Chapters The Dunmer groaned and covered her pointed ears. This was the third time the Khajiit and Redguard had started arguing since they had arrived in this strange place, and their bickering was getting on her nerves. “I swear, the next one to blame someone else will be set on fire,” Llevana said, standing up and drawing on her majicka, fire filling her hands.
“Fine,” Qa’Dar grumbled. “I still say going into those Ayleid ruins was a bad idea.”
Avik rolled his eyes and lowered his axe. “Look, fur-ball, I didn’t know touching that button would open that portal. And neither did you.”
As Qa’Dar let out a string of Khajiiti curses, Llevana extinguished the fire. “Thank you. Now that you two have stopped acting like children perhaps we can try and figure out where we are.” She turned to the Redguard.
Avik shrugged. “Could be a Daedric realm. I remember reading about Camoran’s Paradise. The Champion of Cyrodiil said something about it looking very beautiful.”
“That same champion also said how the Realms of Oblivion were dangerous hellscapes.” Qa’Dar yawned. “For all we know we’re somewhere in Valenwood or the Summerset Isles.”
“So you think the Ayleids had a method of teleporting people over distances that would take us weeks to cross?” Llevana asked, the dark elf turning to her colleagues.
“Certainly a possibility.”
“The Khajiit is right.” Avik drew his axe again, looking around. “If we are in Valenwood or Summerset, we should try to find a town. Standing around here won’t do us any good.”
Avik, Llevana and Qa’Dar were a small group of spelunkers, diving into unexplored ruins to take whatever treasure they could to sell to the highest bidder. Together they had delved into Nordic, Dwemer and Ayleid ruins. Almost every time they had come out with a precious relic worth more gold than they could carry, which was usually spent on supplies, alcohol and, in Qa’Dar’s case, Skooma, the highly addictive narcotic made from Moonsugar.
Each member specialised in a different area. As befitting a Redguard, Avik was trusted with the main fighting, and as such usually carried both silver and ebony axes while clad in a set of Dwarven Armor. Llevana was the mage, skilled in both the Destruction and Restoration schools. Though she only wore enchanted robes she was incredibly formidable, as many a dead bandit had found out the hard way. Qa’Dar had incredible skill with lock-picking and sneaking, leaving him with the dangerous task of disarming traps and killing bandits without them noticing. He was the best-armed of the group, armed with a pair of glass daggers.
Their most recent escapade had seen them exploring an Ayleid ruin north-west of Anvil in Cyrodiil. They had encountered the usual obstacles, each one bypassed with the ease born from experience. Their goal had been deep within, behind a series of locked doors and swinging axe traps. They had expected a number of Ayleid statues and relics, but instead had encountered a simple button, carved in the typical Ayleid fashion. Avik had simply pressed it without thinking, opening up a portal that had sucked all three explorers in.
“Well, fur-ball, what do you see?”
“It looks like a town,” Qa’Dar replied from above, his tail the only thing visible to the others from his vantage point in the tree. “Can’t see much else, though. We’re too far away.” The Khajiit jumped down and landed on his feet, turning to the Redguard. “And if you call me fur-ball one more time I will claw you,” he threatened.
“Enough, both of you,” Llevana interjected, pushing in between the two before anything could happen. She hated how, despite being the youngest by about three years, she had been relegated to the role of ‘team mom.’ She turned to face the town, hidden by the thick trees. “We have a destination now. We should hurry. Something about this place really unnerves me,” she muttered, looking around uneasily.
Avik and Qa’Dar glanced at each other. It was quite hard to scare a child of Morrowind, and Llevana was the toughest dark elf either had the fortune to know. If she was worried about this place, it was reason for them to worry as well.
“Shh,” Qa’Dar whispered, putting a finger to her lips. “I heard something.”
“What?” Llevana asked, the dark elf calling on her majicka.
“It think it might just be an animal.”
“Nothing we can’t handle,” Avik scoffed. He drew his ebony axe and looked around. “Where is it?”
A loud roar sounded from behind them, making all three jump. “A mountain lion?” Llevana asked, concentrating her majicka into fire.
Qa’Dar drew his daggers as the thing burst through the trees, growling at them. “That’s not a lion,” the Khajiit muttered. “Lions don’t have wings or tails like that.” It had wings like those of a bat’s on its back, as well as the tail belonging to a scorpion, though only Avik recognized it as such.
“A mage’s experiment, maybe?” Avik asked, glancing at his companions.
“Either way, it doesn’t seem friendly.” Llevana concentrated the fire into a ball, ready to unleash it at a moment’s notice.
The thing leapt at them, claws bared to tear them apart. Llevana unleashed a stream of flame at the beast, making it scream in pain as its mane was set alight. As it swatted at the air to put out the fire, Avik took his chance to cleave at it with his axes, gouging great chunks from its flesh. It roared as it tried to turn to rip into the Redguard, but it didn’t get the chance as the Khajiit seemed to appear from nowhere, a set of daggers being driven into its throat, ending the beast in a moment. Qa’Dar removed his daggers and wiped them on the ground of get rid of the blood. “That was quite easy,” he commented.
“I expected more of a fight.”
“I hope there’s not too many of them,” Llevana muttered. “Still think we’re in Valenwood or Summerset Isle?”
“Not anymore,” Avik replied. “Can’t think of any mages who’d do anything like this.”
“Necromancers, maybe,” Qa’Dar muttered. “Those sick freaks will do anything.”
“I don’t think we’re in Tamriel anymore.”
“A Daedric realm, then?” Avik asked.
“Seems the most reasonable explanation,” Llevana replied. “Better not eat anything here. For all we know everything might be poison to us.”
“Hang on,” Qa’Dar said, raising a hand. “If this is a Daedric realm, why is there a town? I thought all the Daedric Lords were all insane. This place seems...”
“If you’re going to say ‘sane’, Qa’Dar, I will hit you. We just got attacked by a crazy lion thing,” Avik replied. “Sounds like something Sheogorath might do.”
“No, Sheogorath would put together a wolf, a deer and a fish. And give it a voice so it could scream.” Llevana shuddered at that mental image.
“I don’t think we have much of an option at this moment. After all, a town at least promises to be slightly civilised,” Qa’Dar said.
“You know it’s time to panic when the Khajiit makes the most logical argument,” Avik responded.
Author's Note:
I don't know if I should continue this or not.
Twilight Sparkle read through the letter for the fifteenth time as she paced worriedly about Ponyville’s Books and Branches Library. “This must be serious. Why else would the Princess send a squad of - ?”
“Twilight!” a young male voice yelled out from atop a bookshelf. Spike, the purple mare’s green and purple dragon assistant, was busy placing the books on military etiquette back where they belonged. “You need to calm down. We grew up in the castle. The Princess said she would be sending ponies we know.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about,” the mare replied.
“Really?” the dragon asked. If he had proper eyebrows they would have gone so far up they would have threatened to pop off his head.
“Well, kind of,” Twilight conceded. “What I’m more concerned about is that the Princess feels sending some of the guards to be even necessary.”
“She’s just looking out for you, Twilight.” Spike rapidly descended the ladder and landed on the floor with a soft thud.”Besides, you’re going deep into the Everfree Forest. You’ll need them if you run into anything out there.”
“I’ve been through the Everfree alone before, Spike.” Before the dragon could retort a loud knocking came from the door. Twilight jumped and began to mutter under her breath. “Oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no....”
Spike rolled his eyes for the sixth time that day and opened the door. “Hello,” he said cheerfully.
At the door stood four golden-armored stallions, a pair of unicorns and a pair of pegasi. The unicorns had coats of grey and manes of white, while the pegasi were a pure white with a two-toned blue mane and tail. Each one was wearing the same half-bored expression that may as well have been regulation when dealing with the public.
“Hello Spike,” one of the pegasi replied. “May we come in?” The dragon stepped aside without a word and closed the door. The guards looked around the library as though to make sure there was nopony else in there before they let out a collective sigh. “Finally,” one of them muttered.
“My jaw,” another moaned, rubbing at it with a hoof.
“Quit your whining,” one of the unicorns joked, nudging his complaining colleague in the ribs.
Twilight and Spike looked at each other, the guards, each other, then the guards again. “What’s going on?”
One of the pegasi cleared his throat. “Miss Sparkle, we are here to escort you to the site of the magical anomaly you reported to Princess Celestia earlier today,” he said in the authoritative monotone the Royal Guard was famous for. “It’s good to see you again, Miss Sparkle,” he added, a warm smile breaking through and his voice softening.
“I-it’s good to see you again too, Lieutenant Storm Surge,” Twilight replied uneasily. She hadn’t remembered any of the guards ever being this warm and friendly. In truth, she was a little scared.
The other pegasus guard seemed to pick up on this and stood next to his partner. “All that expressionless stuff is just an act we have to do. Around the Princesses, we’re pretty relaxed. As you’re Princess Celestia’s personal protege and an Element Bearer, we’ve decided to extend that honour to you.”
Twilight opened and closed her mouth repeatedly for a moment. “T-thank you,” she eventually stammered out. “I’m not sure what to say.”
“Don’t worry about it, ma’am,” one of the unicorns replied. “Just remember that in public you still have to treat us like guards instead of normal ponies.”
That statement raised a chorus of laughter from the Royal Guards, though it was quickly quelled. “Okay, everypony,” Lieutenant Storm Surge said authoritatively, “get in position, Standard Escort Formation. Arcane Light, you’re on left flank. Firebolt, you’re right. Nimbus Strike, you’ll be bringing up the rear.”
Within moments the guard ponies had taken their positions around Twilight, their military discipline and efficiency returning in full force. She looked ahead and cleared her throat. “Lead the way, lieutenant.”
The trek through the forest passed in relative peace. Lieutenant Storm Surge and the other guards passed the time by talking with Twilight Sparkle about how life had been before she had been sent to Ponyville. For the most part that involved gentle ribbing about her dangerously unhealthy study habits and lust for knowledge. In turn, Twilight made fun of the time she had outdone Arcane Light and Firebolt in a challenge when she had been 15.
They were brought to an abrupt halt when Storm Surge brought a hoof up. “Hold up,” he whispered. He sniffed the air. “You smell that?”
Firebolt was the first to answer. “Burning hair.” He turned to the mare they were escorting. “How far are we from the anomaly?”
Twilight closed her eyes and focused on how it had felt, like tearing fabric and warping metal, her horn illuminated in a muted purple glow. “About half an hour in that direction,” she replied, pointing a little to the left of the lieutenant.
“That’s the same direction the smell’s coming from,” Arcane Light muttered.
“Okay everypony, be on your guard. Miss Sparkle, if things look to be too dangerous, I want you to teleport back to Ponyville and ask the Princess for reinforcements. Ask for Princess Luna’s Night Watch, they have better combat training than the Solar Flare does. Is that clear?”
Twilight nodded nervously, worried by the tone Storm Surge had taken. He obviously expected trouble of some sort. Slowly the group approached the area, the two pegasi hovering to allow them to enter combat quicker if the need arose.
Their reactions upon seeing the corpse of the manticore were a mix of relief and worry. Manticores were notoriously hard to kill, and whatever had killed this one had done so with apparent ease. A quick investigation revealed multiple lacerations and stab wounds, deep gouges and second degree burns all over its face. Arcane Light was able to identify the cause of death: multiple entry wounds to the throat, severing the windpipe and major blood vessels. Its passing had been mercifully quick. “The body’s still warm,” Arcane muttered. “Whatever did this is still close.”
Twilight was not made of the same stuff the guards were. Her stomach rebelled at the sight of the corpse and, despite her best efforts, she couldn’t hold down her meal.
“It’s never easy,” Nimbus Strike said when she returned, wiping her mouth with a hoof.
“I could track whoever did this,” Arcane Light said, horn glowing.
“No,” Storm Surge replied. “We’re here to investigate the anomaly, not track down somepony with a grudge against the local manticores.”
“Sir, I think Arcane has the right idea,” Firebolt interjected. “Look at these.”
All five ponies leaned in to get a closer look. In the mud was a strange animal track, like nothing any of them had seen before. It was just over twice as long as it was wide and deep, indicating that whatever had left it was heavy. A quick investigation revealed another just like it, and a third that was similar but different. This one was pointed at one end making one wonder just what they had encountered.
Twilight looked at the strange print and focused on it, trying to find similarities. To her dismay it was just like the anomaly except on a smaller scale. “Lieutenant, whatever made these came from the anomaly. I think we should follow.”
“Okay then,” Storm Surge said forcefully. What was meant to be a simple walk had managed to turn into something very different and very dangerous very fast. “We’ll track this thing or things down. Nimbus, take to the air and see if you can locate them.”
The other pegasus took to the sky and was back in less than a minute. “I found them, sir,” Nimbus reported, slightly out of breath. “Three figures, all standing on two legs. Two appear to be armored, one in metal, the other in cloth. The third seems defenseless, but considering what was done to the manticore I doubt that. The armored ones appear to be armed, as well.”
“Okay then. We’ll approach them and try to determine why they’re here. Miss Sparkle,” he turned to the mare, “I am ordering you to return and call for reinforcements. If they prove hostile, I want to make sure that we can eliminate them as quickly as possible, lest Ponyville be put at risk.”
“But what if they’re not?” she replied, incredibly uneasy about the situation.
Storm Surge thought for a moment. “Try and see if you can get the Princesses themselves to assist. Tell them everything you must.”
Twilight Sparkle nodded. With a loud pop and a flash of purple light she disappeared.
Storm turned to the remaining ponies. “Arcane, Firebolt, you’re with me. Nimbus, see if you can’t make a cloud or two, try and catch them off guard.”
“Sir,” he replied with a salute as he took off. Storm Surge gulped loudly as he led the two unicorns towards the mysterious creatures, not knowing what he was getting himself into.
Author's Note:
Because you guys are so damn pushy! If it's not much good then I blame you all!
Next chapter, there will be much confusion.
Qa’Dar’s ears twitched. At first he dismissed it as the normal sounds this forest made. When the sounds refused to stop, he turned around, sure that his mind was simply playing tricks on him. What he saw in the distance, from where they had come, was proof to the contrary. “We have company,” he hissed at his friends.
Avik and Llevana exchanged glances. “More wildlife?”
“Could be,” the Khajiit replied. “I can’t tell yet.” He slowly drew a dagger as the Redguard hefted his ebony axe. The dark elf focused on her majicka, her hands filling with fire and lightning. The three stood ready to fight, sure they could take down whatever came at them.
Storm Surge raised a hoof, signalling for the two unicorns following him to stop. “I don’t know what these things are, so be prepared for the worst. Arcane Light, get ready to put up a barrier. Firebolt, if they attack hit them with everything you’ve got.” Both unicorns nodded, understanding their orders. “Worst comes to worst, Nimbus will show the reinforcements where to strike. Do Equestria proud, boys.”
“Here it comes,” Avik whispered.
“Don’t attack straight away,” Llevana hissed.
“Why not?” Qa’Dar asked.
“It could be harmless. Or killing it would only bring more. And we don’t have enough potions to keep us alive if we get swarmed.”
“Llevana’s right,” the Redguard replied. “I’d rather run from a battle we don’t need than get caught in one we could have avoided.”
“Wise words,” the Khajiit said, nodding. “Being around Llevana is rubbing off on you.”
Normally, Avik would have risen to words like that. He was far too preoccupied, though, with worrying about what was coming through the trees towards him and his friends. He thought he saw something metallic in the shadows, making him tighten his grip on his weapon.
Storm Surge caught a glimpse of his quarry, a gleam of metal, likely from a drawn weapon. “Get ready,” he whispered. He took a deep breath and stepped out into the open, keeping his head high to make it seem he was more confident that he actually was. Close behind him and to his left and right Arcane Light and Firebolt did the same, Arcane’s horn glowing in preparation.
Llevana had done many things in her rather short life. She had fought Draugr, taken down an Dwarven Centurion single-handedly, contracted Sanguinare Vampiris and explored more ruins than she could remember. None of this, absolutely none, could have prepared her for what she saw in front of her.
She had seen armored horses before. One didn’t move through the Empire without seeing a few soldiers on horseback. What was odd was that these ones were wearing helmets. What was even stranger was that two of them appeared to be unicorns, but not like the unicorns she had seen in Cyrodiil. They were not pure white, but grey. And they seemed smaller, closer in height to the miniature horses noble families bought for their daughters. And the one in the middle, the one she thought of as their leader... Wings? she wondered. How?
She almost collapsed from shock when the winged one spoke. “Halt,” it said in perfect Tamrielic.
“By the Divines,” Qa’Dar muttered. “I must have fallen on my head. Why else would I see a talking horse?”
The winged one cleared its throat. “State your business in Equestria.”
“That’s the name of this place?” Avik asked.
The horse thing raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know?” The other two shared what Llevana imagined to be curious glances. It felt strange giving such qualities to such animal-like beings. All three relaxed visibly, their confusion defeating their discipline. “Well, I am Lieutenant Storm Surge.”
“I am Llevana,” the dark elf replied, thinking how strange this entire situation was.
Storm Surge was unsure what to do: there was nothing in any of the manuals about what to do when encountering a new race, lest one that didn’t even know where they were. That all three spoke perfect Equestrian was even more unnerving.
All three looked vastly different, despite their similarities. The one with the axe had reddish-brown skin, what little could be seen under the bronze armor. The one with fire and lightning in its claws had red eyes, pointed ears and purplish skin that made her (the voice seemed to suggest it was a female) more intimidating than the armor the red-skinned one wore, despite the thin blue robes she wore. The last... the only way he could think of describing it was ‘cat-like’. It had a grey and black coat, it had a tail, it had gleaming yellow eyes and what suspiciously looked like actual claws. These differences led him to believe that he was dealing with three completely separate species, as opposed to sub-races like the ponies were divided into.
They seemed peaceful enough, though the way they handled their weapons with ease filled him with dread. He could tell he was dealing with experienced warriors, and that he and his colleagues stood little chance. The Royal Guard had seen little in the way of actual battle in decades, and all he had to fall back on was tactics that he was sure were useless against bipedal foes. Diamond Dogs, maybe, but Diamond Dogs were never this well armed.
Arcane Light leaned close to Storm Surge. “Sir, what are your orders?” he whispered.
After a moment the pegasus responded. “I ask that you sheathe your weapons. Failure to do so will be seen as an act of aggression and we will act accordingly.”
The armored red-skin chuckled. “I think we can fight against a bunch of talking horses.”
Storm Surge was taken aback at the sheer rudeness of that statement. It took a moment for him to regain his composure. “You may wish to take back those words, stranger.” As he flared his wings Firebolt’s horn began to glow a dangerous red. “As strangers to our land you are obviously unaware of what we are capable of.”
“Like what?”
Storm glanced up and saw that Nimbus had done exactly as he had asked. The pegasus sat atop a large black storm cloud, surveying the situation from above. Storm nodded and Nimbus pushed a hoof into the cloud, forcing from it a large crack of thunder and a bolt of lightning that struck not three feet behind the guard ponies. “Weather control,” Storm Surge said calmly as the three jumped backwards and looked in awe. “I’ll ask again. Sheathe your weapons.”
Llevana couldn’t believe what she had just seen. One of the horse things had created actual lightning! Not mage-sparks, but an honest-to-Kynareth lightning bolt!
She turned to Avik, who had lost his balance and dropped his axe in shock. “If you do anything to aggravate them, Avik, you are on your own,” she said menacingly.
“You heard the horse-thing, Redguard,” Qa’Dar muttered as he sheathed his dagger. “You should listen. I don’t want to see you fried.”
Avik simply sat on the ground and gaped. He had felt fear before. It was natural, with the amount of fighting he did, to be scared. Scared of injuries, scared of losing, scared of death. But this, this was something much worse, something he couldn’t describe. Some instinct, something that had been forced into dormancy had woken.
These horse-things, they were more terrifying that trolls, than Daedra, than even his own mother.
Storm Surge was dimly aware of Nimbus Strike descending and landing behind him. He was amazed at how easily the three strangers had been subdued. Shock and awe was always a good tactic, but even he had underestimated how effective it would be. Now that they seemed to be much more cooperative, and peaceful, he decided it was time to get out of the Everfree.
“If you wish, we shall lead you out of the forest and take you to our Princess.”
“Thank you,” the dark-skinned one known as Llevana said. “This place makes me uneasy.”
“A princess, you say?” the cat-thing asked. “We get to meet actual royalty?”
The red-skin slowly stood up and took a deep breath. “If you can promise us safety, then we will follow.”
Storm Surge saw that as a reasonable request. “We shall do what we can.” He turned to Nimbus. “Go ahead and inform the others of our guests. It shouldn’t take long for us to arrive.”
Nimbus took to the air, saluted, then vanished from sight as he flew at full speed towards Ponyville.
Storm turned to the others. “If you’d care to follow,” he said politely.
