Season Unending

Chapters

Chapter 1, It Started with a Book... (like that's a surprise)
Chapter 2, Whispers in the Wind
Chapter 3, Defiance
Chapter 4, Departure
Chapter 5 - Dingy
Chapter 6 - Songs of Demeter
Chapter 7 - Razorpoint
Chapter 8 - Five Gold Pieces
Chapter 9
Chapter 10

Chapter 1, It Started with a Book... (like that's a surprise)

The rustle of parchment. The scratch of a quill. These were some of Twilight's favorite sounds. Studying had always been one of her favorite activities, even if she had been pegged as an egghead for it. The sun was barely rising and she had already begun her studies on zebras and their homeland. She had read a bit about zebras before, but she never took the time to start an in-depth study of their culture and home country.

She had worked her way from A General Guide to Quadrupeds to an entry in Lesser-Known Magics about Zebra crafts to Black N' White: A Guide to all things Zebra, and now rested on a page from A Beginners Guide to Elsweyr. Neatly scripted notes were scattered around Twilight in a state of organized chaos while she lay comfortably with the book open in front of her. A fresh quill hovered over a piece of parchment already filled halfway with notes. As she dotted the final period she scanned over the words. Satisfied, she returned to her book and began a new section. Almost giddy with the amount she's already learned and eager to read more, she allowed herself to read aloud.

"Chapter three, article four: Migration of Elsweyr Natives Across the World. Centuries ago it was very common to find natives of Elsweyr all across the globe. However, since the dramatic decrease in the Khajiit population and the fall of ancient Tamriel, one seldom encounters the unique individuals of the desert nation. Today, the nations of the world have adopted mostly isolationist policies, with little to no export or import shipping operations and even littler immigration rates. Equestria, home to the common Equine, is a good example of this, its population being mostly pony with small percentages of griffon, zebra, or other races.

"As stated before, it was commonplace to see khajiit and zebra roaming the streets of the Imperial City in Cyrodiil and other settlements. The sand-dwellers could even be found in the harsh, snow-strewn land of Sky...Sky-rim...."

Twilight stared at the word. Skyrim. The name didn't look familiar. She quickly ran through her notes, but the name was nowhere to be found. This was the first time that the book had ever mentioned it. She turned back to the book.

"Skyrim," She read to herself again. "What a pretty word. But what is it? Some kind of country probably"

Could it really be there was a whole country that Twilight didn't know anything about?

"That's not a big deal," she said unconvincingly to herself. "There are loads of countries in the world. I can't be expected to know all of them..." she trailed off.

She gently traced the letters with the tip of her now dry quill. It was written plainly as any other word on the page, but somehow it beamed with a whole world of hidden knowledge.

"Skyrim," she said once more.

She searched the deepest recesses of her memory, finding only a ghost of recognition. She must have heard it once, long ago. As she thought more and more, memory returned to her. She felt as if she had heard it mentioned in myth or pony tale. But it wasn't a myth. It was there, clear as day. A fact upon a non-fiction book. How could Twilight argue?

"I've never read a book on it. I've never even seen a book devoted to it at all."

She stared at the word a while longer, knowing that she should get back to her study on zebras. She looked at the clock. It was still quite early. Spike wouldn't be up for another hour or so. She had time.

"ooh....fiddlesticks."

In one quick surge of magic Twilight's notes stacked themselves neatly on the desk at the end of the room and all Zebra-related books closed and did likewise. The book on Elsweyr remained open in front of her.

"I won't spend too much time on this. Just a few minutes. That's it. Won't take too long."
She began to scan the page for any further references to Skyrim.

Several hours later, the floor of the library was more book than wood, and the shelves vise versa. Twilight had torn through the library, scouring almost every shelf she could possibly think might have information on Skyrim, but to no avail. She had started by looking at the references used by the author of the Elsweyr book, a lot of them being interviews of various creatures. Any books he had used were in Twilight's library, but none of them had anything on Skyrim, not even a mention or footnote.

Eventually she figured the author had learned the information unofficially without the help of references, so she threw the tome aside. It now lay beneath piles of dusty books, each of them deemed useless after a thorough scouring and tossed to the ground. She had even broken into a few of the myth and supernatural books in desperation, but found nothing. Twilight remembered Spike trying to help or asking something, but she had been so absorbed in her search that he eventually gave up and left her to her lunacy.

"Hmpf." She let a copy of The Lich King's Wrath drop to the ground in frustration. "Forget the fiction," she said sternly to herself.

She turned to one of the bookshelves that hadn't been completely rummaged through yet and still held many of the books it was assigned, but many were tilted and stacked wrong. Some bindings faced the wrong way so all she could see of them were the ends of the pages. She let out another huff of frustration.

"This shelf is a mess. Honestly," She levitated a few of the worst offenders from the shelf. "Can't ponies put books back where and how they got them?"

She replaced the books neatly, so at least one shelf was tidy. She scanned the bindings. No wonder she hadn't fixed this shelf earlier; most of it was fiction. Or at least, she thought it so. It could have been entirely non-fiction before ponies de-organized it all. She spotted a volume of old poems, songs sung by bards generations ago.

"Well," she said hopefully. "It's not... too fiction I guess."

The title was Official Songs of the World, 23 Edition. She opened the pages as scanned the poems. She had heard most of them before; traditional lullabies and pony-tales in song form. Some of them were classics, too old or un-popular to be widely known. She was flipping through the pages when a phrase suddenly caught her eye. She spent a moment trying to find the page again then read through it. It was a fragment of a song and went like this:

High upon The Throat of the World,
With blazing breath and wings unfurled,
The voice of destruction rings,
The voice of salvation sings,
Of dragon's soul, scales of coal,
The World Eater soars on death's wings.

The rest of the poem had apparently been lost over time. There was nothing spectacular about the it. In fact there was no real information in it at all. However, Twilight thought the phrases "Throat Of the World" and "World Eater" were rather curious. If they were purely a symbolic phrases, why would they be capitalized?

"This probably has nothing to do with Skyrim," she said. "But that phrase certainly is curious. I'll check it out later." She left the book open on a nearby desk and returned to the shelf.

Her head was groggy and her eyes were tired from all the searching, but she couldn't make herself stop. She began to exhaust the bookshelf of its treasures, finding most of the volumes not worth even opening, and leaving them unceremoniously on the ground with the rest. She finally worked her way up to the top shelf, having to stand hind legs on a stool and front legs against the bookcase to get close enough to just glimpse the dusty bindings. She had never bothered to give such a high shelf much attention until now.

Even when straining her neck to its limit she could only see the tops of the bindings. She looked around for anything taller to stand on. The table was too big to move over all the books, plus it was already covered in them. Her eyes rested on the books laying on the ground, but she quickly tore her eyes away.

"No, no!" she yelled at herself. "To even think of stepping on books!......."

She looked hopefully around, but there were no other options. She could always abandon the shelf altogether, but what if the answer to her search was up there? What if she tore the rest of the library apart when all she needed was one book from that high shelf? Twilight couldn't physically bring herself to leave it un-searched.

"ooooh," she groaned.

She carefully stepped down from the stool and levitated a few of the thickest books from the ground. Whimpering, she struggled with forcing herself to lay the volumes down on the stool, taking extra care to be gentle as if making up for what she was about to do. Why didn't she levitate all the books from the shelf in question to start with? The world shall never know.

Once in place she lifted her hoof to stand on the books stacked on the stool, but it froze itself before it made contact with the cover of the topmost one.

"oh...come on Twilight...quickly, like a bandage..."

With one surge of pure will she forced her hoof onto the book, quickly using it to lift herself on top of the stack. Despite herself she continuously muttered "sorry," with every distribution of weight.

Finally she had resumed her position, her two front hooves leaning against the bookcase once more. Despite her discomfort using the books, she could see the shelf rather well now, each binding perfectly visible. Needless to say the whole shelf was covered in dust. It would seem nopony else had bothered with the shelf before, either.

Twilight scanned the bindings. Most of them were out-of-date political theory or studies on whether or not worms had magical properties, that sort of thing. Even Twilight, a pony who gave mostly every book the utmost respect in every aspect, admitted these books to be completely useless both in her search and any other possible subject she'd ever study.

The thing she was most concerned about, of course, was the disorganization of the shelf. The books weren't placed neatly. Some jutted out, some were upside down, some were stacked and crammed on top of each other, and so on. She pulled out several of them but found none of them helpful in the least. She spotted a leather-bound volume titled Ancient Mythical Monsters, and decided to give it a look.

She pulled the volume out with magic, causing the books beside it to suddenly lean sideways, toppling some that were stacked on top. When they did, Twilight suddenly spotted an old book that was hidden behind the rest, exposed only after the other ones had fallen. It had been stacked parallel with the back of the shelf then buried. Only one of its corners were visible, but she could already tell that it was special. It was bound in very old, very dusty dark leather with unevenly cut pages and yellowing parchment.

Forgetting the monster book, she pulled the old tome from the mountains of dust and parchment, wincing as many of the books toppled from the shelf and hit the ground with an unhealthy-sounding smack. Quickly stepping down from her perch and navigating her feet to rest in places where there were no books, Twilight took a good look at her discovery.

The binding was very old, very worn leather with tiny holes and other small damages. 'Well-loved,' as Twilight sometimes put it. The title looked as if it was once painted with gold leaf which had chipped away so much over the years that all that remained were tiny, resilient flakes clinging to the letters. Lucky, the title had been stamped in the leather before it was painted, so Twilight could still make out: Commerce in Tamriel. Excitement made her chest swell and heart buzz like a million bumblebees in her ribcage. An unavoidable smile slapped itself across her face as she very carefully, and excitedly, opened the cover.

The book was so old that the ink around the edges of the pages had begun to fade, and Twilight knew that this book must be treated very delicately. Turning past the title page and acknowledgments, Twilight skimmed over the first few paragraphs. The book was written in Old Equestrian, a language not too hard to understand but still a hassle to read. Twilight brought the book back to the room in which her note-taking supplies were and started to summarize the pages.

"Ooh! OH!" Twilight hadn't really been paying much attention to the words she was reading at this point. She had worked her way through the first half of the book, and was pulled from her daze at the sight of a familiar word.

She read over the section a dozen times, scratching notes all the while. Then she modified the notes, scratching out lines and re-writing them until her page was an ungodly mess of ink. She scribbled the final draft of the summary on a new piece of parchment then bent over to give it a good read:

Amongst the most dangerous of countries in which to travel for trade is the province of Skyrim. The land is rugged and uneven, the roads surrounded by dense, unpredictable wilderness, and the possibility of an ambush by thieves and bandits around every corner. It is for these reasons that bodyguards were almost always employed to protect shipments and distribution of goods by land. The process by which guards are selected can sometimes be quite complex depending on the value of the goods being transported......

And that was all. The book went on to discuss the difficulties with getting a trustworthy guard and the different options a seller would have when transporting goods. Twilight sighed. She was disappointed that it didn't tell her more about Skyrim specifically, but she had made a major discovery. She knew that Skyrim was cold, rugged, and dangerous, and that was more than enough to make her feel just a little bit victorious in her search. But there was still so much to learn.

She looked around the library. She had made a bigger mess than she ever had before. Books carpeted the floor, and she decided to look at the situation as another chance at re-shelving day. She glanced at the clock.

"WHAT!?"

The day was completely gone. The face of the clock stared down at her, it's arms displaying the time as 6 o'clock.

"Oh-Oh no, what- what did I have to do today...."

Twilight quickly dashed upstairs and tore her planner out of a drawer in her room. She frantically read through her tasks of the day. Most of them had to do with her Zebra studies, others were minor errands to be done in town.

"Well," she said guiltily. "I suppose I can try to do a few tonight, but it looks as if I'll have to take care of this tomorrow-"

Her eyes suddenly caught on her midday plan: 12:30, Lunch with Fluttershy. Any plans for squeezing a few tasks in that night left her mind. Fluttershy had been unintentionally blown off and Twilight knew she'd be upset.

"AH! Fluttershy! I completely forgot-"

Twilight immediately put the planner away and dashed down the stairs and out the front door, closing and locking it behind her.

Chapter 2, Whispers in the Wind

Twilight let out a huge yawn as the front door to the library closed behind her. Switching on the lights she beheld the huge mess she had made. A few books were stacked in neat columns, Spike sleeping against one of them. He must have tried to clean up before falling asleep. Twilight smiled down at her assistant. He was always doing his best to help her. Too tired to start cleaning the library herself, she picked him up and headed upstairs. She had spent the rest of the afternoon apologizing to Fluttershy. She had joined her for tea and dinner, helping out with chores in between. Fluttershy had objected, of course, but Twilight insisted.

With Spike sleeping soundly in his basket Twilight got into her own bed, snuggling under the covers and falling asleep almost immediately. Unfortunately, her rest was disturbed by a nightmare.

Wind, unimaginably strong, whipped Twilight's mane in every direction. It was dark, clouds obscured the sky, and the air was filled with piercing snow. Twilight's frame was tugged back and forth in the wind, and she began to feel afraid that it would blow her over to be buried and suffocated in the snow. Suddenly, a noise broke through the deafening wind, shaking the ground and stunning Twilight's heart. It was roar, long and terrifying. Before it had died out out of the air it began again. Then again, and again. Twilight began to run, the roars surrounding her. She didn't know where it was coming from, or from what, but she had to get away. It was going to kill her for sure!

Suddenly the ground abandoned her and her hoof met only with air. A huge cliff and a deadly drop lay before her and she clambered backward to keep from falling, the roars drowning out her own cry of fear. She whipped around to run the other way only to be met with a giant pair of jaws, decorated with countless teeth, closing down on her.

"AH!"

Twilight awoke with a start, reflexively kicking out her leg so hard it smashed against the wooden frame with a loud whack. She sat up and took a look at Spike, worried that she woke him. He was out cold, still sleeping warmly in his bundle of blankets. Twilight's rapid heartbeat began to slow as the fear of the nightmare faded. She rested her cheek on her hoof as she gazed down at Spike. In the moonlight that poured through the window she could see the gentle fall and rise of his little chest as he slept.

Her thoughts wondered back to the giant pair of jaws she had seen in her dream. The only thing she could think to fit the description was a dragon. She had seen a few full-grown dragons already, but none of them compared to her nightmare. She had never heard a dragon roar so violently or with a jaw so vicious. She smiled down at her scaly friend in the basket and wondered how something so small and sweet could grow to be so terrifying. Spike yawned in his sleep, displaying a row of tiny sharp teeth that edged his mouth, and turned over. Twilight almost giggled aloud. There was no way he could be so scary, even when was full grown.

Twilight went about that day as best she could, forcing herself away from the Skyrim topic so she could actually get something done that day. She was well aware that her library contained nothing about Skyrim, yet she found herself yearning for the books anyway, as if there just might be something she missed.

“No,” She’d tell herself. “Enough of that.”

Even so, her mind wandered back to the mystery of Skyrim any time she had a spare thought. Finally, it was too much to bear and with a grunt of frustration she sat down with a few rolls of parchment. The afternoon sun was streaming through the window and Spike was preparing a dinner of maple and rose soup. Twilight suddenly thought of the dragon from her dream, except this time with Spike’s frilly apron tied around it. She laughed to herself, thinking again of how silly it was to think that dragons could be THAT scary. They were scary, of course, but not so terrifying that you’d be willing to jump off a cliff to avoid them.

Twilight’s quill scratched furiously on the paper as she worked Skyrim study into her schedule. Unfolding three new pieces of parchment, she wrote three letters to the best libraries she knew of: The Canterlot Academy Library, Canterlot Archives, and the Canterlot Grand Public Library. She politely inquired each about literature on Skyrim and expressed her desire to check out, or purchase if necessary, anything they may have had. She knew almost everyone who worked at all three libraries, so she added a quick greeting to each letter. Eventually satisfied with her letters she sealed them into individual envelopes, stuck stamps on them, and stacked them neatly on the table.

For a moment she considered writing the Princess and asking if she knew anything about Skyrim, but Twilight quickly pushed the thought from her mind. The Princess had many duties to attend to and Twilight didn’t want to pester her. Letters floating in front of her, Twilight walked them to the mailbox and closed them safely inside. Returning inside, she saw Spike happily serving the soup he’d made.

“Thanks so much, Spike,” Twilight said. “It’s been one heck of a day.”

“I’ll say,” he replied. “After you tore up the library yesterday I had to organize it all again!”

“Sorry about that. I just got a little carried away. Wait, I re-shelved most of the library myself.”

“Yeah I had to do a whole two bookcases!” Twilight raised an eyebrow at him. “Hey, at least you have magic to do most of the work for you. All I have are my little arms and a footstool.”

Twilight giggled. “I suppose you make a valid argument.”

Over the course of a few days Twilight exchanged quite a few letters. The Grand Public Library and Academy Library regretfully reported they had nothing on Skyrim. The Archives, however, were more hopeful. The letter was written by an old acquaintance of Twilight’s whom she had had many discussions with when she visited the Archives regularly. He replied saying that he hadn’t heard from her in ages and was happy to tell her that there were a few, if meager, copies of a book that might interest her along with a few maps of Tamriel. Excited, Twilight sent thank you messages to the other libraries and sent a letter to the Archives requesting the book, a map of ancient Tamriel, pre-modern Tamriel, and present day Tamriel, along with her thanks.

Soon Twilight received a carefully-wrapped package containing three large scrolls, a standard scroll, and a small book. The large scrolls were reproductions of the maps she requested. The book was simply titled Pocket Guide to the Empire, Third Edition: Skyrim. It was a reproduction of an ancient volume, and the beginning pages were devoted to informing the reader that much of the content had been lost over time and the only surviving original copy was badly damaged before it was lost many years ago.

“Ancient history, huh?” Twilight said to herself. “Doesn’t tell me much about present-day Skyrim, but it’s a start.”

The smaller scroll was an essay on Skyrim, describing the state of the country today and possible reasons why it fell into almost outright desertion. Smiling, Twilight wrote a sincere thank you to her friend at the Archives, promising to return the material as soon as she’s finished studying them. It was getting a little late, but she couldn’t resist the wealth of information before her. She opened the pages of the book and delved right into the pages, sucking in every word.

Twilight yawned. Her body was tired but her mind was wide awake. It was close to midnight and she’d already zipped through the book. Granted, it was a short book, apparently very much of the content had been lost over time. She wasn’t surprised though; the original copy was hundreds, if not thousands, of years old.

The beginning part was intact, however:

“Looking at virtually any vista in Skyrim, one is looking at the remains of a battlefield. The great Aedric cataclysms that brought Tamriel into existence in primeval times seems to have spent most of their fury in this northern land. Vast majestic mountain ranges form the spiny twisted backbone of the province and one can hear echoes of the early Nedic ponies’ battle cries whistling in the winds of the valleys.”

Twilight twitched awake to find her head resting on the Skyrim book. She blew a stray piece of mane from her face and saw that it was dark outside.

"Probably best if I get some sleep tonight."

She marked her place in the book and neatly stacked her notes and organized the materials. As she walked up the stairs Twilight imagined the walkway was a mountain trail surrounded by trees and snow, delicate flakes gently falling from the sky. Twilight laughed at herself inwardly. She wasn't usually prone to daydreams. She thought for a moment what it would be like to walk in Skyrim, and daydreamed about taking a trip there, but soon dismissed it as a passing fancy. Skyrim was very far away, and she was busy with her studies in Ponyville.

Quietly shutting her bedroom door behind her, Twilight began to get ready for bed. She caught sight of the night outside her balcony and decided to take in some night air before going to sleep. Twilight opened the door and stepped out. It was a beautiful night. The sky was clear as crystal and the moon shown bright and full, the stars spreading around it like a blanket of light. Twilight remembered Princess Luna and silently thanked her for the beautiful sight.

A wind began to blow, gently ruffling the leaves of her tree house. She listened to the nighttime lullaby in the wind, growing more tired by the minute. Her eyes slid closed for a moment.
"sshhhh.....twiiiiilight.......ssssssshhhhh......ssssspaaarkle......"

Her eyes snapped open. Was that her name? Had somepony called her? Her gaze darted back and forth, searching the ground below, the room behind her, even the branches above in search of somepony. But no pony was there. She could have sworn she heard a whisper on the wind. After a moment of continued silence, she shook her head and headed back inside. The drowsiness was getting the better of her.

Chapter 3, Defiance

Twilight woke the next morning full of excitement. She stretched her stiff limbs and descended the stairs to start the day. She was eager to get back to her Skyrim studies and it wasn't long before she was sitting down again with her precious materials before her. Twilight decided to start reading the essay, knowing it would contain more current information.

She sipped a cool glass of orangeade as she sat in the comfort of her room, enthralled in the scroll. She didn't even stop to take notes. The essay started by saying that Skyrim was already a ruinous country during Tamriel's hayday nearly one thousand years ago, and that little remained of the great province. Long, long ago Skyrim was home to great temples, tombs, and castles, now reduced to rubble and buried in snow. Twilight read that presently Skyrim had few inhabitants, most of the hamlets lost to time and the harsh weather.

"Hmm...looks like all the cities in Skyrim were already tiny a thousand years ago. It's no wonder they're gone now."

Twilight drank her drink and read, absorbing every word. When she approached a paragraph addressing Skyrim's history of dragons, she paused. She noticed that her glass was empty and left to refill it in the kitchen. Her mind was glued to Skyrim and all the wonders it held. She thought visiting the place, and her desire for it suddenly swelled in her chest; it seemed to have grown overnight. When she returned, Twilight looked at the most current map of Skyrim and found herself studying the main roads. She giggled at herself as she pulled out a piece of parchment and wrote: "Skyrim Vacation Itinerary."

"Just for fun. If I really was going to visit Skyrim...let's see..."

Ignoring the fact that she was distracting herself from her studies, she scrawled several items on the parchment, looking back and forth from it to the map after every entree. As was her habit when studying something exciting, she spoke to herself.

"Whiterun, definitely! That's one of the oldest cities there. Rorikstead. It started off as such a tiny village, but now it’s about the size of Whiterun. And...ooh! The ruins of Solitude! The High King of Skyrim used to live there! And the famous murder of the Emperor of Tamriel took place there....hm. Tamriel really is a rough place..."

She paused. The page beginning the chapter on dragons still lay open on the floor. Twilight thought to herself how she was procrastinating. Was she stalling? Something about it made her nervous. Shifting her weight so she sat in front of the book again, she abandoned the imaginary itinerary and glanced over the page. The top was illustrated with a beautiful woodcut in which Twilight recognized the Nordic style from earlier chapters. The image depicted a ferocious dragon unlike any she had ever seen in Equestria. Its scales were sharper and thicker, forming into vicious spikes along the spine. It had only two back legs and a pair of wings that seemed to take the place of arms. Although the illustration was primitive and worn with age, Twilight could see something far more sinister in the eyes of the dragon before her than anything she'd ever seen. Even the eyes of a Cocatrice had never looked at her so.

Below was an annotation saying, Above is a reproduction of an ancient Nordic woodcut of a Frost Dragon, one of many species found in the peaks of Skyrim. Images from Twilight's dream suddenly flooded back to her, and she shook her head to dispel them before panic could rise in her chest. She huffed in exasperation.

"Honestly Twilight. Letting a dream get in the way of your studies," She muttered to herself.

She glued her eyes to the top of the page and forced herself to stare at it until she could focus on the words. She read: The dragons of Skyrim, or rather all of Tamriel, couldn't be more different from their Equestrian cousins. They are much smaller in size, most likely an adaptation to their harsh environment. Their scales are thicker and significantly sharper than Equestrian dragons and serve as a stronger natural armor in comparison. They lack front arms and use their wings to stabilize themselves when treading on the ground, referred to as a 'wyvern' style by some drakonoligists. As a result, the wings of Tamrielic dragons are far stronger than Equestrian species,' allowing them to travel farther distances, stay airborne for longer periods of time, and scale rough terrain more easily.

Twilight paused, thinking again of her dream. The more she thought about it, the more the dragon she saw seemed to match the description in the book.
"But how?" she said to herself. "I've never read anything about them before. How could I have dreamed about one before I..." she trailed off. Shaking her head of the notion she said "No, that's ridiculous. My brain is just filling in blanks with new information." She returned her mind to her studies, looking down at the book again and rereading a few sentences.

Twilight looked up to jot down a few notes and suddenly noticed how nice the weather was outside and how dim the library was in comparison. Summoning a cloud of magical energy she got up and headed to her balcony, the book, her parchments, and orangeade following close behind. Twilight left her fake itinerary on a nearby table, pushed the door to the balcony open with a puff of telekinesis and neatly arranged the rest of her items on the ground. She heaved a sigh and smiled. Her endurance had improved. There was a time when levitating so many objects at once winded her, but now it was as easy as climbing the stairs.

Before she sat down to her studies again Twilight looked at the town below her. The sun had risen high in the sky and Ponyville was alive with the usual daytime bustle. Ponies were scattered all around the square below her exchanging jokes, arranging displays in shop windows, shopping at the vendors' stalls, drinking from the fountain, and having brunch at the cafés and restaurants.

Twilight smiled at the scene. When living in Canterlot, everything was always loud and everypony was always in a hurry. Things were so much quieter in Ponyville; so much more peaceful. She frowned. This kind of life must be so foreign the ponies of Tamriel. There was more hardship in that continent, and although Equestria had its share of dangers, it was still safe enough to travel on the main roads without having to worry about beasts or bandits.

Still, though, Tamriel was an unknown, and Twilight had to discover it. Her lifetime desire for knowledge was too strong for the barbarism of the foreign land to scare her off.

She looked down at her book again and was about to sit down when the faintest rumble tickled her ears, like the strike of distant thunder. She looked up and set her eyes on the sky. Was it going to rain?

There was nothing. Only a clear blue sky dotted here and there with tiny puffs of white. Her eyes drifted northward and froze on the horizon. She angled her ears toward the space in hopes of catching the rumble again, for it had died away as quickly as it appeared.

Suddenly a great noise tore through the air from the spot that she watched and consumed Ponyville. It was an impossibly loud roll of thunder, like that of an old and ancient voice that shook the ground beneath Twilight's hooves. Her vision was being shaken so violently she had to squeeze her eyes shut. Her organs shook with the force of the noise and her bones quivered beneath it. She soon realized that the noise wasn't like a voice, it was a voice saying...something. It was so loud it was hard to tell and her heart was beating so hard that it choked her throat and clogged her ears with its rhythm.

Then all at once she comprehended what it was saying. The voice, the one that shook the world and threatened her skeleton's integrity, was calling her name.

The whole affair lasted only a moment, barely a few seconds, before it died away, leaving Twilight frozen and shaking. Her heart was still beating at a frantic pace and adrenalin raced through her veins. Breathing rapidly, she went to the edge of the balcony and was about to call down, ask if everypony below was okay, when she froze again.

They were the same as they were before. Talking, playing, and laughing as if nothing had happened.

"H - how -" she choked to herself. "What's -"

Her eyes shot around the town, for she could see a good deal of it from her perch, but not one pony seemed to have noticed anything. But how? She backed away from the railing until she felt the shade of her ceiling inside conceal her back leg from the sun. Was she going crazy? Had she imagined it?

"Just...just another dream...yeah - I...I just didn't get enough sleep and -"

She looked down at her legs and saw they were quivering. She couldn't make them stop. The very marrow her bones still resonated with the sound she had just heard. No matter how hard she tried to deny it and will it away, there was no forgetting what had just happened. She turned her gaze to the north, where the sound had come from. She peered at the horizon relentlessly, as if staring would help her discern what was going on.

All of Twilight's attention was drawn to that point in the distance. The world around her disappeared into a haze and she became deaf to the rustle of the leaves above her and the voices below. The only thing that reached her was the deep blue that stood so far away, eluding her. As she stared, a single snowflake drifted into her vision between her eyes and alighted on her nose. She felt its chill prick for an instant, only to melt away at first contact.

She blinked. The world returned. The ponies still bustled below her, sky was calm, and her things still lay alone on the floor. Looking up, she saw that there was no cloud nearby. There was no way snow would be falling in the middle of summer. Twilight's legs continued to wobble precariously and they finally buckled beneath her. She sat on the floor and tried to still herself. Was it an illusion? An hallucination? She bowed her head and hid them under her hooves.

"What is happening?" She whispered.

She frantically searched her mind for anything that could explain what was going on. Twilight remembered illnesses that could cause hallucinations, charms and spells that if cast incorrectly could have similar effects, but nothing seemed to fit. However hard she tried her mind kept going back to Skyrim. The voice that had called her name...it had come from the north.

"But how?" She said.

Twilight lifted her head and saw her book. The pages had blown in the breeze and the tome now lay open to a page dedicated to illustrations of dragons. A gentle wind caressed Twilight's cheek, and the page turned in the breeze again.

Before her then was a two page recreation of an old painting of Skyrim. It shone with the glistening snow-capped peaks that were home to the Nords. There was a ruined tower jutting out of the rocks and perched on it was a dragon. It looked out over the painted scene with piercing eyes, and when Twilight followed its gaze she saw it was staring at the sun as peeked between two mountains, bathing the snow and rock in a radiant twilight.

With a shudder, Twilight shifted her gaze to the bottom of the page and read the title of the painting. It was in a dead language, but the book translated it as: Twilight Sparkles.

It was too much to be coincidence. Her excited planning for an imaginary trip, the voice, the page, and her fascination with it all just seemed too unnatural. She looked behind her and saw the itinerary laying open on the desk.

"This is crazy…" She said.

She went into her room, putting as much distance as she could between herself and the book. She paced in the shaded bedroom, turning over and over in her mind what she should and should not do. She even tried to think about something else, failing miserably. Finally she could think of only one thing to do. Taking a piece of parchment and a quill before her she quickly wrote:

Dear Princess Celestia,

She stopped. Perhaps this wasn't the best time to be bothering the Princess. She was a very busy pony and Twilight probably was only suffering from nerves or food sickness.

"Oh what are you thinking Twilight!? Of course there's something wrong," she said to herself.

The sharp prick of anxiousness in her skin at the confession was enough to start her writing.

It's a lovely day here in Ponyville. I haven't learned anything about friendship lately, but I do have a bit of a problem. How are things in Canterlot? I just exchanged some letters with some old acquaintances - the library people, you know. One of them gave me some great material for-well it's actually those materials that led me to - it's a very interesting subject you know

"UGH STOP RAMBLING," she yelled at herself.

Twilight hastily scratched out everything she had written and started anew, getting right to the point:

Something's happening to me, Princess. I've recently discovered something amazing: Skyrim, a province of Tamriel. I had a hard time finding more material on it but I eventually found some very helpful maps and literature. You know how I've always loved to learn new things and explore the unknown territories of knowledge, but this is different. I'm obsessed. I can't stop thinking about Skyrim. The snow, the dragons, the Nord ponies.
I had a terrifying dream the other night. I was about to be smashed between the jaws of a dragon more terrifying and vicious than any I've seen in Equestria. The next day I learned about the ferocity of Tamrielic dragons and how they don't compare to the Equestrian species. I came to the conclusion that the dragon from my dream was a Tamrielic dragon, but when I had the dream I had not yet learned about them.
That's not only what's unnerved me, Princess. Only a few moments ago, I was studying on the balcony of my room when I a voice came from the north. It shouted my name, calling me. Then as I looked northward, a saw a snowflake fall in front of me, but it's summer and there's not a cloud in the sky. I feel certain now that the voice was calling me to Skyrim. I don't know why and I don't know how.

I need to know what to do. I need your advice. Please respond as soon as you can.

Your most faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

No sooner had she signed her name did the scroll roll up and disappear with a faint pop. Twilight stood there, counting the seconds. There was no way the Princess would send a reply immediately, but Twilight found herself waiting for it anyway.

Desperate for some kind of distraction, she levitated all her supplies from the balcony and stacked them on the desk, averting her eyes from the book as it closed. She sighed as she placed the glass of orangeade on the desk as well. Her appetite had completely disappeared. Twilight focused on breathing evenly, and her legs slowly began to still.

It had been only a few minutes when Twilight heard a gentle voice say,

"Twilight."

Celestia stood in the doorway to the balcony. She had appeared noiselessly, alighting on the balcony with silent wings and entering on quiet hooves. Twilight was filled with relief at seeing her beloved mentor, but was almost instantly filled again with apprehension.

Why had she responded so quickly? Why had she come herself and not written a letter? She saw Celestia's unusual disposition: she stood in the doorway calmly, but there was something in her eyes that Twilight couldn't place. Twilight started towards her.

"Princess I -"

"Twilight, you cannot pursue this," Celestia said sternly.

Twilight stopped, startled by the firmness in Celestia's tone.

"Princess, I don't understand what's going on."

"Twilight. Cease your studies on Skyrim immediately."

Twilight froze. Celestia was doing something she had never done to her before. She was giving her an order. A straight-up, harsh, cold order.

"I don't understand," Twilight responded.

"You don't need to."

Twilight was silent for a moment. She thought about everything that had happened, and she remembered her itinerary.

"Princess. I want to go to Skyrim."

"No."

"But Princess-"

"Twilight!" Twilight felt a flash of surprise, almost fear, at Celestia’s tone. It had never sounded so angry and dark before. Celestia continued,

"Skyrim a broken place. There's nothing for you there. There's only stone and ice where terrible history was once written. There are beasts and murderers and thieves around every corner. It's land of ruin with a long and bloody history and hardly anypony lives there now. It would be a waste of your time to go there."

"Princess," Twilight had become resolute. "I need to go."

"I forbid it!" Celestia declared.

For the first time in Twilight's life she did the unspeakable. She refused a direct order from her mentor, her princess.

"No."

"What did you say?"

"No, Princess. I know that there's something there. Everything that’s happened - it’s far too much to be coincidence. Something is calling me there. I have to go." She met her mentor's gaze. "I have to go."

After a moment Celestia's stone eyes softened in defeat. Behind her irises there was a hopelessness that Twilight barely caught before the princess turned away and said,

"Very well, Twilight Sparkle. Go, if you must, but I will have no part in your endeavor. You're on your own. I will be waiting for your return."

She spread her wings and took flight before Twilight could respond. As she left, Twilight spotted two shining droplets fall from the alabaster form above her.

Celestia touched down on the great castle balcony that extended from her chambers. When she received Twilight's letter the princess had been engaged with a mountain of scrolls and books which stood waiting in the middle of the suite in a rather haphazard pile. It would take Celestia hours to complete her work for the day and it looked like a late night ahead of her, but she didn't move from the balcony.

She stared at nothing, absorbing the fate that she knew of and had tried so desperately to postpone. She knew in her heart, however, there was no stopping what drew Twilight to Skyrim.

"There's nothing I can do to save you, Twilight," she said with tears in her eyes. "No matter how hard I try, one way or another you'd end up going there eventually..."

She turned and looked to the horizon.

"Mother...my most beloved subject will be visiting your land soon, and she'll be going where I cannot follow. I don't know if you can hear me from all the way over here, but please," her voice reduced to a desperate whisper. "Watch over my Twilight."

Chapter 4, Departure

Papers littered Twilight's room, carpeting the floor whole, crumpled, or torn in halves. Each piece was filled with notes, most of them crossed out. Twilight sat in the middle of the floor, her map of Skyrim and stacks of parchment nearby. Around her floated several lists. Things she would take, things she wouldn't take, places she should go, preparations to be made.

She had planned out dozens of routes, each of them almost immediately rejected, crumpled, and tossed to the floor. Despite being such a desolate place, Skyrim had many areas that piqued her interest. There always seemed to be something missing from her itinerary, like there was somewhere she was forgetting. There were other things to consider like transportation, money, and supplies. She had never trekked through anywhere as dangerous as Skyrim, and she had little clue as to what to expect. She had a copy of In-Tents Mountain Hiking 101, which helped her a little bit in preparations, but she still felt lost.

She sighed and looked up. The sky was deep orange and darkening. The sun was setting. Twilight looked down at her preparations, allowing her mind to go still. In a moment of silence, Twilight realized she was getting a little ahead of herself.

"I need to tell my friends." Gently laying everything down on the ground, she hurried down the stairs.

"You're probably all wondering why I called you here today."

Twilight stood before her friends in the library. Each of them sat on a comfortable cushion with a hot cup of tea. In the center of the semicircle they made was a tray with a teapot, sugar, milk, and slices of lemon. The sun had set but everyone was wide awake.

"I'm sorry for dragging you all out here so late," she continued. "But there's something important I need to tell you all."

Fluttershy said. "Is everything okay Twilight?"

Twilight smiled. "Everything is fine. I just wanted all of you to know that I'm taking a trip and I'll probably be gone for a while."

"What kinda trip, Twi'?" Applejack said.

"Well...A field study of sorts. I've been reading some fascinating things about a land called Skyrim, and in order to research it properly I have to go see it for myself."

This excuse wasn't entirely true, but her friends deserved more than a vague 'I need to go there.' She herself didn't know the real reason. Besides, she was thrilled at the thought of writing her own research material, material that other researchers could use in the future.

"Skyrim?" Rarity said. "Isn't that a country to the north?"

"I never heard of it before," Applejack said.

"What are you studying there, anyway?" Rainbow Dash interjected.

"Well..." Twilight replied. "Everything...and anything, I suppose. Well...It's complicated."

Rarity came to her rescue. She got up from her cushion and trotted over to her friend.

"You don't need to explain yourself to us, Twilight," she said. She rested her hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "We'll support you in any journey you set out on."

Twilight smiled lovingly at her friend. "Thanks."

"But Twilight, how long will you be gone?" came Fluttershy's soft voice.

"I'm not sure. I have to get there first, which may take a few days." She looked up to the ceiling while she calculated. "Let's see... Allow for maybe two days travel between sites...add a few for bad weather...at least a day-long stay for each site...the journey back-"

"My stars," Rarity interrupted. "You'll be gone for quite some time, won't you?" A look of despair came across her face.

"I guess so."

There was a moment of silence. Pinkie Pie was the first to break the melancholy.

"Well! I'll have to start setting up for your going-away-good-luck-come-home-soon party!" She began to bounce like she always did. "Oh I can bring some balloons and punch and cake and goodies and hats and music! It'll be the best party you’ll ever have! Except of course for your homecoming party! That's gonna be the best party ever. Of all time!"

Twilight laughed, "Thanks Pinkie! All of you, thank you."

"Just be sure to come back soon," Dash said.

"Yes," Rarity said. "Don't want you falling in love with some foreign prince and never coming back. That's my thing."

The room was filled with laughter. A voice on the stairway said,

"Great! When do we leave?"

Twilight turned and saw Spike sitting on the stairs.

"Spike!" she said. "It's late, you should be sleeping!"

"What? You guys can't have a party without me! And you’re talking about a trip!" He hopped down a few steps and Twilight approached the staircase. "So when do we go? I have to pack my things."

"Sorry Spike," She rested her hoof on his head. "But I'm going alone. I need you to stay here and take care of the house."

"Alone?" Rarity said.

"I thought you'd at least take Spike with you," Fluttershy said.

Twilight faced her friends. "This is something I have to do on my own. And I don’t want to risk anything happening to Spike." When nopony could think of anything to say back, Twilight turned back to Spike. He was scowling at her. "I'm sorry Spike. It's a dangerous journey and I don't want you to get hurt. Now go upstairs and get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

"Meh...fine." Spike groggily as he climbed the stairs again. When he had disappeared, Twilight turned to Fluttershy.

"You'll keep an eye on him, won't you Fluttershy?"

"Of course, Twilight," She replied with a small smile. "Just come back safely."

The next few days went by in a flurry of preparation. After many trips to the outdoor sports store, Twilight was finally able to put together a satisfactory saddlebag of supplies. She sent a letter to the library asking if she could hold on to the materials for a while longer, and received a response telling her to keep the materials for her own library. She sent a letter in thanks, and packed the maps along with some assorted supplies.

Before she knew it the time had come for her departure, so she really shouldn’t have been surprised that when she was entering her home after a trip for some last few supplies she was greeted with a waterfall of confetti and streamers and balloons.

All her friends had gathered in the library. There was a table with Pinkie’s signature party snacks, a record player playing joyfully in the corner, and a great banner hanging from the ceiling that read: Good Luck Twilight! accompanied with countless scribbles of hearts and hoofprints.

As the music and her friend’s shouts of “Good luck Twilight!” filled her ears Twilight wondered why she felt so sad. It wasn’t like she was never coming back.

“You guys~” She smiled widely. The inner sides of her lower eyelids were starting to feel warm. “I don’t have any idea how I could have gotten such amazing friends as you!”

Twilight was suddenly smothered, giggling as she was tangled in five hugs at once.

“Enough huggin’!” Pinkie chirped. “Let’s get dancin'!!!”

It was early in the morning, but the ponies gorged themselves on cake, ice cream and cookies anyway, washing it down with soda and punch. Never had Twilight condoned such an unhealthy breakfast, but at that time she didn’t care. Spike certainly didn’t mind it.

Several hours later, the party was winding down, and Twilight’s friends presented her with gifts for her journey. They were all wrapped in colorful paper and stacked neatly beneath the table, hidden by the tablecloth. Twilight was surprised when Pinkie suddenly whipped them out.

“You didn’t need to get me presents,” Twilight said.

“Well of-course we did,” Applejack said. “And you can’t really say they’re ‘presents.’”

“No,” Rarity said. “More like gifts,” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at her. “Or…tools. To assist you in your travels.”

Pinkie placed a small rectangular box in front of Twilight. It was wrapped delicately in yellow and decorated with little vines. It was obviously Fluttershy’s gift.

“Oh,” the timid pony muttered. “You don’t have to open mine first.”

“I’m not sure if I want to,” Twilight said. “This wrapping is beautiful! I don’t want to ruin it. Are you sure you’re special talent isn’t design?”

“Oh…yes…very certain.”

Twilight smiled and carefully unwrapped the paper. Of course, being Twilight Sparkle, she couldn’t just tear it apart quickly. She carefully undid every little seam, meticulously folding the paper and putting it to the side as she went. She was taking five times longer to open the present than a normal pony.

Finally Rainbow Dash burst, “FOR THE LOVE OF CELESTIA! Just open the darn thing!”

Twilight chuckled and put the last bit of paper to the side. The box was nice; a yellow patterned cardboard box with a lid. When she opened it, she was introduced to a simple little wooden pan-flute.

“I thought you’d appreciate some music on the road,” Fluttershy said bashfully. She was worried that Twilight wouldn’t like it, so she hurried to explain the gift. “It can get rather lonely and quiet on the road, and you’d be surprised how wonderful a few simple notes can sound.”

“I love it, thanks Fluttershy! I don’t really know how to play it though.”

“Oh, it’s easy to figure out. It’s the flute I learned on. The animals like me to play for them sometimes.”

“Huh,” Twilight said thoughtfully. The instrument only had a few holes; not too hard to figure out. She gave it an experimental blow, somehow producing an ugly piercing noise that made everypony jump. She placed it back in the box.

“Um…plenty of time to practice,” Fluttershy said.

“Thanks Fluttershy,” Twilight said with a smile.

“Here,” Applejack pushed a red apple-patterned box toward Twilight. “Open mine next!”

Twilight forced herself to be quicker with this box, surprised to find that ripping the paper violently was rather satisfying. She opened the box and lifted a bottle of Sweet Apple Acres spiced cider.

“Ta’ keep 'yur insides warm in the snow!” Applejack chimed.

Rarity’s gift was wrapped in pearly white paper and a navy blue ribbon. Nestled in folds of tissue paper was a brown cape lined in cozy white fur.

“Also to keep you warm in the snow.” Rarity said with a toss of her mane.

“It’s so simple, and functional!” Twilight said, examining the cape. It was made of very sturdy material. Rarity swung the cape around Twilight’s shoulders and fastened it using magic. “I love it, thanks!”

“Here, do mine!” Dash plopped a raggedly wrapped present before her.

Twilight had no trouble tearing it apart. She’d never say so, but the uneven seams needed to be put out of their misery. In the box was a scarf.

“I use it for when I organize snowstorms. Figured you’d need it.”

Twilight wrapped it around her neck. It fit comfortably. “Thanks, Rainbow.”

“Hey, hey!” Spike said from the spot next to Rarity. “I got you a present too!” He held up a tiny thing wrapped in brown paper.

“Oh, Spike. You didn’t have to.”

“Of course I did!” he said indignantly.

Twilight unwrapped the present and plucked a little stone from the crinkly folds of brown. It was a small piece of half-formed gemstone. Too much rock to be edible for a dragon but just enough sparkly purple to be considered pretty.

“It’s so pretty! Thank you, Spike!” She gave her assistant a loving nuzzle.

“Ooh! Ooh! Mine next!” Pinkie squeaked.

Twilight unfolded the colorful paper to find a generously sized fruitcake wrapped in pink parchment paper.

“That cake will last forever!” Pinkie said. “So when you run out of food and are starving, you won’t be starving!”

“That’s…surprisingly ingenious. Thanks Pinkie,” Twilight said. She re-wrapped the cake and placed it in her saddlebag next to the bottle of cider and several bags of dried fruit. She tucked the flute and stone gently into the opposite bag with the maps. She looked up at her friends.

“Thank you everypony. You really are the greatest friends a girl could ask for.”

“Oh dear,” Rarity said. “What time is your ticket for?”

“Two o’clock.”

“It’s best time we accompany you to the station, then!”

The platform was mostly abandoned; not many ponies usually visited the town. Ponyville was a small place, after all. The steam engine sat patiently on its tracks, but it wouldn’t wait for much longer. Twilight made sure she had everything.

“Let’s see… Cape, scarf, flute, cider, cake, stone-gem, maps, parchment, charcoal, quill and ink, journal…” her listing trailed off into mumbles. Finally she looked up at her friends. “I guess this is it…”

“Well?” Applejack said. “What’re you wait’n for? Get goin’!”

“Best of luck,” Rarity said.

“Be careful…”

“Remember those self-defense moves I taught you that one time!”

“Come back soon! Come back soon!”

“Bring back some exotic gemstones!”

Twilight buried herself in another round of hugs and finally started toward the train doors. She kept glancing back and waving, and eventually Applejack had to playfully nudge her onto the steps saying “Go, gurl, go!”

She found an empty compartment and opened the window, sticking her head out just as the train’s engine fired up. As the train began to lazily pull away, she waved to the small group of ponies (plus one dragon) and they waved back, calling farewells.

The chugga, chugga of the train got faster and faster as the acceleration grew. Twilight watched as Ponyville station grew smaller and smaller, and finally pulled her head in when the chugga, chugga came in rapidly, like that of a frantic heartbeat.

She sat in the train silently for a minute, taking in her complete independence. Nopony would be with her on this. She was alone. Twilight used to be alone all the time before she came to Ponyville, but she had grown to depend on her friends, and she was glad of it.

But she had to abandon that sentiment for now. She tried her best to recall how she lived on her own in Canterlot as she took out her journal. It was a large, blank travelling journal, and she gladly took out a quill and scrawled out an introduction.

Her plan was simple: Ride the train to the coast and hitch a ride to Skyrim. At least, it sounded simple.

Chapter 5 - Dingy

Twilight had been riding the train for about two hours when it finally pulled into a small station just outside Baltimare, the one closest to the port. The sudden stop jerked Twilight away from her doze. She stretched her stiff joints and got off the train. Nopony else got off onto the small platform with her, and she watched the train pull away until it disappeared.

Twilight couldn't help but feel unsafe when looking around the tiny, neglected station. It was completely abandoned and older than the Canterlot or Ponyville stations. The floorboards were warped and any paint that had once decorated the place remained now only as tiny resilient chips hiding in the crevices. She wished that the main Baltimare station was closer to Horseshoe Bay, where more ponies would be.

"Come on, Twilight," she said to herself. "This isn't the time to be afraid."

There was a trail that led from the station down to the port. It ran through a small but dense forest that blocked out the sun ominously. Twilight kept expecting something to jump out from behind a tree at any moment. She shook her head at herself. If she could take trips into the Everfree forest to visit Zecora she could walk through this little forest no problem.

It was a short walk full of jumping at little noises, nervous twitches, and tripping over roots that had overgrown the trail. Twilight soon emerged from the overgrown underbrush to a brightly lit shore that had long ago been transformed into a bustling port. A few miles down she could see enormous ships being loaded and unloaded, cleaned, re-sailed, and so forth. The ships grew gradually smaller as the port curved closer to where Twilight stood, coming to an end not far from the forest path's end. Her little section of the port was partially obscured by an outcropping of rocks that she was only able to see over because the forest terminated at the edge of an elevated ridge.

Twilight looked over the ships that filled the hidden shore. There were many different crafts of varying sizes. Some looked like they were built in foreign countries. All the crewmen were pulling at ropes, transporting boxes, gambling with each other, arguing, and so on and so forth. There were mostly ponies, but Twilight spotted some Griffons, and she glimpsed what she thought was a Minotaur before he disappeared into one of the ships. No matter how hard she looked, however, Twilight couldn't find any sign, seal, or symbol of a trading company. Her stomach lurched with unease. Smugglers.

She didn't want to take any chances asking for passage from them, so she slipped away to the other side of the port before any of them noticed her. When she took a closer look at the other ships, she first thought that she was still in smuggler territory, for the ships and crews near to her were just as shady-looking as the smugglers, but they all bore the emblems of various shipping companies.

"Well," she mumbled to herself. "A sailor is a sailor, whether he works legitimately or not."

Taking a deep breath, she approached the nearest ship. It was a small, run-down looking ship that had "Horace and Sons" painted on the side, along with the ship name, "Ship." Twilight tried not to judge on the lack of creativity and approached a nearby worker to had stopped to rest against a large crate. He was a tall but wisp stallion with a filthy bandana tied around his head.

"Pardon me, sir," Twilight began. The stallion looked up suddenly at her. His face was surprised at first, but then slipped into an unsettling grin.

"Yess'm," he said with a drawl ten times heavier than Applejack's. "An' a fine lookn' thang ya' are."

"Um. Thanks. Is this ship by any chance going to Skyrim?"

"Skyr'm? What a Skyr'm?"

"Um It's a country..."

"Shippy here go ta'll sorts a exotic places'." He suddenly put his foreleg around Twilight. "Come 'board an' meet the crew! We havn' met a fine youngin' like urself in a coon's age!"

Twilight quickly ducked out from under the stallions foreleg.. "No thank you I'm busy sorry I wastedyourtimebye." She trotted off, trying her best not to make it look like she was running away. She blew a stray piece of mane from her eyes. "A sailor is a sailor," he grumbled to herself. This was going to be harder than she initially anticipated.

The shore was littered with docks and ships, and there were several more anchored farther out in the port. Twilight spent what felt like hours questioning crewmen about Skyrim. Some merely shook their heads and continued with their work, some laughed in her face, some ignored her, some even took the time to scowl at her rudely without answering. She tried her best to ignore the catcalls and rude gestures of some of the crewmen, and she soon decided that maybe it was best she start questioning the captains instead.

The Demeter was a large ship. It was old, but well taken care of from what Twilight could see. It's browning masts towered into the air and were topped with simple crows' nests and surrounded by a jungle of ropes and pulleys. The wood was darkened from years at sea, and any metal Twilight could see was caked with red rust. It was a beautiful ship, but it was intimidating to look at. The crew didn't seem any cleaner or well mannered than any other she encountered thus far.

"Excuse me," she said to the cleanest stallion she could find. He looked up at her with worn, tired eyes.

"Yeah, what is it?" He said gruffly.

"If you could point me in the direction of the captain, I would like to have a word with him."

"The captain? Ha! I don't think so." He turned back to his work lifting boxes.

"What? Why not?"

The stallion got a large crate on his back before turning back to Twilight. "The captain has important things to worry about." He started to carry his crate towards the boat.

"But this is important!" Twilight trotted after him. "I'm on an important research mission! I need to gain passage to-"

"Then go book a ticket on a passenger boat! This is a cargo ship! Now get out of my way you're crowding me!"

Twilight trotted ahead of the stallion and blocked his way. They were on the dock, which was littered with crates, so he couldn't very easily get around her. "But where I need to go isn't accessible by cruise liner! No passenger boat in Equestria goes there. It's not a tourist destination."

"You're NOT meeting the captain! Get out of my way!" The stallion tried to get around her, but she just kept blocking his way. The crate on his back wobbled precariously. "Get-"

"No! Not until you bring me to the captain." He ignored her and kept trying to get around. "This is important!"

"That captain 'aint gonna help you! Now. Get. Out. Of. My. Way!" He jumped to the side suddenly to try and catch Twilight off guard, but she blocked him again. The crate on his back finally wobbled and fell. When it hit the ground it snapped, and a huge crack appeared down one side.

"NOW LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" The stallion roared in rage.

"I'm sorry, I-"

"GET OUT OF HERE!"

"No, I can fix it-" Twilight's horn illuminated and the box was wrapped in a pinkish glow. The damaged wood closed back together like a healing wound, and when the light faded the crate was as good as new.

"What's going on here?" Twilight jumped at the sudden, sharp voice that sounded loudly behind her. She turned to see a tall, black stallion with hard ruby eyes. He had a subtle feathering around his hooves but was far too slim to be a Clydesdale. He was young and handsome, but entirely scary, especially with those red eyes.

"Sir!" The worker stallion said. "It wasn't my fault! This mare was givin' me a hard time! Made me drop my load-"

"As you were, Buck," the dark horse said. His voice was deep and hard, and it carried an unsettling coolness.

"Y-yes sir," Buck nervously picked the crate up and edged around the stallion toward the ship. Twilight's throat clenched up when he fixed her with his red gaze.

She tried to hide a hard swallow, then said "Are you the captain of this vessel?"

"No." He looked at her up and down. "I'm his first mate, second in command. What business to you have with the captain?" He began to walk slowly around Twilight, looking her over.

"I'd like to discuss that with the captain, if you don't mind," Twilight said, firming up her voice. She refused to be intimidated by him.

"I'll decide if the you're worth the captain's time. You're not even worth mine. What do you want?" He stopped circling around her, but continued to eye her.

"I need to gain passage," she said, glaring into his eyes.

"To where?"

"'Where' is none of your concern."

"It is," he suddenly stepped uncomfortably close to Twilight, and she fought the urge to jump back. She could smell the heavy odor of is coat and breath, but she stood firm. "You're not seeing the captain if you don't tell me."

"You don't need to know."

"Maybe you don't want to go anywhere. Maybe you just need to get close to him. Feed him some sob story about finding your long-lost family, or living the dream of travel and adventure. Maybe you just need to get close enough to slit his throat in the middle of the night and make off with everything valuable on the ship. Who hired you? McAllen? Rustwing?"

"No one-I wouldn't-"

"Don't lie to me!" He suddenly shoved Twilight back with one hoof, and the strength of it was shocking. Twilight slid backward a few feet, managing to stay upright.

Suddenly a shout rang out behind him. The dark stallion jumped in surprise and turned. "Captain," he said. "This mare was-"

"First Officer Dinge," the captain said. "See that the rest of the cargo is loaded and secured. We need to cast off soon."

"Aye Aye," Dinge grumbled quietly. He stepped around the captain and headed for the ship. The captain approached Twilight.

"Are you okay, miss?" The captain was shorter and stockier than Dirge, and much more friendly-looking. He had a white coat with tan areas around his eyes, flanks and shoulders. His mane was brown and scruffy with a bandana tied around his head and he chewed on a bit of straw in his mouth. His cutie mark was a silver compass. He reminded Twilight of little Pipsqueak back in Ponyville, especially when he was dressed as a pirate for Nightmare Night.

"Yes, I'm fine," Twilight said. "I apologize for causing so much trouble."

"Not at all," The captain started walking toward the shore and he motioned for her to follow. "I'm Captain Cardinal. I'm sorry about Dinge. He's only doing his job. He may be harsh, but he's loyal to a fault. I wouldn't have any other first officer."

"I understand, Captain," They stepped off the wooden dock onto the sand. "I came here looking to speak to you."

"Me? What's your business with me?"

"Well, I didn't come here looking for you specifically. I've been up and down the beach all day looking to gain passage. It wasn't until about half an hour ago I realized that I should really be addressing the captains, not the workers."

"Aye, that's true. Such a long time at sea doing such taxing work takes its toll. They are not the most agreeable bunch. What can I do for you?"

Twilight glanced at the ship. "I'm looking to gain passage to Skyrim."

He looked at her quizzically. "Skyrim? Why would ever want to go there?"

"I'm on a mission. I want to explore it and learn as much as I can from it. There's so little information available, and nopony as ever done an extensive study there before. Also I feel kind of...drawn to it somehow. It's odd. Here, look-" She took out her journal using magic and flipped through the pages of notes. "It's fascinating how little there really is here. There are so many areas I could expand upon. Like the ruins, the towns, the ponies that live there. Plus there's just something about this country that just...I don't know, calls to me-"

Cardinal laughed and said, "Ok Ok slow down. Now you want to go to Skyrim - a pretty little thing like yourself - to study and research and whatnot. That's all fine and dandy, but do you know how dangerous it is there?"

"Yes."

"You do," he said doubtfully. "Are you sure?"

"I am," she nodded.

"Ma'am- sorry, what was your name?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Twilight Sparkle."

"Miss Sparkle. I don't want to seem rude or anything, but a mare all on her own, in that place...I don't like the thought of it."

"With all due respect, Captain, I've faced danger before. Real danger. I've almost died, or worse, more times than I care to remember. I appreciate your concern, but my safety is my own to worry about, and I can take care of myself."

Cardinal bit down on his piece of hay and considered her for a moment. "Well," he said. "You're a unicorn, that certainly won't hurt your chances..."

"Please," Twilight said. "can you take me to Skyrim?"

"Well..." he thought, then said hesitantly, "Our route swings by that way, yeah. I suppose it wouldn't be much trouble."

"Oh, thank you! Thank you so much-"

"Hold on, there. I can't just give you a free ride."

"Of course, I understand. I have a little bit of money with me," she took out a small sack of bits and levitated it to him. He took it in his hoof and tossed it a bit, weighing it.

"Hm..." He looked at her. "Sailors are pigs, miss. Can you deal with that?"

"I'll be fine."

"And...you're sure about Skyrim? I can't change your mind? The Demeter is headed for Elseweyr, I'm sure there are plenty of things to study there."

"My mind is made up, Captain."

He sighed, felt the weight of the coins again, and said, "This will do. Follow me, we'll be casting off soon." Twilight couldn't suppress her excited smile. She followed him all the way back to the ship and up a precarious plank set between the dock and the deck of the ship. Cardinal told Twilight to wait up by the helm.

When she got up there she was caught for a moment by the view of the ocean. All the ships had obscured it before, but now she was able to see how it stretched out as endless as the sky, taking what light it could find and shattering it into a million glittering pieces. She eventually turned around and was caught again by a different spectacle. Twilight was intrigued by the way all the sailors ran about the ship, working the masts and ropes, preparing to set sail. She glimpsed a few ponies in the ropes and masts above, none of them pegasi, flitting from rope to rope with a familiarity comparable to that of a spider in its web.

"Enjoying the view?" Captain Cardinal appeared above the stairs and made his way towards Twilight.

"I am! It's fascinating watching them. They all look so at home on deck."

"Many of us have legs far more suited for the sea than the land. You'll spot more than a few sailing-related cutie marks down there. Oh, excuse me, it's time to cast off." He called out to Dirge, who barked out a series of orders. After a few minutes, the sails tugged slightly and the wind turned them into billowing clouds above the deck. The deck shifted suddenly as the bottom of the ship was pulled from the shallow water. The prow was swung around away from the shore toward open eastern sea. The wind rushed in Twilight's ears and the waves crashed against the sides of the ship, but when the course was finally set and all the sails were tied down firm, everything was suddenly peaceful. The sea ahead was turning red in the afternoon light along with the sky. The stars would be out soon.

Twilight turned around and looked back at the shore. It was already so far away, and the sun was getting ready to dip behind the forested horizon. The sea ahead was turning dark, and the land was painted gold in the late afternoon sunlight. Baltimare shone brilliantly in the light as it bounced off the windows of the buildings.

Twilight suddenly felt very alone. She had never set a hoof outside Equestria in her whole life. Everything she knew was there. Fear suddenly came over her. Fear of the unknown, what she might find beyond the eastern sea, what could happen to her. She might never come back, and who would ever know what had happened to her?

These thoughts whirled around in her head over and over again, building up tension in her neck and causing unease in her chest. She thought about her friends, her family, everypony she knew. Then she thought about Princess Celestia. She had been so cross with Twilight when she left, and Twilight thought that maybe the Princess didn't like her anymore. Maybe she doesn't want to tutor Twilight anymore. Maybe when she gets back, if she gets back, Twilight will be kicked out of school forever.

Twilight stared into the setting sun and her mind slowly quieted. All the years spent with her beloved mentor played through her head like a film reel. She smiled. Princess Celestia loved Twilight, and Twilight knew that no matter where she went, no matter how far away she roamed, the sun would always be there, watching over her.

Chapter 6 - Songs of Demeter

The rocking of the ship was hard to get used to at first. Twilight's night on the ocean wasn't as restful as she'd hoped. The bright sunlight that hit her face as she emerged from below deck helped to wake her up. She saw the Captain at the helm and started towards him. When she reached the top of the stairs she turned to look at the deck. The sailors were scattered around the deck, most of them without much to do. Twilight spotted Dinge. He met her gaze for a moment then turned away without so much as a nod. Twilight shrugged it off.

"Miss Sparkle!" Cardinal said from the wheel. "Sleep well?"

"I've never slept on a ship before, but I managed. Thanks again for letting me aboard."

"Eh, hard to say no to a little extra money. Plus, I think the lads could use a pretty face on board. To lift their spirits, you know?"

"Dinge doesn't seem very impressed with me."

"Oh, that's just his way."

Twilight observed the sailors as they went about their work. Dinge was on the far side of the deck managing a small group. "Hold on," she said. "Dinge doesn't have a cutie mark!" Dinge's flank was black and bare.

"Don't let him hear you say that!" Cardinal said. "He's sensitive about it." He sighed. "Dinge has had a hard life. He hasn't had much time to find his special talent. Hasn't been exposed to the greatest environments to do so, either. We've been through a lot together. He's saved my life a few times. He hasn't any family or friends to go to, so he and I run this ship together. When we have some time off, he stays with me and my niece and her daughter. You'd never guess it, but he's as gentle as a kitten around that little foal."

Twilight raised her eyebrow. "Really? Forgive me if I find that hard to believe."

"It's true! Don't let that tough exterior of his get to 'ya. Somewhere in there is tender, loving colt...don't tell him I said that."

"My lips are sealed."

"Now," Cardinal bent his head towards a compass he had fixed on some sort of device that kept it level. "You're probably wondering exactly how long you'll have to be on this boat."

"Oh, yes," she replied. "Also where exactly do you plan to drop me off?"

"Razorpoint," Twilight flinched at the name. "It's a tiny town by the shore. They get more visits from international traders than any other port town in the whole province. Maybe five ships a year."

"So few?"

"That whole country is very cut off. Razorpoint is in the south shore."

"Oh yes, here, I have a map." Twilight drew out the most current map of Skyrim she had and spread it out. The captain looked over it quickly and pointed a hoof at a spot on the south shore.

"There," he said. "It's too small a place to be labeled, but that's where it is, by that little dip in the shoreline there."

Twilight dotted and labeled the town with a quill she had packed. "Hm. A ridge of mountains circles the whole province. I'll have to get through those to get the main cities."

"Good luck with that," Cardinal said. "I hear those mountains are the most dangerous in the world."

"There's got to be some kind of trail. Maybe I should try to find a guide."

"That sounds like a good idea," he adjusted the direction of the wheel slightly. "Maybe one of the locals would be willing to help you."

"I'll look into it. When will we get there?"

Cardinal sniffed the air. "The wind is with us. We'll be there by sundown. We won't dock, since we have no trade business there. I'll have someone row you to shore."

"Thanks."

Something caught Cardinal's eye in the sails above him. "Ah, just a bird."
Twilight followed his gaze and saw a giant white bird soaring above the sails. She squinted at it. "That's..."

"I'll take care of it, captain!" A voice cried. A pegasus sailor soared past them. He had a knife in his mouth.
"Wait!" Twilight cried. The pegasus was suddenly torn back by a puff of magic encompassing his tail. He only raised an eyebrow at her. "That's an Albatross!" she said.
"So?" the pegasus replied.
"You can't kill and Albatross! It's bad luck! Haven't you read the story?"
"That's just a legend." The pegasus rolled his eyes.
Twilight sighed. "If I've learned anything over the past few years it's that not all legends are untrue."
"Aye, I'd listen to her, boy," Cardinal chimed in.

The pegasus pouted in disappointment and fluttered away. Twilight looked up at the bird. It continued to glide lazily above the masts. It was a beautiful sight. Twilight thought that Fluttershy would have loved to meet an Albatross. She frowned. It probably would be quite a while before she saw her friends again.
"Do you think it'll follow us all the way to Skyrim?"

"It's possible." Cardinal tapped the compass in satisfaction. "Our course is set. All we have to do now is wait." He rested his hoof on the wheel. "Looks like the crew is getting together to play cards. Keep an eye on 'em for me, would you?"

Twilight smiled. "Sure."

A group of sailors were gathering on the deck in a cramped circle. Twilight pushed her way through and they made way for her near the center, where two colts sat on either side of a board. They weren't playing cards, but rather a game that was unfamiliar to Twilight involving the placement of tiles on a grid. One of the colts pondered for quite a long while on his next move. When he finally placed a tile, the other colt cried out in exasperation, hitting himself in the forehead. The audience had a similar reaction.

The other colt laughed, "Don't get so discouraged! You still have a chance to win."

Twilight watched the game intently, trying to figure out the rules. After a while almost the whole board was covered in pieces. Finally the winning colt placed another piece, and the whole audience flinched with the opposing colt and echoed his moan of defeat. Jingling filled the air as everypony exchanged sums of coins.

"You bet on the game?" Twilight asked the group.

"Of course," said the winning colt. He flashed a smile as he caught a small purse of coins that was tossed to him by the loser. "Do you play?"

"Actually, I've never even seen this game before."

"We picked it up in Eleswyr a while back. Here, we'll teach you how to play." He stood and motioned for Twilight to take the seat that was being abandoned by the loser.

"Oh no, that's okay," Twilight said. "I don't want to interrupt."

"I'm sure the boys wouldn't mind, would you, lads?"

Twilight jumped when the group suddenly roared with invitations to play. They were incredibly excited to see her interested in their game. Twilight smiled, embarrassed at all the attention. She was nudged over to the empty place in front of the winning colt, who was clearing the board of pieces.

"My name's Galleon," he said. "Or Leon, for short."

"Twilight Sparkle," she responded.

He gave her friendly nod and began to explain the rules. The audience looked on quietly, a juvenile sort of excitement in their eyes. It was not unlike a small group of school ponies gathering around the teacher to listen to a story. Leon helped her through a few short games to help introduce the rules. When they started playing real games, the captain could hear Twilight's cries of frustration from the helm. He chuckled to himself.

Leon laughed at her too. "You move too quickly," he said, clearing the board again. "You have to think through your next move carefully."

"I do!" she said. "I plan out a strategy in the beginning and I carry it out as fast as I can. You just keep messing it up!"

"Your thinking too much in chess terms. This game changes dramatically with each turn. You have to really think through each and every move as it comes. Be patient."

Twilight nodded. "Ok, I think I understand. Let's go again."

The next few games lasted quite a bit longer. Coins were exchanged often, and the audience looked on with anticipation. The last game took the longest. Twilight thought through every move very carefully, and Leon was getting nervous. The onlookers leaned a fraction closer with every move. Finally as Twilight contemplated her next move, the board was almost full, and everypony held their breath. The minutes ticked by, and finally Twilight picked up a piece and placed it just so. The audience cried out triumphantly and Leon sighed in defeat.

"I've taught you well," he said, bowing slightly.

"You did," Twilight said. "Thank you very much." She noticed how stiff her back was and tried to stretch it out. "Goodness. How long were we at it?"

"A few hours. In fact, I think it's almost time to eat."

Almost on cue a pony wearing an apron and blue bandanna around his head emerged from below deck. "Meal time, lads!" He cried. The group dispersed to retrieve bowls of some sort of soup and some bread. The captain appeared by the stairs and called to the cook, "Make sure the lady gets some too, will ya?"

"Aye, aye, captain!" He called back. He gave Twilight a bowl and some bread. He ladled some thick green soup from a kettle into her bowl and moved on to other waiting sailors. Twilight looked warily at the soup. It looked a little suspicious, but she didn't want to be rude.

"It's really not that bad," Leon said as he sat down next to her. He help the bowl in his hooves and sipped the hot soup. "I know it looks like gruel, but Bayleaf's a great cook. He turns slop into gold." Twilight sniffed the liquid and found that it actually smelled quite good. When she tasted it, she thought it was simply pea soup at first, but then she detected hints of pickle and tomato, oddly enough. It should have tasted awful, but it wasn't. Twilight wasn't surprised to see Bayleaf's cooking cutie mark as he passed by.

The crew ate their fill of the soup, the bowls and scraps of bread were collected, and everypony lounged about the deck. Some napped in the sun, some mumbled conversation, some retreated below deck. Twilight sat with Leon. He dozed against the main mast post and Twilight quietly lay nearby, observing the crew. She guessed the time was somewhere around noon, as the sun was highest in the sky. She wondered if they would arrive at Razorpoint anytime soon, and shifted uncomfortably as impatience tried to worm its way inside her.

Twilight was looking over her supplies in an attempt to occupy herself when she heard somepony humming across deck. One of the sailors was leaning against the railing, looking over the ocean. He was humming a tune quietly at first, but then grew in volume. A nearby sailor joined in, tapping his hoof along with the beat, and then another started singing the words.

"There once was a hero named Ragnar the Red," he started. A few others joined in, "Who came riding to Whiterun from old Rorikstead!" Several others joined in.

"And the braggart did swagger and and brandish his blade,"

"As he talked of bold battles and gold he had made!"

Eventually the whole boat was singing and clomping to the song. One of the sailors took Twilight's hoof and started dancing. She found herself in the middle of a circle of sailors again. "But then he went quiet did Ragnar the Red when he met the shield-maiden Matilda who said," The dancing paused and the song was silent for a beat, and when the sailor realized Twilight didn't know the song he continued for her, "Oh you talk and you lie and you drink all our mead! Now I think it's high time that you lie down and bleed!"

The whole boat resonated with the hoofbeats. Somepony had started playing a harmonica. "And so then there came clashing and slashing of steel, as the brave lass Matilda charged in full of zeal! And the braggart named Ragnar was boastful no moooooore! When his ugly red head rolled around on the floor!" All the sailors cheered and laughed when the last note ended. Twilight smiled.

"That's awful," Twilight laughed. "Such a bloody story!"

"Aye," said the sailor that danced with her. "It's an ancient tune from Skyrim, you noticed the town names?"

"I did, yes."

"It's a violent place. Only fitting to have violent songs too. You botched your line, though."

"Sorry," She smiled. "I hadn't heard it before."

"It's a simple tune. Let's do it again, this time you sing!"

The whole affair was repeated, but this time Twilight sang along with everyone. She got a little embarrassed when they let her sing Matilda's line alone, but they all seemed to be enjoying themselves. The crew spent the next few hours in song. Twilight didn't know many of them, but she was happy to learn. A few of the crew members brought out some of their instruments at one point and started playing together. Twilight look out her pan flute and looked at it quizzically. She tried to play it, but produced yet another awful sounding noise. She looked at it more closely, from an engineering perspective. "The way it was carved," she mumbled to herself. "looks like it's meant to redirect air through little openings to produce sound. But-"

"You're not playing it right," Leon said. He had appeared beside her without her noticing. "Here, like this." He took the flute from her and blew over the tops of one of the pipes. It made a beautiful wispy sound that Twilight was able to just recreate when she tried again. "That's it!" Leon said. "Now try this." He played the first few notes of Ragnar the Red on the flute and gave it to Twilight. After much trial and error, she was able to replicate it exactly. "See?" he said. "It's not so hard. Can you get the rest of the song?"

"I think so..." Twilight spent the next half hour or so learning to play Ragnar the Red on her pan flute. When she finally played through it perfectly, Leon applauded her.

"Miss," somepony said. Twilight saw a small group of sailors approaching. "We were wondering," on of them said. "Do you have any songs you could sing us?"

"Me!? Oh-oh no I don't think so-"

"Come on, pleeease?" The sailors started crowding around her, putting on adorable puppy eyes.

"I...I guess I maybe-"

The sailors cheered loudly and led her away. "Wait a second," Twilight panicked. "I'm not entire sure if-"

"OYE! The lady's gonna sing to us!" one of sailors called. The whole deck cheered loudly. To her great dismay, Twilight was placed on the stairs to the helm. Everyone gathered around her on the deck. Twilight had never been very nervous when speaking to crowds, but singing was a different matter. At least, in front of strangers it was odd.

"I uh..." I said nervously.

"Don't worry, miss!" called one of a group of sailors holding instruments. "Just start off, and we'll join in."

"I don't know if I know any songs you'd know. Everything I know is...girly."

The group chuckled. "We don't care," called one. "Just improvise!"

"Oh...ok. Give me beat, then."

The whole group began stamping a steady beat. Twilight motioned for the musicians to start playing. When the beat and tune became consistent, Twilight bounced along with the beat to get it right in her head. The beat was slow and steady but somepony with a fiddle set the tune twice as fast. It was a fun sounding song so far, Twilight just had to get the right words out there. When the fiddle finished a short solo and returned to a steady stream of notes, she started singing.
In her song she recalled her brother's wedding and the Changeling invasion. She sang about how Cadence was an imposter and how she and her friends failed to retrieve the Elements.
Instead of ending the song with what really happened, she ended the story with a darker turn of events, thinking the sailors would prefer it to an explosion of love-magic and a wedding.

The band finished off with a quick flourish, and the crew whistled and clopped. Twilight heard calls of "another!" "Yes, please! Another one!" "Just one more!"

"That one was improvised," Twilight said. "I can sing you a real one this time, if you don't mind something light." The crowd collectively made an excited affirmative noise, and Twilight turned to the band. "I'll start this time. You can improvise once you get the melody." They nodded happily. Twilight turned to the crowd and thought for a second, shifting nervously. "This is one we sing in Ponyville every Spring," she said. She cleared her throat.

"The time has come to welcome Spring,
and all things warm and green.
But it's also time to say goodbye,
It's Winter we must clean."

The band joined in and eventually the crew was dancing along with the catchy tune. When the final note finally died away, the deck boomed with cheers. Twilight blushed and bowed slightly, laughing. She heard clopping behind her, and turned to see the captain listening in from the helm.

"I don't think I've ever seen the crew so excited," he said. "I should hire you as our permanent bard!" They both laughed. The moment was full of laughter and excitement. The audience had started to sing the song over again themselves. It was interesting for Twilight to hear it sung entirely by world-worn, male voices. She liked how it sounded.

Suddenly everything went silent when a cry came from the crow's nest: "Land ho!"

The audience flew apart, every crewman sprinting to their stations. Ropes were pulled, pulleys squeaked, the deck creaked in protest against the stampede of hoofsteps. Twilight climbed up to the helm not only to get out of the way but also to catch the first glimpse of Skyrim beyond the prow.

It was just a tiny splotch on the horizon, a small gray line that wavered slightly to create the peaks of the Jerall Mountains. It was so close, but it would still be at least half an hour before they were close enough to row to shore. Twilight placed her front hooves on the railing and leaned over the edge of the ship in an attempt to get a better look.

"Don't worry," Cardinal said from the wheel. "We'll be there soon."

Chapter 7 - Razorpoint

The ocean was quiet and gentle as it lapped against the rowboat. Twilight was halfway between the boat anchored out at sea and the southern Skyrim shore. For some reason Cardinal thought it fit to have Dinge row her to shore. He wasn't scowling at her or anything, but he certainly wasn't happy. Twilight glanced back at the ship. The mist from the cold water was already starting to fold it thinly in a gray veil. The crew was sorry to see her leave, but they sent her off kindly. They wished her luck, and and when she was on the water all of them crammed up against the railing to wave goodbye. Even the Albatross had landed on the railing and fluttered its wings at her in farewell.

She looked back to the shore over Dinge's shoulder. It was dark and gray. Not at all like the warm, sunny shores of Equestria. The wind picked up a little, and it bit into Twilight's skin with icy jaws. She wrapped the fur-lined cloak Rarity had given her tighter around her shoulders. Dirge squinted at her.

"I doubt that rag will keep you alive very long," he said.
"My friend Rarity made this for me," Twilight said, scowling. "She's a gifted seamstress. I think it'll protect me just fine."
"If you say so," he grumbled. Twilight's expression softened. Dinge was showing concern, in his own way.

"I understand you were doing your job," she said. "When you pushed me, I mean. No hard feelings." He grumbled in response, but didn't say anything more. Twilight looked again at the mountains ahead. They rose ominously into the sky. Many of the tops were obscured by low, wintery clouds. Everything was gray, and colors were muted. The seasons had ended early for Skyrim; it already looked like the beginnings of winter.

"You're really going in there?" Dinge said.
"Yeah."
Dinge looked over his shoulder at the mountains. Without looking at her he said, "Be careful in there."
"I will. Thank you."

Razorpoint was a small settlement. It was a collection of stone houses with straw roofs built very near to the water. The shore was impaled with several small docks, most of them fallen and deteriorating with age. There were two small fishing ships docked there, and one of the ponies working there spotted the oncoming rowboat. He walked to the end of the dock and waited for them to get closer.

"Good afternoon!" He called as Dinge put away the oars and retrieved the rope. "We don't get many visitors in these parts." He motioned for Dinge to toss the rope. He caught it in his mouth and quickly tied it to the dock.

"We're only here to drop off a traveler," Dinge said.

The fisherman helped Twilight onto the dock, and Dinge followed. The fisherman was a sruffy-looking colt with a fish cutie mark. His coat was a dirty sand color and his messy mane was a graying brown. He had a sheathed knife around his waste that was probably for gutting fish. Twilight thought there must be some griffons in town, since ponies don't eat fish.

"You're the traveler?" The pony said curiously. His accent was thick and fluttery. It was unlike anything Twilight had heard in Equestria.

"Yes, I'm Twilight Sparkle," Twilight smiled.
"Welcome to Skyrim, Twilight Sparkle! My name is Chorolf."
"Pleasure to meet you."

Chorolf turned to Dinge. "You're leaving her here all alone?" Dinge grumbled something unintelligible in response.

Twilight turned to him and said, "Don't worry. I'll be fine. Thank you for bringing me, I appreciate it." She levitated a few coins from her back. "Here, for your trouble."

"What?" Dinge said. "No, I..."

She magicked the coins into the small pack he kept on his front leg and said, "Just take it, I insist. Thank you, and good luck on the rest of your journey."

Dinge didn't know what to say, so he just nodded. Twilight smiled and returned the gesture, then headed toward the shore. Chorolf exchanged a few words with Dinge then caught up to her.

"Oye, lass! Where are you headed?"
Twilight paused. "Oh, well...into town I suppose."
"Have you ever been to Skyrim before?"

Twilight shook her head. "No. I'm here to research and document this province. There is shockingly little information on it back in Equestria."

"Ah, a scholar! Not many of those around these parts. I wish you luck on your venture, but Skyrim is a dangerous place. You're going to need some guidance. I have to get back to work, but you should visit the Inn. It's the big building in the middle of town, you can't miss it."

"I will, thank you very much, Chorolf."

"Good luck, Twilight Sparkle." Chorolf returned to a small ship tied to the dock and Twilight stepped onto the sandy, rocky, Razorpoint shore. The town was right against the docks, and she spotted some other ponies walking around. The buildings were built together along a main road. Ponies trotted to and fro, chopping wood and carrying the pieces indoors, transporting crates, sweeping the wooden porches, among other things. Twilight's ear angled toward the loud clanging of a blacksmith's hammer, and spotted a strong but worn-looking Clydesdale. He glanced back at her with a unwelcoming look in his eye. She quickly pressed on. Everypony walking the streets nearby looked at her suspiciously. They weren't used to having strangers in town.

Twilight shivered. The air was biting cold and dry. She thought she might need more than just a cloak for her travels. The "Razorpoint Tavern and Inn" was a large building with a small set of steps leading up to the porch. The slope of the ground, however, put the building partway underground. The door creaked heavily when she pushed it open. She was greeted with a large, warm room heated by a large fireplace in the center. There were a few battered tables and benches scattered about with a counter on the far corner of the room. The warm, dim light of the fire and candles contrasted with the cold, dampened atmosphere outside.

Twilight was approaching the counter and scanning the few patrons in the inn when she froze. Her jaw fell open as she stared at the creature sitting by the fire. It was a giant lizard of some sort. It's build was similar to a pony but it was covered in reddish scales and had a long, strong-looking tail with tiny spines. One of its clawed hands grasped a bottle of wine. It's neck was thin and supported a reptilian, almost dinosaur-like head. When it spotted Twilight, she saw that it had piercing slitted red eyes. She jumped when it spoke.

"What are you staring at?" He growled with a slithery, slimy voice. His teeth looked as sharp as razors.
It took Twilight a couple of tries to stammer, "I-I uh. I was just-"

The lizard got up and took a step toward her threateningly. "You'd better unstick your eyes, girl, or you might lose 'em." Twilight was at a complete loss as to what to say. The creature glared at her with the eyes of a killer but she just couldn't move.

Suddenly came an equally slithery voice beside her, "Back off Tanza, can't you see she's a foreigner?" Another lizard thing had appeared beside Twilight. This one had green scales and curling horns. His eyes were greenish brown.

"That's precisely why I don't like her!" Tanza said.
"Sit down, Tanza. You're drunk." The red lizard grumbled and sat back down, taking another swig out of his bottle of wine and staring into the fire. "Don't mind him," the green one said to Twilight. "He is just bad-tempered."
"T-thank you."
"Although, you should probably stop staring at us like you've never seen an Argonian before."

Twilight blinked at shook her head. Her eyes were still as wide as dinner plates. "I apologize. And, in all honesty, I haven't."

"Well, I'm not surprised," She followed him to the counter. "Equestria is probably about as isolationist as Blackmarsh - that's our homeland."
"How did you know I was Equestrian?"
"I thought you were Breton at first, but then your coat is a dead giveaway, um... what was your name?" They sat down on a bench by the counter.

"Oh, Twilight Sparkle."
"I am Julanza. Your coat, anyway, it is purple. And not just any purple. Bright, shiny, noticeable purple."
"So?"
"So, how many brightly colored ponies have you seen in Skyrim so far?"

"Well actually...none. Everypony I saw in town had dull colored coats. Browns, grays, a few dirty blondish ones, I think I spotted a rusty one." Twilight and Julanza accepted a pair of warm tankards from the barmaid at the counter. Julanza paid for both.

"Exactly. Nord ponies typically have dull colored coats. Bretons have more color, but no race has as many bright hues as the Equestrians. At least, that is what my books tell me."

"Julanza and his books," growled Tanza from the fire.
"You read a lot?" Twilight asked. "Is that why you know so much about all these races?"

"My mother knew many things about the world. She taught me all that she knew, and I learned more through books. Skyrim herself also taught me. I grew up here and the more one knows about this country the longer he will survive. I know many things, yet you seem to know so little. Why do you come to such a hostile place armed with so little knowledge?"

"I came here to gain knowledge, learn as much about Skyrim as I can. I want to record my travels and report my findings back home. In Equestria there is little no information about this land to be found."

"Ah, so you are an adventurer," Julanza smiled.
"I'm not sure if I would call myself an 'adventurer'. Maybe a determined researcher?"
"Let me guess: you are in need of a guide?"

Twilight's ears perked up. "I am! Would you be interested? I plan on traveling all over the country; you would be gone for a very long time."

"Hmm," Julanza said, tapping his chin in thought. "A very long time, you say? I will have to think it over."
"Of course. I understand that you-"
"I've thought it over. I will do it!"
Twilight blinked. "Wow. That was fast."

"I have been waiting for this opportunity for many years. I have longed for a reason to go adventuring."
"Really, adventuring? I'm not sure if I really plan on anything quite as exciting as that."
"Ah, you say that, Equine, but adventure tends to sneak up on you here. There are few who can avoid it."
"If you say so," she shrugged.

"There are many things you should know first. Lesson number one-," His tail suddenly came up and dropped a familiar coin purse in his front claw.

"Hey, that's mine!" Twilight said.
"Never trust an Argonian. We are a sneaky bunch. We are gifted thieves." He placed the coin purse on the bar in front of Twilight. "Lucky for you, I'm not interested in stealing from you. Equestrian money isn't going to help you, anyway."

"Oh. Of course," Twilight's ears sagged. "I'm not sure how I can pay you for being my guide, then."
"I'm sure we will think of something along the way - what are you doing?"

Twilight flipped through the pages of her journal. "I need to start recording my journey. My arrival here in Razorpoint should certainly be documented. Oh, you don't mind if I use your name, do you?"

"Go ahead. But before you go into that, try a bit of that Nord mead. There's nothing like it in Equestria, I'm certain."

Twilight took a draft of the warm beverage. The tankard reminded her of cider season at Sweet Apple Acres. The drink, though, hit her in the stomach like a block of lead, and she coughed heavily. "Goodness!" she gasped. "And I thought Applejack's spiced cider had kick to it!"

Julanza laughed when he had swallowed a good few gulps. "The drink here is hearty, and it keeps you warm against the icy winds. You will get used to it." He took another gulp. "There is much we should discuss before the journey."

"Are you sure you want to go? You're fine with up and leaving Razorpoint? Just like that?"
"The fishery won't suffer my loss. And there will be work for me if I return."

"Wait, 'if'?"
"Of course. This is a dangerous country. And if I don't die, who knows? Maybe I will discover a new life waiting for me."
"Please don't try and get yourself killed."
He laughed. "I make no promises, Twilight Sparkle."

Chapter 8 - Five Gold Pieces

The afternoon was winding down and Twilight and Julanza still sat in the inn. He offered to pay for her room that night but she refused.

"I'm the one supposed to be paying you, not the other way around!" She cried.
"What are you going to do? Sleep on the street?" Julanza said with a smirk.
"Ma'am," Twilight asked the barmaid. "Is there anypony-"
"Anyone," Julanza corrected.
"Anyone in town I could do a little work for to earn some quick money?"

"Well," she said in the same Nordic accent as the fisherman Twilight first met on the dock. "You could go next door to Lida's shop if you have anything to sell. Hulgar the blacksmith might have a little work that needs to be done. You could also go and chop a little wood for the fires in the inn for me, I'll pay you."

"Thank you." Twilight looked through her bag. "Things to sell...I don't really have any- oh. I guess there's this."
"What is it?" Julanza asked.
"It's not much. Just a little thing a friend gave me. But it was gift, so maybe I shouldn't sell it?"
"I am sure your friend would understand."
"I guess you're right." Twilight closed her bag and stood.

Julanza accompanied her to Lida's shop next door. The place had shelves covering the walls that overflowed with vases, bottles of unfamiliar liquid, necklaces, textiles, bowls of minerals and plants, and other things. There were articles of clothing folded neatly on the tables along with a few weapons. The more valuable items were behind the counter with the pretty Nord mare. Her coat was ashy brown and her mane was a deeper, chocolate brown. Twilight noticed that she had no cutie mark.

"Welcome to Lida's Mercantile," she said. "My name is Lida. I see you are a visitor, miss. How can I help you?"

"Good evening," Twilight smiled. She approached the counter and took out the half-formed gem that Spike had given her. "How much can you give me for this?"

Lida picked it up and turned it over in her hooves, examining it. "Hmm...half-formed Amethyst. Where did you find this?"

"A friend back in Equestria gave it to me as a farewell present."

"Ah, Equestria!" Lida smiled. "I hear that country is rich with gemstones. Rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds and the like teem from the soil, is that not so? They are probably not worth much there, are they? Since they are so common?"

"You could say that. A friend of mine uses a lot of them in her fashion designs."

"It's a shame you didn't bring more. Gemstones fetch handsome prices here in Skyrim." She looked back to the stone in her hooves. "Hmm. Equestrian almost-Amethyst. I can give you five gold for it."

"Five gold? That's the currency here?" Twilight asked Julanza.

"It's worth at least ten gold, Lida," he said.

"Ok I'll give you six," Lida said.

"Uh- no I'll take only ten," Twilight realized quickly that they were haggling.

"Eight."

"Nine."

"Done," Lida counted out nine pieces of gold on the counter. Twilight replaced the bits in her coin purse with the gold.

"Any chance you'd be willing to buy some Equestrian coins?" Twilight asked.

"Hm...I'll give you this sweetroll for them."

"Fair enough." Twilight took the sweetroll and tore it in half. "Here you go, Julanza."

"Ah, many thanks!" He said, biting into it. "Try it, the sweetrolls here are to die for."

Twilight tasted the roll. "Wow, it is good! My friend Pinkie Pie would love these. I should get her a recipe sometime. Thank you, Lida."

"Oh, if you're looking to make a little more coin," Lida said. "Would you please take this package to the blacksmith? I'll give you five gold."

"Sure," Twilight placed the package on her back, not thinking to haggle for at least eight gold. "I'll be right back."

Twilight had spotted the blacksmith, Hulgar, earlier. The dirty, graying blond stallion had given her a nasty look. He was hammering some iron nails into shape when she arrived.

"Good evening, sir!" She said. "A package for you from Lida."

He raised an eyebrow at her and motioned to a table. "Put it there," he said in a gruff voice and Twilight did so. "Thank you." He grumbled. As she was leaving, he said "I'll see you tomorrow."

She stopped. "Pardon?"

"Tomorrow. I'm closing up here in a few minutes. I'll need more time to fit you with horseshoes." He started to put his tools away.

"Horseshoes? What are you talking about?"

"We'll talk about it tomorrow, Hulgar," Julanza appeared beside her. "Come on Twilight, let's get your gold before Lida closes."

"What did he mean, 'horseshoes'?" She asked.

"We'll talk about it later."

After they had retrieved the five gold from Lida, Julanza showed Twilight where the wood block was. It was a tree stump with an ax sticking out of it and large pieces of wood piled around it. Twilight used her magic to place the wood and chop it with the ax. She just finished copping the first one when Julanza said, "Woah, what is that?"

"What is what?"

"Is that magic?"

Twilight nodded. "Yes. Most unicorns know this telekinesis spell. Have you seen magic before?"

"Yes but...not like that."

"What do you mean?" She chopped another piece in half.

"It is just strange. It looks... odd." Julanza scratched his head. "It's not supposed to look like that. I've read a bit about magic, and the Telekinesis spell takes a lot of energy, even for unicorns."

"I'm very gifted at using magic. It's my special talent. Can Argonians do magic?"

"Being Argonian doesn't have anything to do with it. Anyone can do magic. I hear Lida has studied a bit of the Restoration arts."

Twilight stopped chopping. "How is that possible? Only unicorns can use magic. Lida is an earth pony."

"The only thing special about unicorns is that they can learn magic faster. Anyone can learn magic. All you need is a magic tome and some patience."

"But that's... impossible. Only unicorns have magic within themselves that they can use to perform spells. Nopony in Equestria that isn't a unicorn can perform magic."

"I don't know what to tell you, Twilight. Anyone can learn magic. It's always been that way."

"But that's..." Twilight took out her journal and began to write. She quickly recorded her evening so far then continued to write about magic. "That's impossible...unless...unless you draw the magic from somewhere else. But how? Where else could there possibly be any magic?"

Julanza scratched his head. "It's getting late, Twilight. Perhaps we can investigate this further some other time."

Twilight chopped several more pieces of wood and piled them onto her back. When she delivered them to the barmaid, Twilight got five pieces of gold. She now had nineteen pieces total. She paid ten for a room for the night and the barmaid showed Twilight to a door just across the room from the counter.

"Oh, ma'am," Twilight asked. "Do know where I can learn more about magic here in Skyrim?"

"I'm not sure how many towns still have court mages," the barmaid replied. "Many of them don't even have courts anymore. Whiterun might still have a mage, and The College of Winterhold in the northeast was once a famous institution for teaching magic. I don't know if it's still in use, but it may be worth a try."

Twilight thanked her and closed the door. She locked it just to be safe and placed her bags by the bed. Before she went to sleep she wrote a bit more in her journal, noting especially the College of Winterhold.

Twilight awoke to knocking on her door and Julanza's voice saying, "Wake up, Twilight Sparkle. There are a few things wee need to do before we set out. Can you hear me?"

"Yeah," she called. "Hold on, let me get my things." Twilight made sure her supplies were in order and opened the door for Julanza. "Good morning," she yawned.

"Good morning! Come, I've already filled some canteens." He threw a canteen around Twilight's neck. "Follow me. We need to get you fitted with horseshoes."

"Horseshoes what - hey wait!" Julanza was already heading for the door.

She caught up to him just as he stepped onto the blacksmith's porch. Hulgar was stepping on the bellows, pumping air into the forge and making the coals glow brightly. The heat was a surprising sensation against the freezing Skyrim air. A heavy set of horseshoes sat ominously on top of a table near the forge. A scattering of thick nails lay on the table with a hammer.

"Julanza," Twilight said nervously.
"It won't hurt," he said. "Will it?" he quickly added to Hulgar.
"No." the stallion said gruffly.

"What won't hurt?" She didn't like where this was going.
"Uh-"
"Horseshoes." Hulgar interrupted him. "I made them fresh this morning. They've been cool for quite a while."
"I'm not worried their temperature," Twilight protested. "I'm not so fond of those huge nails, though!"
"Do you want your hooves to bleed after a day of travel in our land?" Hulgar said. "I wouldn't insist you get shoes had you been born here, but the Equestrian landscape is soft and easy to move on. The terrain here is made of hard, razor-sharp rocks. Trust me, you need these."

"But..." Twilight knew plenty about horseshoes. Not the light, decorative ones that Rarity collected for special occasions, but real, metal, nailed-into-your-hooves horseshoes. They used to be used regularly in Equestria, but the need for them slowly evaporated. Nopony has used them in centuries.
Skyrim, it would seem, had not had the benefit of advancement beyond the use of these ancient tools. She understood that she would most definitely need them, but the idea of nailing them into her body made her shiver.

"Well?" Julanza said, motioning towards the shoes.
Twilight sighed. "I guess there's no helping it."

Hulgar motioned for her to sit. She hesitantly took her place and the blacksmith went to work. His years of experience made swift work of each hoof, but his progress was hindered several times by Twilight's squirming. He even had Julanza hold her down at one point.
The first shoe was the worst. She had no idea what to expect and yelped when the first nail was driven in. It didn't hurt at all, but she could still feel it forcing its way into the bone. The sensation was completely unknown to her and entirely unpleasant. By the third hoof she stopped squirming and only groaned in discomfort.

"Alright, alright," Hulgar grumbled. "Stop your bellyaching. You're all set." He stepped back and waited. Twilight didn't move.
"Are you, uh," Julanza said. "Gonna get up?"
"...Yes."
"....Today?"
"...Um-" Hulgar suddenly pushed Twilight out of her seat and she nearly fell over before catching herself.

"Goodness, these sure are heavy," she said. The new horseshoes made her hooves much heavier, making her very clumsy. She doubted she'd be able to walk a long distance in them.
"You'll adapt," Hulgar said. "You'll build up the muscle. Now go for a walk. Test them out."
Twilight took a few cautious steps in her new hooves. Each clop was accompanied by a heavy metallic clang. The sound alone was going to take some getting used to.

She began walking slowly at first but gradually worked her way up to a brisk canter. Her balance was seriously out of place with several extra pounds added to her hooves. When she walked she clopped down each hoof with and awkward and unintentional flair in an attempt to keep her balance.
"Lookin' good, Cloppy!" Julanza called out to her as she walked about town.
Twilight smirked at him and returned to the blacksmith. Hulgar nodded in satisfaction.
"They'll do," he said. He began to put away the hammer and extra nails.

Twilight rummaged through her coin purse. "How much do I owe you?"
"Nothing. I don't charge newcomers for basic shoes." He started to clean his hooves with a rag.
"Really?"
"Of course. All newcomers need these shoes. If I started charging, a few might walk away with bare hooves. They wouldn't last long without them."
Julanza stood beside Twilight. "What about armor attachments? Are those free?"
Twilight stiffened. "What attachments?"
"No," Hulgar grumbled. "They are not free. I have a light set made if you'd like to purchase it."
"Why would I need armor?"

"We'll take the light set!"
"Julanza!" she hissed.
"Trust me, Twilight. You won't be sorry."
"Julanza, I don't want-"

"You might want to consider it," Hulgar interrupted. "You are aware of how dangerous Skyrim can be?"
"Yes, I've been told but...armor?"
Julanza and Hulgar only nodded and they waited patiently for her to think it over.
She finally said, "I don't know if I can handle any more weight to my legs."
"Here," Hulgar presented her with a plate of armor that was molded to the shape of a foreleg. "Feel it, it's quite light."

Twilight weighed the armor in her hoof and found it a much more manageable weight. But would she really need it? She had been told over and over that Skyrim was dangerous, but she never really thought about what that implied. She would need armor, sure. But what else had she neglected to think of?
She sighed. "Okay. How much is it? I only have nine gold pieces."
"I'll give it to you for five."

Twilight handed over the money and Hulgar fit her with the armor. He showed her how to put it on properly, remove it, and keep it clean. Twilight listened intently. The system was crude and obviously an ancient design, but it was also ingenious. The horseshoes had extra holes where the armor could be attached with large screws. The armor also had straps to secure the top section around the leg. The inside was lightly padded with fabric so it was comfortable enough. The set that she was being fitted with was indeed light, but it was also weak.
"This is a flimsy set," Hulgar said. "I'd suggest purchasing a heavier set later on."

"Let's just hope it doesn't come to that," Twilight said as the final screw was placed.
"There you are," Hulgar said. "I hope it serves you well."
"Thank you, Hulgar. You've been very helpful to this newcomer." She extended her hoof.
He shook her offered hoof and said "Just doing my duty, lass. Good luck out there."

Julanza and Twilight departed from the blacksmith and walked down the street.
"Are you ready to go, Twilight?"
She paused and glanced around the town. The moment had finally come for her to brave the Skyrim wilds in search of whatever it was that was calling her there. She was so eager to learn everything she could about this new world, and find out what it was about this place that had drawn her to it; What the voice that called her was. Or who.
"Twilight?" Julanza was looking at her quizzically. She smiled back.

"Yes. I'm ready. Let's go."

Chapter 9

The road led out of town, past the docks and into a lightly wooded area at the foot of the mountains. The path wound upward, growing ever steeper and harder under hoof.
"Julanza," Twilight said. "Shouldn't we figure out where exactly we're going first?"
"In a minute. Just follow me."
Twilight tried to protest, to say how important it was to have a plan, but Julanza wouldn't listen. She eventually gave up and followed him silently up the mountain path.

Their progress was slow, mostly because of Twilight. At the top of any particularly rocky or steep slope Julanza would have to wait for her. She was painfully slow at navigating the harsh terrain.
"I'm sorry, Julanza," She panted once after catching up. "Growing up in Equestria is not good training for this kind of hiking. Plus these new horseshoes-"
"Don't worry about it, Twilight Sparkle," he said. "We're almost there. A little further and we can rest."

They were deep in the mountain now. Walls of frosted stone surrounded the pair. They were protected from strong arctic winds, but there was still an icy breeze that did nothing to comfort Twilight or make her hooves feel any better. She absently wondered about how easy it would have been to get frostbite had her new armor plating not been padded on the inside with fabric.

The path suddenly cut straight into the mountain, delving into a narrow cave cut roughly into the stone. Ice covered the walls and dripped over the arch of the entrance like teeth. The light that made it into the cave turned blue in the gloom and made the walkway seem even colder. Julanza slipped through the narrow stone hallway without a second thought, but Twilight took a great deal longer. It was claustrophobic with the stone and ice pressing down on her from either side, and the ice daggers dangling precariously above her.

The going got even slower when the smooth path broke into uneven, broken steps and boulders. The walk became a climb and Twilight soon lost sight of her guide.
"Julanza!" she called, trying to pull herself over a large stone that blocked the path. Her voice echoed ominously in the cave.
"Shhh!" came a hiss. Julanza's head appeared above her. "Don't disturb the ice, Twilight Sparkle," he motioned to the icicles above them. "Come on, we're almost there."
"Julanza!" she hissed at him when he disappeared again.

She saw his shadow disappear to reveal a light beyond the rocks. Twilight pulled herself up and cleared the last few hurdles in two broad jumps. She still wasn't used to the added weight to her hooves and stumbled on the last boulder. She slipped and started to fall backward when Julanza's claw appeared and helped her through the opening of the cave.
The light was so bright compared to the gentle blue aura of the cave that Twilight was blinded for a moment. She squinted her eyes shut, collapsing on the ground to rest after her climb.

"Get up, Twilight Sparkle," Julanza said. "Look."
With a sigh, Twilight lifted her head and opened her eyes. A breeze tousled her hair, and the breath she had only just recovered left her again.

The land spread out endless and jagged. Mountains edged the vista, frozen peaks gleaming in the sun. The sunlight pooled in the valleys where white gave way to dull, frosted green and brown. A river snaked across the valleys and between the roots of the mountains like a great gleaming snake. The land was rugged and sharp, but it glowed beautifully beneath the midday sun that streamed through the largest, puffiest clouds that Twilight had ever seen. The mountains jutted up into the sky all around her, but to her right in the distance there was one mountain that rose much higher than the rest. It was so high, in fact, that clouds swallowed it up before it reached its peak.

She snapped her jaw shut, only now realizing it had been hanging open for a good few minutes. Julanza chuckled at her. She cleared her throat and took out her map, laying it against the view that stretched out before her.
"Where are we now?" She asked.
Julanza tapped a spot on the lowest point of the map. "Here," he said. "Just west of the White Pass. Razorpoint is just there."

Twilight marked Razorpoint on the map and marked where they currently stood. She scowled at the parchment. It was frustratingly sparse. The mountain ranges were sketched roughly, without much precision. Only a few settlements were given names. Everything else was given a tiny red 'x'. Twilight was suddenly at a loss as to where she should go first. She was very interested in Solitude, but it was in the northernmost tip of the map. There was also the other thing she came to find, but she had no clue where to even start looking.

"Well?" Julanza said. "Decided yet?"
"I don't know," Twilight admitted. "There's just so much, and there's hardly anything on this map."
"Let us focus then on what we can see," he motioned to the vista in front of them. He pointed to the valley that fell right in front of them. "This is known as Falkreath Hold," Twilight scribbled the area name on her map. "There used to be a settlement there, but it has long since been abandoned."
"That must be that little red mark here," she glanced back and forth between the land and the map, comparing them and gauging the scale as best she could.
"And that lake there, I believe it is called Lake Klinalth."
"The barmaid mentioned Winterhold. Where's that?"

"Here," Julanza jabbed his claw into a topmost corner of the map. Twilight assumed the little red mark was for Winterhold, so she labeled it so.
"We won't be getting there anytime soon," she grumbled. Sighing she glanced around the horizon again. Her attention caught again on the tallest mountain in the range. It was odd; it seemed so alone out in the distance. "What's that?" she asked, motioning towards it.
"Ah," Julanza chimed. "You've found the crown jewel of Skyrim's shining peaks. That, my dear friend, is the tallest peak in all the world, or so they say. We call it the Throat of the World."

"Throat of the-" Twilight's breath caught in her chest. "Throat of the World....Throat of the World," she mumbled. "Where have I-" she gasped slightly. "That-That poem!"
Julanza raised a scaly brow at her. "Poem?"
Twilight tapped her skull. "How did it go...High upon the Throat of the World, blazing breath and wings unfurled....that's why it was capitalized. It's a place! Of course!"
Julanza was thoroughly confused. "I'm not sure I-"
"There!" Twilight interrupted. "I want to go there!"

Julanza's eyes widened. "Where? The Throat of the World?"
"Yes!" Twilight's heart was pounding. That was the place. She was sure of it. That was where she would get her answers.
Julanza began, "I do not know if you understand how difficult-"
"Let's go!" Twilight trotted down the path eagerly. She forgot her abnormally heavy hooves and moved like she wasn't wearing horseshoes at all.
"Hey, wait!" Julanza scurried after her and was able to catch up before she found a ledge to fall off of. "Slow down," he said. "These paths can be treacherous, and we must pace ourselves."
The pair slowed to a calmer pace.

"Sorry," Twilight said with a sheepish grin. "I'm just excited. How long of journey is it to that mountain?"
Julanza glanced over the peaks and treetops that grew beneath the mountain path they walked on.
"It is a simple enough route," he said. "We must head east until we find a northward path that will lead us to Ivarstead. It is there that we must begin climbing the Seven Thousand Steps."
"Seven thousand steps?"
"Hundreds of years ago many pilgrims used to climb the steps to visit the temple near the peak. Few were ever granted an audience with the monks there and even fewer were ever allowed past the temple to the very top of mountain. But over the years the pilgrimages stopped and the monks disappeared."

Twilight had drawn out her journal and was recording everything Julanza was saying.
"You know a lot for a fisherman who's lived in Razorpoint for most of this life," she said.
"No one grows up in Skyrim without hearing stories about the Throat of the World. It was once one of the most sacred places to the Nords."
"And what about now?"
"Centuries have passed since that era. The temple is only rubble now."
"What did the monks worship?"
Julanza squinted as he thought. "Something about 'the way of the Voice.' I am not certain. In their hayday my people were scarce and hardly concerned with the customs and beliefs of the Nords. The Nine Divines, however, are known throughout Tamriel."

"'The Nine Divines?'" Twilight lifted her quill from the journal. The path they walked was descending below the treeline now, and branches above shaded the pair from the sun. "Are they divinities of some sort?"
"They are, but I don't know very much about them. I don't worship any of them. Do you worship?"
Twilight stopped writing. She hadn't expected the question, and she never really thought about it before. She looked ahead while she thought.

"Well, no, not really," she began. "Religion in Equestria is a strange thing. It isn't so much religion as it is fact."
"You're saying religion is not fact?"
"No, I'm not saying that at all! It's just that it's so widely excepted that it's not contested anymore. It's just part of our everyday life."
"What is it?"

"Our princesses, Celestia and Luna. They're sisters, and they're responsible for the raising of the sun and the moon at the turn of every day. They've lived for thousands of years and defended and lead Equestria with great wisdom. They're alicorns; ponies with both wings and horns, which means that they have more magical power than anypony I know. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are the closest thing we have to gods, but there's no need to worship them like that. Ponies used to, hundreds of years ago, but they don't ask that kind of thing of us. All they want is for us to be happy and to live in harmony. They want us to grow and learn from one another. With their guidance Equestria has enjoyed centuries of peace."

"It sounds like paradise," Julanza said with a small smile.
"I don't know about that. We have our fair share of problems, but it certainly is wonderful. I trust the princesses completely. Princess Celestia has guided me since I was small." Twilight frowned and her eyes fell to the forest floor. "Although...I disobeyed her by coming here."
"Oh? As a result some kind of punishment surely awaits you when you return?"
"No, I don't think so. Princess Celestia trusts me completely. She would never do something like that. It's just...I've never disobeyed her before."
"One who disobeys a ruler of Tamriel is always met with great consequence. This land of yours perplexes me with it's...it's..."
Twilight cocked an eyebrow at him. "Softness?"
"Well...I was going to say 'weakness'..."

Twilight shook her head. "Don't mistake our peaceful ways for weakness, Julanza. In dark times we've proven ourselves more than capable of defending ourselves. My friends and I have vanquished a great deal of evil in our land. And the princesses are not to be trifled with."
"Still, I wonder," Julanza said, his voice lowering in seriousness. "Are you capable of killing."
Twilight stared at him, surprised at the sudden change in tone.
He looked back at her and continued, "You have vanquished evil, but have you ever shed blood? Have you ever been alone, backed into a corner, your magic depleted, you and your enemy bloodied but still standing? With nothing but a dagger in your teeth, I wonder: would you do what it takes to survive? Would you bury that dagger in your enemy's throat? Or his belly? Could you?"

Twilight's pace slowed to a stop. Sunlight speared through the leafy canopy above and dissolved before reaching the forest floor. A leaf or two would drift downward occasionally, creating silent movement in an otherwise static scene. Whatever creatures lived in this forest were either hidden well or nowhere at all. Twilight could hear birds chirping in the distance, but nothing scuffling through the underbrush.

"Julanza," Twilight finally said. "You really think it'll come to that?"
"Skyrim is nothing like you've ever known, Twilight Sparkle," Julanza looked away and surveyed their surroundings. "This isn't a land of gems and rainbows. There is little peace here and trouble tends to creep up on you wherever you are. But you still haven't answered my question."
Twilight hesitated a moment, then asked, "Have you? Have you ever had to..."
"Once, a while ago. He was trying to rob me, and I had a dagger with me," He turned to looked at her. "Those who live here do what they must to survive. Can you?"

Twilight hesitated a moment longer. She looked around at the trees, as if they held the answer. Finally she said, "I've never had to take a life like that."
"Would you be able to, if you had to?"
Twilight looked back to Julanza and said quietly, "I don't know."
"Well," Julanza turned and started down the path again. "I suppose we will see."

Chapter 10

TWILGHT'S MAP

Twilight and Julanza trekked through the forests of Falkreath Hold. Despite their unsettling conversation about killing, it was a very peaceful walk. The land beneath the mountains in Falkreath Hold was brimming with forests. Although the mountain chill still hung in the air, sunlight made the temperature rather pleasant. Many of the trees were evergreens that grew tall and wide. They were thick and sturdy looking; tough trees for a tough environment.

In addition to the firs and pines, Twilight spotted some birch trees. Their leaves were fresh with summer sun but there was also some orange bleeding into the green around the edges. It seemed that Autumn was coming early to Skyrim that year.

"How do you grow food here?" Twilight asked.
Julanza glanced toward her. "What do you mean?"
"The climate is so cold here most of the year, and it looks like the summer doesn't last long."
"Razorpoint harvests fish and plants from the water, and there are berries and eggs to be found in the little forests around the town. Everything else we trade for. There are certain plants that actually grow better in the chilly weather, and you'll find many farms in the lowest valleys."

Twilight recalled the map. "Like the area around Whiterun?"
Julanza nodded. "That's right. There have been several farms there for generations, although these days they are fewer."
"Are food shortages common?"

Julanza shrugged. "It is always a present danger. Much work has to be done to ensure the year's crop will flourish."
"We can hardly grow anything during the winter in Equestria. My friend Applejack runs a farm, and even she has to store up for winter."
"What kind of farm?" Julanza asked.

Twilight and Julanza chatted about apples and farming for a while. As they walked, the trees around them steadily became more and more sparse, and the ground slowly started sloping upward. When the path had become a mountain road again, they were talking about her friends.

"Her name is....Pink-ie Pie?" Julanza looked thoroughly confused.
Twilight laughed. "I'm starting to understand that Equestrian names are more frivolous in nature than Skyrim names."
"Or Blackmarsh names, or any other name in Tamriel."
"Equestria is a unique place," Twilight said. "It's vastly different from Tamriel. We're completely cut off from each other, so that makes sense. We've never ventured far from our own shores, and few foreigners have immigrated to Equestria. As far as I know, only one zebra has ever come to live there."

"From Elsweyr?" Julanza asked.
"Yes. Her name is Zecora and she lives in the forest near my town. I knew the name of her home country but not much else. In fact, I was studying Elsweyr when I first came across Skyrim. You know, now that I think of it, it makes sense that Tamriel is so much more dangerous than Equestria. Zecora knows a lot of things, and she's pretty tough. She's the only friendly creature I know that lives in that forest."

"It's a hostile place?" Julanza asked.
Twilight groaned. "You have no idea. Manticores, cockatrices, creepy ruins, you name it. The place just isn't natural. We all avoid it like the plague."
"What's so unnatural about manticores and cockatrices?"
"The unnatural part is the forest itself. It's...well, it's alive. The animals don't need anypony to take care of them, the clouds drift around all on their own, and the trees grow without any help at all."

Julanza stopped walking and stared at her like she was crazy.
"What?" Twilight asked.
"What are you talking about?" He finally asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't understand what you're telling me. What kind of place is Equestria?"
Twilight's mind danced around, not sure what answer to give him.

"I..." she said. "Don't know?"
Julanza motioned for her to stand beside him, and she did so.
"Look," he said, motioning with his claw to the forest below them. They were high enough now to see the thick forest they left behind. He looked around the mountain. "Look around. Who do you think takes care of the trees here?"

Twilight looked around. The trees were large and healthy but there was no sign of any pony living anywhere nearby.
"I don't know," she said. "Who takes care of the trees here?"
Julanza replied, "The trees. They grow on their own. And the clouds," he pointed up to the sky. "They move on their own too. They release snow and rain when they see fit."
"And the animals?"
"They take care of themselves too."

"That's..." Twilight couldn't think of anything to say. It all seemed wrong. Suddenly the world around her became as peculiar as the Everfree Forest. Other ponies would have been terrified, but Twilight had never submitted to the superstition that surrounded Everfree, and it certainly wouldn't take hold of her in Skyrim.

She whipped out her journal and starting writing.
"That's amazing!" She said. "This place is like one big Everfree Forest!"
Julanza slapped a claw over his face.
Twilight finished a note in her journal with an excited flourish of her quill and turned back to Julanza.
"This place is so different," she said. "I have so many questions."
"Tell me about it," Julanza said. "I'm confused."

Twilight tilted her head in question. Julanza sighed and dug a claw into his temple.
"The whole world is like this. Clouds float around on their own. Trees grow without any help. Animals forage and kill their own food. If it's not like that in Equestria...how do things work there?"
"In Equestria," Twilight began. "The pegasi control weather-"
"Pegasi?" Julanza questioned.
"Ponies with wings. Pegasus ponies have the ability to walk on clouds. They control weather by organizing cloud formations, scheduling rain, snow, an so on. They have factories where they make rainbows and snowflakes..." Twilight trailed off. The cold mountain air swept down the cliffs and rustled the treetops. Julanza waited patiently.

Twilight finally looked at him and said, "Equestria is the only place that's like that?"
Julanza shrugged. "As far as I know."
"I wonder why that is," she said more to herself than to Julanza.

The wind swept her mane away from her eyes and she looked out over all the land she could see.
"This place really is different." She rounded on Julanza and he jumped back in surprise at her fierce expression. "And I'm going to find out why."

Twilight and Julanza found themselves at fairly high altitudes just before sunset. He stopped their trek and found a sheltered alcove in the rock. They lit a fire and huddled around it. Twilight chattered and her breath escaped her in billowing clouds. She wrapped her cloak tightly around herself and tried to get warm.

"Dang it's cold!" She said.
Julanza shrugged. "It is actually not so bad. That is the great thing about summer."
Twilight groaned. She felt about as cold as the most frigid of Equestrian winter nights, and here Julanza was saying it was only going to get worse.

"I've got to get more clothing," she grumbled.
"Don't worry," Julanza said cheerfully. "You'll toughen up. But more clothes wouldn't be a bad idea in the meantime."
"But right now I'm going to need a little help falling asleep in this weather."

Julanza looked quizzically at Twilight and her head disappeared into her bag. When she emerged, she held a large bottle of spiced apple cider in her teeth. Using magic she uncorked it and held it up.
"Oh," she said. "I don't have any cups...do you mind?"
Julanza smiled and shook his head. "You drink the first half and I'll drink the rest."
"We can take turns." She extended the bottle towards him. "After you."

Julanza took the bottle from Twilight's cloud of purple magic and took a swig. Twilight stretched her shoulder and legs, creating several loud cracking noises.
She groaned. "My hooves are killing me. I need to take these off."
The cider sloshed inside the bottled as Julanza quickly lowered it from his mouth and swallowed his gulp.

"Oh no you don't," he said. "No removing armor until we are somewhere safe."
"Aw," Twilight whined. "Why not?"
"You don't want be caught unprepared out here. Just trust me."
Twilight plopped her chin on the ground. "Fine."

Julanza took another swig of the cider and held it out to Twilight.
"This is pretty good. A little weak, though." He said.
Twilight took the bottle from him. "Weak?" she said. "This is the strongest stuff Applejack makes."

Twilight took a big gulp and her face contorted as the liquid seared down her throat. She coughed once and savored the warm feeling the drink gave her. It was a welcome feeling against the cold mountain air. She shivered once and took another swig, again cringing at how much it burned.
She coughed again and said, "How can you think this is weak?"
Julanza laughed. "Do you not remember the mead you had in the inn?"

Twilight recalled the sensation of the mead as it plummeted to her stomach like a lead brick. He chuckled.
"I guess the inhabitants here are used to much heavier drinks. I suppose Applejack's cider here is quite weak in comparison."
"Still," Julanza snatched the bottle away before Twilight could take another sip. "It sure is delicious."

The bottle passed between Twilight and Julanza until there wasn't a drop left of the cider. Twilight snuggled into her cape and savored her new found warmth. Her mouth cracked open and a huge yawn escaped her.
"I'm exhausted," she sighed.
"Rest then," Julanza said. "I will keep watch."

Twilight glanced at him. "When are you going to sleep?"
"I will catch an hour or so of sleep in the morning when you wake up."
Twilight yawned again and her eyes slid shut. "If you say so."
She sighed and the fire crackled. She could feel its warmth seeping into her tired bones, and sleep began sinking into her skin.

"Julanza," she mumbled before she fell asleep.
"Mm?" he grunted.
"Thank you for being my guide. It can't have been easy to leave home on a dime like that."
"Well, you are not from here." He shifted in his seat and got comfortable. "It was easy."

Twilight glanced up at him and asked, "Why?"
"Life here is difficult. Lives are short. If something comes along, may it be marriage, work, adventure, you take it. Immediately."
Twilight sighed. "I can't imagine living a life like that."
"You will not have to imagine."