Author's Note

Hey everyone! This is something I've been wanting to do for a while now, but I'm not really sure how good it would turn out. So for now i am just testing the water and I would appreciate any opinions that you may have. Oh and the 12 views I already have were from me because my stupid phone kept restarting itself. Chapter 1 will be on its way aftet I see how this prologue is reviewed. Happy reading and I hope you enjoy it!
Rene9adeKni9ht

Prologue

I'm going to be honest, I'm a little freaked out now.. One minute I'm practicing my martial arts (so I can stay in shape and keep the stress levels down, you know what I mean?), and trying to stay warm (it's really really REALLY cold this time of year--actually it's always cold in Skyrim, I'm not sure if I have mentioned this or not. So I'm in Skyrim, and in case you missed it, IT'S COLD!), anyway, where was I? Oh yeah! So anyway, one minute I'm just doing my thing, and the next I hear a fireball explosion echoing throughout the forest. This wasn't a real surprise for me anymore--as rogue mages, adapts, and warlocks are always at each others throats, and it's always a fire and ice mage that are fighting. Always!

But, unfortunately, it is my duty to maintain order and peace within the empire...even if it is just a couple of rogue mages acting like children, seeing which of them is better. But perhaps it could be a Flame Atronach this time, I thought. I didn't really need much, because magic users and even Flame Atronachs are only a problem when they are at a distance and I could always get in close enough to take them out. I have always been good at stealth missions and ambush assaults. I'm not the best because I don't use a bow, but I do decent amount of damage without one.

Anyway, I'm getting off track here. Like I said, I didn't need much for this, just my enchanted stalhrim sword--one that I custom made myself, and an ebony dagger.

With my weapons in hand, I jogged through the Pinewood forest of Falkreath hold, using the echoes of the ensuing battle to guide me, and keeping to the shadows as best as I could. The midday wind was biting at my exposed flesh, since I wasn't wearing armor to protect me (didn't really need it anymore since the war was over and I could move much quicker without it), and aside from the fireball explosion, the only sounds were that of twigs being crushed beneath my feet.

The fight sounded like it was coming from the barrow or somewhere near it, meaning I had about a 10 minute jog between my home of Lakeview manor and the old crypt. I try to avoid the place as much as possible. The thing is about these old crypts is the dead having trouble staying that way. Trolls I'm willing to fight, but a walking corpse with a weapon? Not a chance. As I drew nearer and nearer, I kept hearing the battle--from fireballs and ice shards being thrown through the air. Ugh! Damnit, its another mage fight!, I thought, but there was this other sound-something I haven't heard in a while, like a portal being opened. "What the hell?", I said quietly, while slowing my pace from a jog to a stealthily approach.

As I neared the the barrow, I saw several mages fighting off the draugr, while others were fleeing through a portal. The few that made it through were the lucky ones, but there were those who weren't quite as fortunate...their bodies littered the floor of the ruins; the blood of the fallen, spilling off over the ledge and on to the forest floor below. Then all that was left was just one poor Altmer bastard, who was badly injured. The few draugr that remained were weakened by the ethereal onslaught. As quiet as a mouse, I drew my dagger from its sheath as I crept slowly forward to finish off the remaining "dust walkers" as some in the legion have called them. With as quick slash of my blade, one by one, they fell before me, until there was one remaining.

I thought that this would be easy, but this guy? This mother fucker was a damned Deathlord! I probably should have grabbed my armor AND a maul when I had the chance, I thought. But it seemed to have been severely damaged, so naturally I was confident, perhaps overconfident, that I could finish it before it knew I was even there, and NOT make a tactical retre-I mean advancement towards future victories, that's what I meant! Heh heh yeah...UGH! Fine, you want the truth about what happened the last time I fought one of these things? Well here you go, you pricks. When I realized what a Deathlord was capable of doing, I screamed like a little girl, and ran away like the chicken-shit-pansy that I am...

But not this time! The Altmer was badly wounded and I needed answers about where the others went to. Wherever they went-wherever the portal sent them to-it couldn't have been good. Fortunate for me that the undead had not sensed my presence just yet. Its focus was on the mage and slaying him for disturbing its slumber and for intruding upon its ancestral home.

I sheathed my dagger, fearing that should I miss a vital target, or my presence made known, a dagger would not be the best weapon for a prolonged battle. I readied my sword and slowly whispered, "Here we go." The draugr lumbered forward, its axe raised, ready to slay the elf.

One quick thrust, that's all I need, thinking to myself. The Gods must have thought that it would be funny if a hunter were to kill it instead, and so that is what had happened...yup, an arrow flew pass my head and ended up making the draugr dead...again...and when I turned around to lecture the son of a bitch, he was already running down the path chasing after a fox like a damn mad man.

"Are you out of your mind?!" I shouted. He merely turned around and waved at me...I don't think I'll ever understand hunters and their need to chase after a little-

A cough coming from the now dying mage interrupted my thoughts. Oh shit! Focus Ren,I thought. Oh, I'm Ren, by the way. Its short for Renegade. Yes, I know, its not an actual name, but that is what I prefer to be called. Even the general calls me 'Legate Ren', and that is the way I want it to stay. I don't want anyone finding out my real name. Maybe one day, as you continue to read this, I'll tell you.

The elf was bleeding pretty badly, and was barely conscious. If I didn't act fast, he would have die and I wouldn't have any answers. I noticed that he had a potion in his hands, which were shaking, so I grabbed it and prayed that it was a healing potion. Thank the Gods that it was.

Applying the healing elixir, the mage regained full consciousness. And now it was time for answers . . . or it would have been, if he had not run through the portal. Yes, it was still opened, but I wanted to know where it led to. Throwing caution to the wind, I went in after him, praying that this wasn't going to be another delve into a plane of Oblivion. After crossing through, everything went black as I hit my head against a tree and I fell unconscious...

When I woke up, my vision was all blurry, my head was throbbing with pain, and my...well okay, I was hurting everywhere. With no way of knowing where I was, I remained motionless and waited for my vision to return to me. It didn't take long though, thank the divines. But I felt drained and weak. What happened? Wherever I was, it was no longer Skyrim, nor any part of Tamriel...or at least I don't believe that any of the other provenance that I'm familiar with. The forest that I now inhabit was far more colorful than the Pinewood forest of Falkreath hold, and it seem to feel safer too. If that makes any sense. But there was no time to admire the scenery, not while there was a fleeing, and perhaps a dangerous High Elf mage to inter-huh?
"Wait, where did he go?"

He wasn't here--none of the escaping mages were here...wherever here is, anyway. And to make matters worse, when I looked behind me for the portal, it was gone! I'm trapped here.
Well...fuck this is quite the pickle I've got myself into. I didn't have any clue as to where I should go, so I did what any would-be survivor would do: climb a tree and get my bearings. There had to be a town or some form of settlement nearby, and if there is, maybe I could get help and perhaps find out where those mages went to. Surely someone saw where they went . . . I hope . . .

The instant that I thought about the climb up, I worried that I might not be able to do it. I still felt drained from my arrival, but what other choice did I have at the moment? It had to be done.
Come on, Ren, I tried motivating myself, you can do this. Hell the legion practically prepared you for this. Reaching out for the nearest branch, I tested its strength and was relieved that it could hold my weight. That was the easy part, but trying to heave myself off the ground and on to the branch was far more difficult than what I had thought.

The rest of the climb was a little difficult but still manageable, to a point. My body screamed in agony the more I ascended, causing me to halt my progress on a branch about half way up. From my elevated perch, I surveyed my surroundings, looking for any signs of intelligent life, but there wasn't any that I could see.

Wait, is that a...I spotted what seemed to be a trail, leading away from the forest. Perhaps I should follow it after I make a survey of the land from the forest canopy, I thought. With that in mind, I resumed my climb until the canopy was within my reach. My strength had nearly failed me, but once I was at the top I felt rejuvenated. Looking around from the view of the treetops, I've noticed that this strange new world looked as though it was made entirely out of pastel colors-almost as if I had stepped into a painting...again (long story, explain to you later), yet this all seemed so real. Breathing in heavily and filling my lungs to their full capacities, I exhaled, only to see my breath, meaning that it was either winter, or I was in a northern hemisphere where the air is so cold all year long.

Gazing around, I saw mountains, as towering as the ones in Skyrim, off in the distance. There was something strange on one of the mountain peaks though, almost like the monastery at the top of the 7,000 steps. This was a castle-no, a whole kingdom! I knew that there had to be life here! The kingdom, however, seemed to be a great distance away from me; I've estimated that it would take me 2-4 days at the very least and as long as 5-10 just on foot. So, that was out of the question but still, where there is a kingdom, there must be a village nearby. Once more, I surveyed my surroundings for something-anything that could help. And that was when I saw it, a puff of smoke coming from a chimney! It seemed to be an hour away at the most, and the path I saw earlier looked as though it was heading in the same direction. Now that I had a general idea of what I should do, the next part was the climb down, which I wasn't looking forward to. As I started my descent, albeit very slowly, a few questions flooded my mind. Where am I? I kept asking myself question after question the lower I went, resting only for a short breather on the same branch as before. How am I going to get back to Skyrim? Why did those mages come here for? Where did they go? And most importantly, What am I going to eat?...What? I can't possibly find/fight a group of mages on an empty stomach, now can't I?

I was about to climb down the rest of the way, when I suddenly heard voices off in the distance, and from the sounds of it, there were three voices that belonged to little girls. Why would three little girls be out here for? Were they playing? I remained on my perch, observing the forest for any signs of them. I could barely make out the conversations the children were having...

"So, now dat we got our cutie marks," a country voi-wait? A country style voice? Could it be? And what the hell is a cutie mark? "What do y'all girls wanna do?" the country girl continued. There is no way...this could not be. I don't remember any castles back home.

"Well," a tomboyish voiced girl started. Still no signs of them. "I honestly don't know. It took us forever to get our cutie marks that we haven't really thought about what we were going to do afterwards."

"Well maybe we should-" the country girl started but paused for whatever the reason, then she resumed. "Sweetie Belle, what in tarnation are you looking at?"

"There's something in that tree, over there." a more sweet and somewhat regal voice-Sweetie Belle I guess was her name. But I still couldn't see them.

"Hello? Where are you?" I called out to them.

"We're down here." Sweetie Belle said, sounding very curious and gentle.

Casting my gaze down, I still didn't see the girls. Though I did see three pastel colored...horses? I stared at them, and they stared right back. Each of them had different colors on their coats: one was yellow with a reddish mane and tail, and is that a bowtie on its head? The one in the front had an alabaster white coat with a mixture of light violet and pink mane and tail, and the last one-wait a second; does that little white horse have a horn? The last one was orange coated and has a maroon mane and tail...and tiny wings?

"What is that?" the orange one said, with the tomboyish voice from earlier...yeah huh, remember when I said that I was freaked out? Well, this is why: I just saw a little winged horse talk! And then the others started talking too. Note to self:
No more mead. I thought.

The white one with the horn spoke up, "What are you? Are you lost?" Her voice sounded like Sweetie Belle's...

"Are you...Sweetie Belle?" I asked. I can't believe I'm talking to a horse...thing.

"Yes," she replied. At that moment, my world was turned inside out, and I didn't know what to think. Rather than staying up in a tree all day, I climbed down until I about a foot or two away from the ground, to which I leaped from the branch, and landed on my feet in front of them. But instead of standing back up, I remained crouched down, so as to not scare them off. They seemed mesmerized by my appearance. Am I the only human here? That can't be.

"What the hay is that thing?" the tomboyish, winged horse said to the one with the bowtie.

"Ah don't know, Scoots, but maybe we outta bring him to Twilight." Twilight? Was this Twilight the leader of these creatures? Only one way to find out.

"Look, I don't know who or what you are, but I need answers," I said, using a confident voice that spoke with authority. "Please, take me to whomever is in charge." Finishing my request, I stood up, reaching my full height.

"Whoa," they all said in unison. They had to crank their little necks up just to look at me, and I, in turn, had to crank my neck down so as to see them. They were only up to my knees.

"Well mister," the yellow country voiced horse stated, "Maybe we outta have y'all wait here? Ah reckon yur height will likely scare everypony." Staying out here wouldn't do, I needed answers. Hmmm...maybe...I thought that perhaps these strange creatures could at least answer some of the basic questions that I have.

"Where am I?" Surely they could answer that.

"You're in Equestria," Sweetie Belle declared...okay, yeah. I'm not familiar with that name of provenance and I'm damn sure of it that its not part of Tamriel. I need to speak to this Twilight, whomever that may be.

"Where is the nearest settlement from here?"

"Ponyville is dat way," the yellow horse said, while using her hoof to point in the direction of the path I had noticed from my elevated perch. She started to hum a bit while rubbing the back of her head with her hoof, then said, "Maybe y'all should stay at our clubhouse, while we go get Twilight." Well, it was better than staying out in the forest.

"Okay," I sighed in defeat. I was hoping to be able to meet this Twilight in person on my own, but it seemed that I had no choice but to heed to the wishes of these creatures. "Lead the way."

"Ah'm Applebloom," the yellow horse said, "this here is Scootaloo, and this is Sweetie Belle." Applebloom introduced her friends to me. The orange one with the wings being Scootaloo, and I already knew who Sweetie Belle was. There was one thing I had noticed about them. They each had these small shield crests on their flanks. Not sure what those were, but it didn't matter at the time. I just needed to know where those mages went to, and if I could ever get back to Skyrim. You may be wondering, why don't I just say home instead of Skyrim. Well, believe it or not, I'm not from Skyrim, or even Tamriel for that matter.

You want to know where I'm from? Then stick around, for this journey has only begun...