothing was coming. But soon the stale stench of death signalled their approach. Steely blank eyes penetrated the darkness and the Draugr started their charge up the stairs.

"Hurry Redguard." Twilight exclaimed not looking away from the darkness. She heard something snap and Redguard swore loudly.

"Don't distract me woman!"

Twilight cursed the fact that her magical abilities were diminishing. If she could still use her magic a simple unlocking spell would be all that was necessary. She didn't have any more time to dwell on regret's as the first Draugr had shambled up to her. Twilight froze out of fear for only the briefest of seconds, and then the Draugr swung his black sword at her clumsily. Twilight immediately sidestepped the blade and saw it bounce off the wall. She saw an opening to strike but she hesitated. The Draugr took advantage of her hesitance and reared back for another swing. Twilight held up her sword with both hands to block the strike. Steel clashed on steel and Twilight grit her teeth at the pain she felt in her wrist. Thinking quickly she placed her leg on creatures hip and with as much strength as she could, pushed the creature off balance and down the steps. The Draugr fell backwards, slamming against another Draugr coming up from below it, causing it to stumble and fall as well.

"Sorry!" She instinctively yelled after it.

Redguard sighed in relief, seeing that Twilight could hold her own. Finally hearing a click he opened the door to discover a small, nearly empty room with various embalming instruments and jars filled with oil. The only other exit was an Iron gate in front of them. Beyond that seemed to be a large room with a ceremonial Altar at the center. He tried to lift it but it wouldn't budge. He swore again. Twilight entered the door quickly and shut it behind her. She had almost begun to feel safe when the tip of an axe came through on the wood behind her, missing her head by inches. She yelped and scrambled away from the door.

"What do we do Redguard?"

Redguard didn't respond. He was too busy considering the Iron gate in front of him.

"I said what are we going to do now? They are going to break through!"

"This makes things simple..." He replied surprisingly calm. "...We fight or we die. Win it all or fall to hell. " He turned to Twilight and offered her his hand.

"Welcome to your first lesson in combat." He smiled.

Twilight considered his hand and in turn considered him. This man was a warrior, there was no doubt about it. He was so calm and collected even in the face of death. It was inspiring. His courage erased all fear from her mind. She accepted the hand and was pulled up.

"All right." She said allowing herself to smile despite the situation. "We fight together or we die together."

"Thats the spirit." Redguard replied, and in one movement drew his sword and charged his spell. Twilight kept her sword at the ready, the way she had seen Redguard do it.

"We'll have the advantage anyway, if we can keep the entrance clogged up we shouldnt be overrun."

Twilight barely had time to nod before the door splintered and gave way to the first wave of Draugr.

Redguard let loose a large blast of Ice and wind, Freezing the ground around the archway. The first two Draugr slipped and fell because of the slippery floor but one had gotten through. It was quickly dispatched by Redguard who impaled it before it could gain its balance. Finishing it off by severing it's head, He immediately engaged another Draugr who wielded an axe and shield.

'You can do this.' Twilight kept telling herself, doing best to keep her fear and doubt suppressed.

She saw a Draugr make it through the frozen archway and fall flat on its face in front of her. It looked up. It's steely eyes betraying no emotion or showing no fear.

'youcandothisyoucandothisyoucandothisyoucandothis'

The Draugr leapt from its position on all fours. Twilight jumped back, avoiding the attack. Looking around, the Draugr found his target and quickly rose from all fours, attacking Twilight with his sword. Twilight parried the blade, but just barely. Strands of her hair falling from where the blade had grazed her head accompanied by a drop of blood trickling down her cheek.

The pain made it instantly clear. If she died here, then she would never find her way home. There would be no chance of seeing her friends or family again. No crazy Pinky Pie parties, no Spike, No delicious Applecider, none of that. A seething rage enveloped Twilight as she thought of that possibility. The Draugr attacked again, but it was disarmed as Twilight charged forward slamming herself into the monster. It fell and Twilight drove the blade into the monsters chest.

"Kill, KILL!" She could hear Redguard yell over the fighting. She drew her Iron sword out from the Draugr and plunged it down on it again and again, until whatever life force that animated the corpse left it's body. She got up and noticed that another Draugr had gotten through. This one was wielding a greatsword. Twilight didn't panic or freeze. She knew exactly what to do. Nopony was going to stand in her way of seeing her friends again.

Twilight used her Telekenesis to grab a few jars of oil. In rapid succession they slammed into the Draugr's head causing it to stumble.

"Redguard! Fire!"

Redguard had finnished incinerating one Draugr already and had turned to Twilight. Seeing the Draugr drenched in black liquid he quickly shot a small jet of flame. The Draugr was Ignited and Twilight used her Telekenesis to smash a large stone into the burning Draugr's chest causing it to fall back into multiple Draugr, in the Archway. The archway burned as Twilight threw more and more oil jars into the inferno, intensifying the flames. For a moment both Twilight and Redguard caught there breath. They spared each other a glance, and Redguard gave a thumbs up of approval which strangely pleased Twilight. After the flames died, the Draugr came again and again and again.

Finally the last Draugr fell to Redguard's blade. The fighting seemed to have gone on for hours or so it seemed that way to Twilight. There had been too many close calls, and she was covered in bruises and cuts, some were deep and fresh blood still oozed from them. She let her sword fall from her hands and collapsed against a stone pillar sliding down until she was in a sitting position.

Redguard however remained standing and walked over to where Twilight had sat to rest. He knelt in front of her. Taking her chin in his hand he lifted it up so her eyes met his. He noticed that tears were mingling with the dirt and blood on her face.

"Good Job." He stated matter of factly. Twilight tried to smile but she was in too much pain. The adrenaline was leaving her, and the pain of her wounds intensified. Redguard charged up his healing spell. He lifted up her arm, with a long gash from her shoulder to her bicep.

"Ow! Owowowowow!"

"Oh quit your whining." Redguard said and placed his glowing hands on the serious wound. Twilight winced in anticipation of pain but quickly discovered that the pain was actually leaving her. In fact it felt very weird. She could feel her torn tissue reattaching themselves and at times it felt like the pain was...going back into her body? It was weird indeed. After healing all of her more severe wounds he started cleaning and bandaging her smaller ones. When Twilight asked him about it he simply replied.

"It's better to let the smaller, less life threatening wounds heal on their own. Otherwise your body runs the risk of being completely dependent on magic. Blood will stop clotting up, skin will stop regrowing and so on..."

As he spoke he reached into his bag and pulled out a small flask filled with a red liquid.

"This is a very healthy drink. This wont cause your body to be dependent, but instead boost your bodies immune and repair functions."

Twilight considered this and smiled.

"Thank you." She said sincerely when Redguard had finally finished.

Redguard shook his head. "Don't worry about it, you fought well. I'm going to head back down to the crypts and see if there is anything I can do to get this gate open. You just take it easy."

Twilight responded by returning the thumbs up he gave her earlier. Seeing that Twilight was okay for now he started down the stairway, bringing along a torch so he could see. He was careful not to slip and stepped over the bodies of the Draugr who had fallen down the stairs. As he entered the large room he cautiously stepped foreward making sure that no Draugr was waiting to ambush him. Satisfied that he had cleared the room, he stepped up to a ceremonial altar that looked important. The books were old, decrepit and unreadable. And there was no sign of any lever. He looked upwards towards where they had fallen and only saw stone. How or why the ancient Nords constructed such a contraption was beyond him. A number of scrolls caught his eye. They seemed to be in perfect condition. He unrolled one of them and when his eyes caught sight of its contents he let out a low whistle.

"This could be useful."

Just then he heard a distant sound of sliding metal as well as Twilight's frantic voice.

"Redguard! Help!"

Redguard sprinted through the crypt, pounding up the stone steps and scrambling through the remains of the dead Draugr. The gate had been opened and it was now closing. Seeing that Twilight was nowhere in sight he dove through the gate just as it was about to trap him in the tomb.

"Blasted gate...It never did close properly."

Redguard looked up towards the Alter and saw a limp Twilight laying on it. Over her stood a dark elf in black robes, he had a hand on her chest and the other hand was in the process of casting a spell. Redguard recognized the spell as drain life. Realization hit him like blow from a sledgehammer.

"Necromancer." He growled. Why else would there be so much restless dead in these tombs. Drawing his sword, he ran up to the altar.

"Ah ah ah! Not so fast!"

Stone doors dropped, and tombs opened from in front of the Altar. Draugr rose from the ground and walls to surround him. Redguard looked around and saw that there was no way through.

"Do you honestly think that you can just kill my army and get away with it? And exactly when I plan to execute wrath on those brainless Nords. A price must be paid, and what better payment then eternal servitude under my army." Redguard tensed up and scanned around for an advantage. The Draugr were leaving no gaps for him to exploit. It left him only one option.

"Your woman is such a catch too...such powerful magic deep within this girl. She would make the ultimate slave..."

Redguard sheathed his sword, and pulled out one of the scrolls he had taken earlier. The necromancer, unable to see what Redguard had drawn from his bag, continued to gloat.

"I'm glad that you're seeing things my way. How wonderful. I'll make sure to make your death quick and without violence. Just like this girl."

"You only get one chance. Get your hand off of her."

"Fool. You think you have control over me?" He snapped his fingers and the Draugr around him began to advance.

"Die now and join her in servitude."

In one motion Redguard tore the scroll in half, unleashing the magic bound to it. The two pieces of paper vaporized into white mist, and swirled up his arms. Before the Necromancer could understand what was happening, Redguard slammed his fist into the ground, unleashing torrent of Ice and wind. The cold explosion whirled around him, razor sharp shards of Ice, and gale force winds tore the walking dead apart. The Necromancer, broke his spell over Twilight in favor of protecting himself from the cold, with a spell. But it would do him no good. Faster than he could react, Redguard appeared from the Ice storm and leapt over the altar, embedding a nordic steel gauntlet into the Dark Elf's face. The Dark Elf was knocked out in one blow, but Redguard didn't stop, He held the Dark Elf up and continued to pound the necromancers face in. Finally when the snow storm stopped. He reached around and snapped the necromancer's neck.

Redguard hurryied to Twilight, panting hard and his fist sore despite being armored.

"Twilight wake up! TWILIGHT!"

Redguard bent over and listenened for a heart beat. He swore, and immediately started compressing her chest repeatedly.

Author's Note

Longest Chapter Yet. Chapters will be shorter but come more frequent from now on.

Chapter 07: A True True Friend

Author's Note

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!

Chapter 07: A True True Friend

It was Re-shelving day. It was the meticulous task of taking every book off of every shelf, dusting them, organizing them and placing it back in their proper places. Most librarians loathed this day, but not Twilight Sparkle. Even with unicorn magic, the task would consume most, if not the entire day, but none of that mattered to Twilight. She loved books and she loved organizing. As far as she was concerned, it was a perfect day.

Humming a simple tune, she piled book upon book, creating several stacks that covered almost the entire floor. She quickly got to work, dusting the shelves with a levitating duster. Just as she was developing a nice rhythm there was a knock on the door.

"Spike! Could you please get that?"

There was no answer, and the knocking continued.

"Spike?!"

Still no answer. Twilight grumbled to herself and dropped the duster. If she finds out that Spike had snuck off to sleep away his chores, she was going to be very upset. She reached the door and opened it with her hooves.

"Twilight, Darling! It's good to see you this morning. May I come in?"

Twilight grinned widely at the sight of Rarity, one of her best friends.

"Of course Rarity. Pardon the mess, It's re-shelving day so I hope you don't mind."

Rarity stepped in and raised a hoof to dismiss the apology.

"Of course I understand Twilight. The Carousel Boutique, isn't in any better shape believe you me. That large order from Canterlot has left my shop looking like a tornado run it through. Which brings me to why I am here. Do you, perchance, have any books related to ancient Equestrian fashions or art in general, I am in desperate need of inspiration."

Twilight thought for a moment, for the perfect book to lend her friend. Her face brightened up and she immediately made her way to the opposite end of the library with Rarity following suit.

"I have just the book Rarity, give me a minute."

Twilight began to sort through the books one by one with her magic. She finished the first pile, before shaking her head and moving to the pile of books next to her. Rarity waited patiently by her side when she noticed something.

"Twilight. Dear, are you hurt?"

"I'm fine Rarity. Why do you ask?"

Rarity took a step back. Twilight noticed this and turned to look at her slowly retreating friend. Looking at her curiously, Twilight noticed that Rarity's eyes were glued to Twilight's hooves. Upon looking down at her hooves she noticed that they were covered in blood. Dried, coagulated blood.

Twilight looked from her hooves back up to Rarity.

"Rarity I..." Before Twilight could even attempt to explain, her friend had just back peddled into a closet door. It swung inward and Rarity landed on something hard, when she pulled herself back up, she found herself covered in blood. Rarity jumped out of the closet allowing the light to shine inside, revealing the mangled corpse of a familiar looking bandit.

Rarity screamed, and Twilight screamed with her. The whole room spun and everything went black. The blackness consumed everything until suddenly spots of color began to swirl in her vision before forming the concrete picture of Celestia's throne room. She attempted to move but found that she was chained around the neck to a giant iron ball. Her hooves were restrained by several lengths of rope and to her horror, her horn had been sawed off.

"What's going on?! Where am I?"

A bright flash of light briefly blinded Twilight, and when her vision cleared she saw Princess Celestia sitting on her throne. At first Twilight was relieved to see her, but upon making eye contact felt an increasing amount of dread. Gone were her motherly eyes filled with wisdom and patience, in their place were fiery embers drilling into Twilight's soul.

"Twilight Sparkle, I am very disappointed in you." She spoke, in a voice that was not quite Celestia's, but nevertheless caused Twilight's blood to run cold.

"To think that the element of magic, and my very own pupil could be capable of such acts."

"Princess Celestia. Please. You have to listen to me."

"SILENCE!" Came Celestia's royal canterlot voice at full volume. Twilight folded her ears back instinctively. But the harshness of the princess' words had been felt. Twilight started to sob.

"DO YOU DENY THE MURDER OF THAT POOR CREATURE?"

Twilight tried to speak, but only a faint whimper came out in her defense.

"SPEAK!"

Twilight tried again, but nothing came out this time. She tried drawing breath but nothing could come in or out. Celestia snorted.

"YOUR SILENCE CONDEMNS YOU AS WELL AS THE EVIDENCE. JURY! WHAT SAY YOU?"

There was another flash of white, And Twilight found herself looking up at a very large podium. Standing at this podium were her friends. Twilight's heart swelled when she saw them and for a moment her tears stopped flowing.

"Girls, I..."

"Banish her, Princess."

Twilight's words died in her throat, as she turned to the one who had spoken. Rainbow Dash, the element of loyalty and somepony she thought she could count on to stand by her side, looked down at her with disgust. Rainbow Dash topflapping her wings and folding her fetlocks looking down at her with intense disgust.

"I'm with Dashie. There's no place in Equestria for a miss meanie murder pants." Said Pinkie Pie, who had her back to her.

"I say hang her. A life for a life. It's only fair." Said Applejack who nodded and turned to Fluttershy, who's pink mane was barely visible above the podium.

"What do ya think sugarcube?"

"Uhm...I just want her gone...If that's alright with everypony else."

At this moment Twilight clamped her ears shut. Not wanting to hear another word but their voices still came through to her as clear as if she wasn't covering her ears at all.

Rarity humphed.

"Although I agree with Applejack that a fair price has to be paid. I refuse to resort to such barbaric practices of justice. A simple banishment should suffice."

Celestia nodded her head accepting their opinions, before turning to the final juror.

"And what of you dear sister? What sentence do you find appropriate?"

Twilight was sobbing uncontrollably at this point, Her hooves over her head cowering before her friends. What she didn't see was Luna's expression. Her eyes were wide in shock and her mouth was slightly agape. Her ears were flat upon her head and her mane did not flow.

"Twilight...why art thou dreaming of such things? What hath transpired?"

"Then it is settled!" Celestia declared, cutting Luna off.

"TWILIGHT SPARKLE! FOR MURDER! I SENTENCE YOU TO BANISHMENT, IN TARTARUS FOR THE REST OF YOUR NATURAL LIFE!" She boomed. The marble floor ruptured and the cold hands of the Draugr reached up and grabbed Twilight through the cracks. Her sorrow turned to horror as she was dragged slowly and painfully through the tight cracks in the floor. Celestia and her friends disappeared in swirls of black smoke as Celestia's throne room started to collapse. Just as she was about to disappear through the floor. Midnight Blue hooves dipped into the floor and grabbed Twilight.

Princess Luna desperately tried to cling onto Twilight. Her horn was glowing as she tried to prevent the dream from collapsing. The last thing Twilight saw was Luna's desperate expression and her mouth moving, trying to speak to her through the chaos.

Twilight jerked awake. What greeted her was the feeling of a warm mattress underneath her, and several wool blankets pressing down on her contributing to the warmth. A ceiling made of thick wooden logs and drapes of fur was above her. The dim light of morning mingled with the smoke of a crackling fire as it passed through an open hatch on the roof. After a moment of staring at this ceiling Twilight took a deep, shaky, breath and brought a hand to her face, feeling the still fresh tears making their way down her human cheeks. The finer details of the dream had already begun to disappear, but what remained was a sense of deep, crushing sadness.

Twilight propped herself up from her bed and dried her eyes and tried to get her bearings. The last thing she remembered was screaming for Redguard after being grabbed from behind. She also remembered being struck by something hard on the head. She reached up to where she felt being hit and did not feel any sign of a wound or bump. Twilight checked her other wounds and noticed that they had all completely healed, with the exception of some faint scars.

How long had she been out? Her mind exploded with hundreds of possibilities on how she could have ended up in her present situation. All of those possibilities had one question in common. What happened to Redguard? Pretty soon that was the number one concern on her mind. She looked around the room but saw no sign of him. She became more and more frantic and decided that she should get out of bed and look for him. Just as she was about to move the door opened and in stepped a woman. She was elderly but still retained many features of her youth. Her eyes settled upon Twilight.

"Goodmorning." Twilight said hesitantly, after a brief silence.

Twilight could see the woman visibly suppress a chuckle at her response.

"Good morning indeed. I had expected you to be asleep for longer than a day. It seems that you're made of much sterner stuff than first thought." The woman moved to the side of Twilights bed. Twilight then noticed a steel dagger hanging around a belt on her waist and immediately backed away from her. Twilight's hand searched for a weapon under her sheets but none were found. The woman paused when she saw Twilight's reaction and simply laughed.

"Come now girl. If I meant you any harm, wouldn't it have been smarter of me to attack you while you slept?"

Twilight realized this and slowly relaxed, but only slightly.

"Sorry. I've just been through a lot recently. Would you mind telling me where I am and who you are?"

The woman nodded and sat on Twilight's bed.

"Fair enough questions. My name is Agnes. You are in my home in Aivarsted, of the hold of Falkreath. My nephew and I stumbled upon you and your friend as we entered the tomb. It seems that we owe you a great debt."

Twilight was a little confused, but before she could ask what for Agnes continued.

"If it weren't for you and your friend I would most likely be dead. Vals Veran would have killed me and the rest of Aivarsted with his army of draugr.
Twilight cut her off.

"I'm sorry. But you said me and my friend. Did you mean Redguard? Uh I mean, the Redguard that was with me?"

Agnes nodded.

"We helped him bring you hear. He instructed us to take good care of you and was even willing to pay. But we simply could not accept payment after what both of you have done for us."

"I...I see."

Twilight sighed. Redguard had left her behind. She recalled the argument they had prior to collapsing into the ruin. She was only slowing him down. She would get herself killed. Even after everything they had been together in that ruin and by the bandit camp, he had decided to abandon her. That feeling of crushing sadness grew even more. Twilight took another deep breath and released it, this time it was to keep her composure. Her now dry eyes were just about to well up with tears.

"He didn't leave anything for me did he? Like a note, or instructions?" She asked turning her head away from Agnes, just in case she failed to keep the tears from forming.

Agnes scoffed.

"Dear girl, I never said he left."

Twilight paused for a moment before looking back at Agnes.

Agnes nodded to the foot of Twilights bed. Twilight moved to a crawling position and peered over the footboard of the bed. Sure enough there was Redguard. Sleeping against the stone wall. His chest rising and falling slowly. Twilight suppressed a grin. He was the most silent sleeper she had ever seen.

"He's responsible for resuscitating you. He's a very talented healer."

Agnes stood up from the bed.

"I'll let you decide if you want to wake him, I have some fruit and dried venison waiting for you when you're ready."

She moved towards the door and went to shut it before adding. "You're lucky to be alive." Twilight sparkle nodded her thanks before slipping our of the bed. She wore only the under tunic of her novice robes, noticing that they were wrinkled, she straightened them out the best she could and gently patted down her bed-head hair. Content that she was at least presentable. She made her way around the bed and knelt down in front of Redguard.

The crushing sadness was gone. In it's place was a feeling Twilight could not really describe. The closest feeling she could come up with was intense relief. Yes that had to be it. After debating whether or not to wake him up, Twilight decided to just let him sleep. As she tried to pick herself up to leave she found herself stopping and being drawn back to her friend by some kind of curious force.

This was the first time she had really seen Redguard asleep. His face, that was normally partially concealed by his hood had been lowered, revealing his brown skin and jet black hair. His jagged features were relaxed and looked much more boyish than she remembered. He just looked so peaceful. Twilight had to stop herself. She was inches from his face, examining all the little details from the small scars to his hairline.

"This is wrong. And admittedly, very creepy." A voice in her head scolded her.

"But it's for science! You'll never get this close again!" A more eccentric voice responded.

"Very Creepy!" The voice scolded her again.

"S.C.I.E.N.C.E. SCIENCE!" The eccentric voice cheerfully responded.

"Wrong! With a capital W! How would you like it if somepony examined your facial features in such intricate detail!"

"You know..." Interrupted a third voice. This one sounding very alien to her. "...he would make for a very strapping stallion."

Twilight jerked back and just about slapped herself in the face. Instead she settled for a long release of a breath she didn't know she had been holding. Twilight came to the decision right then and there that it would be a good idea to just wake him up. As she moved her hand to gently shake him awake. She froze. Redguard was staring right at her with both eyes slightly open. An amused grin forming on his face.

"Goodmorning."

He greeted.

Twilight tried to responded but her body was pumping so much blood to her head that it was almost impossible to say something and not sound like a complete idiot. Redguard yawned as he slowly got up, stretching his arms to his side and turning his neck to relieve it of stiffness.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

Twilight finally got her voice back.

"Good."

"Perfect. I want to get out of here and reach High Hrothgar as soon as possible. We've already had one too many delays."

Twilight smiled and crossed her arms.

"So it's been settled then. I'm coming with you."

Redguard pulled the hood over his head as he chuckled.

"Yeah. You are." He offered his hand to pull Twilight off the floor. Twilight remembered the time in the ruins when he had offered his hand to her. The strength he offered her was not unlike the strength her friends had given her. It was different of course, but at the same time it was very similar. Twilight grabbed his hand and was pulled onto her feet.

Universes away. A sleeping Celestia was awoken by the pounding of hooves on her window. Celestia sprung out of bed and Galloped to the window, not bothering to use magic to swing it open. Luna looked utterly horrified and hugged her sister with all her might.

"Dear sister, what is it? Do you have news of Twilight? Is she alive?"

Luna broke the hug and nodded. A flash of joy spread across Celestia's features, but it quickly disappeared upon seeing Luna's countenance. She took a step back to let Luna compose herself.

"Thy dear student...My friend. I found her...but..."

Celestia placed a gentle hoof on her sisters muzzle.

"Say no more dear sister. I think it is best that we contact her friends. I made a promise that as soon as I had any news of her that they would be the first to hear of it."

Luna nodded and wrapped her forehooves around her sister. Celestia nuzzled her back. For once, since Twilight's disappearance, she had hope.

Chapter 08: Not Alone

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