Equestrian scrolls II: Return To Nirn

by Sanguine Eyes

Rating: teen
Tags: Human, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe, Other, Spike, Adventure, Shining Armor, Princess Celestia, Crossover
Length: 21526

Impatience still doesn't pay off for Twilight sparkle. Trying to force the Obsidian Mirror to take her back lands her and Equestria in more trouble.

Unwilling to wait another 40 years to meet her friends again, Twilight is considering time magic to try and drag Legendary three's time to her own and then reset the anchor. But with uncertainty and a hesitant leader of Equestria there are more than just a few simple obstacles in her way. Can Twilight really move time with certainty? Will she succeed in convincing others to help her? And if she actually manages to move time and open the gateway what really will lay before her on such an uncertain pathway?
Lets find out shall we?

This is a sequel to Equestrian Scrolls I: Epic Pony Tales I recommend you read it first if you haven't.

Official edited by the amazing and talented PixelReality

And here is some art donated to the cause by the wonderful and talented Leftover of Saikano who was kind enough to give this elder scrolls ish themed piece.

It was not what I needed for my story but it was too wonderful to pass up.

Published 2016-01-09 19:00:02 UTC
Last updated 2016-03-17 05:55:10 UTC

Chapter 1: Fresh restart

An empty bottle of spice wine rolled gently across the floor as a wide eyed Celestia stared at the dancing fire atronach before her. Playfully twirling and dancing about leaving a small trail of fire as it explored the small room.

“And that is just the beginning. Master level conjuration and above can actually open whole portals into other realms, which is what Starswirl the bearded was doing, I am certain of it.” Twilight smiled brightly leaving out how aside from the Daedra, this very magic was likely the reason Starswirl the bearded abandoned the research and labeled it too dangerous to research. Tamriel’s history was full of foolish young mages who summoned things that killed them or found their way into places that lead to great tragedy and severe consequences. It was very likely that even with Shalidor as a guide, Starswirl the bearded did not have to travel very far or for very long to find something that would be a dire threat to the safety of old Equestria.

“Twilight…. Well… this is amazing… but seriously? 200 years?” Celestia stared almost blankly, of course she believed Twilight with all her new power, her new magic and the overall new Twilight. It worried her a little to see Twilight so different. She was not so happy looking. She was the same pony, but Celestia could easily see she had changed so much. The look in her eyes was one of somepony who had seen much death and perhaps, even somepony who was forced to kill. Her smile was still real, but Celestia could feel the hardened emotions in her heart, and seeing her down half the spiced wine without flinching. She could see that her favorite student developed something of an iron liver as well.

“A bit over that, but yes…well… to be fair, most of that was spent sealed away in a stone coffin. In Skyrim it’s a bit of a sink or swim… so a lot happened in the short time I was not sealed away.” She broke a sweat noticing that Celestia had seemed to have noticed a thing or two different. She was still the same twilight and she wanted Celestia to know that. She wanted everypony to know that. “Better yet with these I can open the portal again… I’ll need an anchor though… and some of the time spells. No telling how much fun we will have when we open that puppy back up”

“Twilight… calm down. You were sent to the past remember? She might not even be born yet!” Celestia's mind churned on this, it was not exactly a false statement but what she wanted to say was more along the lines of: “You just fought a war and saved a half dead Equestria, slow down a tad will you?”

Twilight blinked slowly then smiled. “I was thinking about that actually. The faster we get on this the better. On Nirn there is not much time magic… and the stuff they Do have is locked up in their elder scrolls. But I have seen the past, visited the past and all sorts of stuff with Equestrian magic. There is a way, I know it! We just have to try and open that portal again and I will open it to their time!” She hopped up happily on her hooves, wings spread wide.

“Twilight! Please, calm down. I’ll need a lot more than what you just have given me from your trip before I let anypony near that mirror ever again. So please, do me a favor and go see your friends. I will look into some things and we will all decide together whether this is an idea worth going through with. That and set up some preparations for those new foals you are going to be an aunt to. Let’s keep an eye on Melody to make sure she does not fall into the same role she did while you were gone.” Celestia clenched her teeth remembering that part of Twilight’s tale. She did not so much mind dying for her people. But to die deceived. And not only failing to protect her people, but to further arm her murderer with what was needed to destroy Equestria. She shook her head to push out the thoughts, before looking back at Twilight for a confirmation. She wanted to take more control and get things in order on her terms. But she could see it in Twilight's eyes. She was utterly ecstatic to be back. And the friend's she left behind meant a whole lot to her. She would let the young princess go and settle in before she did any real in depth poking around. She had heard the tale and Twilight even wrote a full report which herself and Luna would later go over to make some decisions.

Twilight nodded. She was simply overjoyed about returning. She knew she would never be the same again. But at least coming back she could sleep soundly and see all her old friends. Who were alive and not dead, or enslaved under Melody’s rule of terror. She made her way out of the palace, ventured down and quickly took flight. With her new, more battle hardened body, she was much faster. She could make it to ponyville in about the same time as a casual Rainbow Dash. On her way out she looked back with a smile. She did not like the feel of deceiving Celestia in anyway. And though she did not lie to her directly, Twilight's written report, and the story she retold was missing a lot of details of the danger and problems on Nirn. One thing she had learned by watching Taara, was the art of speech. Having some finesse with your words could get people to agree with you even if they know you are dead wrong. The old Twilight would NEVER even consider misleading Celestia. But the New Twilight did not see it as misleading. But instead, as nudging her in the right direction. Deep down it bothered her, but again. Deep down she owed Taara, Baldir, and Ra'Shala her life, and all of Equestria ten times over again. She watched Taara die just to make good on her own promise. Spending her own soul to set things right. It was a friendship she owed her all to. And she will find her way back or die trying.

The big red form quickly rolled over and nearly took out an apple tree as three fillies and an astonished Applejack and Rainbow Dash stared. Spike casually rubbed his claws upon his hardened scales and with a pucker of his lips, flame cleaned them, before giving them a casual look over. His eyes then moved back up at the other ponies. “You ok down there Big mac?”

A low and almost pained ‘eeeeyup’ sounded back slowly as everypony spoke up at once.

“How in the hay did you do that spike?”

“Goodness gracious I ain't seen nopony able to beat Big mac in hoof wrestling. And I never thought that if anypony could it would be you!”

Spike’s eyes rolled. “Gee… thanks…” His new demeanor was still friendly, but he grew quite a backbone. And a bit of an ego hanging out with the dragons. And not to mention the hardy warriors in Jorrvaskr.

Applejack cleared her throat, and gave a nervous ‘sorry’ laugh. “I mean… well how did you get so strong?”

“Well, my little pony…” He spoke with less of a mocking tone and more of a playful payback tone. “This is what happens when you train with elite soldiers and dragons for seven years.”

Rainbow gave a skeptical raise of her eyebrow. “Seven years?.... Spike you were gone not even 4 days”

He smiled and opened his mouth just before a blur of purple washed by and smooshed the oh so mighty Zeikkinzukjoor into the dirt. Skidding to a stop Twilight turned quickly with bright and happy eyes. “Oh thank the nine you girls are back to normal!! Where is everyone else?”

"Everyone?" Applebloom squinted in thought of that phrase. She had heard it before many times but it was just not a very common thing to hear coming from another pony.

"Back to normal?" Applejack raised her head to look down and see if Twilight had been struck over the head.

“The Nine?” Rainbow Dash glancing over at all the strange newness that was the once normal Spike and Twilight.

“Oops. sorry... everypony… Still a little um... off.  Where everypony else? “

Applejack looked back towards ponyville and cleared her throat. “Everypony else is still in Ponyville. One of the royal guards stopped by and told everypony that there was an incident that occurred, and you were involved. Everypony was in a bit of a panic. Even though he told us that you two were ok. Me and Rainbow here just about to head out to Canterlot to meet up and see if you were ok. But we saw spike here on the road with these three… who WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO LEAVE THE FARM!” She glared daggers at Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle who just hours previously caused a bit of havoc on the farm and were being punished with repairs.

Spike stood up brushing the dust off his scales and clearing his throat with an aggravated glare at Twilight. He stopped. Catching himself about to growl under his breath when he figured perhaps he had been spending too much time with the dragons. So quickly shifting he too stared at the fillies.

“We already finished and we were just out playing around when we were attacked by a timber wolf. But out of nowhere Spike showed up. And just tore it apart with his bare claws… it was amazing!!”

"Well.. I am pretty amazing..." Spike flexed the still small but far more toned arm. He didn't grow much over seven years. But he did get noticeably bigger and far stronger.

Twilight could see where everything went from spike's reaction. And the still groaning Big mac brushing the dust out of his mane and rubbing the bump on his head. Raising her hoof she smiled. “Well… let’s get the other girls… you won’t believe what me and Spike just went through.

A good few hours later and her tale was retold. Leaving a lot of blank stares. Save for a certain pink pony who, yet again, to no pony’s great surprise, was completely accepting of the story. And rather unamazed. If not very entertained. Twilight was careful to leave out some of the more grim details and betrayals. Even she wanted to forget those.

“….wow… really I mean, if you did not have such a serious look on your face and go into so much detail I would think you were just pulling my wing. But… hey if this ain't a joke then, Holy Sweet Celestia! Don’t leave me out next time you go on one of your egghead trips!” Rainbow dash gave a soft playful nudge.

Everypony laughed, and half a smile talking over one another, Rarity was still a little skeptical and suspicious about how little of detail Twilight went into details about her within the story. Pinkie just happily squealed and quickly pulled everypony in for a hug.

“Well Twilight, if you were gone for all those years. Then I will have to make up for all those Birthdays and hearth’s warming, and heck every celebration you missed!!! 250 YEARS WORTH OF PARTY!!!!!”

Still smiling, despite how much Twilight’s ears were still ringing from an, as usual far too loud Pinkie Pie, when most everypony gave an odd look at her. “Um… Twilight dear? Are you ok?”

She flinched and looked over at Rarity in confusion. “Y..Yes… um.. why?”

“Dear you are crying….are you sure you are fine?”

Twilight reached up and felt her eyes. She was a little more accustomed to doing so in her human form. Seeing as how much more sensitive fingers were then hooves. But nevertheless, when she wiped under her eyes and pulled back. She could see the wet marks. “oh.. sorry girls… it's… it's just been so long…You have no idea what it means to be back…I missed you all so much…” Her eyes spent extra time on Rarity and Rainbow Dash.

The other five ponies did not bother asking for clarification. She had already told them that she’d met up with them again in their future. But of course, did not go into many details. Which to the quicker thinkers of the group, they could tell she was holding bad details back.

“Well… LETS PARTY!!!!” Ears ringing once more, she smiled and agreed.

“Yes… let's, then I can get back to work on that portal…”

“Um… Twilight?” The incredibly soft tones of Fluttershy’s voice were easy to pick up, though odd seeing it lacked that more wise kind tone she had developed when a princess. “Won't you have to wait forty years like Taara said?”

“I might have to yes… but honestly, I don’t want to. And really, with all the time magic here I don’t think I will have to.” She smiled, looking back at Canterlot with a keen and almost devious smile.

Chapter 2: Royal Decree

“Exactly how different are we talking here?”

Shining Armor stared across the table from Celestia and Luna, who as well showed great interest and some concern.

“Well if what she says is true, then it all makes sense. She spent just under a decade in a war torn world, with everything under the sun trying to kill her. I don’t quite know all the details, but Twilight has certainly changed. I don’t know if it is for the best either.”

“Sister I am certain she is fine. We spent more than our fair share of time in war and battles.” Luna pulled a tall glass of wine closer, as she tried to imagine Twilight fighting wars and killing other ponies. She could not really seem to visualize Twilight actually killing somepony else. Much less actually fighting in the sense that Luna and Celestia had once done over a thousand years ago.

“She has some strange new magic… and not just one, but several whole new skillsets of magic unseen in Equestria before. Even the sound of her voice has changed, the look in her eyes. Oh and she drinks now”

Both Luna and Shining Armor coughed and sputtered. “What?!.... Twilight? Are you sure you are not just pulling my leg your majesty?”

Silent on the subject, Luna found it almost harder to see Twilight drinking than killing somepony. Setting her glass down, she leveled her eyes across the table at Celestia “Sister… these other beings, what these dragonborn…. Does she imply how trustworthy they are?”

Celestia flopped the report on the table. But instead of gesturing towards it, she spoke. “I have heard her speak of them for hours. She trusts them with her life. And I would venture to guess she would give her own life to protect them.” She cleared her throat and grumbled a little. “According to her report, these three lead several entire nations and armies into our world solely to save it from Tyranny.” She glanced over at Shining Armor, who had only received the very light version of what happened during Twilight’s adventure.

He was almost certain that with whatever confusion that thing happened, he had died in it. He did not quite understand everything that happened. Other than the bit with time travel made it all better and now he was ‘not’ dead. “Surely she just hit her head or something on the other side of the mirror. I mean… yeah this is really detailed but honestly, come on let’s just get a good doctor to examine her and we can go from there.”

Celestia forced her hoof down and stared, not aggressively but firmly. “Shining Armor, we know she is your sister. But you have to stop doubting facts. Nopony just leaves through a portal for ten seconds and comes back out, with decades worth of knowledge and power, not to mention the things she brought back with her…” Celestia levitated the small lock box to the table and opened it. The red and black swirling sphere of power before them pulsated with dark power. “THIS!!! Did not come from Equestria or Twilight’s imagination…There is another world out there and she WON'T stop until she gets back into it. I won’t claim I know if this is good or bad for Equestria. But I will say that I doubt we could stop her without greatly harming her, either mentally or physically. This world of theirs is part of her now. Whether we like it or not. Change is coming and it's up to us to make sure it's good change and not bad”

Fluttershy barfed, making what was possibly the loudest noise she ever had made before. Rarity was busy stumbling around, struggling to close all the shutters to keep the morning light out. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were almost alright, groggy and sluggish. The only two up and fine was Twilight and Iron stomach Pinkie.

“Just a little longer girls… I almost have the medicine ready…”

“Why in the hay does anypony even drink?” Applejack shivered, pulling the bucket closer, though she had only puked once.

Twilight chuckled as she and likely, the rest of ponyville, heard Fluttershy let loose again. “You get used to it… “ She watched carefully as the last of the potion dropped into place. She had a full alchemy set for a long time but this one was rushed together to perfectly mimic the effects of Tamriel alchemy. The ingredients she had to work with were a little shady. But after a few samples she was sure she had a good hangover juice. Giving it a little extra restoration work from her horn. She handed out one for everypony but herself and Pinkie.

“I prefer candy and cake… but wheeee! That stuff had some kick to it.” Pinkie giggled, poking through the other various things they did and made last night. Twilight shared the oh so simple and yet very enjoyable sweet rolls. Which she learned from Baldir of all people. She still laughed every time she remembered him getting bored. And actually telling her that he knew how to bake. She was so sure that the old nord was only good if you wanted a door broken down or a dragon dead.

“Still aint like a party up at Jorrvaskr… heh, no one got their nose broken” Spike laughed biting into one of the few remaining sweet rolls.

“Or at the college. Goodness when Onmund broke out the good mead… Just too many people getting turned into frogs.” She chuckled, but shook it off. She was here now, no matter how much she wanted that portal open again. She needed to wait until Celestia at least had an opinion of it. She could never just let go of Equestria. But if she never made it back to Nirn, just thinking about it made her feel dead inside. She owed them too much to just resign to the idea that she would never see them again.

“Well goodness me Twilight, this skyrim place of yours sounds… well amazing… yet kinda frightening.” Applejack put on her best smile still a bit woozy.

“It’s…. Well it is, I won’t lie and tell you it’s paradise but, in such an imperfect and dangerous world, people turn out different. They have a deeper love of life and their lives generally are fuller…” She hesitated a moment before adding the sad truth. “If not on average, shorter.”

“It actually sounds kinda cool.” Rainbow smiled taking very well to the medicine. She only felt a little off but was already taking to the air happily. “If you do go back, take me with you, I would totally love to fight off a bunch of bad guys and hang out with all those warriors.” It was unclear if she was genuinely interested, or was trying to make Twilight feel better with her usual bravado.

“Well really there is a lot of things you all would love… I’ll bet Fluttershy will make friends with the spriggans in no time at all. They watch over all the wild animals and protect them from people who would harm them. Rarity will be glued to Solitude’s shopping district. I’ll get you introduced to the owner of Radiant Raiment. They make such beautiful dresses there. Apparently, they even once caught the eyes of Queen Elisif the fair while she was still ruling Solitude after her husband’s death.” Both Rarity and Fluttershy seemed to beam with an unsure hope at the thought of such a thing. Even while still battling the hangover. “Oh and Applejack, I can get you in touch with some of the best farmers in Skyrim, perhaps you could swap some secrets. And pinkie… hrmm I guess I can put you in touch with the bard’s college, and you guys can plan parties.”

“They have party ponies over there too?”

“Um … no honestly we will be the only … um talking ponies over there… oh that reminds me.” Twilight ducked back to her makeshift enchanter. She had no soul gems and dared not to just kill something or someone for the power to enchant. Luckily all the Gemstones here in Equestria had very similar power. She could enchant some low level stuff with what she had. “Here…. When we go over we will all need to be wearing something and these pins will disguise you as a human….”

“A what now?” Applejack looked over at Twilight a little unsure.

“Here I’ll show you just let me get a blanket… trust me. You’ll really want clothes when you use this thing.” She wrapped herself in a blanket and fixed the pin on before activating the power. It sputtered and she warped about half way there. Her tail and muzzle remained. Just like the first time she had transformed. She pushed a little extra magic of her own into it and she poofed to full blown human. Everypony gasped in awe. “See here. I'll need to do a little extra work on them before they are ready as you can see but they should help you keep your form. Just don’t lose them.” She flicked the pin off and shrank back down. Happily being able to drop the blanket.

“Ha! I remember back in the college when you first found out why clothes were so important”

A thick blush covered Twilight's face and she threw one of the bottles at spike, who easily ducked under it, making a face at Twilight. It was normal for them. But even aside from all the new from Twilight, the others were shocked. Twilight even if jokingly, was acting out in violence against spike. It was not something completely appalling. But it furthered their fears that the Twilight they once knew was gone. Though, the smile on her face while spending time with them. The sound of her laughter.The tears she shed in pure joy that they were together again. That deep bond was still there. She was still Twilight. And it brought comfort to them all, knowing she was still there for them, even if she was had changed so much.

Suddenly there was an ungodly loud gurgle, and spike belched out a letter hard enough to ricochet off Rarity’s face, making a solid ‘thwack’ before landing in front of Twilight. Levitating it up as she simultaneously applied a small damp cloth she quickly hit with some cold magic to Rarity’s face. The letter opened and her eyes panned back and forth.

“oh… Celestia and Luna want me up in Canterlot. They have a few questions before their final decision. You girls want to come along?”

Rainbow dash and pinkie gave a whoop “You bet! I want to be there for the whole thing!”

Fluttershy just whimpered and Applejack smiled. “We will stay here, at least until Fluttershy is doing better.”

Twilight nodded. She did not mean to cause so much harm with some casual drinking. But she knew it would pass, turning to Rainbow she smiled. “I might as well make somepony happy… Hey rainbow… wanna race to Canterlot?”

Rainbow was both happy and a little shocked. But eager. “You sure you wanna embarrass yourself when I win?”

Twilight chuckled. “It's something I have been wanting to see for a long time…oh pinkie head for the train… we will meet you there.”

Rainbow happily laughed. “You are serious? Awesome let’s see how fast you got since you went off to Nin or whatever…Skyland”

“Nirn… and its Skyrim” She smiled and gestured, but Rainbow shook her head.

“Nah, why don’t you get a head start… give me a good challenge.”

Twilight smirked and nodded stretching out her wings and getting a good position. In truth she was not entirely faster at all from when she left Equestria. But she was a whole lot sturdier of a flier and being the number one way to get around in Skyrim without having bandit trouble. She got quite used to it and built up a good amount of stamina. Especially when she had to learn how to avoid the occasional dragon looking for a bite sized purple snack. Though the main reason she felt confident is because she had something she never had before. And even if she failed it would be fun for both her and Rainbow Dash.

“Ready….” Her wings extended and rainbow let out a chuckled as she yawned pretending to be only vaguely interested. “Seeeeeetttt…” There was an off glow. Twilight’s horn flared green and then white as runes appeared under her hooves and in the air in front of her. This of course caught rainbow’s eyes. “GO!!”  With a single flap of her wings Twilight was launched forward, her runes blasted her at impressive speeds, impressive even to Rainbow Dash.

Very quickly Rainbow dropped to ready position and took off after her at top speeds. “You little trickster Twilight!” She laughed happily blasting off after her. She could see Pinkie on the train, watching with a smile on her face as Rainbow slowly began catching up. Looking back for just a moment, Twilight flared up more alteration magic to reduce drag and air pressure as Taara taught her ‘tricked physics’. She increased her speed again with only having to hold her breath as a side effect. Picking up the pace even faster. Rainbow caught up just as Twilight had to take a breath.

“Holy mackerel Twilight… you weren’t kidding… I would call using magic kinda cheating but hey… you are fast, I like that. Come on!!”  Rainbow bolted ahead, and Twilight renewed her spells taking in a deep breath. While she was projecting herself along so quickly, the air was being drawn away from her body so only her wings met any resistance. Effectively placing herself in a vacuum so she didn’t need to fight any air currents. Unfortunately it was not quite enough to win against Rainbow Dash. But again she smiled remembering that winning was not the goal. She finally could be a part of this piece of Rainbow’s world. She could bond even closer to her friends because of her misadventure on Nirn. Pausing for a breath she renewed her spells and added another motion acceleration rune which She still had a great deal of trouble placing on thin air.

By the time Pinkie’s train came up Rainbow dash was flying in circles laughing and whipping about like crazy as Twilight gasped for air. “That was AMAZING! Twilight, you have got to teach me how you did that”

She laughed and coughed still trying to catch her breath as Pinkie shot out of the train like a bullet and skidded to a stop. “TWILIGHT!!!!! THAT WAS AMAZING… LIKE TOTALLY AMAZING TWILIGHT!!!”

Still gasping and coughing Twilight smiled. “Hey… I was just what… two minutes late…  “

They shared a laugh happily and when Twilight recovered, they started into Canterlot. Pinkie and Rainbow still happily buzzing about Twilight’s new skills. Though they fell silent when they noticed three princesses waiting for them in front of the palace.

“You two please stay here; we just need to talk to Twilight in private…” Cadence’s tone was too obvious; she was terrible at hiding her concern. Rainbow was about to voice an objection but Twilight shook her head shooting down the notion.

“Don’t worry Rainbow… It’s fine. You know nothing will happen here.” Rainbow and Pinkie gave a soft look of concern, which Twilight had gotten used to at this point, but they did not follow as Twilight went inside with them.

The main room had been hastily cleared out and clearly, they had rigged up something for the meeting. A spell circle was at the center and above it, there was a large hourglass with no bottom. “Twilight, please step into the circle.”

Cautiously she obeyed but kept her cool watching everything, even as the large hourglass fell to cover her and the circle. Magic flared and energy harmlessly flowed up through the circle and her into the upper bubble of the hourglass.

“So… this is the world you so badly want to see?” Twilight flinched and looked up. On display above, she could see the fires of Oblivion. It blurred and she could see the college again the mages and the trade caravans. But it all looked too familiar. It was not being viewed as it was. She was seeing this for the second time.

“You are reading my memories?” She was not angry but she was a little shocked that they felt they needed to make so sure. On the inside she cringed. She had held back details, she felt like a fool thinking that Celestia would not have noticed She wanted the whole truth.

“This is the world you want to open Equestria to?” the images flashed over the battles she had lived through the bandits and finally the one point she wanted no one to see not even herself.

He was so friendly, so helpful, New at the college. It was coming close to the end of Twilight’s first year on Nirn, in the college. The young mage’s name was Evanwor. His golden skin always reminded her of the proud magical heritage he always droned on about. And inspired her to learn all she could here. His skill was utterly amazing. He taught her so much in exchange for knowledge of Equestria’s magic. But then that night when it happened. Tears perked up in her eyes as she stood looking out at Luna Celestia and Cadence as they watched. The strike was from behind knocking her to the ground and quickly he had put wards over her preventing her from using her Equestrian magic, binding her hands firmly. She had only just barely started to get the hang of other magics so any real defense was out of the question. She was so frightened she could barely hear his voice. He looked her dead in the eyes with that same charming smile and told her he was going to sell her. She was more valuable as a study subject than a teacher or friend. But the moment his back turned to open the door so he could carry her out. Her bound hands came together forming a long icicle and she plunged it into the back of his neck. He gave such a sad sudden gasp when he fell tot he floor dead. His blood coated her hands as she went into shock. It was an hour before Brelyna found them. She untied her and Taara was notified. Everything was cleared up but Twilight would NEVER forget the pain of the first time she had to kill another being. Tears streaked down her face as Celestia continued to stare at the display. It was not the last time she had killed. Whether in self defense or defense of the college or others the images popped up one after another.

“Is this truly the world you want to thrust yourself back into?.... Twilight….LOOK AT IT! This world is full of death, it's full of dangers that Equestria could never handle on its own. Just look at it. There is a thousand things here that could utterly destroy Equestria.” The images changed to the war showing ponies fighting each other alongside the men and mer. As the Crystal Empire was made into a bloodbath. “I have no choice here Twilight… I am destroying the mirror…” Celestia raised a hoof but was met with a savage shout.

“NO!” The glass cracked and the image blurred as Twilight's body lit up with magical power. Her voice was clear. She was not begging she was demanding it. “YOU LOOK!” Her hoof pointed up at the screen showing Taara’s smile and flashing of their final battle with Melody. “THEY DIDN’T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING FOR ME. They took me in when there was no benefit to it. It was outright dangerous to trust me and yet they risked their lives just to accept me and her…. RIGHT THERE DO YOU SEE IT CELESTIA?....that woman she helped me avenge you… They all did… Melody MURDERED YOU!... and the whole world was under her control. Forced slavery, genocide, what little there was that was left had to hide in fear of the one who really ruled the world.” The images flashed over Celestia’s tomb, a broken and defeated Equestria. The horribly injured Luna, fighting alongside Twilight, against Melody, with the lives of all ponykind in the balance. “These three… they moved mountains… for me, for all of equestria.” The image flashed to Taara’s death, her warm smile sending Twilight back, reverting all of time at the cost of her own life. Torn and burned to nothing. Stripped of all her power and eaten away by time just to save  the one soul she made a promise to.

“When Equestria could do NOTHING to save itself or to avenge you… They were willing to give EVERYTHING to do it for us. Celestia… I'm not asking you … I am telling you. By my own right as royalty… I am making this choice. We owe them everything and then some. You always told me to listen to my heart, to take note of what I have learned. And now I am!” Twilight stepped forward and the glass shattered as she looked up at her old teacher who was utterly shocked. “Because of Taara and the others, we have a second chance. Because of them, we are alive and well. Nopony is enslaved and nothing is destroyed. They saved us and you want to just outright abandon them! I WON'T let you spit on their efforts and their love.”

Luna and Cadence both wide eyed Celestia too was shocked but a wry smile spread over her face. “Twilight… you really have grown up… very well. But make no mistake I will NOT put Equestria in danger. If ANYTHING happens I'm shutting that gate forever…. Now you come with me… I want the REAL report of what happened”

Chapter 3: Testing

“Oh my goodness would you just stand still!”

Rainbow Dash let out a mix between a shriek and a gasp as Twilight bathed her in magic. Her coat was still a beautiful cyan blue but her body was slowly transforming to fit the strange clothes Twilight and Rarity had made. Her ears still flinching and twitching as she near panicked from her muzzle shrinking. Her bones gently and magically shifting. Her Pelvis curving as her hips shifted into a downward angle, allowing her bones to support her internal organs at an upright angle. To put it simply Rainbow was turning human and freaking out about it.

“WHAAAAAA MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP! WAIT! WAIT! JUST WHAAAAAA!!!” She flailed in her position suspended in the air. A human Applejack and Rarity failed to hold in their laughs as they watched. Pinkie smiled brightly hopping happily about.  Fluttershy hid under the table shivering as at the center of it, human Twilight with one hand held up to hold Rainbow Dash in place above the ground. And the other focusing her power into the pin she disguised as a simple seal, which she placed behind the ears of each of the girls. It was exceedingly difficult to do without any filled soul gems. But so far it was working well enough to make Twilight smile, at least while she was not holding Somepony still.

“For the love of Talos! You're as bad as Fluttershy!” The magic flared brighter and finally a fully human Rainbow dash plopped onto the ground in front of them. First and foremost as everypony was laughing, Rainbow was desperately spinning about grasping behind her freaking out about the loss of her wings.

“I told you, they are gone while you are in this form, but the magic still is inside you, you will find you are excessively light weight and still very fast heck you can probably still even stand on clouds. This spell took forever to get right and even longer for me to perform on you girls…” She peeked back at rarity who slowly levitated the training blocks that Twilight had given her to practice with. “All our magic is still here, it’s just much harder to grasp. Almost like if it’s still there just coming from a much greater distance. Don’t worry you will get used to it.” She smiled and moved to Pinkie next who happily stood waiting to change. Her change was oddly much faster than the others and had the tradition existed within equestrian or Tameriel the vision of Pinkie changing would have made her want to try and splash her with holy water.

“Hey… um Twilight?” Twilight looked back at an only slightly concerned Applejack. “Who is Talos?... you keep saying it. Is she like the human or whatever that moves the sun on Nirn?”

Twilight snickered and looked back as her hand reached out. Fluttershy’s body glowed with the same soft purple light and she scrambled about like a frightened cat on polished wood floors before being locked into place above the ground as Twilight began to work on her transformation. “Talos was a human man, supposedly he was so righteous and powerful he basically became a God. He is the primary God worshiped by the Nords and in life he was the founder of the septim empire which still ruled a significant amount of Tamriel when I was there.”

“So… he's one of the.. um.. Nine?”

“Yes he is the ninth.” She smiled, the whole Gods and Goddesses bit bothered her, she had no doubt that the deities on Nirn were real, heck she had actually met two Daedric Gods. But in the end, she was far more comfortable with a somewhat deity like Celestia. Though after all she saw in Tamriel, Celestia seemed far less benevolent and all powerful. Unlike the Daedra and Aedra of Nirn. She personally witnessed Celestia take on injury, fatigue and even in at one time she had seen her get a cold. It bothered her, the difference between immortal superpower and actual divine rule. She was confident as always that Celestia and Luna were good hearted people with right in their hearts and a great love for their people. But she could not help but think of the false Tribunal when the three Dunmer leaders abused the heart of Lorkhan to become immortal. Had her wings been out, she would have looked back at them in wonder of just how similar it might actually be. What was becoming is what always raised questions in Tamriel. and long standing doubt. There was a very big reason Twilight never mentioned how most of Equestria viewed Celestia and Luna to be Gods, in fact she almost always left out the whole shifting the sun and moon. She did tell Ra'Shala who chuckled for days after that, so it was an informed decision to not bring that up with Taara or Baldir while silently researching the way things were in Tamriel to avoid being laughed at more.

"So... uh... which of these nine controls the Sun and which one controls the moon?" Rainbow had only just started to get over the no wings in this form, but she was still plenty uncomfortable trying to stand on two legs like the others were. Everypony in the room was thinking it so she decided to distract herself and ask the big question.

"...moons"

"Um.. pardon?"

"Nirn has two moons, Massar and Secunda, they both orbit Nirn without anypony moving them. I know its kinda hard to grasp but they move on their own and nopony can change them.... well... perhaps maybe the elves of the summerset isle... Taara said that apparently there was a big scare where the moons just up and vanished for a few years or something. When they finally came back, the elves said they were the ones who did it. Taara was not really sure what was going on but she said that seeing it was the Thalmor , it was probably a publicity stunt to get other nations to like them and no one really knows why the moon's vanished."

"um... does the sun go around on its own too?"

Twilight chuckled and with very little effort the now nearly hyperventilating human fluttershy plopped on the ground wide eyed refusing to move. "Nirn doesn't actually have a sun the same way we do. Theirs is no so much actually a star, the sun there is where Magnus escaped back into aetherius after the other Aedra were trapped in the physical world, tricked by Lorkhan. and Nirn actually goes around that"

The words were followed by blank stares and confusion.

"Ok... so who in the hay is Lorkhan?"

"And Magnus"

"And were the other Aedra angry for being tricked?" Fluttershy had just been on the road to recovery looking up with that last question. Twilight nervously smiled trying to find an easy to explain it.

"um... ah... yes the others were very angry with him... and um... they ah.."

"Banished him?" Her pink hair swayed, as she got to her knees looking up at Twilight, was hope in her eyes that not everything on Nirn was filled with death and violence.

"Um.. y..yes yeah um he was banished and nopony ever saw him again..." She had a feeling that she would from here on wait until Fluttershy was no longer in the room before she talked history again. "Well in other news..." she cleared her throat and put on a half smile. "That is everypony, get up and walk around, get used to the forms, it will make it a little safer for us to enter towns when we are like this, that and once you are done here meet up with spike, he will cover the... um.. stuff I am not good at"

Twilight closed her eyes and dove deep into thought and meditation as energy boiled around her, her soft violet glow turned to a bright aura and there was a harsh snap hiss before she opened her eyes in Canterlot. Trying not to show how drastically it drained her or how painful it was she allowed herself a moment to rest before stepping further into the darkened corridors. "Celestia?... Celestia?"

There was a soft clicking sound and a 'oof!' before she heard Celestia laugh. Shadows shifted and out walked a fully human Celestia. Her  hair still majestic and flowing as a beautiful pure white silk gown hugged her features making her look more and more like something divine. "Twilight, I am impressed, I have not seen such advanced spellwork since Starswirl the bearded." she extended her arms inspecting every inch of her flawless skin. Twilight wondered if she was just inspecting out of curiosity and admiration of the spell, or if Celestia had a little extra pride in how beautiful she was.

"Sister I don't know if this is right...these shoes feel too tight" Luna stepped out from where Celestia had came from, but quickly fell flat on her face. Unlike Celestia's human form which appeared to be moderately of breton descent with a touch more of Nord. Luna looked almost like if she was half Dunmer and half Redguard. Darkened and smooth skin, her hair tied in a simple braid down her back. However it was very difficult for Twilight to focus on this as it appeared that Luna had absolutely no finesse or grace in human form. Stumbling about, tripping and falling Twilight flinched at every tumble.

"Um... Luna perhaps you should try barefoot first...."

"Nonsense my fair Twilight. We are royalty and we must keep up appearancES!!" She tripped on that last part and  with a fume of anger. Her magic flared up on the seal she appeared to have placed over her fingernails and suddenly she was an Alicorn once again. With an elegant design over her right front hoof and a beautiful dark blue dress. "Confound this spell, Sister I will get the hang of this... Stop smiling I know you're laughing this up" Celestia facing firmly away from Luna, eyed Twilight as she barely contained her urge to giggle.

Celestia, I was going to come and help, I can still but honestly I am very impressed to see that you two managed to fully comprehend the magic..."

Celestia smiled warmly as Luna mumbled very unlady like things under her breath. Celestia was not so concerned anymore but still a little moved to see how much Twilight had grown. She had yet to hear Twilight even once refer to her or Luna as 'princess' Celestia or Luna. Granted if she were to be honest with herself it was a relief. It was nearly nauseating to hear people groveling and brown nosing or treating her like a God when all she wanted was to be with her people, knowing that she would not have a natural end to her life, but she still had a soul and as such desired to be treated like everypony else from time to time. "Come now Twilight, I am thousands of years old, yes those spells were advanced but surely you should know by now I can still impress the oh so majestic and powerful Princess of Friendship."

Twilight blushed a little, happy that some things had not entirely changed. Celestia reached out and gently touched Twilight's cheek. "You have grown into such a beautiful and wise mare... I am proud of you Twilight...."

Twilight smiled happily. "Thank you Celestia... I did have a good teacher, both then and now" Their quiet smiling time was interrupted by a soft clattering of things being tipped over.

"No... no Cadence I think I have it, maybe... yeah I don't goodness how did Twilight manage this?..." Out from the same spot came Shining armor, his human form rather well muscled, his shoulder length hair still plenty blue as he stood there with Cadence still looking over the spell trying to see if they had done it properly. Obviously Shining Armor had volunteered to be the first between them to test it out. "Ah Twily.... how do I look?"

A mad blush covered Twilight's face as she instantly looked away, Celestia just glanced and laughed before moving in back to help an angry Luna with the spell again. "Shiny..... you didn't read the directions before the spell did you?"

"Um...well I browsed, they were not that important right? I mean the spell worked, your older brother can still pull off some advanced magic, cool right?"

"The directions.... THE VERY FIRST THING ON THE LIST..... PUT ON SOME PANTS BEFORE THE TRANSFORMATION!!" She remained looking away as the confused Shining armor looked down.

"Oh.... ohhhhhhhh... I thought things were a little more pronounced....oh... OH!!! OH CELESTIA I'M SORRY SIS... AND... OH CELESTIA!!!! YOUR MAJESTY I AM SO SORRY!!!"

Blaring bright red he  dashed back into the darkness undoing the spell, Celestia's laughter could be heard in the next room as Cadence firmly pressed her hoof against her forehead. She did want to ask a few questions but the moment was a bit ruined and she promptly turned about and left hoping to talk to Twilight another time.

"Celestia?... do you have any spells for erasing memory?"

Celestia's laughter only grew as she strode back in. "Twilight I am sure you will be fine, just tell me what exactly I will need for my role in this plan of yours..."

Twilight shook her head and rummaged through a nearby cupboard stopping only for a moment to see if Celestia objected before she removed the wine and instead of using the glass she simply chugged for a few seconds straight from the bottle. "Well...give me a sec..." She knocked back her head again downing more before she sat down hoping  it would kick in and she could forget what she saw or find something stronger that would make her forget faster. "When they came here, they took up pony forms, well.. um Taara did, but I was just thinking we should do the same. When I get in there and we settle everything, we will secure a link to solitude and you can meet the new high king. As effective ruler of this country you will represent. And as an act of goodwill offer favorable trade for the first six months. That usually gets attention. However, do not act like it is your bargaining chip. The nords favor wisdom and power over the persuasion of coin. Avoid any such mention of your duties with the sun or Luna's duties of the moon. Specify yourself as Leader of Equestria and less so as princess of the sun. Trust me on this. They do not take it well if you try to explain our culture to them too quickly."

Celestia nodded and gestured for Twilight to continue.

"Ok, now in general, Nords don't trust magic very much. So try and leave the impression that you are far more traditional of a leader upon a hereditary rule. If they hear how old you are they will get uncomfortable. Only vampires, dragons and Daedra are that old and show up places. Be bold when you speak, the nords are not bullies but they certainly don't like pushovers. Nor do they admire hesitation. To them, a leader must be able and willing to fight in the name of his or her people at the drop of a hat. Long histories of conflict with spell casters and elves fills their land. As such expect them to act more like Griffins or Minotaurs. Well with a little more caution and reservation than outward boldness. Not to say that they are not bold, but to say that they may become aggressive and possibly even hostile if they suspect that something will not benefit or perhaps endanger their people. Taara SHOULD be there with us when you address the High king so she might be able to do a lot of talking and dig us out of any big holes we find ourselves in."

Celestia let out a soft hum before turning to Twilight. "And what of this high king himself?"

"His name is Ulfaar Stormcloak, His father was a legend to his people, and he has been, something of insignificant. His mother was a blacksmith named Hermir strong heart, apparently Taara was responsible for bringing them together, long story short on this is that Ulfric his father was killed when his mother had only just given birth to him a week before. If my math is right and the anchor sets properly, then he should be about seventeen years old when we get there, he should still be a little inexperienced and relying a LOT on the council of his peers and his thanes. Just smile, be polite but firm, make a good offer to show good will and he should be a little more trusting, though I have a feeling you will have to convince his Thanes you mean well for him, as they will be a tad defensive seeing he is so young and not fully used to waving such authority around." Twilight's eyes tilted up and to the left trying to recall anything else she remembered from the one time she had ever met Ulfaar. He was a very respectable young man, though plagued by those around him expecting to fill the shoes of his father. He seemed to curse his every waking moment as the "Unremarkable high king" However, his thanes were great supporters of Ulric before his assassination and as such they valued the bloodline that belonged to the name Stormcloak, and as such they would fight tooth and claw to ensure that the boy became as much like his father as they could manage.

"I'll go see if I can help Luna, if you see Shiny can you make sure he is wearing pants before you tell him where I am?"

Celestia laughed and nodded as she stood and twirled about working the finesse of two legs instead of four.

Fluttershy and Rarity sat off to the side, one complaining it was scary, the other complaining that it was brutish and she would have no part of it, of course Rarity seemed almost shocked that Spike had so quickly dismissed her so quickly when she said such. At the moment he just watched for about a minute before voicing a halt and stepping in and looking about.  "Applejack! keep that shield up and until you strike hide your knuckles behind it. The last thing you want is your fingers cut off before you get the chance to fight back. Shield just past your chin and bend those knees. Rainbow.... Shor's bones girl it's a fight not an acrobatics display. Yes we are impressed but the guy who stabs you when you are trying to double spin and backflip WON'T!"

Rainbow scoffed. "Bleh oh come on nopony is faster than me, I can feel it. Like I'm one with the swords" She struck a pose before Spike sighed, flipping the wooden sword in his claws left then right popping down over her thumbs making her drop her Training swords with a yelp. Then a soft hop and he bopped her over the head raising a bump under her brightly colored hair.

"Congrats oh fastest swords in Equestria a two foot tall lizard just killed you, pick up your swords and stop trying to show off. I figured you of all of us would take to combat the fastest, never honestly for a second thought it would be Pinkie who showed the most promise."

Pinkie happily bounced and zigged and zagged about so fast and randomly that even the seven years of honed skill Spike had could not properly judge which direction the practice sword would strike from not to mention the oddly massive amount of power behind it. It almost made him angry that she would have so much natural talent while his more ego boosted time as a member of the legendary companions gave him a significant amount of experience and confidence, even if at first the entire idea was a joke just as Baldur's grandchildren still ran about the place slashing their toy swords too and fro. Though eventually they too joined,  Hajmir actually fought in the battle to free Equestria right beside Spike on Odahviing’s back. But here comes a Pink pony who has never seen a sword in her life and had about two minutes of experience with opposable thumbs and she cornered him in five moves. He almost wanted to try and take her down a notch and raise a few bumps on her head but again he was reminded that perhaps he spent too much time with the dragons and at Jorrvaskr.

"You two keep doing your thing... and keep it simple. Learn the simple then you can take it up a notch Rarity!... I'll keep sparing with Pinkie. But you and Fluttershy have got to learn SOMETHING. It's not a good idea to have no idea how to defend yourself while walking around in Skyrim. And no, you will not likely be able to talk your way out of ANYTHING if you get caught by bandits." He didn't wait for her to respond, As he came about and made a quick rush at Pinkie. Who happily clacked the training sword against his. In a way he was surprised. Being away for so long had changed him in far more ways than just skill and power. He remembered going through what Twilight teased him as Rarity withdrawals. In truth his crush drove him crazy for the first year but as he trained and received his first sword. As he learned of the proud and powerful heritage of the dragons, he didn't mind so much. Until he finally found himself just not interested. He started to get a little sweet on Miri, Hajmir's brother but one glare from Baldir was enough to be certain that he would rip him apart and eat his soul in a second if he even opened his mouth in question on the subject. So back he went to being just, not interested.

His sword clacked rapidly as Pinkie had to step back for a moment. She was far too fast for it to make any sense. He could see her using a hammer or axe to great effect. The unforeseen strength and speed with her facial expression would be utterly unnerving for most. Though much like the other four he was unsure if she had it in her to end someone's life. He still remembered how shaken Twilight was after the whole Evanwor incident. He too was a bit shaken and took time away from both dragons and Jorrvaskr to spend at Twilight's side. He could not imagine how somepony like fluttershy would react, if she had to kill someone in self defense. His mind churned a bit and tossed the idea out. She would be far more likely to choose to die and then apologize for getting blood on the bandit's sword.

His sharp eyes noticed Pinkie's lead foot move back too far, she was off balance. Hiding his grin, he lunged forward for the kill shot. But instead was rewarded with a sudden shock. His vision swam with stars and he stumbled back before falling onto the ground. She did not make a mistake, but a preparation. "Pinkie.... only you would decide to headbutt a dragon... and only you would succeed in that venture..." He smoothed his clawed fingertips over the aching shaking skull still rattling atop his shoulders.

He stood shakily and was about to choose whether to try and shake it off and continue or to sit down and let Fluttershy just worry over him for a bit. He may consider himself an adult but he was not above letting somepony leisurely feed and pamper him for a bit while he recovered from a Pinkie Pie headbutt. Though the third option opened up quickly as there was a heavy flash leaving scorch marks on the crystal like ground of Twilight's castle. "BLAAAAAAARRRRFFFF!" Scorch marks and now Shining Armor's puke."BLAAAAAAAAAARRRRFFFFF!" And now Twilight's puke. annnnnd she's drunk.

Twilight waved, more of a half sentient 'Imma pass out over here' wave than a happy 'hiya' wave. She then proceeded to quickly leave the room and venture into her private quarters.

"Hey Shining?...why did you puke?" Spike stared out at the human form which still stumbled about trying to find his balance on two legs.

"Never... teleported that far before... I think... I think Twilight only knows how to teleport herself that far....b...b..BLAAAAAAAARRRFFF!!!!"

Spike gave a not so amused glance as the others looked on in semi horror. before Shining wobbled over to the wall beside them. "The... whew... the portal... it opens in 3 weeks...well that is the schedule anyway... I'm supposed to stay here to teach and learn human form combat... and..." He held up a hand as his other came to his mouth as he breathed in deeply trying to steady himself. Spike just sighed.

"I'm not cleaning that up"

Chapter 4: Gaining entry

The whole city was yammering excitedly. They had no real idea what was really going on but there were those who were fearful that Celestia just hired on a 40% increase in the solar and lunar guard, she even pulled guard ponies from the borders for this event that nopony could even really know for certain. Then there was the leak, a rather too nosy reporter caught an eyeful of Princess Twilight instructing an entire unicorn squad some new type of magic nopony had ever seen before. One of the more infamous reporters managed to sneak into the royal palace and everypony was in shock to hear that instead of being turned around and sent back like most of those who annoyed Celestia with intrusions he was arrested. This sparked dozens of conspiracy theories and for those it did not cause concern in the only thing it sparked was excitement.

"Prince shining armor is it true tha-"

"No now please step back" Shining could not even get out of the castle to the train station without wading through the mass of ponies either excitedly babbling or demanding answers. Originally they had planned to just say that the regal sisters were planning something special and they didn't want anypony to spoil the surprise. But then that meddling buffoon Snapshot saw one of the guards practicing in his human form. If word got out this soon before Celestia had time to explain everything there would be panic. Granted it would be relatively easy to contain and would somewhat pass as soon as the truth was out. but it would still be very annoying and something they all didn't want to deal with at the moment.

The bell tower let out a loud series of clangs announcing the hour. Counting the chimes in his head Shining suddenly froze amidst all the reporters. He had just realized it was two hours later than he thought. A cold sweat broke out as he could almost feel it coming. He flinched at the crack hiss and felt a wing hug onto him. "Wait no no NO I JUST ATE!!!" The crowd stared in confusion and almost got their first line of questioning ready before Princess Twilight zapped in grabbed her brother and zapped out in a long distance teleport.

Twilight sighed shifting to human form as Shining armor was relieved of his previous lunch. "I told you I'd do it if you were late...Fluttershy waited with me at the station for an hour....you have no one to blame but yourself... now quit being such a sissy and get up..."

Chin on the ground he half mumbled half whimpered "I want my younger sister back..."

AJ and Rainbow Dash brutally clashed in the corner of the room while in the other corner Pinkie and Spike practiced other forms of combat, further down the hall Fluttershy rarity and Cadence poured over in study of some hastily written scrolls that taught the basics of Tamerielian magic. There was a big question on why they chose Fluttershy seeing she had no horn but Twilight insisted that the magic of Tamriel could be learned by anypony, and sure as Celestia raising the sun, a week into the studies and Fluttershy had learned the most absolutely basic of healing spells. Granted she could only sustain it for a mere 5 seconds before passing out. Twilight gave her the motivation of thinking about just how many animals she could save if she learned the advanced healing spells. Just down stairs there was a small group of guards whom Twilight had given the human transformation. Spike cycled from down stairs to up stairs to teach the guards and the others how to fight with a sword in hand. All the while in the early morning Twilight would teleport to canterlot and secretly teach a unicorn squad tamrielian magic. This was all in the effort to ensure that Equestria would not only be able to identify and defend against Tamrielian magic but to ready any possibly needed soldiers for the trip into Tamriel. One talking magical pony threw half of Tamriel into wonder and almost got her killed a few times. She could not imagine what would have happened if they opened the portal and a mass of magical talking ponies just plopped down on the high king's doorstep. Without fully understanding why they were there Twilight figured a war would start almost instantly. But a group of humans breaking it in easy with the help of the Arch mage, foal's play.

Cadence helped shining up and stood by with a smile as he transformed. She at first was all in hoping to explore Tamriel with the others but after a few long talks with Twilight she was content on going AFTER everypony else made introductions and the initial shock of this particular kind of  foreign trade and exploration died down a little. The whole ordeal almost made Cadence panicky. Love and friendship were clearly not on the top of Tamriel's list, even by Twilight's account; peace there was just when one group was not physically capable of attacking another. Cadence gently looked past Fluttershy at the human form Twilight, her nose in a scroll as her left hand jotted down entries in a book, a smile spread across Cadence's face. She was still Twilight, all that hard work and dedication, she had just grown up. Looking back at Shining armor as he stood up and shook off the side effects of long distance teleporting and gathered his gear to go transform and change. Unlike the others here he prefered to wear his usual gear and change clothes when his body changed rather than the enchanted clothes Rarity and Twilight had made for everypony that shifted WITH their wearers. Almost everyone involved in the little project had heard of his pants incident as they began to call it. She smiled trying to draw out her own silly thoughts on the subject to calm her worries. But in the end everything within the current events seemed to portray a slight sense of dread. She couldn't shake it but she would keep doing her duties until she was needed elsewhere.

"Twilight... seriously you have got to stop doing that... the public is high strung enough with all the unknown going on. Jumping out and teleporting me everywhere while they are trying to bombard me with questions.... well is only half unpleasant but it makes them all think that we are hiding something." He plucked the training sword off the rack and turned his neck till it gave a soft pop. His left hand tightened his belt. He was nothing close to as clumsy in this form as he once was.

"We are hiding something remember?" She sighed and smiled, despite how hectic it all was she was very grateful that this time around she would be with those she knew and loved when she entered Tamriel."Aye... practice again Shiny?"

He smiled and hefted the wooden sword with a quick and decisive swing accompanied with a hero's pose. "You are so on Twily.."

Twilight returned the smile and stood up. A staff with a very large Gem atop it flew to her open hand and she playfully rushed forward. The speed was clear in her attacks but the strength was both sub par and held back. She didnt want to hurt her brother and she was clearly not a warrior. However, she had a surplus of spells she could obliterate Shining with had he been an actual enemy. With Shining's skill in magic as well as his martial skill she knew he would become a great spellsword.

AJ and Rainbow Dash took a short break to watch the two scuffle back and forth. Even spike took a moment to enjoy the sight. Twilight had very little skill in melee though she supplemented this lack of skill with her extreme magic prowess. Just as Shining's blade slashed evenly in a wide horizontal arc Twilight rushed in thrusting the staff up at Shining's face. Shining's blade came back quickly to swat the staff away but met only air as Twilight reappeared behind him continuing the same thrust which to Twilight's honest surprise made a loud clack and sizzle. Shining stared back with a smile as the shield that he had raised over the back of his head dropped.

"Amazing Shiny... you are really good at this..." Twilight smiled happily, she didn't like sparing but it did give her time with her big brother. She had not seen him in seven years, and then there was the whole bit where she found out he was dead. And now she returned to Equestria even older than him. Granted the longevity effects of being an Alicorn meant it was unlikely anyone could just tell she was older than him just by looking.

She was about to raise her staff and continue when the sounds of claws and paws scuffling up the stairs made her peek back in interest. The door opened and Rono popped in. An older Griffin that had moved to Equestria ages ago and eventually decided in his youth to join the royal guard. He was always thrown out as a liaison between Griffinstone and Equestria for whenever or if ever anypony actually needed to talk to the Griffin kingdom. But now he was here and though he wanted nothing to do with human transformation or Tamrielian magic he was a very fast flyer and a very heavy lifter at that so he was very handy in having around, especially when it came to moving the Obsidian Mirror. "Princess!....The mirror has been secured and everything is in place. As you commanded I am here delivering the report as the elite guards are mustering to secure the..." He stumbled a bit trying to remember Twilight's exact words. "...Inter-dimensional gate within the Dremora Citadel."

"Ah.. good thank you Rono... anypony up for taking a peek?" She chuckled and teleported downstairs into the depths of the castle. Quickly her friends and brother joined her, after they ran down all the stairs.

As the door opened they looked inside to see Twilight just tearing free the seals that Celestia placed upon the great magical artifact. Shining Armor stepped up some concern on his face. "Twilight....we are not going in yet."

She hesitated looking back before nodding "Y...yes ... I know, its just... so close..." She stared into the abyss like darkness of the mirror before snapping out of it. "Guards...don't let ANYTHING come through this mirror Tomorrow at noon we are entering and taking the Citadel. Then Im going to need Luna's help at very least..." She turned around and leveled her eyes at Rono who snapped to attention. "Go back to Canterlot and relay this information Spike will deliver a specified report and request later but when you get there specify that I personally desire that Celestia and Luna both be present, I need their magic."

Rono nodded and quickly darted off and exited the door a little annoyed to see reporter ponies camped out in front of Twilight's castle. They tried to give him a shout but he blasted off with his traditional warrior screech which made the lesser pony shiver in fear as he continued towards Canterlot at top speed.

"Alright, everypony wrap up, finish your drills and get to bed with a good meal in you and sleep long and sound. We have a job to do and we are not going to fail." Twilight beamed with confidence and eagerness.

The rooster crowed and Shining armor yawned. Stretching he rolled over giving a quick kiss to cadence who creamed him with a pillow rolling back over for more sleep. He smiled warmly and slid out of bed silently. Exiting the room he put a sound proof spell on the doors so she could sleep in peace. Moving gingerly along he pushed gently on Twilight's door to peek in. Expecting her to be stumbling around looking for her things as she shook of the morning sluggishness he was surprised and somewhat concerned to find her at her desk. At LEAST  five dozen crumpled papers lay on the ground by her chair, around five uncrumpled amazingly advanced diagrams hung on the walls then there was a mass of half finished ones in front of her as she scribbled and stared.

"Twilight?... have you been up all night?" He stepped in as her staff quickly came to bear in a flurry of spells. She teleported up and reversed her personal gravity so she could stand on the ceiling with waist high walls of ice up protecting her  as she stared down, horn and staff leveled at Shining.

"oh... ohh um.. s.. sorry just ... ah... just... some.. ah.." Her eyes were bloodshot and she had a heavy twitch. Shining walked in further as she reversed all the spells and settled on the ground with a few flaps of her wings. Shining brushed away a few of the crumpled papers to find a very large pile of empty coffee cups and more dirty mugs stained with coffee on the desk.

"Um... Twilight... I think... um... I think"

"Nononononononono! ImfineImfine! Isolvedtheproblemwiththecitadel!!!!"

Shining stepped back a little and sighed. "Twilight... first I cant understand a word you just said and second... you were supposed to get some sleep..."

Twilight quickly rummaged through a few draws before downing the contents of a small white flask. She promptly turned invisible. "Dangit... holdonholdon!" the draws rumbled more and she flashed visible again before pulling out another white flask and downing it. Almost instantly she froze with her eyes wide.

"Um... twilight?....you... ah.. you ok?" He extended a hoof and poked her. She promptly fell over. Not moving a single limb as if she was frozen in place or turned to stone Shining's eyes were wide and he was about to explode in concern before calling for a medic but Twilight relaxed and coughed.

"Whew... nothing like Paralytic poison to slow you down..."

"YOU DRANK POISON?"

"Yeah.. how else was I going to lower the level of caffeine in my system... Shiny you have a lot to learn about alchemy...Though in your defense I reacted the exact same way when Taara first did that in front of me." She giggled before rushing back over to her desk. "Here shiny!!! this is it... this is how we are going to make Oblivion safe!... well first we have to fight and clear out the citadel but we are outright going to remove the Citadel and the other side of the Mirror from Oblivion and into a small pocket dimension. You see I thought it was going to be hard to manage the time portion of this getting the time to fast forward on their side only, but that's it our worlds are not anchored there is no comparing our time line to theirs unless something from one stays in the other!!! So all we have to do is magically reach out and grab the time line where we want it to be. The artifacts I brought back should settle us just around the point I first arrived. Be thankful for Starswirl's notes I mean my Celestia I would have been lost on the idea of how in Equestria I would grab hold of a time stream through the vortex...Not to mention trying to avoid any ethereal debries shedding from our time line and theirs... or heck any other time line. No pony knows what would happen if we just trying to dive right in without understanding what an inter-dimensional collision would cost us." She nearly squeed before hopping back into her chair and continuing. "You see the anchor will set as soon as we activate the gate and ANYTHING from this world enters that world. At first I was really worried about the things Taara gave me when I came back, the sigil stone the soul gem all that and stuff though a deeper study suggests that these items alone are suspended in time seeing that they either don't exist yet or already exist in a separate location. Time travel brought them here and as such they are separated completely from the flow and existence of time! Oh but the time connection here is unscathed and we can connect the two worlds easily by refreshing the commands and passing through. But you have to look out for anchor dragging as Taara called it when she was tearing the portal open. Its when the anchor gradually slides allowing the times to pass faster or slower on one side. It has a lot to do with exactly how you open the gate as well. The level of power commanding it the complexity of the command and the level of soul commanding it. But that's not the interesting part no no no. You see If we just force our way into the deadlands sooner or later the Daedric prince of destruction will notice us and flush us out before most likely destroying Equestria. So the goal here is to separate the citadel from the deadlands! and as such I have made just that. This spell will seal off the entire citadel and trap it in a further reaching point in Oblivion. But that might not be far enough, I need Celestia and Luna both to move it further. Hopefully we can get it as far as Aetherius! then we can find the tear that leads out of Aetherius and teleport the Citadel to Nirn. Now I know what your thinking Shiny!!! 'how are we going to teleport a whole bunch of ponies millions of miles from a sun to the surface of Nirn!!! Because Even me teleporting myself and MAYBE one more pony even a few dozen miles is EXHAUSTING!!! but a hundred ponies and a whole castle millions of miles no wayyyyy!!! but then I remembered what Aetherius is!!! its an entire dimension of magical energy.  All we have to do is open ourselves to that energy and bam Ill bet the citadel will teleport itself!!! and the mirror will then be on Nirn instead of inside oblivion which I still have absolutely no clue whatsoever as to why its in there I mean who made it!?!?! why?!?! When!?!?!? But no you are not interested in that you want to know how your little sister found out how to tamper with the space and dimension spells and create a spell matrix powerful enough to encompass an entire citadel!!! you see here when you tear space its not so much tearing it as creating an-"

Shining Armor pushed the white flask into her face. "Drink more.... you lost me at Oblivion"

Chapter 5: Entry

The smokey red and black orb glowed with a menacing aura as a third of it glowed purple, a third glowed blue, a third gold. Together three voices in one command as wings spread and horns glowed "OPEN!" The gate sizzled before tearing open with a massive blast of its dark powers.

"This is it Twilight, I have faith you will make the right choice but keep in mind what happens if somepony gets hurt... I will not tolerate losses in this new world of yours...." Celestia's voice was the seeped in warning and firmness. But Twilight's mind was focused to a fine point. She would NEVER let this go wrong.

"Guards! on the ready!" Twilight's horn flared as her magic bolstered itself as she folded the power back on itself to amplify her grip as her powers swept through the sigil stone and into the mirror. Fist there was nothing, then the air grew deathly cold before the whole castle rumbled and shook. Twilight's jaw locked as she strained, her teeth gritting and sweat became apparent on her brow.

"How exactly did she say this worked?" Cadence whispered to Shining armor before he glanced back.

"It was very hard for me to understand but I think I got it... she explained that each world in relation to time is like a boat in the ocean, in order to cross from one into the other you have to hold both still and close the gap to the point where you can easily see the other boat above you, then you have to line up the mast perfectly with the other one then cross over from one to the other. Unfortunately that is just the part about making sure its POSSIBLE to cross over. She is opening the portal to a place called the deadlands, which she explained was like Tartarus only... a LOT worse...But she is going to remove the castle that we enter into from that plane of existence...She says it will scar the space there but in the grand scheme of things it will be like removing a single drop of water from the ocean, its not going to do very much damage at all."

Cadence seemed a little uncomfortable. "So... shes lining up the... um.. 'masts' now?" Shining nodded just as a loud crackled sounded from the gate and Twilight let go.

Standing back she gestured to the mirror. "Into the Citadel, the Daedra will show no mercy. They are close to mindless and what they do have within them is simply the desire to end your life, do NOT spare them." The guards poured in quickly. Nervous yet ready, they had trained for this and trained hard. As the last of them began to move she too joined in leaping into the mirror, Shining Armor quickly followed and almost wished he hadn't.

The air was so thick and hot he could hardly breath. It felt like he was at the foot of an erupting volcano. Had he been more focused on the adrenaline and less so on his curiosity and concern about Twilight he would have been less taken back. The guards were rushing about sliding on all four hooves in search for everything, but the dark and twisted looking castle was empty. Three pairs of whooves pressed on the old door closing it firmly as other guards rushed back down the stairs. Twilight kept her eyes open and focused.

"The citadel is empty princess...I cant find anything...but up here is the chamber I thing you were talking about."

Twilight nodded firmly and glanced back, singling out a guard with a hoof point she barked her orders. "Go back through the gate and get Celestia and Luna... tell them to bring the device... and the Sigil stone!"

The guard nodded and rushed off as Shining armor made his way up to Twilight. "goodness... is it always this hot in here?"

Twilight glanced at him and nodded "I have only been here twice before.... and both times it was just as bad or worse..." Her memory flashed back to the pain, the burns and barely surviving the trip. She was thankful that this time the portal was opened on such a high level instead of just spike whispering a triggered word that revived the previous magic that bound the gate. She remembered the terror and blaring pain from being sucked into the gate while it was opened on such vague weak power. She shook her head tossing the memory aside as she watched the gate open and both Luna and Celestia entered looking about with caution and worry. Luna held the Sigil stone and Celestia the 'device'.

Twilight quickly moved over and guided the box into position. Simply on the floor as close to the center as she could manage, which was rather difficult with a massive gaping bladed hole as a centerpiece for the citadel. She gave the box a firm tap with her horn before double checking to see if everypony was there. She had no idea what kind of problems passing through the gate while she did this would cause. "You!" She telekinetically gripped the Sigil stone and tossed it to one of the guards. "Take that up top and put it on the pedestal. Trust me you will know it when you see it, but hurry the longer we are here the more likely we are to get.... HIS... attention"

The guard dashed off quickly and Twilight waited in suspense. Suddenly the whole castle began to tremble, then shake violently before she slammed her hooves into the device. With an ear shattering crackle gravity simply vanished and everypony started to float about. "It worked!!!! The citadel is no longer in normal space... Quick Luna Celestia help me move it" Both the other princesses were willing but a little confused.

"Twight?... um... where exactly?" Luna's hoof was held out in question and her head cocked to the side in a reminder that Twilight had not explained EXACTLY how this part was supposed to work.

"Whaaa!! ok ok... um... um... ok... well.. ah! UP! UP! Up in relation to the castle's current position, we just need to get as far away as possible as fast as possible." Twilight's horn quickly began to glow followed quickly by both Celestia's and Luna's.

The sensation of movement without any physical effects flooded the room. Gravity was still clearly absent but the sickly feeling of moving too fast hit everyone like a train. Shining Armor's hoof came up to his mouth and his cheeks bulged right before one of the other guards quickly turned him around and pushed him further away in fear of wearing the captain's latest meal. Their senses overwhelmed with both the sensation of movement and the deafening silence of what seemed like it should be sounding like a meteor crashing and lack of what felt like the laws of physics.

All of the guards were sent into a panic. The events unfolding around them contributed to the problem but for the most part their eyes were on the three princesses. Their power flared up so high the strain on them was blatantly clear as even a small leak of blood trickled down from Twilight's nose as her horn looked like it was actually smoldering. Then came the screams.

Twilight's strain erupted into a pained low growl that graduated into a tight lipped howl as she tried to overpower the strain through rage and determination. Luna's voice rang out in fear as she noticed the same thing as Celestia who only opened up in a war cry that sounded off with her redoubled efforts when she could feel the massive power quickly gaining on them. What was first a whisper in her ears at the fringes of her soul was a booming voice blaring in rage and anger. "TRESPASSERS...TRESPASSERS AND THIEVES. YOU CANNOT ESCAPE ME..." The voice of Mehrunes Dagon had an exceedingly powerful effect on the moral of the guards who trembled in fear for their souls. They all could almost feel the four arms of the Daedric God reaching out to reclaim what they had just stolen.

With a blast of golden light and with the voice of a wrathful God Celestia bellowed her war cry. Her answer to the great evil that demanded the lives of her sister, her friends and her subjects. "NO!!"

Though soon as if it was inevitable darkness claimed them all.

Shining armor stirred, his eyes were almost painful to open but never the less there he was staring at something he could not place. Not that he did not know what it was but simply it appeared to be something so far beyond his comprehension. Still floating he gazed at it and it gazed at him. "You should not have come...and you certainly should not have stolen ...You should have waited..." The voice was male but he could feel that it was something wiser and more powerful than anything he had ever known before.

"Wh... who are you?....what are you?" The Unicorn groaned as he shifted. Everypony was completely still and unmoving, even the princesses. To his knowledge and immediate observations he was the only one awake; or for that matter alive.

"I am the architect.....I watched you enter.... and watched you try... and I watched you fail. Oddly you for some reason....you did not fail like the others... strange mortals... and their oh so valued powers..."

"I don't understand..." He looked harder trying to comprehend what he was looking at but it was so far beyond him that all he could do was feel foolish and lost.

"You don't need to...you are the only one... and even now you are lost... but perhaps... yes... I will show you the way...but... you will do this for me..." Shining Armor squinted in confusion as the being reached out and touched him. All he could see was the massive storm of ash and heat of a volcano, then a rotting hunk of flesh. But something was very important about it. He did not have the slightest clue what he was being shown, though he was certain it was of the most dire importance.

"What am I seeing... what is going on?" A panic began to move in his heart, he was forgetting something, he was not paying attention. Something was wrong. It was all too silent. "Celestia no... no... NO...." He seized in his pain and sorrow before the being gripped him in its indescribable hand.

" deliver it to me and I will show you the way..."

Shining's eyes forced back the tears and he nodded. "Anything... ANYTHING... I will do it...please... just...please..."

Suddenly the sound he was forgetting the sound of which not hearing caused him so much dread returned. The beating hearts and mouths drawing in air of the once lost souls of every last pony in the room. He could feel the movement again as the light of Aetherius flooded in and suddenly there was a massive crash that threw everypony about.  Twilight shot up with a shout. "Aetherius!!!! quick we... um.. we... where are we?..."

An extremely foreign noise leaked in aside from what sounded like crumbling stone. As they awoke seeing the device broken and melted they could hear something familiar but something they thought for a moment they would never hear again. ".... are we in Equestria?...."

Twilight rushed over to the door and pushed it open only managing to stare blankly into the space beyond. Right in front of her there was a babbling brook and just beyond that whistling and chirping birds in the early morning light. She could just vaguely see the two moons in the sky.

".... we... we made it... we are here... Celestia!! we are here!"

The white alicorn stood up, her whole body ached and creaked in pain. Luna followed suit but appeared to be in even worse shape. Celestia honestly wanted to chew Twilight out, go back and close the gate for good. She had not quite explained just how powerful the Daedra were nor how offended they would be when this part of the plan would take place. But something odd fell over her like a calmness and relief. She did not know why but there was a blessing upon them. They were no longer trespassers or thieves. "Twilight... it's beautiful... this is ... this is the land you spent those years in?..."

Before a response could be made the mirror flared up and a far FAR too cheerful Pink earth pony hopped in followed by everypony else who simply tripped up and fell into a large pile of candy colored pony with looks of concern plastered about their faces. "Twilight!!! Im so happy well I was so worried but now Im so happy!..." Spike came through the mirror next hopping on top then over the other four ponies piled up who quickly untangled and started to walk about. The guards all stood firm as reinforcements wearing grim faces entered through the mirror.

"Ahhh... home sweet Skyrim..." Spike chuckled looking back at everypony else then hopping up to Twilight's back he nudged her. "Everypony in Equestria is freaking out... you guys have been gone for like five days...."

Twilight's eyes shot wide and she tore the soul gem from her bags to look at it. "that CAN'T be... the anchor didn't slip at all. We would have had to have been all out for five days... how can that be right?" Shining Armor held back his experience with the unknown entity in hesitation and with a feeling that for some reason he was not supposed to tell them that they had all just died.

"Well the mirror just popped back up and working... so we came through... Im sure everything will be fine...but hey the plan worked... congrats Master wizard princess..." Spike nudged Twilight who smiled away the tears welling up in her eyes. She would make everything right now, return the love and kindness given to her. She would find her lost friends and recreate the love and care they all shared.

Standing tall and straight Twilight steadied herself before the guards and the princesses as she triggered the seal and transformed into a human. "Alright everypony.... remember the training... remember the warnings...and for the love of love DON'T WONDER OFF!"

She looked back out at the lush forest and cold air meeting her face. It smelled like she was around riften, perhaps further west, peeking out she could see the throat of the world up high to the northwest. Her gaze settled firmly on the north, and she smiled.

Chapter 6: Critical failure

"This would be so much easier if we just flew..." Rainbow Dash kicked a stone that rolled gently off the path.

"Didn't you read the details I gave you?... flying ponies would freak people out, a mass of flying ponies would likely trigger a violent response in fear of an impending invasion, and finally the dragons here are a lot more violent and a lot more cunning and a whole lot more hungry for small flying things than the dragons in Equestria."

Rainbow Dash peaked back at Spike who gave a nod in agreement. He could still remember Twilight's early attempts to fly about in Skyrim's skies, as fun as it was, it was a little depressing that literally everything in this land wanted to kill them when they took to the skies.

The group consisted of just a small handful of the elite guards Luna Twilight and her friends, all in human form trying not to look awkward walking around on two legs heading up north. Everypony else guarded the Citadel which Celestia and many of the unicorns constantly refreshed their concealment spells upon. Celestia herself had decided to stay until it was time to go see the high king, and the portal needed at least somepony powerful enough to destroy it preventing any unforeseen invasion attempt, guarding it.

Twilight's joyful thoughts came to a sudden halt. Everypony else didn't notice the or recognize the noise but she did. She waved for the group to stop and signaled for the guards to take up defensive positions. They  crouched in wait spears drawn as Rainbow and AJ stood ready behind Twilight who drew her staff waiting eagerly as the soft echoing sounds became more evident.

A soft whistle and Luna's head jerked to the side avoiding an arrow that flew blindly through the bushes. Twilight nearly had a heart attack, she was both grateful and surprised on being reminded that Luna was not actually some petty weak thing that ruled Equestria. Twilight seemed to always forget how the two sisters had actually fought in war before. Another whistle and an arrow bounced off a rock and clattered about just a few dozen feet from her.

"Twi?... we under attack?"

"Nope... but they are!" She pointed at the road ahead just in time to see a Khajiit and an argonian blast around the corner already tired and gasping for air. Seeing the ready guards and the small handful of other human form Equestrians  the two skid on the soles of their boots and almost comedically toppled forward and rolled to a stop.

The Khajiit looked at the leveled spears and turned to the Argonian with a regretful face. "Well friend... I suppose we tried our best... yes... no... yes Ra'Mani is sorry he called you dense... yes... no... yes.... no. Ra'Mani is not sorry.. you get Ra'Mani killed..." The Khajiit spoke in a rather annoying tone with short bursts of energy that suggested he was not entirely there upstairs.

The guards stared in confusion at their first experience encountering a Tamrielian. However, Twilight's eyes were glued to the Argonian who laughed and giggled. "Well I thought they were friendly you should have let me talk to them... maybe I could have graced their dull barbarian minds with my knowledge on the Dwemmer ha!... yes...but yeah no matter how you look at this its totally your fault. You speak with flames when words would do far better."

Twilight walked past the guards and looked down at the Argonian with wide eyes. "Geel?"

"Aha! and  its my amazing reputation precedes me.. perhaps that has saved us"

"Oh? Ra'Mani thinks maybe you owe her money from your stupid failed expeditions into the ruins... yes... no... yes!"

"Geel what are you doing?" Twilight stared at the Lizard who righted himself and looked to be about to speak when another Argonian rounded the corner slashing a heavy dull axe into the side of a bandit's head knocking him out or quite possibly killing him.

"Brother! are you alright?" The near pitch black muscle bound Argonian  stepped forward weapon ready at the guards.

Twilight could see the experience in his step and the powerful sway in his limbs, much like the way Baldir carried himself. This Argonian was a fighter, a very good one at that. Few among the group of ponies would be a match for him, but she was not foolish enough to waste life putting this problem to rest with force. Diplomacy could get anypony killed in Skyrim, but she had a feeling it would save lives worth saving here. "Guards... kill anything that comes around that corner these three are allies!" They hesitated before Luna nodded and gestured to them. Quickly they dashed off to keep watch on the corner. Luckily the big Argonian's efforts seemed to have driven the bandits away.

"Allies? Ra'Mani is confused.... how did one as dense as this one find anyone who could tolerate his obnoXIIIIIIIAAAH!!!" The tall Argonian stepped on the Khajiit's tail as he strode forward picking Geel up by the back of his robes. His next motion was a quick and suspicious glare at Twighlight as he placed himself between her and his apparent brother.

"Who are you?" The Argonian glared fiercely at Twilight, his eyes searching for a reason to react violently.

I see trust is still hard earned here "I am Twilight..." She intentionally left out the rest of her name and title by experience. "It may sound a little odd but I owe Geel a lot for helping me and the Arch mage for something... something that is going to be really very hard to explain."

All three of the Tamrielians looked up with a fair amount of confusion. "....um.. I don't mean to question your debt which I am happy to hear is on YOUR side... but... I have never met the arch mage before... how could I have helped her, heck I have never met you before either. I feel your debt is going to be VERY hard to explain..."

"You know the Arch Mage strange woman? Ra'Mani is looking for the arch mage... yes.. no... yes Ra'Mani hires mercenary and dull Dwemmer tinkerer to help Ra'Mani look for his master." The Khajiit beamed with pride after his oddly wide crosseyed eyed giggle.

"Wait...master?... do you mean simply that you are a part of the College of Winterhold?....I don't remember ever seeing you there"

"Ra'Mani is offended! How do you strange human not know of me? Ra'Mani the great. Ra'Mani learns directly from Arch Mage Taara Silvershield.... yes.. no... yes.... yes"

Twilight's mind churned and chewed on this new information. She never knew Taara to actually take on a student. Especially someone this odd. Even in her own case Taara taught her but never officially took her or anyone else on as an actual dedicated student. "Like I said it is very hard to explain. I just need to get to the College I need to find the Arch mage..."

The three gave another confused stare. "Where have you been girl?....Shes not at the college. This fur brain hired me and my brother to help him find her. Shes been missing for two years."

Twilight's eyes shot wide and she stepped back. "What could have possibly changed the future of Nirn this much... I am certain that nothing could have gone and...." She froze deadly still and a memory flooded back up into her mind. 'Oh you are just angry because I know more about the Dwemer than you...and that whole thing where I accidentally caught the college on fire....and tore an unstable rift into Aetherius with that Dwemer device...and...um..' The memories burned in her mind. Something did not match up. She looked over at Geel. "Geel... how old are you?...."

The Argonian tilted his head in question before he stood firm and stated in a matter of factly type of voice. "I am 17... and well beyond the petty levels of knowledge of most mages and other tinkerers."

Twilight's jaw dropped. It hit her like a train. His voice was much lighter and he was even physically different. He was actually smaller and his scales looked shinier and less dirty. The Geel she knew was at the very least 30 years old. "No... no no no... no.. I was so certain ... how did I mess up. The calculations were flawless..."

Luna stepped closer, the concern on her face very clear. "Twilight?... what is wrong?"

"We are early... over a decade early. This is not the same time that I found myself in Tamriel." She fumbled with her thoughts, all her plans and all her backup plans were basically useless now. She knew almost everything about this region but very few wished to speak of the time that occurred after High King Ulfric was killed. She had asked Taara a few times but she had always responded with the same 'Ill tell you about it some day' line. Taara fed that line to her for every time she wanted to know about something Taara did not want to talk about. "This is bad... we have to go back to Celestia... we need to rethink our strategy..."

"Ra'Mani sees the stupid humans have not heard.... Ra'Mani believes she is first yes... no... yes!... Ra'Mani hired the lizards to help Ra'Mani find Arch Mage... yes... yes... and though Ra'Mani has the clue.. yes... no... yes.... yes... Ra'Mani hears from reliable ears.. yes... Other Khajiit knows, they see Arch Mage by dwemmer ruin!" His voice trailed into a high note  that aggravated all who were present.

"He means that a group of stupid Khajiit say they saw the Arch Mage and sold this rumor to him for 50 gold...." The Dark Argonian grumbled annoyed and aggravated.

Even Twilight sighed. The Khajiit was either a complete lair and a fool or he had something completely unknown about him that made him very important, important enough for the Arch Mage to actually care about this buffoon. "Princess Luna.... please take the guards back to Celestia and let them know what happened... " She turned to her friends and cleared her throat. "I know its probably pointless to go and investigate this... but it is literally the only thing we have as far as an idea to Taara's location... I wont force you to come but I would like some backup..."

Applejack shot an eye at Rainbow who smiled. They both looked back and nodded happily before pinkie popped up between them eager to please. However, Fluttershy and Rarity did not move. It had been a very rough time so far, despite the weeks of preparation things still had moved a little fast for their liking.

"Um... I.. um... need to practice more Twilight..." Fluttershy couldn't manage to make eye contact.

"I would come darling but.. I am not completely sold on this idea... and I do not wish to go far from the guards...I have complete faith that you would be capable of defending and guiding us but... Ill give you a rain check on this portion of our adventure..." She gave her best smile.

Twilight was not offended nor very surprised. "Its ok.... You two go back with Luna... I will make sure we make some progress and we should be back by Sundown... if not then send my brother and Spike to come out after us, Spike will easily find us." She smiled happily trying to reassure and comfort her friends. She had to admit she could feel their discomfort at the entire ordeal and it almost felt like it had distanced them to a degree. She needed them to know that she was ok with them needing time to take it all in. But at the moment she needed to find Taara. This new nugget of information was burning a hole in her soul. She never once heard about Taara disappearing or being missing for any amount of time, much less two whole years.

"Come on you two... we are heading back... Good luck Twilight...I will relay these details to my sister..." Luna gave a smile to Twilight hoping she would catch the tone of her voice, the same tone that said 'you do what you need to do but don't forget the rules on this expedition of yours'. Rarity and Fluttershy gave their best wishes and left with Luna.

As soon as the last guard was out of sight Twilight turned to the dark Argonian. "I have the same doubts as you... but if you cannot tell I need to know more. I am coming with you"

The Argonian glanced her way with untrusting yet lax eyes. "Very well, but make no mistake... I don't care who is who... I am here only because I don't want my brother to die... I don't care who you are or what you are... so long as my brother is safe..."

"Very well, and I know my word wont mean much to you but rest assured I value your brother's life and I do not wish to see it end. However, unlike you I do care who I travel with... As I said, I am Twilight, this is Rainbow Da... Rainbow, AJ, and Pinkie.... " She left out the fullness of the names hoping to avoid the awkwardness she knew would be there form the names. However, the look coming from the dark Argonian made clear what he thought of the names. "Ahem... may we know who you are? Even if only to know what to call you?"

The Khajiit shot up and answered the question not directed at him before the Argonian could speak. "I am Ra'Mina... the legendary Ra'Mina... yes... no... yes...hee hee... yes... This is the muscle head and the dull one... yes..."

The 'Muscle head' gave a closed fisted swat over the Khajiit's head. "I am Ras'Kiel... you may call me Ras... You already seem to know my brother Geel..."

Twilight nodded happily. "Yes... though if you don't mind me stating it... that is not an Argonian name..."

"Neither is Geel. We were adopted....but how about we do less talking... and more moving... I am eager to get this over with... I can only take so much fool before I start to wretch..." Ras glared at Ra'Mina in anger as he giggled to himself.

"Well then... lead the way"

It was another few hours of relatively silent travel as they headed in the direction of some preciously unheard of Dwemmer ruin. According to Geel it had only just been unearthed after a heavy rainstorm a few months ago. Twilight had not heard of it before, but this was not surprising. After her first time in a Dwemmer ruin with Taara and Ra'Shala she decided that she would far prefer to learn about them through reading. Too many things inside that wanted to kill people and would not listen to logic or reasoning. She of course went on many more expeditions since, but she just was not that into willingly traversing Dwemmer ruins or studying them. It was their culture, technilogical advances, and history that sparked her passions.

It took only about five minutes for Twilight to softly cast a mute shield around them so she could talk to her friends without Geel's party hearing them. All she accomplished however was just a little less trust from Ras who seemed to notice her actions, and a little more worry from Applejack.

"He keeps looking over here...Twilight... just let me at him..." Rainbow grumbled flexing her hands as Twilight just sighed.

"Rainbow... you still cant win against Spike...calm down..." She worried about Ras. She never met him before, granted she hardly knew Geel but the way Ras walked with him suggested that he was very protective of his brother, which begged the question; where was he when Twilight first came. Geel had already started up plenty of fights or rather beatings. Especially from the mages at the college, with how protective Ras was, why were the mages still in tact?

Her train of thought was abruptly interrupted when Geel peeked back and spoke. "Weird girl!... we are here."

Quickly dropping the mute shield Twilight smiled happily and came up along side the Argonian to see a sunken ruin still half way under the mud. It did not even look to be worth entering but Geel happily approached and poked about. Shortly after his poking and prodding he was rewarded with a loud clack and what looked to be a normal wall opened up.

"Wait.... why the wall?... " Twilight looked about what little she could see of the ruin. There was a door but it seemed completely untouched. The building itself looked like it was sinking to one side which was explained by the fact that it was buried under the dirt. She processed the information and decided to let it go passing it as just a long since abandoned Dwemmer watch post or at the very most a Dwemmer construct that was designed to be sank into the earth for some odd reason.

Ducking just low enough to enter the small crowd made its way into the old ruin, it was not a very impressive sight. What caught Twilight's attention was twofold. First the air was mixed. Both stale and fresh, more than it should have been, then the fact that Ras appeared to refuse to enter anything but last, even when his brother shot in first. She gripped her staff tighter ready just in case Ras decided to do more than just suspect Twilight and her friends.

"Oh goodness! just look at all of this, its just beautiful so beautiful! undisturbed for thousands of years... everything is still in its original place... ah! a Dwemmer lock chest... just look at this.. the design is flawless. This must be a masterpiece of work... Ras... Brother can we t-"

"No..." Ras seemed utterly unimpressed and unmoved by anything occurring at the moment. "We keep moving, We can look around in other ruins... for now lets stick to just this search the furball is paying us for."

Surprisingly most of the trip Pinkie remained utterly quiet, just silently taking in everything there was to see. It almost unnerved the other ponies having her be quiet for so long. However, what was more unnerving was the fact that Twilight could not hear her at all at the moment. It was dark and she could hear everything echoing around in the ruins. Geel was the one that would not shut up but she could hear the foot falls of only six people. Ras, Ra'Mani, Geel, Rainbow, Applejack and herself. Pinkie's human form was slightly shorter than most, and with her more energy filled strut her pace was quick and over exaggerated making her foot falls sound very easy to pick out. But she could not hear them at all. Closing her eyes she focused, listening to the echos feeling for void spots in the space where noise did not bounce off of. There was nothing she could immediately tell. All she could feel was the silence and nonexistence of her friend.

Picking the staff off her back she remained calm, if she could fool whatever it was that took pinkie from thinking that she knew then it would be more careless. Though her heart sank in grave worry and anger. Sweating and clenching her teeth tightly she had to struggle not to turn and alert the others. That is when she felt it.

Geel and his present company suddenly vanished. There was no sound and no noise. All at once they simply stopped being there. Twilight whipped around and fired a massive blast of fire directly between Rainbow and AJ expecting to hit either a monster or at least something she could break to pieces while demanding for her friends back. Instead she was rewarded with the blast knocking them all back. It had hit a wall, a wall that stood exactly where they had just walked through.

"What the hay Twi? what is going on? wait.. where is.."

"I don't know... Pinkie went missing and suddenly so did Ras and Geel..." Twilight allowed herself to start panicking. Whatever this was her friends were in danger and she had no way of protecting them.

"Twilight... calm down... w... we have to focus.." She was almost impressed with how her two present friends were not completely freaking out.

'pfooof!'

Twilight twitched at the sound. Looking up she saw a Khajiit. Far too small to be an adult, but what really caught her eyes was the device in her hand. A small tube. So simple and easy to use. Twilight was not surprised to hear Rainbow Dash falling into a pile out cold with a small dart in her neck.

"Wait! wait! wait!.." Twilight's hands came up but she was speaking to both Applejack and the small Khajiit who had a playful look on her face. She could feel it. Something about the young creature screamed at her. She was far too familiar, almost like she resembled someone familiar.

Applejack did not so much as get one boot on the ground towards the little Khajiit as an armored foot kicked the back of her knee from the shadows, bringing the humanized pony to waist height. Quickly a cloth covered her mouth and nose. Twilight had only just barely came about and brought her staff to bear in time to see Applejack's eyes roll back from whatever was on the rag. But as fate would have it her vision was soon entirely blocked by something that brought her a whole lot of hope and twice as much dread. The flat side of a skyforge steel axe in full swing.

Chapter 7: Crappy Reunion

"No..." Celestia stared down at Shining Armor with more concern than anything else. "I honestly don't know or much care why you 'need' to run off alone... but I am not letting even a single pony go anywhere without at least a hoof full of guards... and I wont even ask why you need to find a volcano...but just... no."

Gritting his teeth Shining Armor grumbled in what nearly seemed like pain. Ever since the entity had brought them all back and sent the citadel to Nirn he simply felt a nagging painful urge to go and do the task the entity called the architect told him he must complete. Images of a lump of flesh inside an ash covered haze of heat and pain was clear to him. What was not clear was this ungodly painful urge to go and find the lump of flesh. It did not even seem odd to him that he needed to find quite literally a lump of flesh.

Shining was about to try and reason with Celestia when the guards shouted an alert. The tone and call was simply letting them know that somepony who had left was now returning. He rushed up hoping he could possibly confine in Twilight and get some answers and perhaps somepony to actually support him. His heart sank however when he noticed that Twilight was not among the group. "Princess Luna? Where is Twilight?"

She looked up calmly which was very reassuring, had her eyes had pain or despair in them he would be confident Twilight had met trouble maybe even death. "Twilight met up with an old friend from her time before... She took Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack to find the Arch Mage....I am sure it will be fine. She is competent and powerful. Though please let my sister know there is something I must tell her. A message from Twilight of something that may become a slight problem to all the planning."

Shining's face betrayed his troubled mind, though Luna seemed to mistake it for further concern about Twilight. With a warm smile she patted his back firmly. "Do not worry... go and get my sister... Twilight is far more than capable... Ill bet she could not possibly be more in control of whatever situation she could possibly be in... I'd stake my life on it..."

Twilight woke and instantly noticed that her eyes were badly bruised and swollen as well as her nose, it was most likely broken and she hated mending broken bones, especially her own. The lightest struggle told her she was bound, and very thoroughly as well. Her body position as it was suggested it was someone who was quite used to doing this, however she was not gagged or blindfolded nor was she in any way more than just searched for weapons which clearly suggested that whoever knocked her out was both A: a professional, and B: not a bandit. This calmed her a little as her eyes danced about the dark room only just barely making out Applejack, Rainbow, and Pinkie out cold tied up just like her. The center of the room had a fire burning and their weapons laying out. Quickly Twilight focused and listened calmly refusing to panic or worry. She could hear hushed words and finally something she recognized.

"Shh... shes awake... come.."

The voice was obviously Khajiit, female, and very confident, even a shade or two aggressive. Twilight's ears twitched when the footfalls of the Khajiit stopped and started again on the opposite side of her. Slowly glancing the other way she was determined to show the Khajiit that she too was skilled and not intimidated by the excessive level of skill this individual appeared to possess.

"you are quick... yes... This one sees it...you notice skill... and you desire to prove you can match skill..."

Twilight let out a chuckle hoping to intrigue the Khajiit. "You are impressive that is certain.. but I have seen more impressive...Much more impressive..."

The challenge in her voice was met with curiosity as the figure was just barely seen in the dark. "Oh?...yes... you have caught this one's attention.. speak human... what name have you to say to show more skill than my own? Do not think you can hide behind names of others... This one knows all... and when the word all is used... the word ALL is meant..."

The figure stepped forward into the light and Twilight smirked speaking the name of her long time friend. Most who heard it would either not believe her or have a panic attack. However, her eyes shot wide halfway through the pronunciation. "...Ra'Shala?"

The Khatiit laughed "Try again that is my name.... not a friend of yours...."

Twilight coughed and sputtered. "Ra'Shala?.... n... no way... " The Khajiit's eyes narrowed in confusion. Their little game had been upset by something she did not quite understand yet. Twilight took notice of her long time friend's confusion remembering that despite how well Twilight knew Ra'Shala, THIS Ra'Shala knew nothing about her. Though the realization of exactly what kind of situation she was in hit her like a meteor. Ra'Shala had always been very reclusive and only in the last days that Twilight knew her did she find out about all the far darker things in her life. Now she was in the old cat's very paws as an unknown and possible threat. She was just realizing just how much of a danger it was to be before the dragonborn as a possible enemy combatant.

Panic set in and she did the only thing she could think of that could possibly begin convince Ra'Shala of the quite unbelievable truth.

Do' Rasik 10th of Rain's Hand, Szrezi 5th of Rain's Hand, Rosie 2nd of Frostfall!"

The Khajiit's eyes widened with somewhat shock before a clawed hand grasped Twilight's hair pulling it tight as a knife was produced and held very firmly against her throat. "Who are you?....How do you know of my children?....No one knows of my children... NO ONE KNOWS...."

This was not quite the reaction that Twilight wanted but it was a reaction that would get her out of this. "You told me.... somewhere around 15 years from now...You know just as well as I do .... No one and I mean NO ONE can spy on you or learn your secrets without you at least suspecting something... you are the best there is at that game..."

The Khajiit's wide eye stared into the soft purple iris as if judging Twilight's soul itself. "That.... is very ... very odd... You speak such utterly ridiculous things... but you are not lying... you have eyes of one who speaks the truth..." The dagger gently left her throat as Ra'Shala stepped back and looked into the shadows as if waiting for something.

"So what if she speaks the truth. If THAT is the truth then shes even more dangerous than what we originally thought..."

Twilight cringed at the new voice which spoke up. She recognized it instantly and was both very upset that it was present and very thankful that she was not dead.

The heavy set Nord strode up hefting the skyforge steel battleaxe that had hit her in the face. She could almost still feel the intricate designs on her face and broken nose. "Baldir.... I should have figured...I do hope you wont be killing first and asking questions later...."

The Nord looked younger, his hair was not white yet and his face not as weathered. As well there was a clear lack of scars that Twilight remembered so well. "Ok then lass... answer me this... h-"

"Im not a Daedra nor do I have anything to do with Daedra or oblivion, yes I know you too. You hate Daedra, you beat the crap out of people who annoy you, don't worry, you already got me so you can skip that. You hate fancy things, you love tradition, you enjoy... the night life" She spoke that last part with a confident grin, and the way his eyes flinched told her she was spot on. At this point in his life he was already a werewolf. She took a quick breath and continued. "you have a daughter named Norja who wont stop rolling her eyes whenever you lecture her and who lectures you constantly on your drinking and bathing habits... you keep your skyforged dagger in your left boot, your mead in your right, and finally the secret ingredient to your special mead is refined Spriggin sap..."

The Nord was both amazed and terrified. Though the important part was succeeded. Regardless as to what Baldir thought now, Twilight could see it in Ra'Shala's eyes. She had won over the Khajiit, and Ra'Shala would at this point not allow harm to fall to her.

"I do not know who you are or how you know these things... but before I let you go..." Her eyes sharpened and Twilight remembered vividly the look on her face. It was her lie detecting face. The Khajiit rarely displayed emotion when Twilight had known her other than the soft mildly happy exterior she always put on, this face was one of those happenings that showed a little of her true nature. "Why did you come here?"

"I came looking for Taara, I owe her and you both a great deal.... you saved my entire nation and went to the ends of the earth just to keep me safe.... I owe you all my life ten times over again."

Baldir stepped forward. "No!....this is all some sort of Daedric trickery... She is implying that she came through time, how stupid does she think we are?"

"Well then friend... you can do whatever your smelly heart desires, I am letting her go... and if you try to harm her I will stand in your way...." She turned her eyes back to Twilight cutting her bindings. " Taara is not here, we came searching the moment that we heard the rumor that I believe you came here to follow as well. Those others that came with you were not as easy to trap... they are still in the ruin. Lost but doing very well...even better than us when first we arrived."

Twilight stood and looked back at her friends still tied up and out cold. "I dont suppose you could find it inside your heart to untie my friends?" Twilight's hand lit up with gold light as she healed her nose.

"That is easy enough... but you don't need my help with that..."

Twilight nodded and took up her things from the ground and moved to her friends. It was easy to cut them loose, though they had not even woken yet. Looking them over it was clear they were not really roughed up. Just quickly subdued and tied. Standing up firmly and double checking everything Twilight turned back hoping to speak with Ra'Shala again when the young Khajiit from earlier popped up playfully. "Ah!.. Rosie.... you were quite quick with that dart..."

The young Khajiit smiled happily, her ears perked up and her tail whisked from side to side. "Thank you, are you really from the future?..."

Twilight did not quite know how to explain it without confusing everyone including herself. "Yes and no... just try not to think about it" She put on her best smile magically wiping away the last of the bruising as she moved to wake up her friends.

"W...wassit?" Pinkie sat up with a drowsy yawn.

"Oh thank goodness, Ra'Shala you just used an alchemical knockout drug right?" She looked back at the Khajiit who nodded gingerly and Twilight turned back hoping to inform Pinkie of the situation without her blurting out any of the truth that might make the present company even more confused.

"Ok.. that is everpon... everyone..." The others had just started to stir. "Alright We need a plan. Ra'Shala, those other three people caught up in this... whatever this place is might be useful, one of them was actually very important and is supposed to get involved in the college in the future. The other two I'm not sure about but Id like to see them again and at least thank them for getting us this far. Then Id like to introduce you to everyone else... and kinda explain this weirdness all in one go so you don't freak out when you discover it on your own. Then we can find Taara together."

Ra'Shala's eyes sharpened listening to her speak. She seemed to be on edge with all the oddities surrounding this young woman but she was 100% confident that Twilight was not a threat and was telling the truth.

Baldir grumbled and spoke in a slightly raised voice. "Hold on... what else are you hiding?... how could this get any weirder?"

"Trust me here fluffy, it will blow your mind... best to do this somewhere a little more... um.. comfortable..."

Baldir grumbled angrily at her comment. The more Twilight spoke the more it reminded him of Taara.

"Come then friend, this one does not wish to spend all day in a dwemmer labyrinth. Let us find these friends of yours and be gone, I do not know what troubles you knew when you were here last. But we face dangers and troubles of our own."