1 - Arrival: Meeting (Edited...Once again.)
Risen from the ash and blood,
With blade and a thirst for the vengeance he swore,
Does he call down the wrath of the Just.
And with open arms,
Will he save all the shattered,
And call down the wrath of the Just.
And in the midst of cold of war,
He will come to the fore,
And call down the wrath of the Just.
"Dear Celestia is this boring..." groaned Gleaming Shield. "What I wouldn't give for some excitement..." The young mare sighed deeply as she scanned the dark, dimly lit cobblestone hallway for the umpteenth time. With a second groan, she fell to her plot. "Why'd I have to be put on duty here of all places? Nopony comes down here, not even other guards..." She let her gaze drift to the ceiling as she sighed once more. "When the Princess called me in for a special mission, I was really hoping it'd be another operation, not something so dull as this... Ugh..." If there was to be a reply, the hallway made none.
She noticed a quick flash of blue light coming from the doors behind her. "Huh?" She turned and stared at the doors for a moment, rubbing her eyes with a fetlock. "Am I seeing things?" Another flash. Her eyes went wide. "Somepony must be in the room!" Shooting to her hooves, she barreled through the doors and brandished her blade at whoever could be inside. "Royal Guard! Don't move!" Naught greeted her but crates and dust. Her sapphire eyes narrowed as her golden shod hooves stepped as lightly as they could further into the room, the clip clop of said metal-clad hooves echoing throughout as she did. Her eyes snapped to a fairly large mirror, a purple metal framing it with diamonds encrusted on it. Her ears stood at attention as she scanned the rest of the room.
She walked over to a few crates, hoof reaching up and prying one open, followed by a few more, as well as some stalking around of others, but she was greeted with only more dust and various baubles. Another flash of light and short chime, and she whirled around to see the mirror shining. She titled her head. "Huh?" She walked over, sword lowering in her magical grasp. As she drew closer, it flashed and shined brighter. "What is this...?" She placed a hoof on the surface as the flashes became more frequent. As soon as she did, her hoof sunk into the glass. "Whah!" she exclaimed, blade clattering to the stone floor. She tried to pull her hoof out, only for it to get sucked in further, along with her other hoof. "Gah!" Soon, the mirror consumed her, and she tumbled through a tunnel of searing light, colors flashing in and out of her vision along with dozens, nay, hundreds, of shapes. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"
Four individuals clad in different types of armor were currently camping out in ancient, abandoned ruins. Surrounding them nearly at all times were heavy, ancient machinery and masterfully carved and cut stonework, all of which looked little worse the wear despite the layers of dust and the moth-eaten banners and rugs. Many of the walls bore carved, stone faces of stoic men, some parts of the walls even holding the same faces, only in brass-like remakes. The near-bronze, brass-like piping, the sounds of steam powered contraptions, engines and boilers, all of it was something the four had grown used during their travels together in the years since they had all met.
They were currently in a room that hosted a strange mirror, hooked up to various tubes, pipes and the like. The room had a few collapsed pillars scattered around, two near the entrance, and with the two hulking automatons called Centurions guarding it laying on the floor in heaps of rent and partially melted scrap metal, they decided to make camp in the chamber for the night.
Three of them, female if their sleek and slender forms were any indication, lit up the room with chatter. The sound of a whetstone being driven across a blade from the hulking male at a removed table was a welcome sound along with the gentle crackling of the fire.
"So ladies," began one of the females, interrupting the rhythm of the whetstone's scrapes against the man's blade. Long black hair cascaded down one side of her pretty face, which was marred when she took a drawn out bite of her goat leg, the juices gathering around her mouth as she tore into its flesh and pulled a chunk off and chewed loudly, swallowed, and soon after let out a burp. Her beauty was marred further when a blood thirsty grin split her face. She took another bite of her goat leg, once more chewing loudly - a groan coming from one of the other females - before she swallowed and then continued once she had the full attention of the two women sitting near her. Her armor consisted of imposing black full plate - its spikes, thorns and sharp points practically screaming 'devilishly spiky' whilst the gold engravings and trims lent more attention to her form. A large, simply yet ingeniously designed greatsword of red metal and black engravings laid to her side. "What do you say to going hunting for more Centurions tomorrow?" The woman asked.
"Mreow! She thinks that would be fun!" replied a girl with feline ears and a tail, yet she bore no muzzle, only a perfectly shaped face with a cute little nose, cat-like eyes, and a head of shoulder length brown hair. She wore gilded, sea-green armor and was eating some salmon. The armor was not unlike a set found on high ranking knights or paladins, bearing golden etchings and engravings and also being full-plate. Yet, the little cat girl moved around in it soundlessly and with ease.
She was laying on her stomach on the cold stone floor, feet kicking back and forth gently and her tail swaying just as gently while she took another bite of the salmon skewered on a stick in her hand.
"Sure. I bet Red over there'd love it if we took their cores, too. We all know how much he likes fawning over Dwarven stuff whenever he gets the time," answered the other woman after her disgust of the more brutish women subsided, her eyes glowing a deep orange. She simply wore a set of deep green orichalcum light armor which bore sweeping, wing-like designs on the shoulders and the helm next to her, an armor style unique to the High Elves. She gently bit into an apple, her sharp teeth sinking in easily as she drained the fruit of it's juices. After drinking her fill of said juices and letting a sigh escape her, she laid back a little in her own stone chair. "I still find it funny he loves the Dwarves so much, though. After all, I think we can all agree he surpasses them in terms of skill."
"Mmm, true. I mean, he made the amazing gear we're using now," said the less refined woman. She picked her large, red and black greatsword up from the side of her seat and gently stroked it. "Seriously, I love my Becky."
The refined woman rolled her eyes. "You and that sword."
The crude woman rolled her own eyes. "This coming from the lady who named her sword 'Duskbringer'. Seriously, how cliche can you get?" The refined woman once more rolled her eyes. "Back to the matter at hand, though. Big guy, what do you think of my plan?" the unrefined woman called to the fourth of their party.
The man's heavy duty full plate armor made a light ruckus as he stopped his movements. He was a towering individual of seven feet, with trunk-like arms and legs, and his armor was just as chiseled as he, the thick plates obviously made to take any blow given to them with masterful absorption as well as bearing small engraving and details.
The imposing man in dark red and black armor paused as he considered the question asked of him, before simply giving a thumbs up and going back to sharpening his blade of dragonbone, soon after whetting it with a splash of water from the jug of the liquid he had placed on the stone table next to him. The blade was a strange sight to see on him, however...
"Alok, Gaar Dwiirok," he whispered, and a portion of the blade lit up, revealing the words, 'Hollowthirst.' A black book near him on the table with a silver engraving of a dragon had the words, 'The Book of the Dragonborn' on the spine.
Satisfied with the still fully armored man's silent answer, the crude woman smiled and then bit into her goat leg once more. As the four relaxed, the mirror behind them started to glow. Dimly at first, but soon it was bright enough for them all to notice.
"Uhh...Guys? What's with the mirror?" The more refined woman asked as they all stared at the glowing object.
"M'rissi does not know, but she does not like it!" said the cat girl, M'rissi. Her clawed hand went to her belt, where an ivory-hilted, black-bladed dagger rested.
The blood thirsty woman turned to the other member of their party. "Hey, Red, you're the magic expert here, what should we do?"
The man, Red, looked at the mirror, then raised a hand and slowly lowered it before he stood up. The women all looked at each other, but did as told, removing their hands from their weapons and watching silently, eyes glued to the mirror and Red as he approached the mirror. His gauntleted hand reached out to the mirror, mere inches away, when all of a sudden a body flew out of it and onto him, bowling him over.
The eyes of all present promptly widened as they took in the form of the new arrival. It was quite obviously female if the breasts on her chest were any indication, but aside from that, she was not of a race they'd ever seen before. She was wearing a suit of golden armor, but she had a horse-like muzzle, large eyes, a single horn, and a tail. Her fur was a snowy white, and her mane and tail were blue with streaks of lighter blue in them.
The apparent mare groaned as she opened her eyes. "Ugh... What the heck happened-?" she began, hand to her head, before her eyes opened further and promptly widened as she looked at Red, and then the room swiftly after. "What the buck?!" She cried, jumping off of the man. "Where the Tartarus am I?! Who are you?! What are you?!" She looked down at herself. "WHAT HAPPENED TO MY BODY?!?"
Red sat up, raising his hands up in placation. The mare only started to hyperventilate, large, sapphire eyes darting to and fro. Red sighed, looking to his companions for help. M'rissi and the other woman looked to the woman with the glowing eyes.
"Why do I have to help?" she asked, annoyed.
"Because we don't want to," stated the brutish woman with a grin.
The refined woman sighed deeply as she walked over, putting her hands on the mare's shoulders.
"Hey, come on, calm down. Just calm down," she urged gently. "Slow, deep breaths."
The mare swiftly smacked the woman's hands away, before her own shot to the floor and she scooted back further rapidly until her back touched the mirror. "Stay back! I'll-!" Her horn glowed a light magenta briefly, only for the equine's eyes to widen and her pupils to shrink after a few seconds. She looked to her hip to see nothing there but an empty sheath. Her head snapped back to the others, ears splaying against her head. "D-Don't come any closer!"
The woman looked to Red, who sighed and shrugged, standing up and making a number of motions with his hands to her. She sighed as well, but nodded, then looked to the mare.
"If you don't want help, that's fine. We'll be over there if you do, though," she said, before walking back over to the camp, Red following.
The mare watched them go, and as they all went back to chatting and doing their thing, she slowly started to calm down enough to ask them a question.
"You're... Not going to hurt me?" They all turned to her. The rough-looking woman paused, putting a finger to her chin.
"Hmmm...Nope. Not unless you're going to hurt us," she said simply, grin returning as she removed her finger from her chin. The mare relaxed a little, removing her back from the mirror.
"Wh-Who are you all, then?" she asked next, voice shaky.
M'rissi grinned. "We are heroes!" She cheered, lifting a piece of salmon as if it were a blade whilst she made the most heroic pose she could.
"And adventurers," the crude woman added, ignoring her feline companion. "Good looking ones at that." She winked.
"Mostly we just follow the big guy over there around. He's the hotshot of this group, and the leader," the civilized woman explained, pointing to Red.
"Heroes...?" the pony muttered under her breath, looking at the floor. She stayed silent for a time, eyes clouding over briefly before she shook her head a little and looked back up to them. "What are your names?" she quiried next, ears perked up.
"M'rissi!" declared the cat girl, tail swishing back and forth happily.
"Serana," answered the woman with the glowing eyes.
"Sofia, the young and beautiful," proclaimed the last with a flourish of her hair.
The mare paused once more at the influx of names, eyes once more clouding over for brief second, before she looked to the man. "And him?" The pony queried, pointing to Red.
"That's Red. Well, most people call him that, anyway. His actual name is Aegir Arkin," Serana explained, grabbing another apple from the satchel beside her chair.
The mare nodded slowly. "R-Right, I-I'm Gleaming Shield, and I'm a unicorn mare."
"Unicorn?" Sofia, Serana and M'rissi echoed, all stopping at the claim. Even Red tilted his head at her.
"Aren't those, ya know, four legged?" Sofia asked.
"Also, what kind of name is 'Gleaming Shield'?" Serana added, tilting her head at Gleaming.
Gleaming Shield puffed out her cheeks. "I'll have you know my name is considered very pretty!" She deflated somewhat as she continued with, "And... Yes, we're supposed to be four legged. I don't know why I'm like this."
"How are you talking? Unicorns can't talk!" M'rissi pointed out, her own cheeks slightly puffed.
"What? Of course we can! Where did you get the idea we can't?" Gleaming retorted, frowning.
As M'rissi made her own retort and the two went back and forth, Red was humming in thought as he looked at the mirror. Finally, he clapped his hands together loudly, getting their attention. He then began to make more motions and signs with his hands.
"You think she's from another plane?" Serana asked in surprise. At his nod, her eyes widened, then switched to the mare, the other two women doing the same.
"Wait wait wait, I'm on another plane? You mean I'm in a completely different world?!" Gleaming immediately turned back to the mirror, scratching, pounding, and clawing at it. "No! NO! I can't be stuck here! I have friends, and family, and a little sister! Take me back!" She cried, pounding with more speed and frequency as she spoke.
The four watched on, eyes softening, until the man stood up and walked over to the mare, heavy footfalls thudding as he did. After reaching the distraught pony, he placed a hand on her shoulder. The equine slumped as she fruitlessly pounded on the mirror, devolving into tears. He frowned under his helm, and yet waited for her to calm down.
When her tears turned to sniffles, he knelt down, turned her around and signed something to her with his hands. She blinked a few more tears away, wiping some with one hand.
"Wh-What?" she questioned.
"He's saying that he'll help you get back home if he can," Sofia interpreted as her and the others came up behind him. M'rissi and Serana smiled and stood next to her. "And since he said it, we kinda have to go along with it."
Gleaming looked up at them and sniffled as she wiped a tear away. "B-But why? You don't even know me..."
Red chuckled as Serana began to explain. "Because Red would get all huffy if we didn't help someone in need. He's a bleeding heart like that."
Gleaming sniffled again, wiping her tears as she smiled. "Th-Thanks..."
Red gave her a thumbs up, making her smile widen, as it was one gesture she recognized. Red grabbed the mare's arm and hefted her to her feet, patted her shoulders, and let go of her before motioning her over to their campsite. Gleaming smiled and followed him and the others. Or, tried to. When she tried to stand on her own and take a step, she nearly fell over, arms flailing in the act and only managing to stop her fall by Red grabbing her by the waist before she could hit the cold stone floor. She blushed a bit as he helped her back up like a cat being lifted by it's mother.
"Hehe... Sorry, guess I'm not used to walking like you guys..." she said, ears once more splayed back as her blush remained.
"Don't worry, M'rissi will teach you!" M'rissi proclaimed, tail swishing as she put a hand to her heart.
"We'll all help. Just don't expect me to baby you forever," Sofia added.
Gleaming smiled as Red helped her over to the camp. 'Maybe... Maybe this won't be so bad...'
Author's Note
EDIT: I added a fair few fixes, tried to show more instead of tell. Hope I did well. Also, Red basically said this, "Rise, Release Carving. Fixed more problems, and added an opening complete with song.
Welp, once more I chase plot bunnies. Okay, sort of. This is more of a mixture of me chasing plot bunnies and me wanting to reboot The Elder Scrolls: Tales of Equestria, even if only in spirit. I hope this is to your liking, my dear readers. Oh, and don't worry, I'll be updating my other stories soon enough, just have a few more hurdles to overcome. As a side note, for those wondering how she knows what a thumbs up means, I'd like to remind you that there are Minotaurs in Equestria, and in the first showing of Iron Bull, he gave a thumbs up to the crowd. Thus, I believe that since Celestia would most certainly have had dealings with Minotaurs in the past, and since Royal Guard are all over the palace and Gleaming is an elite who likely was around the Castle a lot, she'd know, at the very least, what a thumbs up means.
Sign language, however, has not been shown before in MLP, so I imagine even Royal Guard elite have not seen examples of it, (if they've seen any), much at all.
Anyways, thank you for reading, my dear readers. 
P.S. Thanks for the help on the story, FTR. Really appreciate it.
-Timeless Celestial
