Here it is, at last! Enjoy!

Chapter edited by: Nazidash - Thanks!

I was finally out of that hospital after countless of surgeries. It appeared that my injuries were more severe than they originally thought, more deadly than they dared to think. But several operations later, and I was back out on the street. Again I was informed that I was “lucky” to survive that brutal assault, but again I told myself how that wasn’t true. As far as I could tell, I was one of the unluckiest persons in the world; at least in my own personal opinion.

I knew there were countless of people around the globe in far worse situation than I was in, so I couldn’t complain. I could only be grateful to be still alive and still breathing the air. I got to see another sunset and, unfortunately, not everyone gets that chance.

I decided to move on and to forget about the past. But it was harder than it seemed. In fact, life started to get significantly worse after the assault. Despite of everybody’s knowledge about my misfortune, I got bullied again in school by another gang. They even humiliated me in the school’s hallway day after day by tossing my bag around, putting me into a headlock, hitting me, slapping me, calling me names and lots of other humiliating ways to break me down spiritually. But I always stayed strong and stood my ground. I never gave them any satisfaction by holding the peace.

No one seemed to do a thing about it, though. Everybody either just watched or ignored it. And by no one, I mean that not a single person decided to even lift a finger for my aid, not even the teachers. Maybe they didn’t want to mess with them, or maybe they wanted to stay out of it, or perhaps they simply didn’t care. I did notice from time to time a person who felt sympathy; a person who wanted to help me. But they did nothing about it anyways. Even my ex-girlfriend didn’t pay attention to it, and she knew I still had some feelings for her. That one girl with the brown, silky smooth and long hair, and her beautiful blue eyes. Once always smiling, once always laughing and helping. She was the only one for a while to keep me happy.

But bad company changed her with time. She stopped smiling and laughing, started dressing up inappropriately, started abusing alcohol and drugs and all that stuff. And suddenly, I wasn’t good enough for her anymore, so she dumped me and got a new boyfriend. A guy who beats her up, I’m pretty sure of that. But no matter how screwed up her life had become, I still had feelings for her; because I always hoped she’d return to the normal, funny, lovable girl she once was. Back then she understood me, and took our relationship seriously. I even rejected the opportunity of sex, due to nervousness. I wanted it to be perfect. It was tough, considering hormones being strong, but I still managed to avoid anything I might have regretted. But she completely understood and supported me.

We were only 16 or 17 back then, but it was still a pretty serious relationship in my opinion. But unfortunately, our relationship didn’t last long. At least not as long as I’d hoped.

But even though I still had some feelings for her left, I didn’t let it keep me down. I was letting her go out of my life. Especially after she didn’t even visit me at the hospital, nor did she show any kind of sympathies when she heard about my family’s death. She didn’t even give me a hint that she appreciated the times we had together. She simply didn’t give a fuck about me being still alive.

A part of my misery was because of her actions. A part of my depression was because of how much she had changed, and how she had transformed into a totally new person. Everything good about her had died. Now she was a heartless bitch that I could probably easily forget. That was my plan, anyways; to just go on with life.

Anyways. Suddenly, everybody in school knew about me being a brony, and it seemed to amuse them all. They started giving me nicknames, such as: “Pony lover”, “Faggot”, “Pedo”, and some even called me “The Pony Wanker”. I was suddenly the most hated guy in the whole school and I didn’t even know why. There was nothing in my behavior that made me weak, or any different than they were. The only difference was a cartoon I watched.

It seemed like I was the only brony in the whole school. Perhaps not, but if someone in my school was indeed a brony other than myself, they’d probably try everything to hide it due to fear, judging by how bad I came out of it. I didn’t blame them, but it sure did hurt me a lot.

Life was super hard. I woke up each day with a panic attack and cold sweats. I wanted to stay asleep; keep on dreaming where everything was peaceful and lovely. But dreams aren’t a reality, and I had to deal with that fact. Try to make it a better place for myself instead. Try to adapt to it.

But I also always woke up with this confident feeling. A feeling that ordered me to stay strong; to stay sharp and to never give up. Because I knew someday my life would take a turn.

I must admit that I started thinking about whether the thugs that attacked me were right about me all along, though. Maybe I wasn’t of any use in this world after all. Maybe I was just a sad loner, destined to die alone without achieving anything. But I let myself hope that I’d achieve my long term goal in life. In fact, I meant to, one way or the other. It was a goal I set myself after my family’s death, and a goal I promised my mom I’d achieve; to find happiness.

The days were growing darker and darker with each day in Equestria. Not yet in Canterlot and the towns around, but in the other major cities. And not only in the cities, but also in the smaller towns. Mortality rate was going nowhere but up and death was reeking around in every corner of Equestria; stealing their innocent and once happy lives.

Cities were burning to the ground and the dragons showed no mercy; not even to the younglings. They slaughtered them all according to the reports I'd been given via letters from Celestia. Ever since we set off to Rainbow’s revival, I’d been getting those letters from Celestia regularly; mostly once per day. Letters to update me with the situation to keep me going, and to let me know about their whereabouts; where dragon activity was the most. I somehow got a feeling that they were also as a reminder; reminding me that each day was worsening. And if I couldn’t stop them...

What bothered me the most was that I couldn't do anything to help them, and that really hurt me. Being fed by reports of innocent and surely lovely and friendly ponies being slaughtered by the dragons ignited a fire within me. They didn't deserve their fates, and that's why my hate grew larger and larger with each update from the Princess. But my hatred towards the worms propelled me and made me more eager to send them all straight to hell where they belonged.

But the good thing was that I knew that I wasn't alone. We were outnumbered, yes, but what do numbers matter if we all have the courage and the eagerness?

We did not underestimate the dragons though. We knew what they were capable of, and we knew that it was not going to be easy. But as far as I could tell, my friends had agreed to help me take them down.

Joy and happiness had filled High Hrothgar. Dashie was a bit weak after she woke up, but I was there for her. And she could be reassured that her friends supported her, too.

I didn’t take my eyes off her as she lay there peacefully in the bed with her passionate eyes fixed upon me; smiling and warming my soul with her beautiful facial expression. It filled me with pride, extreme joy and relief beyond belief. I felt like the luckiest guy in both worlds.

I still thought about the moment when she touched my face when I had lost all hope; crying in defeat and utmost disappointment. I knew she got resurrected, but I was so convinced that Sithis had kept her consciousness for his benefit, that I completely lost all hope of ever seeing her in a conscious state. However, he did send her back in whole piece, and that surprised me a lot.

Feeling for her hoof on my wet face was very startling at first. My heart stopped beating for a second in shock and I lost my breath. But when she asked for my name in her weak, hoarse voice and smiled at me with her lovely, irresistible smile, I knew that I’d done it. My wife was back. I returned the mane 6 their friend, even though they didn’t know about her death. Except Twilight, who’d been a big part of her revival. Therefore, I prevented a great deal of sadness and sorrow from happening which was my plan all along. Like I said before: it was a stupid and surreal hope, but still a hope I was ready to count on. And it clearly paid off.

“D-Dashie!?” I shouted in surprise and flung myself at her; hugging her again like I hadn’t seen her in ages; very much like I did in Sovngarde. “My gods! Y-You’re back! You’re alive!” I continued in a triumphant and a cheery voice, followed with a happy laugh. My eyes got misty and wet due to overjoy. I was also filled with disbelief and shock that I’d actually brought back a person from death itself for the second time. But this time, it was the person I loved more than anything else in the world.

Dashie was no longer a gray, lifeless body, but had slowly regained her cyan color and the rainbow colors in her mane and tail. I even noticed as the grayish color faded away and the colors replacing it.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I made that stupid decision that got me killed. I promise never to leave you again.” she responded still with her dry, crispy voice, and barely managed to hug me back. I noticed that it took her some efforts. She hadn’t eaten anything for a week, or so, and she hadn’t drunk anything either. Her body simply lacked the energy.

I started to sob lightly in relief and disbelief at the same time. My joy didn’t hide itself, and I even tried everything to let it show as much as I could. “You’ve got nothing to feel sorry about, my love. You’re back, and that’s all that matters.”

“I- I guess so.” she responded and smirked weakly, yet also with a little shame. I could see it on her that she was ashamed of her actions; of what she did when we confronted Ahuizotl and his bodyguards. Her action led to her death, and created sorrow for the rest of us. But I was more than willing to forgive her. It wasn’t her fault; she was just Rainbow being Rainbow.

All the cheering and shouting lured Twilight and Daring Do into the room with a pace. Twilight’s face enlightened as she noticed Rainbow Dash alive. Her jaw almost fell off her at first, and her eyes were as big as ever. She managed to close her mouth, but she was still paralyzed by shock. I noticed a single tear running slowly down her right cheek, but she broke out of the imaginary wall that kept her from moving.

Daring Do, on the other hand, seemed a bit afraid. She was scared of Rainbow hating her for her selfish action that led her to her death. That’s why she slowly backed off to the wall in the other side of the room and remained silent. But she also had a relieved and joyful expression on her face.

“Twilight!” Dashie managed to utter in happiness before Twilight launched herself at her.

“Rainbow!” she shouted back, but hesitated when she noticed that Rainbow grunted a bit in pain as she flung herself at her. “Oh, sorry. Here, don’t move.” she added before she made her horn start glowing. Then she touched Rainbow’s forehead, creating a sparkling sound and a bright light gracing the room for a second.

“What-- what did you do to me?” Rainbow asked a bit relieved. “Did you heal me?”

“Heal? Nah, I didn’t heal you since there is technically nothing wrong with you, but I only boosted your body system in adapting to life again. After all, you’ve been dead for a week and two days now. And oh, I also boosted your strengths. You’ll still need food and water to regain your strengths completely, though.” Twilight explained with a big grin on her face. “I’m so, extremely happy to see you alive again!” she then squealed and resisted to fling herself at her again.

“Yeah, it’s good to be back. And I’m very happy to see you again!” Rainbow stated very appreciated. She was as happy as we were.

Twilight made another unexpected move by hugging me when I wasn’t ready for it. She squeezed me and said “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“We did it.” I uttered, still in shock as I returned the hug hesitantly. I couldn’t believe we actually pulled it off; managed to revive someone again. Especially when that someone was the person that affected my life so greatly. A person I couldn’t bare live without.

Daring Do finally found the guts to come near Dashie. I nodded lightly to her when I noticed that she wanted to say something, as did Twilight. Dashie waited patiently, still with a small smile on her face, for her to say something.

“Rainbow... I’m.... I’m sorry.” she muttered in guilt. She lowered her head and ears and closed her eyes. “I’m so sorry.” she added with a whisper and started to tear up a bit. “Greed... greed overcame me and poisoned my mind. Can you ever forgive me?”

Rainbow forced herself to sit up and stretched out her arms to pull her into a hug. Daring Do hesitated a bit in surprise when she noticed that, but accepted her hug in a heartbeat when she realized that Rainbow was willing to forgive her.

Seeing how Rainbow was immediately ready to forgive her, even though Daring Do valued her gold more than Dashie’s life, made me feel like a bad person. I put her through unnecessary troubles; made her my personal slave. I knew she felt sorry for what she did, and I took an advantage of that. Made her carry heavy burdens, reminded her regularly how this was all her fault, and I wasn’t fair to her in any way. I sighed, and backed away a bit in shame.

Daring Do and Rainbow hugged tightly and didn’t let go of each other for a while. Especially Daring Do, who didn’t seem to want to break that hug. “I’ll make it up to you.” she whispered with a whispery, shaky voice, but it was audible enough for the rest of us to hear.

“It’s alright. Really, it is.” Rainbow replied with a small smile. “But, ya know, if you really feel bad about it, you could always buy me a drink in apology or something.” she joked and chuckled with her eyes closed. The rest of us chuckled with her, even Daring Do.

She seemed extremely relieved; much more alive. Ever since Rainbow died, she had always had this depressing look on her face. Great deal of mental pain reflected from her body and everybody noticed it by miles. The way she moved, the way she talked, the way she reacted to my commands. But now, she seemed more alive than ever. She seemed happy and, like I said, extremely relieved.

“I told Drake I’d buy you two a beer. And I tend to keep my word! And you too, Twilight! I’ll pay you a beer!” she said full of confident and now very joyful. But I noticed that there was still something bothering her, and I knew exactly what it was.

“Why, thank you.” responded Twilight with an appreciated smile. Daring Do returned that smile and nodded to her.

“Daring, could you please come with me for a sec?” I suddenly asked her mildly and tried not to make it as an order, like I’d been doing for the past week.

Daring Do nodded hesitantly and a little scared. But she trusted me. “After you.” she said and waited for me to lead her wherever I wished to.

I led her out of the room, and I closed the door behind me. Then we looked at each other’s eyes and remained that way for some time. I noticed that she was getting pretty disturbed and more scared. She knew I wasn’t very fond of her, but she also knew I wouldn’t do her any harm.

Without warning her, I wrapped my arms around her to give her a big hug, which she accepted hesitantly. I felt for her body shivering. This was like a dream coming true for her. She’d been longing for my friendship, and she’d hoped I’d accept her apology. I know I’d been cruel to her, but that’s very understandable. I was mad, and with a good reason. I wasn’t ready for her friendship. In fact, I tended to keep it that way.

But the fact that Rainbow Dash so easily forgave her made me feel ashamed of myself. Made me even feel a bit evil. That’s why I decided to let it all go. Rainbow was back, and there was no point in holding out a grudge anymore. It would only keep me back.

I felt for Daring’s tears slowly run down my nape as I held her closer to me. She was shivering like she was freezing, and I responded to that by tightening the hug; as if I was trying to keep her warm. I shushed at her gently and closed my eyes. “It’s alright. I forgive you.” I whispered to her.

Daring Do may be fearless, courageous, adventurous and eager, but she was still a person with feelings. After I stated that I’d forgiven her, she broke down in my arms. She started sobbing and she even tightened the grip she had on me even more.

“It’s alright.” I added and somewhat felt more relieved than I already was. But it wasn’t enough for me to accept her apology. I felt like I had to apologize to her for how badly I’d been treating her. She had been nothing but fair to me, but she made a rather big mistake, which destroyed the views I had for her. I suddenly forgot everything good about her and answered her actions, which she regretted, with hate and unfairness.

“No, it’s not. It’s my fault you lost your... your wife. It’s my fault!”

“It doesn’t matter now. She’s back and you can stop feeling guilty now.” I said calmly with a friendly and trustworthy voice. “Besides. I wanted to apologize for the way I’d been treating you. I’ve been everything but fair to you, and I--”

“Please, don’t apologize.” she said determined. “You had every reason to be mad at me. I deserved it.”

I nodded and took another breath before I loosened my grip on her and gave her a warm smile. As did she. Now she seemed much more relieved than she already was. “Thank you, Drake.” she whispered, still insecure but with a lot more confidence than before.

We both entered the room again. Twilight was having a conversation with Rainbow Dash. She didn’t seem to stop talking. She just talked, and talked and talked, and Rainbow just silently listened to her very interested with a smile on her face. I felt bad that I was about to interrupt that, but I figured I’d go thank Paarthurnax for giving me the opportunity to save her. It was because of him that I was able to bring her back. The least I could do was to thank him. That’s why I had to interrupt their little talks to let them know that I’d be away for a little while.

“And then this big, blood red colored dragon landed in front of us! He stated his name was Odahviing, and he claimed that he was a friend--”

I made a fake cough to interrupt that. Twilight immediately stopped talking and fixed her focus to me. As did Dashie and Daring Do.

“I only wanted to say that I’m about to head out. I’ll be back before you even notice.”

Rainbow’s facial expression changed into a frown. “What? No! You’re not going anywhere!” she protested with a power despite the rawness in her hoarse voice. “You’re not going anywhere without me!”

I somehow felt appreciated by her answer, but I still wouldn’t back down. Besides, Paarthurnax was only 10 minute away from this place. I’d be back before she’d even know it.

I walked towards my wife and sat down on the big bed besides her with a big smile. She hugged me as soon as I sat down. “Hey, it’s alright. I’m not going far, I’m not even leaving the mountain.” While I was talking, Dashie slowly removed my helmet and put it right beside the bed on a small rounded table. “...just going to thank Paarthurnax for helping me retrieve you from Sovngarde. He lives at the peak of the mountain and--”

Before I could finish my sentence she kissed me on my left cheek. That cut me short and made me forget what I was about to say. “I-I uh... I just want to--” I tried to continue with my eyes closed to concentrate, but she kissed me again, this time on my mouth to completely shut me up. That put me off guard, but also made me very happy. I opened my eyes again to notice Twilight and Daring Do nodding a bit in approval with amused smirks on their faces and chuckling a bit.

“Dashie, I--” but again, she interrupted me with another small kiss. I sighed and rolled my eyes in pleasure before I muttered ‘fuck it’ in a defeated tone and leaned over to return it to her. I shoved my mouth into hers so hard it hurt, but in a good way. That long lonesome week without her reflected in that kiss, making it not like the other ones we'd had, but a lot more passionate. A way more emotionally driven than the other ones we'd had so far.

I rapidly brushed her mane in the meantime with my left hoof, and stroke her back excitedly with my other one as we went on.

Twilight and Daring Do both giggled sheepishly before they slowly backed out of the room without us noticing. We were too focused on each other to bother with anything else around us.

She had her arms wrapped around my neck and both of her hooves messing in my mane. She was also slightly pushing my head more towards her. Gods... how much I’ve missed that. That was our first real kiss since her revival, and it truly showed me what I’d lost. Fortunately, I gained it back.

I wanted to crawl under the blankets and pleasure her, to make her feel satisfied and happy. I wanted to penetrate her, and to listen to her breathe pleasurably as I did so. And she felt the same way, judging by her passionate bedroom eyes and how she constantly tried to get near me. But I had to go meet Paarthurnax, so I forced myself to break out of our moment.

“Believe me, Dashie. There’s nothing I’d like more than spending my time with you, but you’re still weak. You need to recover.”

“Do you honestly think that can keep me away from you?” she asked and didn’t try to hide the disappointment in her voice.

“No, but--”

“Please, stay. For me. I’ve returned to life because of you, and the first thing I want to relive is to spend the night with you again. Please?” she asked me with her pupils wider and sparklier than ever. Also, the way she said it made it even more difficult for me to resist.

She grabbed my hooves and held them tightly; refusing to let them go. I perfectly understood, though, because that’s exactly what I wanted, too. But I couldn’t ignore Paarthurnax. I believed I had to go thank him.

I looked into her eyes again to give her the message that I’d be fine. That I’d be back for her. She sighed and slowly nodded to me when she got that and regretfully let go of me.

“Like I said. I’ll be back in perhaps 30 minutes or so. We’ll continue our little “talk” when I return.” I answered quickly with a subtle grin on my face. “I promise.”

“Don’t keep me waiting.” she responded and gave me a small wink.

I gave her another short kiss, grabbed my helmet and rushed out of the room before she could change my mind.

“Welcome back, Dovahkiin. Is there perhaps something else you’d wish to discuss?” asked Paarthurnax in all his might, still sitting on the Word Wall.

He didn’t seem as strong as the other dragons I’d encountered, but he certainly was the wisest of them all. He’s friendly, old and has seen many centuries come to past. He even sided with the ponies in the Old War. Luna had recommended his wisdom, and the Greybeards praised him. He taught me the way into Sovngarde and therefore helped me save Dashie. Those facts made him trustworthy enough for me.

Instead of answering him with words, I kneeled before him and put my right hoof in front of my heart.

“Oh?” Paarthurnax questioned and made it sound like he didn’t know anything.

“You have my eternal gratitude.” I said with a shaky voice. “Is there anything I can do to repay you?” I barely managed to add. I felt like I was about to explode due to overjoy. But I tried everything in my power to remain calm and to stay professional.

“Rise. I only did what I had to.” he responded with his deep voice. “I saw into your soul and I realized that in order for you to do your job properly, I had to help you.”

“So, you’re with us against the dragons again?” I asked but I didn’t doubt him. I knew he wouldn’t respond with a negative answer, I just needed to have it confirmed.

“Of course I am, Dovahkiin. This is your home. My kind has no part of this world, and that’s why I will honorably fight beside you when the time comes, and I will make sure Equestria stays in your little hooves.”

“That’s good to hear.” I said in approval. “Anyways, that’s all I wanted to say. Goodbye, Paarthurnax, and may you live in peace.” I continued with a smile and gave him a slow nod. But as soon as I turned around to leave him, he stopped me.

“Not so fast, Dovahkiin. There is another matter I’d like to discuss.”

“Yeah?” I asked curiously and turned around again to face him.

“It’s regarding your ultimate quest. That is, the part where you slay Alduin.”

Now I was getting a little worried, but also very curious.

“What about it?”

“As you know, you absorb dragon’s soul as you kill them, yes? Alduin, however, is more corrupted than the rest of them. Even his soul is corrupted.” he explained with a rather depressing tone in his dim voice.

“What are you getting at?” I asked worriedly and also a bit scared. Corrupted soul... that can’t be very healthy.

“What I’m trying to point out is that... I hate being bearer of bad news, but where I’m getting at is that his soul is too corrupted for you to handle. Your soul won’t be able to resist his.”

I felt for my heart stop beating for a second when he said that. I completely froze and just stared at him without saying anything for a while. I wasn’t afraid of death, if that was what he was pointing out, but I did fear for my friends. I’d experienced losing the person most valuable in my life, and I didn’t want Dashie to relive those feelings again. Losing her parents was hard enough.

She grieved and cried for me day after day while I was dead, and she didn’t even know me properly. But now that we’re a married couple, how much pain would that bring her? What would she do if I’d die? Would she grieve me so deeply she’d be willing to try anything to bring me back, like I did? Would she lose her sanity, or would she perhaps fall into the pit of depression?

As for my friends. I know I’ve been kind to them, but am I really that good of a friend that they would really be willing to set out for a quest to revive me? I know it would be possible since my time would be cut short, but would they actually do it?

I swallowed hard before asking: “Are you talking about my death?”

“Well... it’s a slow, evil death. With short time, Alduin’s soul will corrupt your pure one. And you’ll find the same greed and evil that’s currently blinding him in you. You will lose your sanity, and you will lose everything good in you. You’ll technically be living as Alduin for a very short while until his soul will eventually become too much for you to handle. His soul will be your fall.”

“Is... is this inevitable?” I asked in great shock and disappointment. In all honesty, I wanted to cry right there. I hated the thought of me slaughtering ponies, perhaps trying to overthrow Celestia from her throne, and most importantly; hurting Dashie or my friends in any way.

“I am sorry.”

“No... No! That’s not going to happen!” I snapped. “I will find another way! One way or the other!”

“And I truly hope you do, Dovahkiin.” he responded but with a doubt in his voice. “But for now, go to your wife. Forget about what I said for a moment and enjoy and celebrate her return. You’ve earned it.”

All this was too much for me to handle, but he was right. I’d just retrieved my Dashie back, and I couldn’t let the news break me. I decided to let it go for now. I’d try to find a solution before it would come down to the confrontation.

“Alright. T-Thank you, Mr. Paarthurnax.” I sadly half whispered and slowly turned around with my head and ears lowered.

“Wait...” he then added out of the blue. “Dovahkiin. Perhaps there is an alternative way for you to defeat Alduin; without any casualties.” he announced a bit excited, but stayed professional.

Again, my blood turned to ice. I couldn’t help but to grin widely when I heard that.

“What is it? How can I kill him without a casualty?” I asked hopeful and very relieved. The fact that I didn’t have to transform into a monster and slaughter everyone on sight against my will was extremely relieving.

“I must meditate about it. Come back to me later. I’ll explain everything to you in our next meet-up.” he replied and nodded to me. “But for now, go to your friends and enjoy yourself while you still can.”

I wanted to hug something, but instead of making a fool out of myself, I put on my default, badass look and nodded to him in respect as a thank you.

By the time I got back to High Hrothgar, the sun had already vanished down the horizon. Arngeir let me in with a big rejoiceful smile on his face and congratulated me for succeeding my task, that is to bring Rainbow back. As did the other Greybeards.

He offered me to stay as long as we pleased, but we both knew that I’d leave with my companions first thing in the morning. That is, if Rainbow was ready for a return journey.

After a long, interesting conversation with Arngeir about the Greybeards and their origin, he led me up to my room, even though I pretty much knew where it was. He led me through a hallway; on each side were a lot of doors leading into other rooms. But he didn’t lead me into one of those rooms. He led me up some stairs on the other side of that hallway which led into another hallway, but on that hallway were no doors but one. And that room was located in the other side of that hallway. Far away from the other rooms below. Arngeir even stated that the room chosen for us was sound proof.

‘Sound proof’. I thought to myself. Did they specifically want to put us in there? Did they expect us to make noises in there? Maybe they just wanted everything the best for us-- well, for me, since Rainbow wasn’t alive when they brought our unconscious bodies into the room.

Perhaps they only wanted to respect my privacy, and honor me with the best room available.

But that made me smile. I didn’t want anyone to listen to our conversations, or anything else that might happen in that room...

Arngeir gave me a final nod before he left me in front of the door. I nodded back and put on a wider smile before opening the door.

Dashie was still lying on the bed with a bored look on her face, staring at the ceiling and didn’t seem to notice me entering the room. There was a plate on the table beside her, and an empty mug. That must’ve meant that she had eaten something while I was gone, and that made me sigh in relief. She looked a lot better than when I left her for Paarthurnax. In fact, she looked better than ever.

“Drake!” she shouted as soon as she noticed me enter the room with my wide smirk. “Finally! The last hour or so has been pretty boring. And you said that you’d return in thirty minutes.” she pointed out happily and without any kind of disappointment. But this time, her voice was as clear as before she died. Must’ve been the water, or whatever she drank that fixed that.

She was extremely happy to see me again, as was I in seeing her. The sight of her made my worries vanish away; the thoughts about the dragons and my responsibilities as a guardian of Equestria.

She sat up as I sat down next to her on the bed again and waited for her to say something, but she didn’t utter a single word. She simply gazed into my eyes with her wide pupils and tilted her head a bit with a smile.

I slowly approached her and rested my forehead on hers. “Well, I’m back.” I half whispered, barely closing my eyes. We waited for a bit and just enjoyed each other’s presence; nothing else was required. The atmosphere, her soft, warm breathing from her nostrils hitting my face was enough to calm me down in about any situation. But then I broke the silence and opened my eyes completely. “You should get some sleep to regain your strengths.” I added, but as soon as I was about to stand up, she grabbed my nape. “The hell I ain’t. You promised me that we’d continue where we’d left off.”

A relieving feeling came over me, forming a small smile on my face. “That I did. But I’m afraid I’m going to have to break that promise." I explained. "I’m more worried of your health. You should rest a bit before we take this any further. You only just--”

She rolled her eyes and sighed in annoyance. “Shut up, Dragonborn, and come over here.” she interrupted me in an order, already pulling me closer to her. But before she did anything else, she removed my helmet once again in a hurry and threw it away from us with determination. It clearly showed that she wanted this moment, that she needed this moment.

We exchanged stares only inches away from each other before she suddenly and without a warning threw the blankets off of her and quickly embraced me, wrapping her forehooves around me in a tight hug, making our chests press firmly up against each other's. We hugged each other tightly for a minute, caressing each other's backs at the same time, before we examined each other, again only inches away.

Her body made me shiver a bit in excitement. She had such soft, perfect curves, and the rainbow colored mane fitted her cyan colored athletic body perfectly. Also the way she arches her back always managed to steal my attention and forced me to examine her hotness.

Not to mention her face. It's like it was carved out by a mysterious paranormal spirit of beauty. Her feminine muzzle and her big sparkly eyes caressing me with her look was enough to shut me, and just about everyone up.

I let my hoof explore her body by stroking her sides, making her shiver a bit by my loving touch. She caressed my chest lightly with her hooves and gave me a warm smile.

After we had admired each other, she gave me a smooch. Her soft lips gently touching mine was overwhelming. The way she led the action reminded me of Rainbow's attitude of being in charge. She was crazy for me, and she clearly showed there how much I meant to her. That power, the way she moaned softly into my mouth, all those little feelings... it was driving me wild.

We made out on our knees, still embracing and rubbing each other’s bodies on the bed for quite a while before she let herself fall down and pulled me down with her. She clearly didn’t lack the energy; just as I remembered her. I lay over her and held her very close to me as I sucked gently on her tongue. Her saliva, as always, was so sweet and tasty; it really got into me.

But as a Dragonborn I got reborn with a soul of power and confidence. I, too, wanted to lead. I held her hooves firmly against the bed, but stopped licking her inner cheek. We looked at each other with our pleasurable gazes before I started kissing and sucking her carotid artery; her sensitive spot, which resulted in another pleasurable moan as always.

I knew how Rainbow wanted it. She wanted a good build up, start subtly and end with a bang. And that was just what I was gonna give her. Explore every bit of her body before we get to the brilliant part...

We were both pretty experienced by now, considering that we’d been living together for a week before she died. But now she was back, and I intended to make the night as remarkable as the other ones we’d spent together, if not more so.

She started panting in excitement, as well as in pleasure, and closed her eyes while I slowly made my way down from her neck to her chest, and from there I planted lots of small kisses towards her stomach. I noticed that the wound she got from Ahuizotl’s blade had magically vanished away. A scar had replaced the cut. I focused on kissing her tummy, her waist, and the area around; licking and tasting her sweat. But then I let her go. With my feelings driving me forward, I ordered her: "Turn around."

She responded by staring at me with her bedroom eyes, and I noticed that she was a bit confused. But she did not dare disobeying, and turned her flank towards me without taking her eyes off me. I smiled and smoothly ran over her flank with my right hoof. I caressed her plot and softly slapped once, making her sigh in small pleasure. Her breathing made me a little more excited, so I pressed my tongue against her cutie mark and slowly licked. While she let her upper body fall down to the bed and tried to focus her breathing, I rested both of my hooves on her flank, as if I was trying to keep balance, and bent over to eat away her wet slit. She gasped in surprise before letting out another pleasurable moan. She started breathing faster and heavier, trying everything to remain calm before the highlight of our moment. But she easily failed. She was way too excited. It’s also a fun fact that she was the first pony in Equestria to experience that, since oral wasn’t from around here.

I really enjoyed myself as I licked her off. For a long time I had wanted to do that, and now that I was doing it, I wanted to enjoy myself and satisfy her as much as I could. The taste of her marehood was just as sweet as her saliva. It was like eating candy; but no ordinary candy. The more I sucked on her wet clit, the more she breathed out my name. But I ignored her pleasurable whimpers. Instead, I answered by being as loud as I could by making slurping sounds to turn her on even further. She let herself fall onto her back and spread her legs wide. She looked at me with her big sparkly eyes, her mouth opened and her tongue slipped out as she panted in a rather high pitched tone, begging me with those big eyes to continue. I happily smirked at her and gave her a wink. I spread her nether, sealed my lips over her drenching pussy and licked her insides this time. It was so satisfying for her that she started pushing my head against her marehood without even realizing it. "Oh, y-yes! Oh, Celestia, yes!" she cried out.

She made a sudden scream of pleasure when she reached her first orgasm. None of her fluids escaped my mouth; I made sure of that. She cummed almost a mouthful into my mouth and I enjoyed every bit of it. I kept it in my mouth and stared deep into her eyes, questioning her what she wanted me to do with it. Rainbow panted, slowly licked her lips and watched my mouth with a longing. She bent over to kiss me, clearly indicating that she wanted to taste on us both at the same time. I shoved my tongue into hers and transported her juices into her mouth. She swallowed it at an instance and cleaned my teeth with her tongue by running over them.

My priority was to make this night... her night... remarkable. I wouldn’t even care if I wouldn’t get anything out of it; I just wanted to satisfy her. Although, I had to admit that my own stallionhood was almost on fire. I don't think I'd ever been as erected in my whole life. Her sweet moaning and groaning was enough to send pleasurable electrocutes along my cock.

We were both extremely horny, and the burning passion we had to one another only extended it. She suddenly grabbed me, turned me around, took me down to the bed and sat on my chest. She slowly placed my forehooves on her flank without ever taking her eyes off mine and gave me a wild look. The way she looked at me and her amazing slow thrusts on my chest made me even kinkier than before. I really liked what she was doing and where this was going. She bent over to my marked ear and whispered “Y-you're such an amazing stallion. You deserve to be rewarded.”, but her voice cracked a bit in the second sentence, making my ear twitch automatically in a reaction.

“Everything for you, my love.” I answered, still panting in excitement. “What do you have in mind?”

“You’re amazing with your tongue. How about we test mine?” she suggested with a soft murmur before she turned around without getting off my chest. She turned her flank towards me and made sure I got a clear view of her dripping marehood by swishing her tail to the side.

“Fuuuck!” I gasped accidentally with my eyes wide open. I indulged myself and gazed into the ceiling in slight confusion. The way she teased my cock with her tongue made me immediately look forward again, only to be greeted by her sex. The longer I stared at it, the hornier I got, so instead of doing nothing I decided to make this a little more interesting. I started  playing with her warm, drenching nether with my hoof while she was busy licking and wetting my cock with her saliva, and softly caressed her cutie mark again in small circles with my other, making her back arch and a moan escaping her mouth with each stroke I gave her marehood.

The slurping sounds she made as she slowly, but passionately sucked and gobbled on my stallionhood really turned me on. It was so satisfying that I had to fight the urge to thrust the rest of my cock down her throat. And it sure was challenging.

While still at it, she got off my chest and turned around. That way, she had more space and a bit more freedom; making all so much better than it already was. She looked deep into my eyes with her sparkly ones; asking me with them if I liked what she was doing. I inhaled in a response and held the air inside my lungs as I nodded quickly in a pleasure. I then slowly exhaled the air and started stroking her mane, as if I was complimenting her for her fine job.

This was the first time she dared giving me a blowjob, since she was too nervous to try it the other times. But I completely understood her. Such a thing didn’t even come across the mind of the people in Equestria. She was still willing to try something nobody had ever experienced in her world.

But she was very good at it. Much better than she thought she’d be.

After she had pleasured me for some time, I quickly grasped and pinned her against the bed to start the physical connection. We were both as ready as we could ever be.

I originally wanted to wait with anything sexual related until she was back to perfect shape, but since she showed no signs of fatigue or weaknesses, I decided to give her what she wanted. Besides.. I lusted for it myself.

With her enticing bedroom eyes, she leaned over to me and moaned into my ear: "D-Drake... I-I'm all yours tonight. I want you to have your way with me. Take me as hard as you want, as rough as you can, whatever your heart desires. I want you to dominate me. I want to be your dirty little mare."

I stared into her eyes in utmost surprise. I didn't expect her enthusiasm to be so enormous. But her dirty talks made me so excited I couldn't help but to drool a bit at what was ahead. I nodded quickly but happily a numerous times and smiled widely at her. "Ooh, Dashie... I didn't know you were such a naughty mare."

"E-everything about you, Drake. Your taste, your smell, the feel of you against me... it's all so amazing. It's almost intoxicating." she answered as she gently stroke my lower back with a small adorable giggle, fondling my balls with her other.

I got filled with pride and accidentally let out a groan by her touch. I smiled very lovely to her as I blushed, and replied. "Y-You mean it?"

She nodded immediately without hesitating. "Having you inside me feels so amazing, Drakie. I just love feeling for your enormous cock throbbing inside my pussy. P-please... let me feel for you inside me again."

With that I let out a very surprised chuckle. "Whoa... you're kinkier than usual. And gods do I like it!"

"Only when I'm around you, my dirty, naughty little stud. Now, shut up, and make me your dirty little plaything! Take me as fast as you can, as much as you want and as rough as you desire. Ask me of anything... anything at all... and I will make it happen. I'm all yours."

I grinned widely at her and shook my head slightly in appreciation. I really liked that new side of her. There was no one quite like her. And she must've been hornier than the other times we had sex because she wasn't as wild then as she was now.

I didn’t even warn her before I shoved deep and powerfully into her. But she didn’t seem to care for the suddenness. Her facial expression did twitch a bit, though.

She just stared at me with that determined and extremely satisfying look on her face as I fucked her. The way the walls of her warm marehood clenched around me was heavenly. I almost felt like her powerful eyes were stabbing me. And as always, she exhaled the air in great pleasure with each thrust I made. Oh, gods I loved that. It made me more excited. It showed me that I was doing it right, and that she was very satisfied. Exactly what I was aiming for.

“Yes! Oh, yes! My gods!” she whispered in overwhelming satisfaction. She got a tight grip on my waist while I was doing her. “I... fucking... adore you...” she barely managed to add in all her pleasure. That took me by surprise in a good way. Did she just use a human curse? Now that brought an even wider grin on my face. Also the fact that she used “adore” instead of “love” really touched me.

She was so satisfied that it seemed like she was about to pass out. She also had her second orgasm; coating my stallionhood with her fluids. But she wanted more, and she didn’t want our moment to end just yet. That only extended my already big smile. I started to slow down a bit to “let her breathe”.

But more than being slightly wet in her saliva and pussy juice on certain areas on my body, the rest of me was covered in both our sweats. And we were both a bit slippery because of it. But it didn’t bother us. In fact, it actually made everything more enjoyable.

I completely stopped for a second and stared into her eyes; looking into her very soul. She did the same, and I swear she had control of my body and mind. I felt for a sting in my heart when I noticed the sparkles in her seducing eyes, her irresistible bedroom eyes scanning my face and the obvious passion reflecting from them.

“You’ve no idea how much I’ve missed you.” I pushed out and watched out not to break down in front of her since I was still shocked by the fact that she really was back.

“I-I think I do.” she whispered to me in response. “Because I missed you too, back in Sovngarde. I thought I’d have to wait for an eternity to get to see you or any of my friends again.” I noticed small tears forming in her eyes in appreciation and utmost love. “I-I’m so happy you got through all your trouble just to bring me back. It means everything to--”

Before she could continue, I shoved deep into her again, cutting her short and replacing what she was about to say with a soft moan. But she was determined to finish off her sentence. I made that little tease to show her what she did earlier when I wanted to tell her something, but she always interrupted me with a kiss. “Oh, you were saying?” I mocked, and shot a wide subtle grin at her.

She immediately saw what I did there and that brought a smile on her face, followed by a small chuckle. “...t-the fact that you went through all that--”

Again, I interrupted her with my slow passionate thrusts, making her lose her concentration. “Ooohhh!! Ff--- Gods... d-damn it!” she moaned loudly. Her sweet moaning fueled my eagerness to fuck her brains out. I stared down at her with love and passion bursting out of me and she looked back up at me, panting loudly and pleasurably. It was so satisfying for both of us that she even allowed me to keep on going for a little while until she gathered enough willpower to turn me around; making me lie down on the bed. She sat down on my chest again and held my hooves against the bed, like I did earlier, so I could not interrupt her again. I felt for her warm fluids on my chest and that made me bite my lips in excitement.

“The fact that you went through all that trouble to bring me back is so incredibly touching!” she quickly finished, having trouble to talk because of the heat in her begging for more cock.

“And the fact that you’re alive again has greatly increased my happiness and determination to send those fuckers to hell where they belong.” I responded with an amused whisper.

Dashie chuckled again by my response. “We’ll send them all to hell.” she slowly shook her head with the widest grin ever and analyzed my face once again. “Seriously, I don’t know what I’d do without you.” she added and kissed me again, aligning my cock against her pussy. She sat down, pressed my chest down with her hooves and started riding me passionately. I grabbed her hip and guided her with a moan.

After further sexual experimentation and more touching and fucking, I finally started feeling for my climax building up. She even noticed it for herself by how I was acting. My facial expression also gave that away, so she ordered me to stop. With confusion I obeyed her. "Let me help ya out." she suggested. Her voice cracked a bit again in that sentence, making me shudder. I loved when that happened. "Y-You sure?" I asked thrilled.

"Let me do the rest." she demanded and put her right hoof on my snout, implying that I should just shut up, sit back, and enjoy. Without hesitating, I lay back and put both of my front hooves behind the back of my head. Out of curiosity, I couldn't help but to tilt my head forward to give her a look. She licked her lips before locking her eyes onto mine, and slowly ran her tongue from the base of my cock to the tip, making me moan softly. My groan made her wink seductively. She wrapped her lips around it and started off by licking and kissing it slowly to "warm up". After a while she suddenly took it all in and started pumping my cock passionately, massaging it with her tongue at the same time. Regardless of the size of my stallionhood she managed to ingest it all, but not without trouble. It was too big for her, especially considering that she was not experienced in that division. She coughed and gagged, but determinedly forced it down her throat until her nose bumped my pelvis. She clenched her throat around my cock and stayed like that for a second or two, creating pressure and pleasure I'd never felt for before, making stream of energy shoot through my body. I moaned and groaned loudly, my body aching and crying for more. It was beyond amazing. I was in the seventh heaven and it was all her to thank. But since I was already on the edge of having my release, it didn't take long before I released at least a mouthful of my seed down her throat. She was so wild and so horny that she even enjoyed the part when my warm, sticky seed filled her mouth. She swallowed it all at once, but didn't dare leave my dick until every bit of cum had been milked out. Afterwards she licked her lips happily to clean up the rest that had escaped her throat.

I was amazed. She had never given me or anyone else a blowjob before and she ended our sex with... that? I stared at her with my eyes wide open as I gasped in a small shock. I kept my mouth open widely, my body still shivering in joy. I didn't even breathe for a second, despite being in need of much more oxygen. She replied by blushing and giggling a bit. "Oh, you... I just realized you needed to be rewarded for being such an amazing stallion." she breathed out and giggled exhaustively.

She panted for air, let herself collapse on the bed and cuddled herself up to me. I lay behind her, wrapped my arms and one of my wings around her and got myself comfortable. She rubbed her flank gently up against my hip and hugged my hoof. We were both almost soaking wet due to sweat, but that didn’t matter. I closed my eyes with her locked in my arms and whispered, “W-Welcome back to the land of the living, my little angel.”

She responded by nuzzling my chest with her back, and before she could respond to me with words, she fell asleep.

This was perhaps the best moment I’ve had with her so far. Surely our best night together, since we both had missed each other so much. We let out all our feelings we’d been holding; all the feelings we couldn’t express to each other while parted. That’s what made our moment so great. Also the fact that we were reunited again increased the feelings that followed even further.

I felt like the luckiest person on both Equestria and Earth. I almost got everything I’d dreamt of having. Well, except a relationship with Rainbow. That was unexpected, and being interested in her didn’t even come across my mind as a human, although I do admit that I've had some brief dirty thoughts about it before...

But the things I wished and dreamed for came true: I got Equestria as my new home, befriended the main 6, got superpowers and etc.

But I didn’t only feel like the luckiest guy in the world. I was the luckiest guy in the world. I saw that now. Everybody on Earth always told me how lucky I was, but I couldn’t see it myself. I survived the car crash which was considered a miracle; an ugly crash such as that should’ve killed me instantly. But somehow I got out of it with a few broken ribs and a short amnesia.

The brutal assault in the alley: I was kicked in the skull a numerous times, and I got stabbed in my stomach. I lost a great deal of my blood, but some guy happened to walk past that alley just in the nick of time. Again I shocked the doctors with my great resiliency. I was a special, one of a kind human being. That’s what they called me.

Then the sudden collapse in my apartment: I died, but they still managed to revive me. And yet again, I shocked the doctors. My body recovered in 21 months, but that was still an incredibly fast recovery. Most of the doctors even declared that I wouldn’t wake up ever again, and the most positive ones predicted that I wouldn’t wake up for maybe twenty years or so. But they decided to keep me in a machine anyway, in case another miracle would happen. And that’s exactly what happened.

But all those miracles didn’t have a meaning to me since I was unhappy. I didn’t think about it, and I saw myself as the unluckiest guy on Earth.

What if the gods have been protecting me all along? What if they were really the ones behind my unexplainable luck, and why I was still alive? Were they protecting me because I was the One and my time hadn’t come yet? I somewhat found that very likely.

But I stopped bothering about it all and decided to let it all go for now. With a sigh, I closed my heavy eyelids again, resting my head on Dashie’s mane who slept as a rock, and whispered “I did it, mom.” to myself before I fell asleep.

I woke up the next morning with Dashie still in my arms and her head still resting on my chest. I didn’t open my eyes yet, but I sensed that she was still fast asleep, judging by her rhythmic breathing.

I felt for the sun shining on my face from the big windows; making me feel warmer than I already was. Dashie made sure that I was warm. Her body heat was as effective as the blankets.

Also, I was almost falling out of the bed. It wasn’t designed for two persons. That’s why there were two beds in that room. Supposedly one for me and one for her. Besides, they wouldn’t let my unconscious body rest next to a body in the same bed.

I lay there for some time before I decided to get up. There was a lot I had to do, and I couldn’t delay: I had to arrange our trip back to Ponyville, and I wanted to have a talk with Twilight and Daring Do about our plans if there was perhaps an easier route to Ponyville, armies from other countries and so on. I also wanted to bring Dashie food in bed, make her feel as comfortable as she could.

I carefully and smoothly let go of her and put her head slowly on my pillow. Then I slowly got up from bed and the first thing I did was to pick up my helmet. It was on the floor since last night; after Dashie threw it away from us. I put it on with a small smirk and walked up to the big window to open it. As soon as I opened the window, a cool mountain breeze entered the room. I inhaled the fresh air with my eyes closed and kept the air in my lungs for a while. I felt like the cold air was cleansing my lungs. Then I exhaled it in relief. That totally woke me up, and completely increased my energy and will to get today’s things done. But before I left the room, I gave her a small kiss on her head. I noticed that she smiled a bit as a response, but I doubt she had woken up. It was just a reaction, it seemed.

I carefully tiptoed out of the room and closed the door behind me so she could sleep in peace.

Arngeir led me, Twilight and Daring to a meeting room where we could discuss our plans in peace. In that room was a long table. A very long stone made table, clearly made in the purpose of important meetings. But since they weren’t using it, they allowed us to use it for our meeting.

I nodded to Arngeir in appreciation before pointing inside the room. “Ladies first.”

Twilight and Daring both smiled to that and entered the room without hesitating. I followed them and closed the door behind us.

We took seats at the end of that long, stone made table. I sat at the very end, while Twilight sat by my right and Daring by my left.

“So, what’s this all about?” Asked Twilight curiously and eager to get to business.

“I want to talk about our plans. Celestia recommended to me a week ago, or so, that we should head to the land above Equestria. She mentioned the “Northlings”?”

“The Northlings, huh?” said Daring Do with a small amused grin and leaned on her chair. She seemed to be thinking about something. “I’ve encountered one before. Nasty son of a bitch. Toughest guy I’ve ever seen.” she added and chuckled a bit.

“Oh? Dare to tell me more about him?” Twilight asked interested.

“It isn’t the time for that.” I interrupted and sighed. “Anyways, Celestia also told me I had to look out for a translator, since they didn’t speak Engli-- uh, Equestrian?”

“That won’t be necessary. I know a translation spell that should fix the problem.” she added with a smug face and her eyes closed.

“Excellent. But Daring, you said you’ve met one before. Can you be more specific?”

Twilight shot her eyes at me with a frown as soon as I said that. “It isn’t the time for that.” she mimicked.

“Well, we gotta know more about them, don’t we?” I replied and laughed sheepishly.

Daring Do grinned in response and was delighted that she was allowed to tell us her story. “The Northlings are brutal looking ponies; in appearance anyways. They’re enormous and well trained for war. They live in the far North, and that’s why they have to live with difficult situations, such as terrible winters and poverty. But being raised in a situation such as theirs, has also blessed them with time. They can endure just about any weather, and they know how to take care of themselves. They’re even practically immune to cold. There aren’t many of them in Equestria. In fact, they don’t like Equestria very much and that’s why they’re keeping themselves away from here.” she explained. “Anyways, I met this one Northling once. A strong brown, Earth pony that shared the same interest as I. We both desired to obtain treasures and gold.” she continued and chuckled. “There was this statue inside a big cave we both wanted. To make a long story short, we both got up to the treasure in the end. But we both wanted it...”

“So you guys fought over it?” asked Twilight with her eyes wide open in interest.

“Unfortunately, we had to fight over it... to the death.”

“I see...” I interrupted thoughtfully.

“So.. there we were, staring at each other with our death stare. We both desired the treasure, and we both understood that only one would walk away with it--”

“Why make such a big deal out of it? Is a statue really worth more than a life?” I asked confused and a bit disapproved.

“Drake. We are treasure hunters. We are willing to do everything necessary to achieve what we set out to do. He had the same point of view.”

“So you guys fought to the death, and you came out alive?” Twilight asked very thoughtfully, undoubtedly trying to imagine the whole situation.

“Correct. Like I said, he was a tough son of a bitch. Seriously, I must’ve fought him for an hour or so. I got pretty badly out of it, too. I broke my wings, got shallow cuts and multiple sprains. But I managed to stick him in his throat in the end. Well, I did trick him at first by making him run into a spike that came out of the wall. I remember how he gurgled his own blood. How he slowly drowned in it. I still remember the look in his eyes. They weren’t full of hate, as you’re probably imagining it, but respectful. He understood and respected me. That made me feel a bit bad, but he understood. I had the decency in putting him out of his miseries.”

“Wow... that’s brutal. More brutal than necessary.” I added and twitched my face a bit as if I felt for his pain.

“Nope. It was necessary.”

“I disagree.” I replied and frowned. “You could’ve let him have the treasure, and make him owe you. You could’ve used him in obtaining another, perhaps even more valuable treasure. A treasure harder to reach.”

“I don’t regret what I did. Nor would he in my shoes.” she replied and crossed her arms and by that she showed that she sticked to it.

“Alright then. But now we know a little bit about the Northlings: They’re big, honorable, resilient and get shit done. We need them. We desperately need them.” I said in approval. The thought of an army of them made me rub my hooves together with an evil grin.

“It may be harder than it seems...” Daring Do muttered to herself and looked away.

“Why?”

“Didn’t you listen to anything I just said? They don’t like Equestria, and to add to that; they don’t follow orders from ponies not from their kind. Whatever the cause, I fear that they won’t listen to you.”

“Then I’ll make them listen! Whatever reasons they have to dislike Equestrians, they should put it aside this one time. Because we need them, and they surely don’t hate us enough to want to see us extinct.”

“We could always try. But then, you could always go for the Argonians instead. They’re more likely to accept our friendship, and I bet they’ll make an allegiance to you.” added Daring Do with her closed eyes. Twilight widened her eyes even more in excitement.

“I know them! There aren’t many of them in Equestria either, but I’ve met a couple of them. They’re very nice people.”

“Uh, Argonians?” I asked in confusion.

Twilight smiled and cleared her voice. “Yeah. The Argonians, or Saxhleel in Jel, their native tongue, are the reptilian denizens of a place called “Black Marsh”. Little is known and less is understood about them. But years of defending their borders have made the Argonians experts in guerrilla warfare, and their natural abilities make them equally at home in water and on land. They have developed natural immunities to the diseases and poisons that have doomed many would-be explorers and conquerors of the region. Their seemingly expressionless faces belie a calm intelligence, and many Argonians are well-versed in the magical arts. Others rely on stealth or steel to survive, and their natural agility makes them adept at either. They are, in general, a reserved people, slow to trust and hard to know, yet they are fiercely loyal, and will fight to the death for those they have named as friends.” she explained like she had done nothing with her life but to study their race. I swear her speech almost gave me a headache.

“Wow... then I guess we’re going to have to befriend them, too.” I said impressed. “But are they ponies? Or are they completely another race?”

“Not ponies, no. They walk on two legs and surprisingly, are fairly similar to humans. Well, their body structure is anyways.”

“What do you think about this, Daring?” I asked to make her a part of our conversation. I wanted to hear her opinion and perhaps see if she had some more information about them.

“Me? Argonians are nice people.  I’ve met two or three before. But Twilight pretty much said everything you need to know about them.”

“Alright. It’s settled, then. We will recruit the Northlings and the Argonians. But first we leave for Ponyville and we’ll discuss our plans further when we get there. For now, make yourselves ready or get a nap or something. We’re not in a big hurry as of now. You are dismissed.”

Twilight and Daring both nodded before they quickly stood up and stormed out of the room without even muttering a word; leaving me alone in that big, quiet room.

As soon as they were gone, I sighed and buried my face in my hooves. I seriously didn’t know how I was going to do this. I’ve never met those races before, and I didn’t even understand their language. This was going to be tougher than I dared to think, but I was determined to do everything I could to at least try to persuade them into joining us into battle against the dragons.

Dashie was still asleep as I entered the room. But she wasn’t in the same position as I left her. Now she had overtaken the bed, completely lying horizontally on her back. I couldn’t help but to giggle a bit when I noticed that. Her right leg twitched a bit and her facial expression was as if she was having a good dream.

I didn’t want to wake her up, but since I had brought her food and since it was still hot, I figured that she would want me to wake her up anyways. I wanted to surprise her with the strawberry tasting food she introduced to me in Cloudsdale a while ago. I was lucky The Greybeards had the necessary ingredients, but Daring Do had to help me make it since I still didn’t quite know how to make some myself. It was simple, but I’d never cooked with hooves before, even though I’ve been here for some time now.

But in my free times, and mostly at nights before I went to sleep, I trained myself at the basics the ponies grew up with, such as writing and so on. They wrote with their mouths, and that was a bit difficult for me since I was used to write with my hands when I was a human. Surprisingly, I learned how to write with my mouth in only a week or so. It wasn't flawless, but it got the job done.

I put the plate and a mug of water on the table next to the bed before I carefully sat down beside her. “Dashie?” I half whispered with a gentle nudge. She responded with a small annoyed moan, but it didn’t wake her up. “It’s time to wake up.” I added, but slightly louder this time.

She murmured and refused to open her eyes. “Go away...” she muttered, but still half asleep.

I chuckled again and shook my head in amusement. “Seriously, though. Wake up.” I added in a more serious manner and quickly wiped the smile off my face, yet still with a joke in my voice as I stood up.

She moaned again in annoyance and tried slapping me to shoo me away. “Go away...” she muttered again, still with her eyes closed.

I hummed as I thought of something that might get her attention. “Spitfire and Soarin are here to see you. They said it was urgent to meet you at once.” I added and tried my best to prevent laughter.

That completely woke her up. She suddenly opened her eyes and jumped out of bed hastily. “Where? Where are they?” she asked in disbelief and quickly looked around the room.

That made me burst out in laughter. Dashie looked at me with a confused look on her face and just waited for me to say something. “You should see the look on your face!” I added and couldn’t help but to laugh even more. I even started tearing up. It seriously wasn’t that funny, but the thought of that actually working, made me even more surprised than when I woke up in Equestria as a pony.

“They’re... they’re not here to visit me?” she asked and panted in worries.

“I can’t believe you actually fell for that!” I added and collapsed to the ground in laughter.

Rainbow blushed in awkwardness and shame as soon as she figured that I so easily fooled her. “You asshole!” she said, but found herself laughing a bit with me, even though she tried everything she could to be serious. “You’ll pay for that.” she added and backed away from me to make sure I couldn’t see how much she was blushing.

After minutes I finally managed to calm myself down. “Phew.” I added and carefully wiped a tear from my right eye. “Anyways, I brought you your breakfast.” I managed to say.

“I noticed. Thanks.” she said, and that made her forget about that little awkwardness I put her through. She was starving, and she was relieved that I had brought her her favorite breakfast. And before I could even answer her, she had already emptied the dish and the mug of water. “Thanks, Drake. I was pretty damn hungry.”

“It was the least I could do.” I answered and made my way up to my unused bed beside the other bed we both slept and did...other things...in.

I sat down and waited patiently with a smile as she stretched her limbs and wings and yawned a couple of times. Then she walked up to me and sat down next to me.“Wha- what happened while I was asleep?” she asked and squinted her eyes at me in fatigue.

“I had a meeting with Twilight and Daring Do. We were only discussing our plan, that’s all.”

“And why wasn’t I invited to that little party of yours?”

“Uhh... because you were fast asleep? And you must’ve been exhausted. Especially after your performance last night.” I said with a small flirt and winked her. “Beside, you only came back to life. I want you to take it slowly.”

“You’re right. Last night did drain away my energy.” she half whispered with a smile. “But you know I hate taking things slowly. It’s not my style.”

“Still leaves the fact that you needed your sleep. Besides, you love sleeping.” I pointed out with another chuckle.

“And what about you? Are you perhaps more energetic than I am? I know that you tend to get a little lazy, too!” she objected in a jest.

“Well, I am the Dragonborn.” I pointed out again and smirked with my eyes closed in pride. “I’m quicker to regenerate stamina than everypony else, and as a Dragonborn, I have responsibilities, duties and orders to follow. I can’t let myself afford the comfort of staying late in bed, not even with my lovely wife.”

“Blah, blah, blah... duty, honor, responsibilities, dragons, killings... You have the same right of enjoying yourself as everypony else. It isn’t fair that you can’t have any free time.”

“But I do have plenty free time. I get to travel with you everywhere, I spend a lot of times with my friends and I always feel safe and determined around you all.”

Dashie didn’t answer me back but smirked at the ground and contemplated whether she should just let it all go or not. I brought reasons good enough for her to agree with. She couldn’t say anything against that, because in fact, I had perhaps the best job in the world.

“Anyways, why do you always wear that helmet of yours? I can barely see your face, and I must admit that it bothers me a bit.” she pointed out, but even though she informed me that she'd prefer seeing me without my helmet, she still admired it. I looked terrifying, powerful and wore a sign that indicated that I was not to be fucked with. She liked that. She liked all the power and fear my helmet created.

“It’s grown on me. It’s comfortable, and it fits perfectly. I also like to see my helmet as a symbol. A symbol that tells everyone that I am Dragonborn. That I am their protector and guardian. That nobody should fear me, except my enemies. Besides, I look kind of badass with it on, don’t you think?”

“Sure you do. You look terrifying to be honest, and that’s why I don’t get the point about the fact that it’s supposed to be a sign of trust, like you pointed out. But I get everything else. It’s just that I feel like you’re the Dragonborn when you have it on, but my Drake when you don’t.”

“I... I didn’t know you felt that way. But I can assure you that we are the same person.” I said a bit surprised.

“You don’t understand. When my feelings started to kick in, and when I realized that you were the pony I wanted to spend my life with, you were only the determined, friendly and the nice pony I lost a race to. You were just Drake. I didn’t even know you were anything more than that.”

“And I really appreciate that. Don’t worry, I know you don’t solely love me because of me being a Dragonborn. I noticed how you acted around me, even before I announced to you that I was the prophecy.” I said with a smile and reflected my appreciation with my eyes.

“Of course, Drake. You’ll always be the determined and a bit clumsy pony I fell in love with. Don’t get me wrong, I like your helmet, and all; It really shows our enemies that you’re not to be fucked with, and I also see it as a sign that you really are the Dragonborn.”

“Hey, there you used it again. A human curse; why would you do that?” I asked with an approved smile.

I noticed that she started blushing slightly in embarrassment. She avoided eye contact and smiled clumsily. “I just… I just noticed that you used it sometimes, and I kind of like it. Gives the sentence more power, you know?” she pointed out and chuckled in awkwardness. I was also surprised that she knew how to use it. I guess I’d been using it more than I realized, and perhaps she figured out where that word was acceptable in a sentence.

“Please, use it. You’re so cute when you do.” I said with a laugh.

“What do you mean? I’m not cute. I don’t want to be cute. I’m Rainbow Dash! Being cute is more of Fluttershy’s style. Cuteness is not acceptable in my situation.” she said with closed eyes and crossed arms to let me know that she meant every word.

“Alright then, how about adorable? You’re adorable when you use it.” I corrected myself and closed my eyes with a smile.

“That’s... acceptable. But only acceptable. I don’t want you to think of me as an average “cute” mare. I fight like a warrior and I’m quick as a lightning. Cuteness is not among my traits.” she stated and put on her determined look. She also said the word “cute” with disgust.

“Of that, I have no doubt. I’ve seen you in action myself. I’ve seen that your heart is filled with honor, loyalty and courage. I couldn’t ask for a better companion.”

“Only the best companion?” she asked and looked at me with a flirtatious glance.

“You know what I mean. Companion, friend, lover, wife. Everything that follows.”

“So you’re saying you couldn’t find a better person overall than me? I don’t find that hard to believe, actually.” she said high in confidence, which made me crack up a small laughter.

“Oh, Dashie. You admire yourself way too much sometimes.” I pointed out and grinned.

“But it’s the truth! Why would I hide something I am? Of course, I know that you’re...better...than me, but I don’t count you. You’re not normal and besides, you aren’t even a complete pony.”

“Sure I am. Remember that I was always supposed to be born in this body. But by some unexplainable misfortune, I got born as a human on Earth instead. But I somehow am glad it happened. I got to experience something no one else will.”

I noticed how jealous she got. Not only because I got to experience being a human, but also because of me possessing the power of the dragons; being the Dragonborn and being so highly ranked among the ponies. Practically everyone loved me, if I exclude the dragons and my other enemies, and Rainbow wanted that. She desired attention, and she always felt like she didn’t get enough.

“Anyways, I’ve been thinking about an idea. What do you say about settling down somewhere in the beautiful forest in a nice cozy house after Alduin has been slain? Just you and me. And maybe... just maybe in the future we could...ah... you know...” I said in extreme awkwardness and tried to give her the hint, but gave up immediately when she didn’t get it. “Heh...nah, forget about it.” I added and looked away to hide my burning blush.

She cocked her right eyebrow and looked at me suspiciously. “Sure. I have always wanted to live somewhere in the woods in a nice cottage. But what were you going to say? Something about something happening in the future?”

“Nothing! Nothing at all!” I quickly excused myself and rubbed the back of my neck. “Anyways, I’m glad to hear that. But let’s focus on the here and now, shall we?” I added and laughed in embarrassment.

“Hmm... alright.” she murmured but had this weird look on her face. A part of me knew that she knew what I was talking about. It’s just the fact that I ended my bloodline on Earth, and I figured I could perhaps start a new one here, in Equestria, instead. Not while we were still young, of course, but perhaps in the future when we’re a bit older, I’d love to start a family. My legacy would carry on, and I’d leave something behind.

But of course, only after Alduin and the evil he’s bringing with him are dealt with.

I just hoped that Paarthurnax’s plan on an alternate way to kill Alduin without casualties didn’t involve a dark ritual where I’d have to sacrifice someone or something... I’d rather sacrifice myself.

“Tell me, and be honest with me. Are you ready for a return journey?”

“Definitely. I feel as good as ever. I’m ready to leave whenever you give the word.” she said with determination and snapped opened her wings. “Anyways, I have an urge to fly around. Do you think I have the time to test my wings again? To stretch ‘em out? I want to test if I still got the moves.” she said with a chuckle.

“Sure, go ahead. We’re not in a big hurry right now, but I guess we should head out after perhaps two to three hours. Just try not to tire yourself, and keep it simple. I’m personally going to take a nap, so I’ll be here if you need me.”

She saluted me with a military look on her face; a look of determination and obedience. Then she suddenly stormed out of the room without a hesitation.

After she was gone, I lay down on the bed to try to get some sleep. But I didn’t seem to get any. I just lay there without any progress, but I tried everything I could to relax and to try to fall into the dream world.

I didn’t seem to get any sleep because I was constantly thinking about the dragons and the pony casualties. Those thoughts haunted me. Those worries were buried deep into my brain and it seemed stuck in there. I couldn’t get them out of my head.

But at last I finally felt like I was about to pass out, but before that happened, someone interrupted me with powerful knocks.

“Drake! Open up, it’s important!” someone suddenly cried out behind the door and didn’t seem to stop pounding on the door. I was pretty sure the voice belonged to Twilight.

“Wha- what is it?” I asked in confusion and stood up, kind of worried. “Oh, of course...” I muttered while rolling my eyes when I realized my room was soundproof. But if Twilight said something was wrong, I had to expect the worst.

As soon as I unlocked the door for her, she stormed in with her horn glowing purple and a small letter floating over her head.

“Drake! You've got to read this letter!” she shouted with her eyes as big as ever. “It's from Princess Celestia, and it's urgent!” she was starting to breathe in an abnormal speed and even started to sweat a bit.

“Calm down. Take a deep breath.” I said with a calm, confused voice, yet a bit afraid to read the letter. Whatever was written in there shocked Twilight, and it would probably shock me, too.

I slowly opened the letter and read the following:

“Dragonborn, whatever you are doing, or wherever you are, you must postpone your current objective and return to Ponyville as soon as possible. I regret to inform that Ponyville is under attack by a group of dragons, and I want you and your friends to get over there to protect it at any cost. My sister and I have already sent our best troops to Ponyville, but I’m afraid it’s not enough. Go over there at once and deal with them! Failure is not an option!

Princess Celestia.”

I stared at the piece of paper for some time in disbelief and read over it at least three times to be absolutely sure that what I read was indeed true.

Twilight stood still as a statue in front of me and tried her best to calm herself down.

“We must go, now!” she said loudly. “Ponies are dying, and our friends are fighting while we're having it comfortable here, in High Hrothgar. Please, we must take our leave at once!” she begged and judging by the look on face, she trusted that I'd make the right decision by taking her suggestion.

“I-I can scarcely believe it!” I uttered and shook my head slightly in shock as I stared at the piece of paper. “Go gear up, get our things ready and go fetch Daring Do and Rainbow Dash. We're leaving.” I added as an order, and before I could even look up at her, she had already stormed out of the room to do my bidding.

We ran and ran for gods know how long time. Well, Twilight, Daring and I ran while Rainbow kept up with us, flying at the same speed. Estimated time to Ponyville on hoof was around two and a half days, so we didn’t have the time of taking it slowly. We had to run till we’d literally collapse, and we could only stop to sleep for maximum five hours or so. It was unhealthy, and we all felt its effectiveness, but Ponyville was being attacked, and who knows, maybe Ponyville would be a big pile of ruins by the time we’d get there. And that’s exactly what I feared.

But we had to hope that the dragons would take it slowly on Ponyville. We just had to rely on the hope that Celestia’s troops were doing their duties by putting up a fight against the beasts.

Daring Do and Twilight were getting a little tired, and it showed. But Rainbow and I still had the desire and determination to get there at once, and those feelings drove us forward. Gave us extra boost and energy to keep going. Of course, Twilight was as eager as us to get there, but she simply lacked the stamina, and her body wasn’t trained for such a run. She wasn’t used to running great distances, and I understood that.

But Daring’s reason for her exhaustion remained unknown. I couldn’t figure it out, since she was the adventurer type. And since she had to use her flexibility and stamina to reflect traps and dangerous situations, I’d imagine she’d have a great stamina. Maybe she just wasn’t ready for such a trip.

It also surprised me how much energy Rainbow had already regained. She hadn’t used her muscles for a week or so, and still she acted like nothing had happened at all. In fact, it looked like she was even stronger and tougher than before she died. Maybe the magical strawberry tasting food I gave her two days ago boosted her recovery.

It was nighttime, and we were almost there. I could already feel that the air wasn’t as fresh as always. Now it was infected with venomous, thick smoke coming from Ponyville. Only one hill lay between us, and the view of Ponyville. In a matter of second we’d get to see its situation.

“C’mon! We’re almost there!” I yelled towards the two exhausted mares.

“I know... I know.” replied Twilight with a tire in her voice.

I couldn’t help myself, so I ran up the hill before anyone else, only to be greeted with a disturbing sight. I gasped in disbelief and shock as I saw the red, dark sky gracing over Ponyville, and at least three dragons flying above it; spewing fire at the little town. I detected four dragons overall; one was sitting comfortably on the carousel boutique, I guess, while three other dragons flew around it, like I previously stated. I could also hear the screams and popping sounds. Whatever that popping sound was, I did not want to find out. The only thing in my mind was to rescue as many as I could and to kill those fuckers.

“T-Twi?” I asked and didn’t know how to feel. Was I angry? Sad? Shocked? Was I perhaps all of the above in the same time? I didn’t know how to make of this, neither did Rainbow, who had landed beside me as silent as a statue.

“Ah’m... I’m comin’!” she replied and tried her best to keep on going. I decided to go down and help her by giving her a hoof, which she gladly accepted. “You’ve gotta see this.” I said saddened and swallowed.

“Is it as bad as we think?” she asked sadly, yet a bit hopeful.

“Worse, I’m afraid.” I answered her regretfully and sighed.

As soon as we got up that steep hill again, we all sat down to rest a bit. We couldn’t just join the party and lack the energy to fight. We simply had to sit down for a bit and get something to eat and drink, but in the meantime we had to listen to the agonized screams from the residents of Ponyville and those gods awful popping sounds. We couldn’t stand it, and I even noticed Twilight starting to sob a bit. She turned around so we couldn’t see her face, and tried everything she could not to let out a cry, but she failed.

She started sobbing and crying in great despair, and she buried her face in her arms.

Rainbow was about to go over to her to comfort her, but I stopped her. I slightly shook my head and whispered to her. “Let me.”

She understood that it wouldn’t be good for Twilight if everyone came up to her to comfort her. It would only lead to discomfort and disturbance due to her lack of personal space. That’s why she simply nodded to me and sat down next to Daring Do who had been staring at Ponyville ever since we sat down. I could notice the fire from Ponyville reflecting in her eyes, but I could also see the fury and determination in them. The longer she stared at the dragons assaulting Ponyville, the more hateful her eyes became. Especially since Ponyville was her favorite town, and the town she had almost dreamt of living in.

I walked over to Twilight and sat down next to her. I wrapped my arms around her and shushed her a bit to calm her down. She reacted to that by hugging me back, and she used my shoulder to cover her wet, teary face.

“Hey, hey. It’s alright--”

“No, it isn’t. Everyone I know is dying, and we can’t do anything about it. ”

“That’s not true, and you can’t know for sure whether they’re dying or not. We’ll get there after we’ve rest for a bit. You know yourself it would be a suicide to run into battle without the required energy. We would simply pass out and then everybody, as well as Ponyville, would be destroyed.”

“I just hate the fact that.. that we’re sitting here while our friends are dying. Even Spike is all on his own in there.”

*Pop*

“And that gods awful popping sound is driving me crazy! What are they doing to my friends?! What the hell are they doing?!” she added with a furious yell and growled in anger. I felt for her body shivering in anger and fury, but I tried my best to calm her down by tightening my grip on her.

“You have my word that we will retake Ponyville. We will find our friends, we will avenge everyone that has fallen and we will kill the dragons. This, I swear.”

“I hope we will, Drake. I surely hope we will.” she said and whispered the last sentence. “But hey!” she suddenly said as she got an idea.

Rainbow Dash turned her head towards Twilight in curiosity, and it even broke Daring’s concentration.

“How about you call Odahviing? He said he’d help you whenever you needed him! You could call him to help us retake Ponyville!”

“Don’t you think I’ll have to learn that power first? I mean, surely he can’t hear me from this distance.”

“Just give it a try, please? And besides, he stated himself that he would hear you if you’d call for him.”

I sighed, but nodded as an agreement. I decided to give it a shot. What have I got to lose? My friends were dying in Ponyville, and we were wasting time here.

I cleared my throat and shouted with all my might into the dark, red sky: “OD... AH VIING!” and shockingly, it was indeed a Shout. I actually Shouted his name, and I hadn’t even learned it in a Word Wall, nor gained the understanding of it! Did that mean my powers were evolving? Maybe with time I wouldn’t need to understand the powers. Maybe in the future I could just learn the words, but not necessarily the understanding of it. I really hoped so.

“What the hell!” I shouted in confusion and surprise. “I... I actually Shouted his name, and I hadn’t even learned how to do it in the first place!”

I noticed how interested Twilight had become, and how she desperately wanted to let out a theory about how that might be, but the situation we were in didn’t allow it, so she remained silent.

Before I could let out another sound, a creepy distant roar; not coming from Ponyville, could be heard from afar. It was heading towards us, and soon the sound of wings flapping started to come into the picture.

Rainbow Dash backed away very confused and a bit terrified, since she wasn’t sure whether the dragon was an ally or not. She simply didn’t trust dragons. Well, except Spike, but he was only a baby dragon and was raised with ponies. He was even a lot different from the other dragons; both physically and mentally. The ones we had to deal with were reeked with death and blood and smelled of rotten flesh.

It didn’t take long for Odahviing to arrive. He didn’t land, but flapped those wings in front of us, since he couldn’t land anywhere due to the narrowed hill we were standing on.

“You called my name, Dovahkiin?” he asked, and a bit interested. “Surely you want my aid against the dov raiding your precious Ponyville, yes?”

“We’d like that, yes.” I said in great exhaustion. Calling his name surely drained all my energy I had just regained. It took a lot more than I thought, and I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to shout for some time. Maybe when we reached Ponyville.

“It shall be done.” he replied and looked at the terrified Rainbow Dash.

She may have been terrified, but she was also in great awe. That mighty beast in front of us was actually on our team, and the thought of that made her drool a bit.

“I see that you’ve retrieved your wife back. I’m happy for you, Dovahkiin. She’ll be a big part of taking down Alduin. Make sure to take her with you in the final onslaught against him.” he said and I swear I could see a smile on his face. A first time seeing a dragon smile, and it somewhat gladdened me.

“W-W-Why d-d-do you say that, Mr. O-O-Odahviing?” she asked in admire and awe and couldn’t help but to step one step closer.

“Alduin fears you almost as much as he fears Dovahkiin.”

“Really? He... he fears me?” she asked and slowly grinned evilly. “Heh... no surprise there!” she said proudly, but shook her head when she realized she wasn’t getting to the point. “But I won’t ever leave him. Ever!” she almost shouted with a determined force in her voice.

“And I’ll make sure of that. But for now, we must get Ponyville back.” I state and turned around to face my three loyal companions. “Let us march to Ponyville, and let us retake it!” I said very loudly to pump the eagerness into them all. I had no doubts of Rainbow being eager and determined already, but I may had to pump it into Twilight and Daring Do, since they weren’t trained for battle.

But I’ve seen them both in action, and I knew they could handle themselves:

Daring Do - She single “handedly” killed Ahuizotl and his two strong bodyguards, and she also managed to kill that monstrous Northling when she fought for her artifact.

Twilight Sparkle - She helped me take down the thugs on our journey to the mysterious mountain that held my first Word of Power. And she helped me kill the hordes of Draugrs back in the Nord’s cave, tomb, dungeon or whatever it was. In both these situations she showed me how valuable her magic could be against our foes.

But they weren’t used to combat, and that’s why a little pep talk could do the trick to pump the determination into them.

“The dragons may be powerful and perhaps idealistic. They may be reckless, dangerous and merciless. But we must not forget who we are! We are the bane of Alduin! We are the force that shall save all of Equestria!” I shouted with a furious look on my face as I paced around determinedly. “We have something they don’t.” I pointed out and paused to swallow. “We have hope! We have a future! Our hearts are filled with love and passion. Theirs are not! And what have they? Brute force? That is nothing, nothing, when compared to passion! They underestimate us, and that’s why we will succeed!”

As I said those things, I noticed how they all put up their fearless expressions on their faces. Even Odahviing was getting pretty pumped up, even though he was a dragon himself. He apparently loved us ponies, just like Paarthurnax, and that’s why it affected him as much as it affected my companions and friends.

“Nothing will stand in our way, and nothing will take our loved ones away from us! We will fight to the last drop of blood, and we will show no mercy in return! So I repeat, let us march to Ponyville! And let us show them that we will not fall, that we will not bend to their will, that we will not be beaten!” I continued in a powerful shout.

My little speech worked. Even Rainbow was getting more eager than she already was to get to the killing. I noticed how she itched to get to combat, and I really admired that courage and determination.

Even Twilight, who preferred reading a book in peace and quietness, wore this powerful looking, murderous facial expression on her face. She was frowning and repeatedly nodding in approval to my speech.

Daring Do looked as determined as ever. She fixed her hat and squinted her eyes towards Ponyville with a powerful looking frown on her face.

After the pep talk they all let out this battle cry to signify that they were affected by my speech and that they were ready to crack some dragon skulls. And that relieved me. Maybe I wasn’t such a bad leader after all.

But I knew, and they did too, that this was just a taste of the real battle that would take place furthermore into the future. I guess this was a good training, but a lot of lives depended on it.

We all turned around in Ponyville’s direction. The mares and Odahviing waited for my word to march to Ponyville.

But before I set the orders, I closed my eyes and lowered my head. I started breathing heavily and a bit nervously. But I also started praying silently in my head to the gods to give me, my companions and the ponies in Ponyville, the strength to resist the dragon attack.

As I was about to open my eyes, I felt for a hoof on my shoulder. I looked to my right to see Rainbow looking worriedly at my face. She didn’t say anything, but nodded slowly to me.

I didn’t say anything in return, but slowly returned that nod. I then added another, quicker nod before I gave a signal to march on.

We all ran as fast as we could towards the burning Ponyville. The popping sounds and the screams from the ponies were closing in on us, but we didn’t let it affect us. Of course, we were greatly saddened and hurt to hear those cries, but we had to focus on getting rid of those dragons at once.

I was mostly disturbed by that popping sound. What the hell were they doing? What was causing that popping sound? I really hoped the reason for it didn’t include ponies, or anything else that breathed the air.

Two dark gray colored Unicorn guards stood by the gates to greet us as we arrived to Ponyville. Both of their armors had been torn somehow, and they both didn’t look so good.

They were both heavily geared, and wore beautiful armor and helmets which covered most of their faces. One of the guards had a big symbol of a sun carved on it, while the other had a moon. One of them must’ve been Celestia’s soldier while the other was Luna’s.

Luna’s soldier had a huge bloodied scar near his left, blue eye. He would without a doubt lose his eye if he wouldn’t get to medical care, but he was a tough son of a bitch. He had refused medical care and toughened himself up by continuing doing his duty.

The other one had cuts and bruises all over his legs and body. He was bleeding, too. But fortunately, it wasn’t anything serious.

“Dragonborn.” they both said simultaneously and kneeled for me. With a sigh I told them to stand up with my hoof.

“Wait! Dragonborn, there’s a dragon behind you! Watch out, he has landed!” one of them shouted and unsheathed his blade.

“Stand down! He’s with me.” I yelled and frowned at them. “He’s a friend and is helping us.”

“I-I see...” Celestia’s soldier said fearfully and sheathed his blade.

“It’s good you’ve come...” Luna’s soldier added, but was interrupted with a loud roar coming from one of the dragons and a sound of a building collapsing.

“Casualties? I want a number.” I said before he could continue whatever he was about to say.

“Way too many.” he stated. “We’ve done what we could to get them to safety, and I am pleased to announce that there probably won’t be any more casualties since you’re here and since we’re gathering the rest of the civilians in a huge secret bunker beneath Ponyville.”

“Can the dragons gain access to them?” asked Twilight in fear.

“No. They’d have to dig deep to scratch the surface of the bunker.” answered Celestia’s trooper.

“And do they have enough food?” asked Rainbow.

“As far as I’m concern, they’ll be fine. But they won’t last for long. That’s why we need to hurry up and get rid of those dragons as soon as possible.” he continued.

“But we’ve been hearing those screams and those popping sounds? What the hell are they?”

“You see, we’re working really, really fast and the civilians are cooperating with us. Only fifteen minutes ago, everyone were running through the streets in panic. We finally managed to calm them down and we’re now getting them to safety. They’d been staying in their homes, or running around the cities for two days. And the popping sounds... you don’t want to know. Let’s just say it is a sound of a certain death.”

“I see.” I said with disgust as I thought about it. “But you’ve been defending Ponyville for how long now? Two days?”

“Yes. The dragons took it very easily the first day. They kind of flew around and just were there to threaten us. They didn’t really attack until yesterday.”

“I see... Good job, soldiers. But now that we’re here, what do you want us to do?” I asked and got myself ready to do whatever task they were about to give me.

They both looked at each other before stating that they weren’t the leaders.

“Then who is?” I asked confused. I was pretty sure they were the ones leading the assault on the dragons, based on their physical appearance, but perhaps the general or commander or whoever it was, was busy inside and sent those two to greet us.

“Our Commander. She’s been a valuable asset to all of us. Without her, we’d already be dead.” said Luna’s trooper with admire. “The one and only Commander--” before he could clarify his answer, a yellow, heavily geared mare with a pink mane brushed in a ponytail showed up.

“I’ll take it from here, soldiers.” she replied with a frown, but smiled as soon as she saw us. “Long time no see, my friends.” she said and lightened up.

I couldn’t believe my own eyes; nor could Twilight or Rainbow Dash. We all stared at the yellow mare with our eyes wide open and our jaws almost falling off.

“F-F-Fluttershy?!” yelled Rainbow Dash in utmost shock and disbelief. “W-Wh-What the hell has gone into you?!” she shouted, but threw herself at her into a hug with a squee. She hadn’t seen Fluttershy for a long time, and the fact that she had died made it an even more emotional moment for her. Fortunately, Fluttershy didn’t know anything about Rainbow’s death.

She was a mess. Her face was covered in dust and she had gained a scar on her forehead recently judging by the blood still dripping from the wound. She had two razor sharp knives sheathed on her belt and her armor was a military like vest.

“At ease, Dash.” she replied and returned the hug with a laugh. “But there are dragons to be killed, and we cannot delay.”

I couldn’t help but to laugh. “Wow... this is a whole new Fluttershy.” But I shook my head as I realized that this was no time to laugh. We could all have a big laugh after the dragons have been dealt with.

“It’s so good to see you!” Twilight said and hugged her, too. She returned the hug with a smile.

“It’s good to see you, too, Twilight. And oh! Spike is doing just fine. He’s safe with the other ponies in the bunker.”

“Good... that’s a relief.” Twilight replied and let out a small relieving sigh.

Before Fluttershy could say anything else, two earth ponies ran up to her and awaited her command.

“You go help the guards in the bunker section transporting the food, and you grab a bow. You’re joining the archers.”

They both saluted her and ran off to their points.

“Wow. You look like you’re a born leader.” I said and chuckled a bit in amusement. Who would’ve guessed that Fluttershy of everypony would be chosen to be their commander? Especially since she was terrified of dragons. I couldn’t wait to hear the story after everything’s been taken care of.

“Where are the others? Where are Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rarity?” Rainbow asked in a pace.

“They’re safe, as far as I can tell. Applejack has been a big part of killing the dragons. We’ve killed four so far, and there are three left, now.”

“Three? We noticed four not fifteen minutes ago.”

“Yes, we recently took down another one while you were having a chat with the soldiers.” she said with her eyes closed. “Anyways, Applejack’s moon boots have been of great help. Rarity has been treating the wounded in the bunker and Pinkie Pie... Pinkie Pie has been trying to communicate with the dragons, but with no success. I’ve already ordered her to help out in the bunker, but she won’t listen to me. She’s confident the dragons will listen to her and make them a deal. She’s almost gotten herself killed many times! Please, go in there and talk her out of it. Please.”

“I- I’ll see what I can do... let’s just get in there and take a look at the situation, shall we?” I asked and gulped. I wasn’t eager to see Ponyville’s situation, but it had to be done.

“Dovahkiin, should I perhaps start my assault on my fellow dov?” asked Odahviing in all his might. He was ready to get into battle, and he wasn’t afraid of attacking his own kin, based on how he said it.

Fluttershy hadn’t noticed him before, and only just fixed her attention to him now, now that he has spoken. Her happy face changed into a fearful frown again and she started growling a bit.

“You are not getting anywhere near my friends!” she shouted and got herself ready to charge at him. “Get out of the way! I got this!” she shouted and unsheathed her blades.

She had already started charging at Odahviing by the time I was about to stop her. He simply stood his ground and waited for the mare to do whatever she was about to do to him. He was honorable, and I noticed that he wouldn’t attack her back. Maybe it was because he knew we would stop her, and prevent her from harming him, but I somehow got a feeling he was ready to die for us.

Rainbow Dash, as quick as a lightning, took Fluttershy down to the mud and held her down. “Stand down! He’s an ally!”

“No dragons are my allies! Let him feel my blade! I’ll make him taste his own blood!”

“Stand down!” Rainbow shouted at her on the ground and looked at her furiously. “Drop whatever act this is, and get it through your head that this dragon is a friend!”

Fluttershy didn’t dare to move. She simply stared at Rainbow in utmost fear and started breathing faster.

She may have been tough when she was against the dragons; considering that she was willing to do anything for her friend’s safety, but she was still the same old Fluttershy when no dragons were in the picture. She was still our clumsy, adorable, shy, awkward Fluttershy.

She simply nodded quickly a few times as an agreement.

“Good. Sorry I was aggressive, but I had to stop you. Odahviing is here to help, and we need every help we can get.”

“She’s right.” I added and walked up to them. “We cannot win this war on our own. And this is only the battle for Ponyville. Just imagine the real battle. No... we have to seek help elsewhere, too.”

Fluttershy nodded again with a tear in her eye. She did not trust Odahviing, but she trusted us. And that made her willing to cooperate. “I got my eyes on you.” she said towards the dragon and squinted her eyes at him before turning around to face the burning Ponyville.

“Yes, Odahviing. Make your assault, and slow them down as much as you can.” I said as I turned around to face him. “See you on the battlefield. Give them hell, and be careful! If you are wounded or if you are facing impossible odds, retreat. This is not a suggestion, this is an order, do you understand?”

“I do. It shall be done.” he replied and nodded with his eyes closed before he flapped his menacing wings and let out a big, terrifying roar.

“But, Fluttershy. Can you show us around? Fill in the blanks as we check the situation and the damage the dragons have been causing?”

Fluttershy nodded and ran into the town without notifying us. We all followed her.

The town was a mess. Fires, ruins and smokes covered Ponyville. And the bodies... the bodies on the ground made me gnaw my teeth in fury and sadness. I was completely disgusted by the sight of all the death around me.

Some of those bodies were in worse condition than I thought. Some of them had their head blown off, some were half bitten off, and some were glued to the ground; possibly because of a dragon’s stomp.

Gore and blood lay everywhere. I almost threw up, but managed to keep it down.

It was a bit of a relief for me that I didn’t know any of them. That must’ve meant everyone I knew were either safe in the bunker underground, or managed to get away from Ponyville. But the fact that nopony I knew was dead didn’t make me any less sad.

Twilight started to breathe faster and faster and she looked like she was about to faint. But fortunately, she got her shit together and tried not to look at the dead familiar faces.

I also noticed two dragon corpses in the middle of Ponyville. They were pretty bloodied with both theirs and pony blood, and they were well sliced and gutted. I guess those poor bastards didn’t have a chance at the furious pony soldiers as they made the mistake of landing. That was my bet, but the damage on the dragon truly showed what the ponies were capable of.

After a bit of roaming around the lifeless town, Applejack appeared and quickly ran over to us. She also wore a military vest like Fluttershy, and also wore the boots Luna gave her.

“Mah friends! So mighty good to see ya’ll again!” she said with a relieving tone in her voice and hugged us all, sounding like we were the news of the week. Well, I understood her. There wasn’t anything positive going on at those moments, and just the fact that we were alright was such a relief for her.

“Join us.” I suggested and forced a smile on my face. It was very hard to smile, since I was hurt and wounded mentally due to all the death around me. But I sure was happy to see Applejack safe and sound.

“Lead the way!” she said and got in line.

After a while, we were located at the middle of Ponyville, and the sight of the town only worsened the further we investigated. The fountain was broken, most of the houses were in ruins and everything green and beautiful had turned gray and ashy.

“As you can see, the dragons have been busy. But let’s pick up the pace, we aren’t safe so out in the open. We must take cover at--”  Fluttershy said, but before she could finish that sentence, a coal black dragon landed roughly in front of us. He wore a menacing look on his face, and his blood red eyes reflected the hate he had on us. His wings were more terrifying than death itself and his spine was protected with horns of some kind standing out of his back. There goes my plan on paralyzing him...

He wanted nothing more than seeing us dead. I also got a feeling he wanted to be the one making the killing blow to the Dragonborn.

But as I kept staring at him, I began to realize one thing. He wasn’t an ordinary dragon. He was the dragon I noticed in Sovngarde; the one making the painful roars. That dragon was none other than Alduin himself.

He let out a small, evil laugh when he noticed he had me; the Dragonborn himself and my friends in his grasp. “Dovahkiin--”

A white Pegasus archer interrupted him and shot an arrow at his head, but the arrow inflicted no damage on him. He was stupid to face him alone, and he shouldn’t had done that. But fear leads to many stupid things.

“Get back! Now!” I shouted at him. He nodded, terrified, but before he could obey my order, Alduin grabbed him in a tight grip with his talons. His next action revealed to me how they made the popping sounds... he crushed him, and with his strength, the ponies head blew up to pieces. It was disgusting and filthy, and I had to watch as the blood sprayed from his throat and colored his talons red. Next, he slammed the body into a pile with the rest of the dead civilians.

This situation was killing me, and my blood was boiling over my soul. I wanted Alduin dead-- no, I wanted him slaughtered. I wanted all of his friends murdered, and I wanted to be the one slaying them.

“Dovahkiin... it’s an honor to meet you, at last.” he said, and never before had I heard a deeper voice than his. Even Paarthurnax sounded like a filly in comparison to him.

It looked like Alduin just arrived and joined the party; since Fluttershy announced that three dragons were left only 5 minutes ago, but I could count four with Alduin.

“Is this really the way you wanted us to meet?” I said loudly with a frown and looked around the ruined town.

The fight suddenly stopped, and the three other dragons landed on houses to listen to our conversations. As did the guards and the soldiers of Ponyville. Even Odahviing stopped by and landed on a house.

Odahviing clearly did some damage on two of them. I noticed teeth marks and scratches on two of them and their injuries were pretty severe.

Rainbow and my companions were the only ones who weren’t intimidated by him, but I didn’t blame the ones who did. Alduin was slightly smaller than I had expected, but that didn’t make him any less intimidating. He was evil looking, merciless and brutal. I know I should be terrified, but somehow, I wasn’t. Rainbow and my friends were beside me, and that made my confidence shoot up.

“Well, it surely called you out. And besides, I wanted to see the powerful Dovahkiin with my own eyes. I must say, you disappoint me.”

“Well, I’m glad to disappoint you.” I spat at him furiously. “You haven’t even seen what I’m capable of.” I continued and took a step closer. “You invade my home, and you kill my people. You’ve made me very angry.” I stated and gazed at him with my sharp, red eyes.

“Do your worst, Dovahkiin! Let us all taste your power!” he mocked me and let out another laugh. His three other servants joined him in his laughter.

I looked at Rainbow who was eager and thirsty for their blood. She had this furious look on her face and gnawed her teeth in anger. She looked at her bow and back at me. I subtly nodded to her, but whispered to her to wait for my signal.

Twilight also had a determined look on her face. She was as eager as the rest of us to attack them. She wanted to use her magic and to kill those fuckers as brutally as possible.

Fluttershy surprised me the most. She had a crazed look on her face and had to fight to remain still. She was breathing fast and her pupils had completely shrunk to dots.

Daring Do just frowned and waited for my signal to start her assault.

I noticed Pinkie Pie from afar. She was wearing a strange magician robe, and had all kinds of voodoo artifacts around her neck. I rolled my eyes as I thought about her acting like a mage; trying to communicate with the dragons while everybody else were actually doing anything useful. She wasn’t even a Unicorn, and therefore couldn’t use magic. What was she trying to prove?

“Drake! Rainbow! Twilight!” she shouted and waved towards us as loudly as she could when she noticed us. I swear the Greybeards could’ve heard that yell...

Then she ran over to us and took a place by my left side.

“You big ugly dragons! This is not a very nice way to introduce yourselves! And I who wanted to make you a welcome party! You’re all just a bunch of meanies! You should be ashamed of yourselves!” she shouted at Alduin and frowned like never before. She was on the edge of snapping.

“Come here, you filthy--” Alduin said impatiently, but was interrupted.

“Enough!” Odahviing shouted as he joined in on the conversation and landed between us and his brother. Alduin let out a gasp of shock, but looked at him furiously in disapproval.

“You! This is none of your concern, brother!” he spat out and took a step forward. “Go away now, and I’ll spare your life. Stay, and I’ll throw your corpse away with the rest of them!” he shouted at him.

“No, brother. This doesn’t have to be this way. We can still go home. We can still live happily in Sovngarde! This is not our place, and we have no part of this world. We can’t just take Equestria away from their residents! Please, just listen to me. It’s not too late to change your mind.”

Alduin growled and got even madder than before. “You are starting to sound just like them! You’re not my brother anymore and you’re not worthy enough to be called a dragon! You’re a disgrace and weakling. Always have been. You shall die as one of them!” he shouted before he suddenly attacked him.

He sunk his teeth into his neck and shook him from right to left quickly and clawed at his head repeatedly, causing fountains of blood to pour out.

Odahviing let out a pained cry as he crashed unconscious down to the ground due to the unexpected attack and the powerful blow to his head.

“No!” I shouted and fought to prevent myself from running over to him. “You’ll pay for that, worm!” I shouted as angry as I could get.

“What are you going to do about it?” he mocked again.

I turned my head to look at my team who were more ready than ever to start the attack. I frowned and gave a small nod to them all before I shouted “STUUN!” at Alduin.

I hadn’t used it before, but it looked like I summoned a huge thunder. It struck Alduin directly on his head, and that made him stop his laughter. But, unfortunately, it didn’t do much damage on him, even though it looked very powerful. It did stun him, though, and it gave us enough time to attack his friends in the meantime.

But I was surprised how powerful it was despite of it only being the first level of that Shout. I hadn’t learned the other two words yet, but based on how powerful that Shout was on its first level, it must’ve been one hell of a Shout.

We couldn’t kill Alduin yet, since it would surely destroy me and my friends if I’d inherit his soul, but we could perhaps make him flee and give him a message that he’s underestimating us, by killing his friends. Three more souls for me. I just hoped Paarthurnax had something for me by our next confrontation.

“Don’t attack Alduin! Kill his friends, instead!” I shouted over to my friends. They all nodded and unsheathed their weapons. “And Twilight, can you hold him paralyzed for some time?”

“Only for a short while, but we must be quick. And another thing, we cannot harm him while he’s in the stasis, for it also protects him.” Twilight answered and didn’t waste any minute. Alduin was coming back to his senses, but she successfully cast the spell on him in the nick of time.

A purple magical stasis of some kind was holding Alduin paralyzed, but we had to work together to kill his friends as quickly as possible, and before Twilight’s spell would vary off.

“That’s fine! And Daring...” I said and unsheathed my bow. “Do you know how to use it?” I asked loudly and in a pace.

“Sure I do, just give it to me.” she responded and grasped the bow from my hooves. “Give ‘em hell!” she then shouted and saluted me. I nodded quickly and brought out my daggers.

Dashie had already loaded her own bow and started flying in the direction of one of the dragons located on a tall house. “I’ll take care of this one!” she shouted over to me, and was gone from my sight before I could even react. She wasn’t far away from me, but the black smoke around us almost blinded us. Fortunately, Rarity had already cast a spell that helps with the breathing before she went down to the shelter to take care of the wounded.

The dragons finally came to their senses from the suddenness and took off with roars. They were getting ready for another assault, but this time, they were facing stronger opponents. The good part was that they were already wounded by Odahviing’s attacks, making it easier for us to slay them.

Daring Do and Twilight Sparkle worked very well together by focusing on one of the three dragons. Daring Do loaded the bow while Twilight enhanced the arrows with all kinds of elements and poisons. She mixed it all together into one powerful mix and enchanted the arrows. It took some time to enchant each arrow, but it was very effective and slowed the dragons down.

They had almost taken one of them dragons out, before I noticed the dragon Dashie was supposed to take care of had landed in front of Twilight and Daring and was preparing himself to attack them with his fire breath.

I immediately flew towards that dragon in a great speed when I noticed it. I was determined to save them from their deaths.

“YOL... TOOR SHU--” before he could finish his sentence, I flung myself at the dragon with my blades. The impact was great, due to my speed, so I managed to pin him down to the ground.

I sat on his head, with my blades stuck into his cheek. He let out a cry, and I watched as his left cheek burnt and froze him in the same time, as my daggers were enchanted with fire and ice.

I quickly, and with a force, pulled my knife out of his flesh and stabbed him with both of my daggers into his left eye before he could try to shake me off. This made him cry out even louder in pain.

I stood up, and pressed my left knee on his cheek as I attempted to pull out the knives from his eye. I knew it would result in a lot of blood, but I had to kill the dragon.

I panted and tried everything I could to loosen the blade from his eye to ease his miseries, but my daggers wouldn’t budge. They were buried deep into his eye and wouldn’t loosen up. I tried another attempt by stirring the blades out of there, but still resulted without success.

While my teammates were busy killing the other two dragons, I was wasting my time trying to loosen my blades from his eye. I didn’t even know why it was so stuck. What was causing it? Did my blades perhaps hit his skull?

Despite of the dragon’s death shrieking, I managed to plant an idea into my head.

I focused on my blades and Shouted: “SUF... OR!” and that worked. But it was a lot gorier than I thought it would cause. My Shout was so powerful it actually pulled out his damaged eye out of his skull alongside with my knives. A great deal of blood spat out of the ugly wound, and most of it landed on me.

But the dragon was still barely alive. He was on his deathbed, but was still breathing. I did feel a bit sickened by how I treated him, but it was no more than he deserved.

I was getting pretty tired after how much I’d been trying to loosen the blades out of his stinking eye, but I still wasted all my remaining force into another stab; this time into his skull to completely kill him off. That resulted in even more blood...

By the time I turned around, I noticed that my friends managed to take one down and started focusing on the final one before Alduin broke out of the spell.

I suddenly felt incredible power. I was automatically absorbing both souls in the same time. It was weird absorbing two souls at the same time, but made me much more powerful for a short period of time.

They were all fighting the dragon who had landed beside Alduin. He wanted to protect his master at any cost, but unfortunately for him, he wasn’t handling his situation very well.

Fluttershy was absolutely crazy. She was throwing knives at the dragon, but she didn’t seem to understand that it wasn’t doing much damage on him.

Dashie had sheathed her bow and decided to fly around to confuse him while Daring Do and Twilight attempted to take him down with their teamwork. Pinkie Pie was standing a bit farther away, and was singing some chants that were supposed to take control over the dragon, but of course, it was nonsense and we all knew it beside Pinkie, who was sure it would work.

All in all, they were doing a fine job and they were handling the dragon, so I decided to take a look at the dragon they recently killed.

I noticed his body was graced in a lot of arrows, but the killing blow must’ve been the two arrows buried deep into his right eye; one was shot from Dashie’s bow, and the other one from Daring Do, judging by the glowing arrow. I shook my head and walked away from the dragon corpse.

But before I could join the party, the dragon crashed down in front of me with three enchanted arrows in his chest. He wasn’t dead, but he surely looked more dead than alive.

“Finish him off!” shouted Dashie over to me when we all noticed that Twilight’s stasis spell was wearing off Alduin.

The dying dragon in front of me stared into my eyes, full of hate, and waited for his death. But before he’d die, he wanted to say his farewell to Alduin. He managed to look at Alduin and said: “I have failed you, my--”

I plunged my blades directly into his scaled skull before he could finish; he would not die with any honor.

Alduin was almost waking up now, and we used that time to line up exactly as we were before we attacked them.

“What is this?” he asked when he came back to his senses. “Where are my--” he stopped whatever he was about to say when he noticed we had slaughtered them all. He also twitched in anger and hatred when he noticed that I was completely covered in one of his buddy’s blood.

“You were saying?” I asked and couldn’t help but to grin a bit. The mares behind me also wore a disturbing looking murderous looks on their faces. They were bloodied, too. But not as much as I was. The blood on my body was warm and sticky, and I hated it. But this was no time to complain. I’d just have to take a bath later.

Just now I started automatically absorbing the soul of the dragon I just killed, and Alduin noticed it. I saw in his blood red eyes how terrified he was of me, although he didn’t show it.

“This is not over, Dovahkiin!” he stated furiously and suddenly took off before we could answer him. He completely vanished, and fled away. His hatred towards me and my friends has significantly grown, but we didn’t care. My hatred towards him had also grown, too, anyways.

By the time he took off, I knew we’d done it. Ponyville was ours yet again, and it would be safe from a dragon attack for a long time. I knew they wouldn’t dare attack my town ever again.

“We... we’ve done it.” I whispered and let myself collapse to my knees. I couldn’t believe it. We actually saved what was left of Ponyville. It may have been in ruins right at that moment, but I knew it could be rebuilt in no time. Ponies are hard-working people, and never quit unless given a reason to.

Rainbow landed next to me and put her hoof on the dry spot on my left shoulder. I looked at her and nodded. “Good job.” I whispered to her and gave her another nod.

The rest of them; Twilight, Daring, Fluttershy and Pinkie, gathered around me and hugged me, despite the fact that I was covered in dragon’s blood.

“Twilight.” I said in a hoarse voice. “Can you check if Odahviing is alright?”

Twilight nodded without a second thought and ran off.

“And Daring. I’d really like that beer now.” I added in exhaustion, but managed to crack a smile. Daring Do chuckled and grinned at me.

“Sure.” she said and nodded in amusement.

It may have been clouded due to the black smoke, but I could still see the sunrise. It was as beautiful as always. So bright, so incredibly beautiful. I couldn’t help but to tear up a bit; not necessarily because of the sunrise, but also because of the good company I was in. The support I’d been given, the love I’d been shown, the trust I’d earned in.

Those little things were the reasons why I wasn’t afraid. I was facing impossible odds, but I wasn’t alone. My trusted friends were by my side and they would all die defending me. Although, I would never let that happen. Rainbow died for me once, and I’d not let it happen again.

I stared at the sunrise as I realized one thing: The battle for Ponyville may have been won... but the battle for Equestria had just begun. Next Chapter: Chapter 11: Dealing with the Consequences Estimated time remaining: 6 Hours, 22 Minutes