Argonian Tails

Chapters

Prologue: Out of Sovngarde...
Chapter 1: ...And into Equestria
Chapter 3: Portals and Papers
Chapter 4: Equal Business
Chapter 5: Freeing the Unequal
Chapter 2: Ruling and Learning

Prologue: Out of Sovngarde...

(Sovngarde)

The Hall of Valor, proud home for the valliant Nords of Skyrim upon an honorable death, stood tall against the Snare and Shroud of Alduin’s Mist as five figures raced out to face the World Eater himself.

The first out the door and most eager for battle was Gormlaith Golden-Hilt, a proud Nord woman with a fierce lust for battle and a deep respect and hatred of dragons. Just behind her, Hakon One-Eye, was equally ready and eager for battle, holding a similar hatred of dragons as his female Nord friend. Just behind him, Felldir the Old, was the most cautious and learned of the three. He was lagging behind the other two so he could wait for their two companions who came from the world of the living.

The two living people could not have been more different than the three Nordic Heroes. The first of the two was a burgundy Argonian of a rather huge and voluptuous form in Ebony armor, lacking the helmet to show her horns and red markings on her face. Her name? Ruby Strongtail, Dragonborn, Legate of the Imperial army, Meridia’s Champion and wielder of the legendary Dawnbreaker.

The other one of the two was an Orange Argonian of an average build in Amber Armor, also lacking the helmet to show her purple feathers and markings. Her name is Garnet Bonetail, Dragon Sister, Necromantic Summoner, Archmage of Winterhold, and the Champion of Order and Madness.

Back to the present, the five gathered in the foggy meadow just past the bone bridge and it’s Guardian, Tsun. Once there, the group tried to look through the fog for Alduin. With no success, Felldir looked to his fellow Nords and Dragonborn. “We cannot fight the Foe in this mist!” He called out to them.

“What do you suggest we do?” Ruby asked the Nord Warriors.

“Clear Skies - Combine our Shouts!” Gormlaith called out.

The Three Tongues and the Dragonborn lined up and Shouted at the mist. “LOK VAH KOOR!”

The mist cleared by their commands, allowing the meadow to be seen, capturing the Argonians with it’s awe. “It’s beautiful.” Garnet awed.

“Aye, that it is lass.” Hakon said. “Let us hope you get to live to see it when you truly die.”

A rumbling shout ushered the fog back in, obscuring the meadow. “Ven Mul Riik!”

Gormlaith gritted her teeth in anger. “Again!” She called out to the gathered.

“We can shatter his power if we Shout together!” Felldir encouraged.

“LOK VAH KOOR!” The fog cleared.

“Ven Mul Riik!” The fog came back.

“Does his strength have no end? Is our struggle in vain?” Hakon asked in pure frustration.

“No one can last forever!” Garnet answered.

Gormlaith nodded in agreement. “Stand fast! His strength is failing! Once more, and his might will be broken!”

“His power crumbles - do not pause for breath!” Felldir encouraged.

“LOK VAH KOOR!” The fog receded and a dragon roar was heard.

“Here he comes! Dragonrend when he’s in range!” Ruby yelled to the Nord Heroes. The World Eater flew into view of the group and the four heroes shouted the three words of Dragonrend

“JOOR ZAH FRUL!” Four waves of magic flew from their mouth and struck Alduin, invading his mind with the understanding of mortality, forcing him to land to avoid crashing from lack of concentration.

“Curse that shout to Oblivion. I will have your souls for-” Alduin began to yell in frustration, but a crossbow bolt struck him in his right eye.

“Enough talking! Your words bring only destruction!” Garnet yelled as she reloaded her Dragonbone crossbow.

“Let us strike now! While the iron is hot! As true Nords! For Skyrim! And Tamriel!” Ruby shouted, unsheathing her divine blade and rallying the heroes to follow her and they began to assault the World Eater. The Three Nord Heroes stood at his front and sides, commanding his attention. Ruby flanked him, slashing and stomping his tail and rear legs. Garnet merely circled the fight and expertly shot her crossbow at the dragon, occasionally summoning some unique undead to act as ‘fodder’ for the fight.

The fight started to take a turn for the worst when Alduin knocked Gormlaith out of the fight and out of consciousness. Felldir sheathed his sword and rushed to help her, while Hakon readjusted his position in front of Alduin to better fight. Garnet saw the battle’s change forced her to summon an undead armed with a bow to take over the shooting while she pulled out her shield, drew her reforged version of Jyggalag’s sword, and jumped into the fight with Hakon.

Hakon was knocked out of the fight as well. Forcing Garnet and Ruby to work together. Alduin made to lunge at the orange Argonian, but Ruby gave the World Eater’s tail a pull, causing him to barely miss her. Ruby then made a circling motion with her hand, signaling to her fellow Argonian to switch places. Garnet nodded and dodged a bite from Alduin, jumping onto his snout and running up his neck, back, and tail to get to his back end. The World Eater made to turn to follow the smaller Argonian, but Ruby shoulder checked him with her mammoth size to make him focus on her.

“If you had been dovah, I could have easily overpowered you.” Alduin growled in frustration as he recovered from the blow. “Less movement for you, and more flesh for me.”

“Yet even so I’m more nimble than the flying pest! Your old age must be getting to you Alduin!” Ruby taunted back.

Ruby’s words got Alduin to lash out at her in rage. It turned out to be a mistake on his part, as Ruby dodged with agility and flexibility that practically defied her size. Using that same dexterity, she grabbed his neck as his head flew past, allowing her to use her strength and weight to flip him onto his back. She then sat on Alduin’s neck, close to his head to hold him down and began to attack with a combination of slashes from the Dawnbreaker and blasts of fire. Garnet, seeing the World Eater’s exposed belly, pulled out her crossbow and began firing into the softer scales.

Alduin, feeling anger for being humiliated for the third and final time, tossed Ruby off of his neck in a burst of strength. She was flung towards Garnet, who had to dodge to not get flattened by her massive friend. Alduin got up from his humiliating position and gave the two a deadly glare.

“I knew that mortals were annoying, but you two lizards are worse than most I’ve had to deal with. First you escape my attempt to eliminate you when you were vulnerable, then you harness the weapon of my ancient enemies, and just now, you decided to use your fat ass to hold me down to fight me.” Alduin growled in pure anger. “You are dishonorable mortals”

“This coming from a giant flying lizard that attempted to kill an opponent before they were ready, fled battle when the odds weren’t in his favor, and a few minutes earlier, tried to make a jab at my ‘sister’s’ weight.” Garnet countered with a bit of a smirk. “So, you aren’t exactly in a position to judge us when you are in the wrong as well.”

Alduin growled at her for a few seconds, then he stopped and gave both a bit of a draconic grin. “Well, regardless of who was first in our dishonor, I might as well pay your dishonorable actions with one of my own. A Thu’um that only I know, and it can spell your doom...but only if you persist in trying to stop my role in this world’s end.” He bragged, thinking it would scare the two Argonians from continuing to fight.

The results, however, was the complete opposite of what he was expecting, as both Argonians bared their teeth and charged. Garnet struck first, slashing at his unobstructed left eye, managing to blind him. With no eyesight, he lashed his head around, knocking her back. Ruby moved in for a stab as Alduin breathed in.

*SHINK!*

The Dawnbreaker penetrated through the roof of his mouth. When she pulled the blade out, Alduin spoke intensely. “Gein Bo Lein!” The shout enveloped the two Argonians as he began roaring in agony, his flesh, bone and soul dissolving into the cosmos itself. When he was gone, everyone sighed collectively in relief...until they all noticed that Ruby and Garnet began to fade like ghosts.

“What in Oblivion!” Garnet yelled out in shock, looking at her ‘sister’ as she faded. “You’re slowly fading! I’m slowly fading! Are we becoming ghosts?!”

“No.” Ruby said, ensuring the slimmer Argonian stopped panicking. “I doubt that we are dying, I don’t feel any weaker despite the fact that I can see through myself. It feels like our grip on this realm has been weakened.” She turned to Tsun. “Think you can find a way to send word to our families and friends? I think this will be an adventure that we won’t be able to return from.”

Tsun wordlessly nodded as the two completely faded from view. “Talos guide you both.”

(Ponyville)

The Town of Ponyville was peaceful...or as peaceful as can be when one of the local buildings was a smoking crater and two powerful demigods were fighting in the distance. Many of the local ponies were locked into their houses, watching the battle with fear, as the battle would decide their lives and livelihoods.

There was one group that was outside and watching the battle with a stronger look of fear, and shame in the case of one of the members of the group. “This don’t look too good.” An orange Earth Pony with blonde mane and tail said.

“You’ve got a point Applejack.” A blue Pegasus with rainbow colored mane and tail agreed. “I’m not a big magic buff or an egghead, but that fight just seems to be going back and forth with no real impact.”

The group wordlessly agreed and kept watching. Unbeknownst to them, a pair of figures started materializing several meters behind them, revealing the two Argonians, Ruby and Garnet. When they were fully there, they took a deep breath and looked around at their surroundings.

“For banishment by the World Eater, this place is rather beautiful.” Ruby commented, looking at the houses they were near. “The buildings here seems so much...smaller than I’m used to, however....”

“Almost any building is too small for you.” Garnet teased, giving her ‘sister’ a light slap on her armored tush, receiving a lighthearted glare in return. “Aesthetics aside, where do you suppose we are?”

“I can’t answer that yet, but-” Ruby began, but was interrupted by a loud blast in the distance.] The two Argonians turned to the direction of the blast and saw a giant, red centaur fighting a lavender blur in what seemed to be a magic duel. “By Talos!”

“You said it, Ruby.” Garnet agreed. “Out of the frying pan…”

“...and into the fire.” Ruby finished, ensuring she had all her equipment. “I suppose it’s a good thing we fought Alduin prepared for the worst.”

“The Legendary Dragon Sisters!” Garnet sarcastically exclaimed. “When not adventuring or handling simple tasks, they are working to save the world.”

Ruby looked at the battle and took a deep, tired breath. “Here we go again.”

Author's Note

While many of you may have "issues" with my constant stream of story starting, this one is more serious in staying. And thanks to Chubbow, I've got a means to write this "on my own", with them providing some tips and editing.

Chapter 1: ...And into Equestria

(Ponyville Outskirts)

The fight between the Fledgling Alicorn and Giant Centaur was a stalemate at best, as the two were some distance from each other in a ruined part of the Everfree forest with hardly any progress in damaging the other. As they stood and stared at each other with pure anger, the Giant Centaur, ‘Lord’ Tirek, shifted his glare as an idea formed in his head.

“It appears we are at an impasse. How about a trade, Princess Twilight?” Tirek said, snapping his fingers, causing six clear bubbles that had the Princess’s friends (and Discord) in them. “Their release for all the Alicorn magic in Equestria.” This dispelled Twilight’s anger towards him, and caused her to worry about her friends’ safety. Tirek saw her fear and smirked. “What's it going to be, Princess?” Immediately, the ponies in the bubbles began to protest.

“Don't do it, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash yelled, though was barely audible thanks to the bubble she was in.

“We aren't worth it!” Fluttershy agreed.

“Oh, but you are, Fluttershy.” Discord objected, getting a slightly surprised look from Fluttershy. “You're the pony that taught me that friendship is magic. I had magic and friendship, and now I don't have either.”

“ENOUGH!” Tireck bellowed, silencing his hostages. “I want an answer, and I want it now!”

Twilight looked up at her friends and Discord before steeling herself for her decision. “I will give you my magic, in exchange for my friends.”

Her friends gasped in shock, while Tirek grinned an evil grin. “As you wish.” He then snapped his fingers and the pony filled bubbles lowered to the ground and popped, releasing them. The bubble containing the draconequus, however, stayed aloft.

“ALL of my friends.” Twilight said, giving the centaur a glare.

“After the way he has betrayed you, you still call him a 'friend'?” Tirek said with a chuckle, as if she was telling a joke.

Twilight stomped her hoof while intensifying her glare. “Release Him!” She yelled.

Tirek gave her a bored look and snapped his fingers. “If that's what you want.” He said, as Discord floated down to the group.

“Thank you, Twilight.” He said to her, his eyes filled with remorse. She simply nodded to him, as if forgiving him.

Tirek then moved forward, a grin on his face. “Your turn.” He menacingly said.

“Now!” A hidden female voice yelled. A large black and red mass burst out of whatever brush that survived the giant magic battle and stopped in between the group and the centaur.

“JOOR ZAH FRUL!” Another female voice shouted from the mass, which was revealed to be a heavily armored and heavy in fat, bipedal lizard. A blue wave of magical energy rushed from the lizard’s mouth and slammed into Tirek. Tirek’s eyes went wide with shock and he staggered back, his body starting to glow a light blue color.

“ARGH!!! What is this mag-” He was silenced from speaking when a crossbow bolt flew from seemingly nowhere and struck the centaur’s left eye. Tirek slapped his hand to the injured eye and began yelling out in rage and pain.

“Get moving to safety!” The first female voice, revealed to be a more light and lightly armored lizard, yelled to the group as she ran up from another set of surviving brush. “We’ll hold him back. Move, Move, Move!” The slim lizard then stood beside the fat lizard while the group fled. “Ready to do this, Ruby?” She asked the fat lizard.

“Always am, gotta be when you’re this visible.” The hefty argonian joked. The two lizards prepared themselves for battle. Ruby drawing Dawnbreaker, and Garnet summoning some undead from the Soul Cairn, then pulled out her crossbow.

Tirek stopped yelling, and glared at the two Argonians with his unbloodied eye. “You will pay for those cheap shots!” He then stomped to them, intent on flattening them with his hooves. Ruby simply grinned and gave Garnet a wink. She smiled back and took her ‘sister’s’ hand as Tirek’s hoof descended down towards them.

“FEIM ZIL GRON!” Ruby said intensely, causing both to become ethereal as Tireks hoof would have crushed him.

Tirek laughed thinking that he had crushed the bothersome lizards. “Serves you right for interfering with a god’s business.” He then started advancing towards the forest remains. “Now to find what belongs to me.” Just before he arrived at the remains, he felt intense burning on his back hooves. He yelled out in pain and jumped forward, his rear legs going limp shortly after, causing him to tumble into the ground. He adjusted himself into a sitting position and examined his legs.

What he saw, wasn’t pretty at all. One leg had a small portion of his leg that was charred, right where one of his tendons were. The other had intense frostbite in the same spot and possessed the same amount of blackened flesh that, unlike the first, was slowly healing. “What in Tartarus?”

“Enjoying the burns?” He heard from in front of him. He looked down and saw the two Argonians standing there with smug grins on their scaly faces.

“How did you survive me stomping you to paste?!” Tirek yelled in confusion and frustration.

“Good mages, magicians, and wizards never reveal their secrets.” Garnet snarked.

“And I think it’s a good idea for you to not underestimate your opponents." Ruby added. "Especially ones who can do things you can’t hope to prepare for!"

"Literally for her, figuratively for me." Garnet clarified.

Tirek looked confused for a moment, before glaring at them. "Regardless of what kind of souls you two have, you will fall to my power! For I am Lord Tirek, the new god of Equis!” He bellowed. He lit his horns with magic, causing a round barrier to surround the two Argonians and part the front half of Tirek. “Prepare for your DOOM!”

Tirek kicked off the fight by attempting to pound Garnet into the ground. She dodged in time and fired her crossbow, nailing him in his left ear. He pulled back, holding his now bleeding and deaf ear in pain. Ruby took advantage of the distraction to blast him with a stream of shock, before ramming him in his gut. Tirek had most of his breath knocked out of him, resulting in him glaring at her with his good eye in pure anger.

“Insignificant Pest!” He shouted, charging up an orb of red and black magic. Garnet jumped in front of her sister and put up a ward just before the orb fired a beam at them. The ward barely held from the attack, exhausting Garnet for a brief moment. Moment enough for Tirek to attempt to swat her away, but Ruby picked her sister up and jumped over the flying limb, nicking his wrist as it went by, causing a brief flame on the strike spot.

Tirek started inhaling strong enough to cause a very strong wind to kick up, almost snagging Garnet and pulling her in. Thankfully, Ruby’s weight and thankfully strong grip kept them both grounded. As he was inhaling, Garnet recovered enough to pull out her crossbow and fire. The bolt went sailing into his mouth, causing him to briefly start choking and coughing for a moment. Ruby then started spinning, keeping her sister in her grip until the last second, launching her at Tirek’s face.

Garnet caught herself with Tirek’s hair, leaving her at the base of his horns. Holding on tight, she pulled out Jyggalag’s sword and began stabbing at his skull and the base of his horns. Tirek, feeling the pain in his skull and horns, started shaking his head in an attempt to dislodge her from his hair. She was barely able to hold on, and started to panic a bit when a large red hand reached for her.

“FUS ROH DAH!” Ruby shouted, knocking his hand away from his head, allowing Garnet to readjust herself on his scalp and keep stabbing. A few stabs and shake attempts later, Garnet got a good stab into his left horn, causing Tirek to yell and thrash violently in pain, dislodging her and causing the sword to rip the horn off of his head. Ruby managed to catch Garnet before she had a chance to go splat onto the ground, and quickly moved out of the way of the giant horn’s fall.

“You aggravating pests!” Tireck yelled at the duo. “I will CRUSH YOU!”

“Yeah, keep trying!” Ruby shouted towards him. “So far you tried that and more, but I’ve yet to see anything work!”

Tirek growled and readied his fist to try and pummel the two, but a bright rainbow light flashed from the Forest Remains. The Argonians and Tirek turned to the light source and saw a large white and rainbow orb with six equine figures in it rising above the forest. “Nice attempt in trying to fool me, Princess Twilight. Your magic isn’t any stronger than before.”

“You're wrong, Tirek!” Twilight shouted, authority showing in her voice. “I may have not given you my Alicorn magic, but I carry within me the most powerful magic of all! Something that isn’t just raw magic! It’s the Magic of Friendship!” The orb that surrounded her and her friends exploded in a rainbow explosion and a ribbon of rainbow flowed from them to and around Tirek, causing him to start shrinking and aging, until he was barely shorter than Ruby and was rail thin.

The six ponies floated down to the ground and gave the weakened centaur a glare. Three flashes of magic brought two taller and more regal Alicorns and the draconequus to where everyone was.

“Well, I’d say Tirek is as good as defeated.” Discord said, as he snapped his fingers, causing the centaur’s arms and legs to get chained and shackled to heavy iron weights.

“Not entirely.” The white Alicorn said, carefully approaching the prisoner. “He is a threat, so long as he is out of Tartarus. So, I will take it upon myself to place him back there.

“Mind if I suggest a better punishment?” Garnet asked, gaining the entire group’s attention.

“I’m sorry, but we can’t chat.” The white Alicorn said, with a slight head shake. “We’ll talk after-”

“Soul Cairn.” Garnet said, interrupting the Alicorn.

“Come again?” The dark blue Alicorn asked.

Ruby sighed and explained to the best of her ability. “Tartarus is your ‘punishment’ afterlife, right?” She asked, getting a nod from all gathered. “Now imagine your Tartarus with an endless barren landscape, no life, no joy, just eternity in a world drained of color.”

“That seems a bit much.” The white Alicorn said, a bit of disgust and fear showing on her face.

“If what you said about him needing to be ‘put back’ in Tartarus is anything to go by, whatever Tartarus has won’t hold him longer and whatever lesson he was to be taught there, he never learned.” Garnet explained. “Offence one, doing whatever he did to get put there in the first place. Offence two, escaping his imprisonment. Offence three, doing whatever crime he did to get to this point, more than likely what he was imprisoned for in the first place.”

“His offences sound much worse when it’s explained to you.” The dark blue Alicorn said with a thoughtful face. “Celestia, I believe they have a point. He should be sentenced to this ‘Soul Cairn’ place.”

“Luna!” The white Alicorn almost yelled. “What these two...ladies...have suggested is pretty much eternal torture!”

“Which is what Tartarus was meant to be, until we as ponies softened up and grew lax.” Luna countered. “So giving him the punishment he deserves rather than what we want to give him should be the best course of action.”

The Celestia looked between Garnet and her sister before slumping in defeat. “Very well then.” She sighed. “I leave him for you to banish him there.” She said to Garnet and Ruby.

Garnet nodded and pulled out an odd looking dagger, it’s blade composed of very dark purple crystal. Then with one swift movement, she slit Tirek’s throat, killing him instantly and coaxing a purple aura from his body into the dagger. Garnet carved a circle in the dirt with her tail as she pulled out a bag of powder, which she poured into the circle’s outline. She then stabbed the crystal dagger into the circle’s center, pulled out a ceremonial dagger to present blood to the powder causing it to glow a dark, yet bright purple color. She then knelt and spoke.

“Ideal Masters of the Soul Cairn! I come before you with an offering and request. I offer you this soul, one that belonged to a centaur who had sought power through theft. In return, I ask that Durnehviir be released from his servitude and that my soul remains free from your snares.”

Silence was the only response...as far as everyone else but Garnet could hear. “Umm...are you-”

“Shh!” Ruby harshly shushed. “She’s concentrating. Any questions you have for her, ask me...at least until she’s done speaking with the Ideal Masters.”

“Sounds fair, Miss…” Celestia began but paused, not knowing the names of the Argonians.

I”m Ruby. Ruby Strongtail.” She answered. “And that’s my ‘sister’, Garnet Bonetail.”

“Thank you, Ruby.” Celestia said with a nod. “Now, as for what I was going to ask...is she actually communicating with these ‘Ideal Masters’, or is she-”

“Don’t finish that sentence, if that word you were going to say was ‘insane’.” Ruby warned.

“I apologize, most individuals that practice the Dark Arts tend to be so.” Celestia said. “To see otherwise, it’s astonishing...and confusing as well.”

“Such is your perception of ‘Dark Arts’.” Luna muttered quietly to herself.

“My sister is the most capable Necromantic Summoner.” Ruby praised. “Almost to the point that she could skim through a law book and make an equally capable lawyer.”

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.

Ruby was going to answer, but the sound of spontaneous combustion turned her attention to her sister. Garnet stood up and moved away from the dark purple flames that consumed the ritual site. "She means that I have learned how to form contracts and understand laws to the point of understanding, exploiting, and sometimes avoiding loopholes." Garnet answered. "And the Ideal Masters are difficult to counter. They even fooled a dragon into eternal servitude."

"And with the centaur's soul, she is bargaining with them to pull the dragon out of their service and replace it with said soul." Ruby added.

Twilight's mouth went 'oh', while the two elder Alicorns nodded at Garnet's honest and honorable words. Celestia was about to speak, but was stopped when the ground started shaking like an earthquake was happening.

A pulse of rainbow magic washed over the entire group, giving them a sense of calm as all the ruined trees and shattered stones began to levitate into the air before moving towards Ponyville, followed by an orb of the same rainbow magic. The trees and stone were then placed in a pile at the edge of the town. The orb of magic then flowed into the ground beneath the pile, causing a bright flash of magic that consumed the pile. When the light died down, there stood a nearly identical replica of Dragonsreach from Whiterun.

Garnet and Ruby looked at the sight with awe before looking at each other with small happy smiles on their faces. “I think, despite the abruptness of our banishment here, the magic of this world expected us.” Garnet said.

“Divines and Daedra guide us.” Ruby responded. “I hope we can live up to its expectations.”

“Don’t worry, Sister.” Garnet comforted. “We will. Trust me, we will.”

Author's Note

Took a while for this to get edited.

Chapter 3: Portals and Papers

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 4: Equal Business

(Ruby’s and Garnet’s House)

The two Argonians started liking Ponyville despite it’s cringeworthy name. When they became Equestrian Citizens and bought land for their house and their soon-to-start businesses, the townsfolk came by and lent a hoof or four in helping build the places. With all the help, all three buildings were done in less than a week.

Their house had a Nordic Manor construction to it, but the roofing had the local magic straw thatched roof placed on. Their respective businesses adopted the local building construction, which included the industrial grade space enchantment (they’re bigger on the inside).

Ruby was to open a mead brewery/bar, using her mead brewing skills from her youth. Her role (outside of training the employees) would be that of an owner, with minimal controls to day-to-day operations. Garnet would open an alchemy shop/potion brewing business as well. Thankfully, the townsfolk directed her to Zecora in the Everfree Woods (renamed due to it the trees being thinned out from Tirek’s rampage). With the zebra’s help and her own alchemical knowledge, they managed a good business deal to work with each other. Zecora would move into the office to live and run the shop and potion brewers, while Garnet would own the business and would experiment with the alchemical ingredients native to Equis.

Ruby and Garnet were dressed in their best clothing, Nord styled noble clothing, and were ready for their first official days at work. Ruby’s brewery and bar, [brewery/bar], was across the street from Sugar Cube Corner, providing an equal share of competition and business. Those hungry at the bar can go to the bakery for a treat and vice versa for thirst. Garnet’s shop, ‘The Philosopher's Stone', was at equal distances between the Ponyville Hospital and the local joke shop, providing potions and harmless poisons for healing and pranking alike.

“So, Ruby?” Garnet asked, getting her sister’s attention while they were finishing their respective breakfasts. “How were the new employees and their attempts at mead making?”

[“It’s mead brewing, and they did pretty good for their brews.” Ruby answered, adjusting her shirt and coat portion of her clothes. “I especially liked the strawberry mead that one mare made...I think her name was Strawberry Shortcake or something like that. What about you and the potion shop? Aside from the-”]

“DON’T!” Garnet shouted, interrupting her sister. “BRING! THAT UP! EVER! AGAIN!”

(Flashback: Several Days Prior)

“Ugh...why does my back feel like it’s both rigid as wood and limp as fabric at the same time?” Garnet asked herself as she was waking up. She never liked waking up on certain days, as her madness from Sheogorath would cause her mild hallucinations at times. Looking at the mirror, she saw herself looking like her own version of Discord.

She had six legs, half were Dwarven Spider, the other half were Mudcrab. Her arms were troll and giant (properly sized for her body). Her body was the ‘spine’ of an ice wraith wrapped in Wispmother Wrappings. Her tail was Khajiit, and she had chaurus antenna on top of her unaltered head. “I’m gonna have to get some Wabbajack to fix my mind...after I eat.” She then scuttled into the kitchen area and prepared her morning tinctures and her sister’s coffee. She started drinking her drink and munching on an apple.

When she finished her glass and placed her drink in the kitchen sink, she looked around and noticed that Ruby wasn’t there yet. Scuttling up to her room to get dressed, she heard some odd sound of rubber being rubbed coming from Ruby’s room. She moved to the door and upon unlatching the door, it swung open, smacking Garnet on the nose.

Upon recovery, she saw that the doorway was filled with a bloated Ruby, her head slightly bigger and puffed up. Acting on ‘instinct’, Garnet snapped her fingers and suddenly, both her and Ruby were outside. Looking upon the whole of Ruby, she saw that while she was puffed up almost as big as the Castle’s great hall, her clothing somehow fit in such a way that she wasn’t indecent.

[“Garnet?” Ruby asked in an aggressively squeaky voice. “If that is you, I hope you have an answer for this.”]

“Did you mess around with the Wabbajack?” She asked, conjuring the cane/staff in her mismatched hands.

[“No, but if it means anything, I made and ate a salad with some of those blue leaves that were in the kitchen yesterday.” She answered.]

Garnet facepalmed. “That was Poison Joke. At least I now know why I look like this, why you look like that, and where the leaves went after I placed them there and didn’t pay attention.” She said. She then summoned some boneponies and levitated Ruby onto their bony backs. “Now let’s get Zecora so she can better explain the plant, it’s effects, and what can be done to fix and prevent this.”

(Flashback End)

[“Craziest Day Ever.” They both simultaneously said.]

Garnet then cleared her throat. “Aside from that incident, things have been going smoothly. The ponies there aren’t used to making potions, but under the supervision of Zecora and I, they have learned well enough.” She said.

[“Good, good.” Ruby commented. “It seems like we’re on track with our businesses.”]

“You’ll see no argument from me.” Garnet said while checking her work satchel. “Now, I’m off to my business’ official opening.”

[“Too bad I can’t come.” Ruby said.]

“I understand, and I can’t come to yours, so I’m sure you understand.” Garnet responded.

[“Actually, I don’t.” Ruby jokingly answered and then ran out the door before Garnet could respond.]

“Goodness.” Garnet sighed, shaking her head and using one of the keys to lock the door to the house. “I can’t hate her. She’s my sister.”

(The Next Day)

Intense knocking on the door stirred Ruby from her dream of sweetroll gluttony. As she shook away her wake up grogginess, the knocking intensified further, almost sounding desperate. Getting off her bed and throwing on an oversized robe, she went to the front door and answered it, revealing Spike.

["Oh, hey Spike.” Ruby said in a tired voice. “What brings you here this early in the morning?”]

“It’s only 5 am.” Spike said with a deadpan tone.

“And that’s 2 hours too early!” Garnet shouted from within the house, giving Spike a slight scare. “Assuming we managed to get a good night’s sleep and we’re not running on adventure fumes.”

“Did she hear me speaking from the back of the house?” Spike asked, clearly frightened.

[“She has an odd ability that allows her to sleep deeply, but still be mostly aware of her surroundings.” Ruby answered. “Unless she’s drunk when she starts sleeping.”]

“Gotcha...anyway, about me coming here this early, I’m worried about Twilight.” Spike said, going from scared to completely terrified. [Ruby saw this and quickly got him inside. She set him down on a chair, served him [a drink] and let him continue.] “So, to give you a little understanding of why I’m here, you need to know how often Twilight and her friends get into.” Spike then went on to tell Ruby (and to a lesser extent, Garnet) of Twilight and her friends’ escapades.

After a few hours of Spike telling them of the escapades, Garnet jumped in. “Is there a point to these stories?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry for going on and on with the details.” He apologized. “The main point that I was trying to get to was that most of those adventures they went on lasted less than a day. They left yesterday for a new adventure and haven’t returned. While there is a chance for delays or complications, with the ratio of day-long to longer adventures, I think I have reason to worry.”

[Ruby smiled and nodded a bit before turning to Garnet with slight confusion. “While I understood most of that, I didn’t understand the last sentence.” She said, giving Garnet a question without actually asking.]

“He was saying it’s more common for their adventures to last a day or less. Any longer and he gets worried.” Garnet answered.

[“Ah, got it.” Ruby said in understanding. “Do you know where they went?”]

“You still have the travel map that Celestia gave you?” Spike asked. Ruby nodded, pulling it out and handing it to him. “From what I remember...here.” Spike pointed to a small section between an arid grassland and an unstable mountain area. The spot where his claw touched the map was then marked with a black equal sign.

“Well, our quest, Unequal Equality has begun.” Garnet said. Ruby and Spike gave her a funny look, causing her to look back in confusion. “What?”

[“Garnet, why do you do that?” Ruby asked as she stood up to get her armor.]

“Ruby, you know I just do it. Why do you question it?” She shot back as she went to get her armor as well, leaving Spike on the couch to stew in his combined confusion and worry.

Author's Note

enjoy

Chapter 5: Freeing the Unequal

(Mountain Top overlooking Our Town)

After about a day of travel by train, the duo managed to get to a practically abandoned train stop and hiked up a mountain to survey their destination at a distance. Spike had packed a few additional tools for their use, a pair of binoculars being one of them. Ruby was confused about its use until she accidentally looked through them and saw Garnet’s face up close.

Currently, as they stood/hid on the mountain top, swapping the binoculars between themselves and observed the town as it was waking up. “This is just scary, in a not so scary way.” Garnet said as she handed Ruby the binoculars.

“I don’t entirely understand.” Ruby said as she looked down through the binoculars. “What gives you that thought?”

“Take a look at their flanks.” Garnet responded. Ruby lowered the binoculars and gave her a weird look. “Not like that! Their Cutie Marks! Look at their Cutie Marks!”

Ruby looked and saw that all the gathered ponies had Equal Signs as Cutie Marks. “That’s...somewhat worrying. Can’t really take family into consideration. Even the Apples have different Cutie Marks with a singular theme. Nothing like this though.” She said, handing the binoculars back to Garnet.

“Yeah. Something is going on to cause this and-” Garnet paused as she saw the townsfolk surround a door and a unicorn pony stepped out from the crowd and opened the door, revealing Twilight and her friends and they had the same cutie marks and most of them looked unhappy about it. “And I can see why Twilight was a few days late. She and her friends had been forced into this condition.”

“What do you mean?” Ruby asked, looking over her sister’s shoulder in an attempt to see what she was seeing.

“Quiet! I’m trying to read their lips.” Garnet said, waving Ruby away. “Okay...the unicorn that opened the door is apparently the town’s leader...she seems to be saying something to the group and most are rejecting something about it.”

“Most?”

“Fluttershy seems to be accepting it, but I’m not going to judge her until we know why.” Garnet said. “And one of the villagers seems to be groveling to the leader over some minor wrong of some kind...and now he and the group are locked up.”

“Sounds too much like some sort of dictator problem.” Ruby commented.

“Yeah, but it’s best to get some intel by being closer...and maybe questioning one of the villagers or the group if we circle around town to a window.” Garnet said.

“Why around and not through?” Ruby asked, sounding somewhat insulted.

“Because you stand out like a sore thumb...or would it be sore hoof for the ponies?” Garnet answered. “Besides, it’s better safe than sorry.”

“Understood. I’ll circle around to them, you follow Fluttershy and see what she’s up to.” Ruby said. Garnet nodded and began to make her way to the town.

(Later that night)

“Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!” Fluttershy quietly said to herself as she hurried to the back window of the ‘Equalization House’. Just before she arrived, she saw something dark moving and she gasped a bit too loudly. The neighboring window opened and she froze. Just as the pony inside peeked his head out to investigate the noise, Fluttershy was grabbed and a hand placed over her mouth.

“Shhh…” Her captor said, hiding both of themselves in the building’s shadow. The pony looked around briefly before pulling back inside, mumbling something about ‘stupid coyotes’. When he was gone, the hands let her go and she got a good look at the one who saved her.

“Garnet?” She asked, her face showing bewilderment, relief and joy. “What are you doing here?”

“Don’t party without me.” Ruby said behind her, causing Fluttershy to almost gasp, but she covered her mouth before she made a noise.

“Ruby?” Fluttershy asked after calming down. “What are you both doing here?”

“Spike sent us when you girls were taking too long.” Ruby answered. “Now, I’m not sure why you’re out and your friends aren’t, but we should save that for the whole group reunion and note sharing.”

“Oh! Right!” Fluttershy quietly exclaimed, rushing to the window as fast as she could. She began to share was she saw concerning Starlight Glimmer, both filling in the Argonians in on what happened and gave the startings of a plan for the group to use to both escape and unveil the falseness of Starlight’s philosophy and methods to enforce such.

(The Next Morning)

“Then how do you explain this?!” Fluttershy ‘shouted’ as she attempted to throw a bucket of water onto Starlight Glimmer. Starlight managed to dodge most of the water, but a few droplets hit her fake Cutie Marks, catching the attention of most of the townsfolk. One of the ponies managed to get a rag to her to wipe off the smudge and revealing her true mark in the process.

The ponies started encouraging her to use a certain ‘Staff of Sameness’ to remove her mark, only for Garnet, in her netch leather armor, to reveal herself, holding said staff in her hands while standing on a building’s roof. “It won’t work.” She said, catching the attention of the townsfolk and Starlight especially. “This ‘Staff of Sameness’ is just a piece of wood.” She dropped the staff off the roof to prove her point. “I’ll admit though, she either was loaded with bits or she was very lucky. That was mahogany. Very sturdy, and very expensive...mahogany…”

“And that is why my magic is what makes this whole thing possible!” Starlight began berating the townsfolk. “I brought you all Friendship. I created Harmony!”

“You lied to us!” One of the ponies shot back. “Either all of us are equal or none of us are.”

This ticked off Starlight and she instantly shut Twilight up when she tried to teach her something about Friendship. She shifted her attention to Fluttershy with eyes that practically screamed ‘bloody murder’. “You did this...YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!” She then fired an orb of turquoise magic at her, bent on ruining the Friendship of the group by killing.

However, she didn’t expect Ruby, in her ebony armor, to jump out from behind a house and stood between Fluttershy and the spell. The Spell bounced off her armor and started flying towards the crowd. Garnet thought just as fast and threw her Soul Dagger at the spell, intercepting it and absorbing the spell into itself. Everyone froze at the sudden and unexpected series of events, not bothering to move while Garnet retrieved her blade and examined it.

Starlight slowly began creeping away from the crowd, hoping to get away without being seen. “Halt!” She stopped, turned, and saw a crossbow aimed at her. “I’m not expert on Equestrian law, but even I can say that most forms of Necromancy and all forms of murder are illegal.” Garnet said, her look at Starlight showed a restrained form of rage.

“Necromancy! I never raised any dead!” Starlight objected.

“I never said you did.” Garnet responded. “To explain your charges, first off, Necromancy isn’t restricted to raising the dead. It also includes soul magic, which from what I could tell from examining my Soul Dagger, you’ve used enough of it to taint your magic. The only way that could have happened is if you used a lot of it.”

“And if I’m following my sister properly, the spell or magic you used to remove all of these Cutie Marks is a form of soul magic.” Ruby thought out loud.

“And that means she not only removed Cutie Marks, but she potentially fragmented all of our souls.” Twilight said.

“What! No! I’m only removing Cutie Marks! They’re the Evil of our Society!” Starlight objected again. “I’m saving them from the pain I went through!” She suddenly clamped her hoof over her mouth in shock.

“What pain?” Garnet asked. Before anyone could inquire further or even think on what Starlight said, she fired a magic blast at Garnet’s crossbow, knocking it from her hands and causing it to fire. Starlight began to flee to her private cottage as the crossbow bolt ricocheted all over the town, causing everyone, except Ruby and Garnet, to either jump behind cover of some kind or to just ‘flatten’ themselves onto the ground.

However, Ruby and Garnet’s confidence in their armor was misplaced in this one case. Their armor and equipment placed them several leagues above many soldiers and bandits back in Tamriel and probably in Equestria as well. Due to that, they were never prepared to deal with the ‘firepower’ they themselves used. Case in point, the ricocheting crossbow bolt eventually nailed Garnet in the shoulder, knocking and sticking her to the wall of a building.

Starlight was already in her house and out of sight when Garnet was hit, but when she was, Ruby could only see red as she looked at the building. With a scrape of her feet and visible steam blowing out of her nose, she charged the house. As soon as she crashed through it, the building collapsed and a few motes of light escaped the rubble, restoring Twilight and her friends to their regular selves. Ruby then dug herself out of the rubble and immediately ran to Garnet, activating healing spells and worked on keeping her stable.

“Where’s Starlight?” Rainbow asked, pounding her hooves together, hoping for a fight.

“She more than likely got away, which for now is for the best.” She answered.

“What do you mean?” Pinkie asked. “That meanie should be taught to not be such a meanie!”

“Pinkie! Rainbow!” Applejack admonished. “Think of this from her perspective. Her sister was just hit with a powerful crossbow bolt. If she went after Starlight, Garnet could have bled out.”

“Then why don’t we?” Rainbow asked in frustration. “I’m sure I could catch her...If I knew where she went…..And I now see why we aren’t going after her.”

“Exactly.” Applejack confirmed. “We don’t know where she went.”

“Besides, we have plenty to do here.” Rarity added. “Getting the cutie marks of these ponies back to them should be a top priority.”

“Agreed.” Twilight said, as she watched Ruby working on healing her sister.

“Go on without us.” Ruby said. “I want to be alone with my sister.” Twilight, her friends, and the townsfolk left for the Cutie Vault. “Garnet, I’m sorry. I should have taken that.”

“No need to be.” Garnet muttered, loud enough for Ruby to hear. “We both didn’t know that would happen, so the best we can do moving forward is reinforce our armor.” Ruby then hugged her sister as gently as possible, a few tears falling from their eyes.

Author's Note

If this chapter seems...meh, or ick, or whatever...tell me in the comment section, but do so in a positive/constructive way. Negative/nonconstructive comments will be deleted.

Chapter 2: Ruling and Learning

Author's Note

Family Guy reference in this chapter...and I'm not ashamed of it.

Chapter 2: Ruling and Learning

(Twilight’s Castle)

The group approached the newly ‘built’ castle and marveled at its construction. The building seemed to have a type of construction that borrowed from Nordic building style, but seemed to have some local influence, all of it mixed with ‘veins’ of soul gem-like crystal.

Entering the castle, a set of stairs led up to an entry hall area. The center of the room was a fire pit that held a cold fire in it, lighting up the room with a warm blue glow. To its sides were two tables with seats arranged near them. Each one had a crystal symbol placed above the seat’s back.

Five of the chairs’ symbols were matched to the cutie marks of the five friends of Twilight. The remaining two had the Imperial Dragon symbol while the other had a Skull in a Vortex symbol, seeming to represent Ruby and Garnet (at least to them). As the related ponies approached their designated chairs, Twilight looked between the two tables and was disappointed.

“Where’s my chair?” She asked, her ears lowered in sadness as she looked at the floor.

Ruby gently lifted Twilight’s head up so she could see the ‘Jarl’s throne’ with a large crystal starburst on the wall above it. “I believe that is your chair.”

Twilight’s eyes widened a bit. “I...wha...but...I want to sit with my friends.” She lightly complained.

Celestia approached Twilight and spoke. “No one is stopping you from doing so in private time, but as a Princess, it is yours to use.”

“But, me on a throne? That’ll just make it seem like I’m above everyone else and will use my power.” Twilight said, frowning at the idea.

“That you will be, but don’t think of it as a position of power.” Garnet consoled. “Think of it more like a position of responsibility.”

“Position of responsibility?” Twilight asked in slight confusion.

“A soldier on a tower is given both great power and great responsibility.” Luna said, giving encouragement. “While he or she is up there, they are mostly unsupervised, but have a responsibility to keep watch. Abuse of their freedom, or ‘power’, can harm others because of shirking their responsibilities.”

“And a ruler has similar power and responsibility.” Ruby said. “You have the power to act and command as you wish, but you have a responsibility to use that power for the good of those you rule.”

“But, I can’t do this ruling on my own.” Twilight said. “I know next to nothing about ruling and I’ve never found any books on how to do so.”

Celestia giggled at Twilight’s mini-freakout. “You think that Luna and I rule the night and day respectively on our own with no help?” She asked while trying to hold back further laughs. “We both have a shared council, as well as an assistant and a personal guard force. Delegation is there for a reason.”

“Your friends can make up your council.” Luna pointed out. “Spike already fills your assistant role, and we can see about getting a guard-”

“Luna, I appreciate the help, but I want to ease into doing Princess stuff.” Twilight interrupted. “So, no guard force...at least for now.”

Celestia giggled again. “Why the sudden change in attitude?”

“It’s starting to get obvious that I won’t be able to get out of being a Princess.” Twilight answered, getting the white Alicorn to giggle again. “It’s just that, I want to be approachable, so no guards...for now at least.”

Celestia’s eyes twinkled a bit before she nodded. “Then until you see fit, no guards.” She proclaimed. “Now, take your position among the Alicorn Royalty. Princess Twilight, the Princess of Friendship.”

The newly formed Friendship Council and the many ponies that saw and heard the proclamation began to cheer for Twilight as she took her seat on her throne. She gave a nod to the ponies and they began to go back to their daily lives. She then turned to the two Argonians and spoke. “And I think it’s time for all of us to introduce ourselves.” Her stomach growled loudly. “After we’ve had a good dinner.”

(One BIG Meal of Apple Cabbage Stew later)

“I have to say, having a simple meal is a pretty good relief.” Celestia said as she finished off her bowl of stew. “Eating gourmet day in and day out gets boring real fast.”

“Still, it could have been prepared with more than just salt.” Rarity critiqued. “Maybe a hint of cinnamon?”

“I don’t know why you’re grumbling about the food.” Garnet said as she eagerly spooned the last of her stew into her mouth. “This stew is actually better than what Ruby normally prepares.”

“And that’s saying something, since most of my cooking is survival based.” She said as she finished her fourth bowl and got ready to start her fifth. “Come to think of it, the apples and cabbages seemed more fresh and clean, while the salt seemed more pure than what I had to use.”

“Speaking of that, where do you two come from and how did you get here?” Luna asked after she finished her second serving. “I’m sure if you had come in from one of the port cities, some gossip or rumors would have spread about you two arriving in Equestria.”

Garnet gave a sad sigh before speaking. “It’s not a pleasant story, our arrival, but we can save that for last. Where we both come from is the world of Nirn, the continent of Tamriel.”

“The countries of Cyrodill, and Skyrim mostly.” Ruby added. “The first is the seat of an Empire and where we were raised. The other, the ancestral homeland of the Nords.”

“Who rules these countries?” Twilight asked, as she was attempting to write everything they were saying while eating.

“Emperor Tidus Mede II rules the Empire, while High Queen Elisif the Fair rules the whole of Skyrim and the province of Haafingar in Skyrim.” Garnet said. “Not that it will be important.”

“What do you mean?” Applejack asked. “I mean, you’ll head back there at some point, right? Maybe show us around?”

Ruby sighed and shook her head slightly. “It’s not that simple, nor easy. The way we got here, it was a one-way trip.”

Fluttershy spoke up. “Well, I’m sure Twilight can try to research how to-”

“It’s not that we don’t want to go back, it’s that the reality of the world we came from probably can’t accept us back.” Garnet explained.

“First off, for context, do you have dragons here?” Ruby asked. Everyone nodded, while Spike puffed his chest out in pride. “Well, I’m not sure what they are like here, but there, their very voices can twist the world to their whims...and Garnet and I were facing a virtual god of destruction level of power type of dragon. Alduin, the World Eater.”

“Ruby and I chased him from the tallest peak in Tamriel to the very glorious fields of Sovngarde, the Nordic afterlife.” Garnet recounted. “After many battles and with aid from the glorious dead, Ruby struck down our foe and freed our world from the End Times.”

“But with his dying breath, Alduin uttered three words of power and we were banished from Nirn to…” Ruby paused, looking at the group.

“The world of Equis, the country of Equestria.” Celestia provided.

“Here...and now our destinies are to be here now.”

“Adventuring, doing menial tasks, and generally helping save the world.” Garnet finished.

“Sounds like a type of Daring Do novel come to life!” Rainbow said with an excited flutter of her wings.

“Are there any...distinguishing features of your world that can be worth knowing?” Twilight asked.

“I can think of two big things.” Garnet answered. “One is…” She suddenly stopped, her eyes starting to dilate and contract rapidly between each other. Her neck, arms, and tail suddenly started twisting in odd, unnatural directions.

Everyone, except Ruby, reacted to Garnet’s bodily contortions in mostly negative ways. Celestia and Luna lit their horns, ready with healing spells. The Council either fainted, freaked out, or even vomited in disgust. Twilight could only stare in horror at what was happening.

“Time since last bout: 10 weeks. A new record.” Ruby said as she stood up and pulled out a “multi-faced” staff from behind herself and charged up it’s tip. “Stand back! I don’t want anyone to get hit.”

Discord looked at the staff with concern. “That staff...EVERYONE HIT THE DIRT!!!” He shouted, grabbing Fluttershy and Rarity in his mismatched arms and dove through a bag of potting soil and to the floor. Everyone else followed suit, minus the potting soil, and dove to the floor.

Ruby launched a red orb of magic at Garnet from the staff, causing her body to stop convulsing and to go back the way it was...for a moment. Her form then began glowing bright red and shifted to a thin but big chinned man in a red shirt and blue jeans. Man-Garnet looked around the room before 'his' eyes landed on Ruby...or more specifically, her generous size. 'He' then smiled and started 'singing' and 'dancing', almost as if trying to impress her in a ridiculous way.

Giggity giggity giggity giggity,

Ooo eee, Ooo ah ah, ting tang

Walla walla, bing bang,

Ooo eee, Ooo ah ah, ting tang

Walla walla bing bang!

At the last word, Man-Garnet tripped and fell backwards down the entry hall stairs, banging ‘his’ head on some of the crystal braziers as ‘he’ fell. Upon reaching the bottom, ‘Man-Garnet’ shifted back into Garnet with a flash of red light, and was left sprawled on the floor.

“And that is why you don’t mess with Daedric Princes, if you can help it.” Ruby said as she walked down to where Garnet laid.

“Pot calling the kettle black.” Garnet muttered as Ruby helped her up.

“Okay, I’ll admit, I killed a man at the beckoning of Mehrunes Dagon, all for a stupid dagger.” Ruby admitted, causing the others in the room to gasp in shock. “But can you blame me, since I have the blood of a dragon in me? You on the other hand-”

“I stumbled upon Sheogorath and bumped into a madman in the Solitude Sewers with Jyggalag’s artifact.” Garnet countered. “And you were told by Meridia to cleanse her temple...not that any blame towards who started Daedra worship first is important, since you openly admitted to murder.”

Ruby seemed to freeze in fear before turning back towards the group. “Umm…”

“I think there is more to this murder than what we are hearing.” Celestia observed. “Maybe you can give us the details we’re lacking.”

“I’m also kinda curious about what you meant about dragon blood in you.” Twilight said as she finished up a few bits of her notes. “And I mean no offence, but you look more like lizards than dragons.”

“No offence taken.” Garnet said. “Also, the ‘more draconic’ one is Ruby, and we’re Argonians, not lizards. Thankfully, you met us and not other Argonians, as being called a lizard is considered an insult and most aren’t very forgiving.”

“Sorry!” Twilight quickly apologized.

“You’re forgiven.” Ruby said. “Anyway...the Daedric Princes we’ve encountered, and my dragon blood. Hmm...how to start.”

“Start with you being Dragonborn.” Garnet suggested. “It’ll make the murder you did at Dagon’s urging make more sense.”

“Okay...now, once again, I’m not familiar with what dragons are like here, but back on Nirn, they are very violent and always have thoughts of domination and power.” Ruby explained. “And I am one of very few individuals that is blessed or cursed (depending on how you view it) with the blood and soul of a dragon.”

“As for the murder, it started out as a little task to gather the dagger shards for a museum.” Garnet continued. “After gathering the shards, we decided to petition Dagon to repair the dagger. That was where things went wrong.”

“Who’s Dagon?” Twilight asked.

“Mehrunes Dagon, the Daedric Prince of Revolution, Change, and Destruction. He nearly destroyed Nirn a century or two before we were born.” Garnet said.

“Anyway, Dagon told me of the dagger’s power and said I could have it IF I killed the guy who hired me to find the pieces.” Ruby said with regret in her voice. “The guy tried to plead for his life, but my dragonic blood could only see the power that the dagger would give me.”

“And that is one of the many times that my sister did something with draconic impulse.” Garnet said. “And I can say I’m not much better. Heck, I practice a rare form of Necromancy and while I manage to keep it under control and under wraps, I can be prone to fits of anger, thanks to one bad deal with the Ideal Masters.”

“Your stories and skills are things to be concerned about.” Celestia commented. “However, I can look past your misdeeds for a few reasons. One, the murder happened in your world and I’m sure you have a little better control over your draconic side. As for the second, while you do practice your ‘Unique Necromancy’, if you can keep it under control and only use the souls of those who are evil, I will allow it.”

“I thought you hated Necromancy, Celestia.” Twilight said, Luna giving a bit of an agreeing nod.

“I do...if it is used to harm or control others.” Celestia explained. “The same could be said about everything in life. Remember the Want-it, Need-it spell incident?”

“Don’t remind us.” Applejack said.

“It isn’t a proud moment for us either.” Pinkie shivered, recalling the chaos that incident brought.

“Well, the spell was meant to keep troublemakers in line, mostly children.” Celestia said. “However, when cast incorrectly, or with sinister intentions...well, you saw the results.”

“Should we even ask?” Ruby asked

“NO!” Twilight and her friends shouted.

A brief moment of silence filled the room before everyone started laughing for a bit. When everyone calmed down, Celestia stood, Luna and Discord following suit. “Well, Luna and I need to head back to Canterlot to run damage control and relief efforts. Discord...not sure about him, but from his perspective, it’s important. I’ll be back in a week to help with citizenship forms and oaths.” The three beings then vanished in a flash of light.