The last I saw of Raldbthar was the city shaking due to an unexplainable earthquake, and then everyone suddenly vanishing before me in a flash of red light. I was in the deep market at the time, patrolling the vast streets, keeping my eye out for thieves and brigands. The usual sounds of hissing steam, grinding machinery, the clanking of my armor, and the stomping of the animunculi were once again all I was hearing alongside the excited chatter of the crowds. That's when it started; the ground shaking beneath our feet, and the earth around us rumbling like a huge, vicious subterranean beast. I was the first among the guards to try to maintain order, shouting at the top of my lungs over the din of the earthquake and the panic to remain calm.
That's when the first person disappeared. A woman who was holding the hand of her young child. A flash of red, and she was gone, vanished into nothingness. I will never forget the gasp of shock from the crowd, and the cry of despair from her son. The boy followed her shortly after. That's when the disappearances began to happen en masse, and my fellow guards and I stepped back nervously, looking at each other, all of us silently asking "what is going on here?!" The screaming of the crowd quicly died as more people vanished, and that was when me and my comrades decided to flee, in some vain attempt to escape whatever menace was doing this. Alas, it was in vain. I felt a strange sensation of burning all over, and I clenched my teeth, trying to run faster, but then my vision was obscured by red, and I knew no more.
~~~~
My head hurt. My arms hurt. My legs hurt. Everything hurt. I struggled to move, but I found myself immobile, my body refusing to respond. I could still feel my arms, legs, fingers, and everything else, but I just couldn't move them. I laid in darkness and silence for a while; how long I do not know, for I couldn't think straight, and the darkness was so absolute that it was impossible to tell if it was night or day, or if night and day even existed in this place. Perhaps I was underground? Perhaps I was still in the city, but the power had gone out? No, that couldn't be...those people had clearly vanished into thin air.
I coughed, and tried to move my arm again. To my surprise, it moved. It felt heavy, sluggish, and painful, but I moved it. I kept taking deep breaths and trying to move, disciplining myself past the pain. It felt like and eternity, but I finally managed to move my arms to prop myself up. That was when I noticed light. It was a small beam of light that shone from directly behind me. Illuminated before my eyes was a wall of bronze. I panicked for a moment before the realization dawned on me; my helmet had somehow managed to turn backwards. I struggled to reach up to it while still keeping myself sitting up, but I managed to grab the helmet, and pull it off.
The sight that met my eyes was one I could scarcely believe. A forest. A bright forest, full of white trees. Green grass underneath me, and a blue sky above. I looked up, blinking due to the harsh sunlight, and beheld a glorious view of a distant mountain range. Its many peaks looked like the lower teeth of a vast creature, sharply pointing up into the sky. I then put my helmet back on, the right way this time, and I tried to stand. The first attempt ended with me falling back on my behind with a loud clang. I gritted my teeth in determination, and tried again, reaching out my gauntleted hand and grabbing a tree branch for support. I finally hauled myself up, and stood to my full height. My legs felt weak, but I kept them steady. I surveyed my surroundings. This world was oddly...bright. The various colours of nature stood out very brilliantly, contrasting with each other greatly.
I took a tentative step, still holding onto the tree. I was a little unsteady, but I managed to maintain my balance for the most part. I took another. Much better. Then another. I let go of the tree, and took a deep breath, stretching my shoulders and neck. I was more relaxed and more balanced, and so I started to walk. As I walked, I looked around some more. I spotted the shapes of dear and rabbits and other fauna moving about. So this place is inhabited...the question is, are there any beings of intelligence? I stopped, and surveyed the distance, hoping to find anything that might give a hint of civilization. I heard a yelp behind me. It sounded like a yelp, anyway. It had a very...equine-sounding quality to it, but something in me knew it wasn't a horse.
I quickly spun around, withdrawing my greatsword from its resting place over my back, and said "halt! I warn you, I'm armed!" I quickly lowered the weapon when I saw no one in front of me. I could have sworn I heard... then I heard a squeak. I looked down. That's where I beheld the strangest, and oddly...how do I say it...cutest, creature I'd ever seen. It was a bright yellow equid, its mane and tail pink. The image of three butterflies was present on its haunches. As well, a pair of wings were folded against its sides. It was tiny; it was huddled down now, but I suspected that when standing it wouldn't even reach my waist.
It spoke. It actually spoke. It said something that I couldn't understand. Its voice had a bit of a chirp to it, or maybe that was the language. Its voice sounded female, so I presumed it was. She looked up at me with large, wide eyes. They were very expressive, and full of fear, and...were those tears? I'd obviously scared the poor thing to death. I felt a pang of guilt, and I put my weapon back, and knelt. Even while I was down, she was still very small. I reached out my hand, and she recoiled. I sighed and brought it back. Hmm...perhaps she needed to smell me. I took off my right gauntlet, revealing the light ashen-grey skin of my hand. She fixed her eyes on my fingers, watching them intently as I moved them. I reached out again, and this time she set her nose against my palm. I felt her warm breath, and heard her sniff a few times. Then then turned to look at me.
I brought my hand back, and looked back at her. For a while we just sat in silence, contemplating one another. None of us moved. She slowly inched closer as time went on, and soon she was right up to me. I could smell her breath, which was actually rather sweet. She slowly reached up a yellow hoof, and touched my helmet. Then she sat back on her haunches, and put both hooves to the side of her head, and lifted them away, miming the removal of headgear. She obviously wanted me to take my helmet off. I reached up to my helmet, and removed it as she'd requested. Now she could see me. My chiseled jawline and strong features, my copper-coloured eyes, my long black hair, complete with a patch of it on my chin, and my pointed, sensitive ears. Her eyes widened, and she spoke some more.
"I don't know what you're saying" I said, "I'm sorry, I can't understand you."
She put on an expression that looked strongly like puzzlement, but it then fell to disappointment. I offered my hand again, and she put her cheek to it. I tentatively started to pet her. A smile began to show on her muzzle, and she actually nuzzled my hand. I sat down, and moved back a little, putting my back against a tree. She came closer, and sat down on her haunches again, settling against my armour. I stroked her soft mane for a while, watching the clouds move across the sky. I felt...at peace. It was a strange way to feel after just being torn away from my home and everything I'd ever known, but this land was beautiful, and this little creature quite friendly. It was certainly better than any place I could have ended up. At least I was out of harm's way as far as I could tell, and had positive contact with one of the denizens.
I heard a tapping on my chest, and I looked down. She stopped tapping my cuirass when I gave her my attention, and she pointed a hoof some ways away into the distance. I looked where she was pointing, and beheld the shapes of buildings that obviously made up a village of some sort. She tapped my armour again, and stood up. She took my hand in her little hooves and tugged a bit, pointing to the village again. I smiled a bit, getting the message, and I stood up, replacing my gauntlet and my helmet. I looked down at her, and she turned and started to the village at a trot. She was even smaller than I'd thought; her withers came up to maybe my mid-thigh. I followed, able to keep up due to my longer legs. A thousand questions ran through my mind; will they be as friendly as her? Will they attack me? Will they think I'm a monster? How will we communicate? My heart sank a little at the thought of a tragic misunderstanding, but I quickly steeled myself. I am a Dwemer. We are adventurers, we go where no one has gone before! We seek the unkown, and we overcome all barriers!
I let this mantra boost my confidence as I followed the little winged yellow equid into her village, and into whatever new adventures that awaited me.
A/N: OK, done with the intro. Feedback welcome! Just to clear things up, this is an Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and a My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic crossover. It's not a crossover from the ACTUAL game, since that takes place a few thousand years after the disappearance of the Dwemer, but he was from Skyrim, since his home city of Raldbthar is in Skyrim. Also, I want to clear this up; the Dwemer may have been called 'Dwarves', but they were actually very tall people. Males stood at about 7', and females at 6'. Mzarec is about 7'2, so just a little taller than average. As well, there is clearly a language barrier for realism. Mzarec speaks Dwemeris, and Fluttershy speaks Equestrian (which could be basically English or some other alien tongue, whichever works for you.)
