Chapter 11

A Risky Task

It was a clear day. The sun shun down on a traveling merchant as his travels lead him to neighboring villages. He was grey with dark eyes, and a blond mane and tail. His facial hair had been growing ever since his departure from the last village. His wagon was filled with supplies ready to be sold once he reached the next town. Tired after two days of trekking down the road, he pulled over to the side of the trail for a well-deserved rest. He had taken this rout many times in the past so it was no trouble for him to know where he was supposed to go after his nap. Settling down inside his wagon, the earth pony laid on his bed waiting for sleep to come.

Deep in the woods, Nimph, the exiled unicorn and former student of the deceased Star Swirl the Bearded, laid out the scroll she had taken from her house before it along with the rest of her town was burnt to the ground. The scroll she had taken was one of many unfinished works her teacher had begun before his passing. Along with the scroll she had brought, she also had a few spell books handy and a wooden water bottle. All of which were stuffed in her rough sack with a blanket she had completely forgotten to take out after the last time she had traveled to a far away town. Once again she tried to make out what the scroll meant, but try as she might, she couldn’t find anything resembling the language that had been written down. This wasn’t the first time she had come face to face with an unknown tongue. Romulus, the now dead member of the Higher Class Unicorn’s Guild, had spoken in a language she had never heard before when the two of them preformed a summoning spell that released The Defiler from his prison. She tried to decipher the scroll once before, but had no luck. Flipping through the pages of one of her books she tried to find something, anything that could help her solve the scroll.

Nimph had been traveling for three weeks now. She kept her distance from neighboring towns incase they too would be in danger from The Defiler’s wrath. She came across small rivers and lakes along the way, which she took full advantage of when her water bottle was coming close to being empty. Despite having something to sleep under during the long dark and sometimes dangerous nights, Nimph couldn’t help but wonder how the rest of the town ponies were doing. Had they found help during her absence? Did they receive help from neighboring towns once word had spread out about a fire that had covered their homeland? Most importantly her thoughts went to her family. Are they alright? Are they even thinking about her? She wanted to believe so, but after what she had done, it wouldn’t be no surprise if anyone wasn’t thinking kindly of her after what had happened. After all, it was all hers and Romulus' fault that their homes were gone. Their fault that such a terrible beast is now free to cause terror wherever he chooses. Nimph had once thought that having Star Swirl’s magic at her disposal would mean not only absolute respect from her peers, but she could continue her teachers work in helping ponies discover new spells that could help them all in the future. Now she wasn’t so sure. How could her mentor have made such a dangerous spell? Star Swirl was thought as a wise old caster, but rumors of him seeking darker power had begun to pop up before his passing. It became clear to Nimph that The Defiler was in fact living proof of that now.

Nimph let these feelings of fear and hatred toward her former teacher give her the strength she needed to carry on with her important task to set things right! She wouldn’t let anyone else suffer in the same way she had! She must solve the scroll she had in her possession. Maybe it could help bring her one step closer in stopping The Defiler! Sometimes in the middle of the night, she awoke from nightmares that involved her coming close to the dragon and at times she thought she could hear the distant flapping of the beasts enormous wings as he flew overhead unaware of the last threat daring to challenge him. Exhausted from another sleepless night, Nimph's travels lead her to a wagon that was pulled over on the side of a beaten down path. The green roof seemed to beckon her near. The wheels remained tightly secured and whoever was pulling it must be inside. Nimph felt her eyes closing on her, but still she continued to approach the doors. She had just reached the ladder when she felt her legs give way and her body fell to the ground. There came the sound of someone moving from inside the wagon. The doors opened and an earth pony came galloping out.

“Miss. Hey Miss! Can you hear me?!”

The pony looked around to make sure the fainted mare wasn’t being followed or that this was some sort of trick from bandits before he lifted her up on his back and took her inside.

Nimph felt something wet on her forehead. She woke to see that the once clear sky was now filled with rain clouds. She looked around to see that she was back in her village. It was still in ruins. She spotted an all too familiar filly in the distance and hurried over to her. Once the filly saw Nimph she backed away glaring at her.

“Stay back!” she demanded raising up a hoof.

Her eyes were red from crying and her face was livid with rage!

“Auntie Nimph, how could you do this to us!?” demanded the upset child.

“Rose Petal… I’m so sorry… Oh Rose, You have to believe me! I never wanted this to happen!”

Nimph pleaded with her niece feeling tears begin to fall down her cheeks.

“You Stay away from my daughter!” roared Nimph’s older sister as she galloped toward them and stepped in front of the crying filly. “You stay away from my family!”

“Sister please, I can fix this! I know I can! If you give me some time I…”

“No Nimph,” came a saddened voice.

Nimphs brother in law came into view. He too blocked Rose Petal from view and he and his wife glared down at Nimph.

“Stay away from us!” he growled. “I don’t want you come near our daughter again!”

“No, Please! I can fix this! Sister please, I know I can!”

Nimph’s tears fell, but the two in front of her looked down in disgust and turned away. The two place a hoof on their daughter and left the sobbing unicorn where she was. As the helpless mare continued to sob, she cried out after the retreating backs.

“Rose Petal! I’m Sorry! I…”

But before she could finish she heard the deep growls of something drawing close in the shadows. Nimph had a horrible feeling of who it was and just when she was about to warn the retreating family of three, there was a loud roar and the ponies were covered in red and orange flames. There was no time for them to scream, no time to escape! The fire covered them and in seconds they were gone!

“NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”

Nimph shot up with her hoof outstretched! She wasn’t back in her village; she had been having nightmares again! Tears continued to fall as she continued to shake in fear. Once she had finally calmed down, she looked around trying to figure out where she was. It was a cramped place. The room was stacked with items ready for selling on the sides. She had been laying on a bed. Its red sheets neatly pressed and a feeling of warmth behind her told her that there was a window beside her. The sun’s warmth shun through the small living courters. The doors stood closed straight ahead. Despite the small space, there was a small kitchen inside as well. Before she could take anything else in, the front doors opened and an earth pony holding a bucket in his mouth stepped in.

“Ah, you’re awake!” he said after placing the bucket on the counter. “Good thing too, you had me worried for a moment there for a moment! Thrashing around in your sleep like that, sweating and all; I thought you had come down with something!”

“Where am I?” Nimph asked getting out of bed.

“Your in my wagon,” replied the pony poring water in a pot. “Your welcome to stay and eat. I was just about to switch the soup with this.”

“I don’t want to be any more trouble,” said Nimph making to leave the bed.

“Think nothing of it," said the pony casually. "I was happy to help!"

Before he picked the pot up to go back he stopped and asked, "What were you doing out there anyway?”

“Traveling,” said Nimph simply.

“Aren’t we all?” said the pony kindly. “You must have your reasons? As for me, I’m just your average run-of-the-mill merchant.”

Nimph said nothing. The pony took the pot outside while Nimph remained silent. She didn’t want to hang around any longer. She had to keep her distance from other ponies so they too wouldn’t be in danger if she comes face to face with The Defiler.

“Where’s my sack?” She asked looking around for her belongings.

“They're safe, don’t worry,” said the merchant coming back inside for a couple bowls and cups. “Hmmm... You appear to be well. That’s good, well at least have a drink before you leave.”

“Ok. I suppose I can,” said Nimph thinking that a drink sounded like just the thing she needed.

Outside the wagon he lead her to a campfire he had started. A pot full of soup was steaming. The scent of warm food made Nimph’s mouth water. The merchant stirred the soup and sampled a taste. Scratching his chin thoughtfully he added a few herbs to it before proclaiming it good enough to eat and sat the pot filled with water over the fire. He caught Nimph eyeing the soup out the corner of his eyes and made to pour them both a bowl.

“Go on,” suggested the merchant handing her a bowl. “Eat up, you look like you need it.”

“I don’t! Really its fine, I’ll just have a drink.”

Even as she said it, Nimph’s stomach growled and she blushed. The Merchant held out the bowl again, this time Nimph took it and started to eat. The spoon levitated up to her mouth as she took a bite.

“The tea should be a while, but have as much soup as you like in the mean time,” said the merchant smiling at her.

“Thank you,” said Nimph.

The two ate in silence before the water was brought to a boil and Nimph offered to help with the tea. She levitated the pot, moving it away from the fire and poured them each a cup. She then placed crumpled up tea leaves inside the hot water and let the merchant’s cup hover over to him.

“You Unicorns always fascinate me!” he said happily as he drank.

“It's nothing too great,” said Nimph blushing slightly.

“Are you kidding?!” exclaimed the earth pony. “I only wish I could do the things you are able to do! It would make lifting things a lot easier! Carrying hot things can be a real pain when your mouth and hooves are all you got!”

“I suppose you got me there,” said Nimph thoughtfully. “Oh, my name is Nimph by the way. What can I call you Mister Merchant?”

“Nothing, like I said I’m just a merchant!”

Nimph couldn’t help but to like this pony, he was a kind fellow who had gone out of his way to help her and the least she could do now was to leave before she brought trouble down on him. Before she left she thanked the earth pony for his kind hospitality. He told her that it wasn’t any trouble and offered to give her a ride to the next town. Originally Nimph wanted to avoid doing that, but when she had finally explained to him what she was out there doing. Of course she avoided telling him too much and went with the story of traveling to see the dragon migration. The merchant told her that she might find someone in the next town who might be willing to help. So against her better judgment, she took the merchant up on his offer again and together they traveled to the next village where she left the pony with a kind smile and headed off to the area he had told her about. She came across the very place that she was directed toward. A small village watering hole was open. Upon entering she was greeted by loud talking as ponies drank and discussed matters over salt licks; while others laughed at jokes being cracked. It was truly, a noisy place!

Nimph was about try somewhere else when she spotted a unicorn that was beside himself apparently resting. He was leaning on his stool with his back against the wall, his black hat had a ruffled feather and two holes in it. His horn was poking out of the second hole where it laid tilted down covering his eyes.

“What can I get ya?” asked one of the ponies passing by with a tray on her back.

“Oh, water will be fine,” said Nimph taken aback by the sudden approach.

The mare nodded in understanding and resumed her way toward the table filled with laughing earth ponies. Nimph sat next to the sleeping unicorn and continued to look around for someone who looked like they might be willing to help her. Now that she was close to the sleeping stallion she saw that he was red. his short blue tail twitched as he continued to snore. His hooves were folded and along with his black hat, he wore a black vest. Suddenly the unicorn’s snoring stopped and for a brief second Nimph thought he was still sleeping, but then…

“May Ah help you?” asked a female voice.

Nimph was startled by the stallion’s…. No, mares sudden notice of her. Had she known that she was sitting beside her all this time?

“Not unless you can tell me where I could find somepony who can help me,” said Nimph.

“Well, that depends,” said the mare sitting up and leaving her hat where it was.

“Sorry?” said Nimph confused.

“What Ah mean is, why else would y’all be approachen me if you haven’t anything to ask of me?”

Nimph stared at her. Was this mare for real? Why would she assume that the only reason she sat next to her was so she could ask her for help? Unless…

“I suppose you couldn’t tell me what any of this means,” said Nimph taking the scroll out of her sack and sliding it across the table.

The red unicorn plucked her hat up in order to read the scroll once she had unfolded it. Nimph waited while the red unicorn continued to read what was given to her. Nimph’s water arrived before the red unicorn passed the scroll back.

“Well, what do you think?” asked Nimph hopefully.

“Ah have no idea what any of it means,” said the unicorn rubbing her eyes.

“Great,” said Nimph disappointed. “I guess you don’t know anypony who might? Excuse me, did you…”

“Hold that thought,” said the unicorn now eyeing one of the earth ponies who had just risen form his seat.

He saw the two staring at him and turned around wanting more than anything to leave, but the unicorn made a slight “Tch” sound as she too made to leave. Her horn glowed and the stallion stood frozen on the spot. His body turned back facing the two mares and the red unicorn stood up from her seat and approached the rigid stallion. Around them ponies looked over to see why the stallion had been stopped, but when they saw the red unicorn making her way toward him, they went back to their business as if nothing was wrong. Nimph had a feeling that this unicorn meant business and she might have asked the wrong mare to help her after all. Although he was unable to move he was more than capable of speaking his mind. A sly grin edged across his face as the two exchanged a few words. Nimph could tell that his words came out as more fearful then calm. In one swift movement the unicorn made the earth pony float upside down and shook him until a money sack fell from his pocket. Letting him float in mid air she took the sack and took out several gold bits before placing the sack back in her captive’s pocket. She winked at him before releasing her spell that sent him crumbling to the floor. Rubbing his head, the stallion stood up and galloped out of the bar at top speed.

Nimph stared bewildered as the unicorn made her way back to their table. Her horn was now poking through the first hole. Her ruby eyes were now noticeable as she sat back down.

“Sorry about that,” she said as if they had been rudely interrupted. “Now, where were we?”

“What was that all about?” asked Nimph unsure if she wanted to hear the answer.

“Oh, that?” questioned the red unicorn smirking. “Just another client refusing to pay me for mah services.”

“By services you mean?” began Nimph.

“Ah have no problem helpen out anypony who asks, but there are some things that require payment for mah help. For instance that fellow who just left… Yah see, Ah helped him out with his problem dealing with some nasty critters back at the farm. And Ah expect payment for mah work.”

She took her hat off revealing her short blue mane. She looked at the second hole frowning at it as if she had endured a heavy loss. “Yah see, those rodents bit a hole in mah hat and Ah really like this hat.”

She let out a long sigh before placing the hat back on.

“But enough about that. You wanted to know if Ah knew anypony who might know what your…. What ever that is, means yes?”

“That’s right,” said Nimph. “Do you know anypony that can help me?”

“No, I’m afraid Ah don’t,” said the red unicorn apologetically.

Even though Nimph had expected that answer, it came as real blow nonetheless. The red mare looked at her curiously and asked why she wanted help with the scroll. It was then, that Nimph knew that the only way she was going to get any help was to tell the whole story. Taking a deep breath she began to tell the unicorn about how she was a student of Star Swirl the Bearded and how she was tricked into helping Romulus with the spell that released The Defiler on their town. The red Unicorn listened closely, her expression serious. When Nimph had finished her tale. The mare was beside herself.

“Well, that’s quite a story Ms. Nimph,” said the unicorn taking pity on her. “Ah might know a way for you to find out what that scroll means…”

“Really? What is it?” asked Nimph feeling excited.

“Yes, but it's risky.” replied the unicorn nervously.

“Please, I will do anything to make things right.”

“Ah have no doubt in that darlin’ but… Shoot! Yah ain’t the first pony to mention dragons this week.”

“Is that so?” asked Nimph interested.

“Yep, Ah had royalty come up to me and ask if Ah knew where he could find any dragons around. Well, Ah told him where Ah thought they might be hiding. After what y’all told me, its starting to make since. That would explain why they haven’t started migrating yet. Ah recon they might be scared of that Defiler thing!”

“I can understand why,” said Nimph her eyes shrinking as the thought of The Defiler frightened her. “But, why was somepony of royalty looking for them? What do the rest of the dragons have to do with… with…”

Then the answer came to her with the force that no spell could reenact. She let the spell levitating her cup fade and with a clang the remaining water spread on the table.

“What?” asked the red unicorn worriedly.

“That’s what the scroll is… Of course! Oh, Nimph, you're such a fool! Why didn’t you see it sooner?!”

“See what?” asked the unicorn.

Nimph leaned forward so they wouldn't be overheard.

“The language on the scroll is the same kind Romulus spoke to The Defiler and Star Swirl knew the language too! And if The Defiler understood it, then that would mean so do the rest of the dragons!”

“Yah think so? Well, if that's true, that would mean y’all would have ta…”

“Find the dragons in hiding,” finished Nimph feeling her legs shake as she said it.

“Alright, if you're sure about this come on. I’ll point you in the right direction.” said the red unicorn rising from her seat.

Once outside she lead Nimph to the edge of town where she pointed her hoof up in the mountains where a cave was. Nimph knew that the only way to end this, was to understand what the scroll meant; and to do that she must come face to face with a dragon!

“Be brave Nimph,” said the unicorn beside her. “You can do this! If a royal Alicorn can go up there and succeed, so can you!”

“Thank you,” said Nimph gratefully to the unicorn. “Oh, I guess you want to be paid right? How much do I owe you?”

“Now why would anypony want to be paid for given directions?” said the unicorn winking at her. “ It was mah pleasure Ms. Nimph and if yah need help from anypony in town next time around, just ask for Whip Lash!”

And with that, Whip Lash galloped off back into town where no doubt she had other ponies in need of assistance! Nimph stared off into the direction of the mountains ahead of her and she too galloped off in search for the cave that Whip Lash had told her about. Finding the cave proved to be easier said than done. While the last pony searching was an Alicorn and had wings to help him have a better view of his surroundings, Nimph was a unicorn, which meant she was going to have to rely on teleportation, but she didn’t want to over jump and miss the cave. If that happened who knows how long she would be wondering around without ever finding it. Luckily it only took her two attempts with teleporting before she found what she was looking for. The mouth of the cave stretched out of the ground. The rocky surface had been covered by moss and tree roots. She approached the cave, her horn began to glow as she prepared to venture onward. The cave on the inside was dark and damp. Water leaked from the cracks in the walls. If there were any dragons near by she would have found one by now. Still, she continued on her path, the cave deepened and the smell of something rotting filled her snout. She followed the smell until it led her to a dead end. The scent turned out to be the skeletal remains of fish. She looked around the part of the cave that she was in. Nimph had come down a slope that led her to the end of the cave. Water had filled up a part of the cave making the way down slippery. The water continued to flow across to the rocky floor where a large puddle had formed. Nimph leaned against the wall and wondered if the dragons were not here, then where were they? As she thought on where to go next, the wall behind her inflated. She turned to the wall noticing something different about it. Around her the rest of the walls were solid and smooth while this part was rough and... moving…

Nimph's light from her horn shun on the wall in front of her that continued to rise up and down. Oh no, the wall wasn’t a wall at all the more she looked at it! It was all scaly and began to shift. Nimph backed away slowly as the thing in front of her turned. A long neck came into view. The light from Nimph’s horn shun on it making the thing growl as one of its eyes opened showing a shrunken black pupil. The dragon’s neck rose to the ceiling and it stared down at the scared stiff unicorn. The dragon snarled at her then lowered its head to her height sniffing her.

“You're far from the village little one,” it said in a low grumble. “Tell me, why have you come where you are not wanted?”

Nimph could smell the dragon’s fishy breath. With her legs shaking she spoke.

“I… I came here t… To ask a favor,”

“Favor you say?” inquired the dragon humorously. “And why would I want to help you?”

“Be… Because I know the thing you fear is wondering around outside at this very moment! And if you can’t help me, we won’t be able to get rid of him!”

“Him?” growled the dragon questionably.

“Yes, he is the reason why you’re not migrating isn’t he. You’re all scared of him aren’t you? The Defiler…”

“Do not use that name in front of me little pony!” the Dragon snarled showing his long sharp teeth.

Nimph could practically see the fire dancing in the creatures emerald eyes as the The Defiler was mentioned. Nimph knew she was too far down the rabbit hole to run now. She stood her ground and glared back at the dragon.

“That monster destroyed my home!” she said angrily. “You are all scared of him because you don’t know how he was stopped last time!”

“You are treading on very thin ice little one!” the dragon growled bending his neck back as though at any moment he could attack her if he wanted to.

“If your going to eat me, it would be the least I deserve for releasing him!” she shot back. “But before you do that, I want you to see something I brought for you!”

The dragon watched as Nimph levitated the scroll out of her rough sack and let it drift up to the dragon’s eyes and unfold. He snarled again and began to read.

“Where did you get this?” he said growing madder.

It wasn’t a question. He demanded to know how she came across the scroll.

“It was my teachers, he made it! Star Swirl the Bearded.”

“No," said the dragon in disbelief. "I have seen this only once, but it was in its original form. carved in stone deep within the caverns of the mountains! How did he find it?!”

“I don’t know,” said NImph truthfully. “But if you want to see The Defiler finished, you need to help me! What does it say?”

The dragon snorted. He had seen the words on the scroll only once, but this time it had been scrambled and reimagined. This time it was meant for a counter spell. The very thing that could be able to stop The Defiler!

“I don’t know how this Star Swirl could have found it, but what he did to it… It might be just the thing we need.”

“You mean,” said Nimph looking up at the dragon feeling accomplished.

“Yes,” replied the dragon intrigued by this discovery. “Very well, I will help you. But in return you must promise that you will hand this scroll over to the dragons when it is done.”

“Wait, aren’t you going to help?” asked Nimph taken aback.

“I will help you translate the scroll, but I can’t cast the spell. We dragons know nothing about casting magic.”

“I understand. Thank you,” said Nimph feeling glad that she was at last getting somewhere.

“I will not only tell you what it means, but I will also teach you how to say the spell in our tongue. The spell needs the caster to speak the language of the dragons in order for it to work."

"Do you really think you can teach me you language in such a short amount of time?" asked Nimph skeptically.

"Enel ve." said the dragon chuckling.

"What does that mean?"

"Consider that your first lesson." the dragon said smiling. "It means, "Trust me."

Once the dragon told Nimph what the spell meant, it was the exact same thing as the spell used to summon The Defiler except this time, at the end she would have to say, “Thric throdenilt, qe gethrisja” which translated to, “No more, be gone.” The dragon also informed her that the words were originally intended to be a part of a lullaby, but Star Swirl had taken what he had learned about the song and turned it into dark magic. This counter spell meant only one thing. In order to send The Defiler back to his prison, Nimph would have to give the spell something else as an offering in order for it to work. What that thing was, dawned on her. The dragon noticed Nimph’s silence and understood what had to be done for the spell to work.

“Be brave little pony," he said lifting her chin up gently with his pointy fingernail. "You have the power to end this.”

“I know,” said Nimph in understanding. “Thank you for your help.”

“No, thank you little pony,” said the dragon bowing his scaly head to her. “Good luck and “Nomag hesi paths morshin tenamalo creol kear.”

“And I wish the same too you. What ever that meant.” said Nimph smiling at the giant reptile before her.

Just when Nimph was about to leave, a low growl met her ears. The dragon shot his head up; his eyes shrank again. This time they were filled with fear. He sniffed the air and growled back at the approaching thing coming toward them.

“What is it?” asked Nimph looking up at the slope behind her; the sound of water shifting drew close. “More dragons?”

“He is no Dragon!” snarled the large reptile through gritted teeth. “Hurry you must hide!”

Author's Notes:

Thank you all for sticking with the story so far! After this, only five chapters remain!