Season Unending

by RealBarenziah

Chapter 9

The road led out of town, past the docks and into a lightly wooded area at the foot of the mountains. The path wound upward, growing ever steeper and harder under hoof.
"Julanza," Twilight said. "Shouldn't we figure out where exactly we're going first?"
"In a minute. Just follow me."
Twilight tried to protest, to say how important it was to have a plan, but Julanza wouldn't listen. She eventually gave up and followed him silently up the mountain path.

Their progress was slow, mostly because of Twilight. At the top of any particularly rocky or steep slope Julanza would have to wait for her. She was painfully slow at navigating the harsh terrain.
"I'm sorry, Julanza," She panted once after catching up. "Growing up in Equestria is not good training for this kind of hiking. Plus these new horseshoes-"
"Don't worry about it, Twilight Sparkle," he said. "We're almost there. A little further and we can rest."

They were deep in the mountain now. Walls of frosted stone surrounded the pair. They were protected from strong arctic winds, but there was still an icy breeze that did nothing to comfort Twilight or make her hooves feel any better. She absently wondered about how easy it would have been to get frostbite had her new armor plating not been padded on the inside with fabric.

The path suddenly cut straight into the mountain, delving into a narrow cave cut roughly into the stone. Ice covered the walls and dripped over the arch of the entrance like teeth. The light that made it into the cave turned blue in the gloom and made the walkway seem even colder. Julanza slipped through the narrow stone hallway without a second thought, but Twilight took a great deal longer. It was claustrophobic with the stone and ice pressing down on her from either side, and the ice daggers dangling precariously above her.

The going got even slower when the smooth path broke into uneven, broken steps and boulders. The walk became a climb and Twilight soon lost sight of her guide.
"Julanza!" she called, trying to pull herself over a large stone that blocked the path. Her voice echoed ominously in the cave.
"Shhh!" came a hiss. Julanza's head appeared above her. "Don't disturb the ice, Twilight Sparkle," he motioned to the icicles above them. "Come on, we're almost there."
"Julanza!" she hissed at him when he disappeared again.

She saw his shadow disappear to reveal a light beyond the rocks. Twilight pulled herself up and cleared the last few hurdles in two broad jumps. She still wasn't used to the added weight to her hooves and stumbled on the last boulder. She slipped and started to fall backward when Julanza's claw appeared and helped her through the opening of the cave.
The light was so bright compared to the gentle blue aura of the cave that Twilight was blinded for a moment. She squinted her eyes shut, collapsing on the ground to rest after her climb.

"Get up, Twilight Sparkle," Julanza said. "Look."
With a sigh, Twilight lifted her head and opened her eyes. A breeze tousled her hair, and the breath she had only just recovered left her again.

The land spread out endless and jagged. Mountains edged the vista, frozen peaks gleaming in the sun. The sunlight pooled in the valleys where white gave way to dull, frosted green and brown. A river snaked across the valleys and between the roots of the mountains like a great gleaming snake. The land was rugged and sharp, but it glowed beautifully beneath the midday sun that streamed through the largest, puffiest clouds that Twilight had ever seen. The mountains jutted up into the sky all around her, but to her right in the distance there was one mountain that rose much higher than the rest. It was so high, in fact, that clouds swallowed it up before it reached its peak.

She snapped her jaw shut, only now realizing it had been hanging open for a good few minutes. Julanza chuckled at her. She cleared her throat and took out her map, laying it against the view that stretched out before her.
"Where are we now?" She asked.
Julanza tapped a spot on the lowest point of the map. "Here," he said. "Just west of the White Pass. Razorpoint is just there."

Twilight marked Razorpoint on the map and marked where they currently stood. She scowled at the parchment. It was frustratingly sparse. The mountain ranges were sketched roughly, without much precision. Only a few settlements were given names. Everything else was given a tiny red 'x'. Twilight was suddenly at a loss as to where she should go first. She was very interested in Solitude, but it was in the northernmost tip of the map. There was also the other thing she came to find, but she had no clue where to even start looking.

"Well?" Julanza said. "Decided yet?"
"I don't know," Twilight admitted. "There's just so much, and there's hardly anything on this map."
"Let us focus then on what we can see," he motioned to the vista in front of them. He pointed to the valley that fell right in front of them. "This is known as Falkreath Hold," Twilight scribbled the area name on her map. "There used to be a settlement there, but it has long since been abandoned."
"That must be that little red mark here," she glanced back and forth between the land and the map, comparing them and gauging the scale as best she could.
"And that lake there, I believe it is called Lake Klinalth."
"The barmaid mentioned Winterhold. Where's that?"

"Here," Julanza jabbed his claw into a topmost corner of the map. Twilight assumed the little red mark was for Winterhold, so she labeled it so.
"We won't be getting there anytime soon," she grumbled. Sighing she glanced around the horizon again. Her attention caught again on the tallest mountain in the range. It was odd; it seemed so alone out in the distance. "What's that?" she asked, motioning towards it.
"Ah," Julanza chimed. "You've found the crown jewel of Skyrim's shining peaks. That, my dear friend, is the tallest peak in all the world, or so they say. We call it the Throat of the World."

"Throat of the-" Twilight's breath caught in her chest. "Throat of the World....Throat of the World," she mumbled. "Where have I-" she gasped slightly. "That-That poem!"
Julanza raised a scaly brow at her. "Poem?"
Twilight tapped her skull. "How did it go...High upon the Throat of the World, blazing breath and wings unfurled....that's why it was capitalized. It's a place! Of course!"
Julanza was thoroughly confused. "I'm not sure I-"
"There!" Twilight interrupted. "I want to go there!"

Julanza's eyes widened. "Where? The Throat of the World?"
"Yes!" Twilight's heart was pounding. That was the place. She was sure of it. That was where she would get her answers.
Julanza began, "I do not know if you understand how difficult-"
"Let's go!" Twilight trotted down the path eagerly. She forgot her abnormally heavy hooves and moved like she wasn't wearing horseshoes at all.
"Hey, wait!" Julanza scurried after her and was able to catch up before she found a ledge to fall off of. "Slow down," he said. "These paths can be treacherous, and we must pace ourselves."
The pair slowed to a calmer pace.

"Sorry," Twilight said with a sheepish grin. "I'm just excited. How long of journey is it to that mountain?"
Julanza glanced over the peaks and treetops that grew beneath the mountain path they walked on.
"It is a simple enough route," he said. "We must head east until we find a northward path that will lead us to Ivarstead. It is there that we must begin climbing the Seven Thousand Steps."
"Seven thousand steps?"
"Hundreds of years ago many pilgrims used to climb the steps to visit the temple near the peak. Few were ever granted an audience with the monks there and even fewer were ever allowed past the temple to the very top of mountain. But over the years the pilgrimages stopped and the monks disappeared."

Twilight had drawn out her journal and was recording everything Julanza was saying.
"You know a lot for a fisherman who's lived in Razorpoint for most of this life," she said.
"No one grows up in Skyrim without hearing stories about the Throat of the World. It was once one of the most sacred places to the Nords."
"And what about now?"
"Centuries have passed since that era. The temple is only rubble now."
"What did the monks worship?"
Julanza squinted as he thought. "Something about 'the way of the Voice.' I am not certain. In their hayday my people were scarce and hardly concerned with the customs and beliefs of the Nords. The Nine Divines, however, are known throughout Tamriel."

"'The Nine Divines?'" Twilight lifted her quill from the journal. The path they walked was descending below the treeline now, and branches above shaded the pair from the sun. "Are they divinities of some sort?"
"They are, but I don't know very much about them. I don't worship any of them. Do you worship?"
Twilight stopped writing. She hadn't expected the question, and she never really thought about it before. She looked ahead while she thought.

"Well, no, not really," she began. "Religion in Equestria is a strange thing. It isn't so much religion as it is fact."
"You're saying religion is not fact?"
"No, I'm not saying that at all! It's just that it's so widely excepted that it's not contested anymore. It's just part of our everyday life."
"What is it?"

"Our princesses, Celestia and Luna. They're sisters, and they're responsible for the raising of the sun and the moon at the turn of every day. They've lived for thousands of years and defended and lead Equestria with great wisdom. They're alicorns; ponies with both wings and horns, which means that they have more magical power than anypony I know. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are the closest thing we have to gods, but there's no need to worship them like that. Ponies used to, hundreds of years ago, but they don't ask that kind of thing of us. All they want is for us to be happy and to live in harmony. They want us to grow and learn from one another. With their guidance Equestria has enjoyed centuries of peace."

"It sounds like paradise," Julanza said with a small smile.
"I don't know about that. We have our fair share of problems, but it certainly is wonderful. I trust the princesses completely. Princess Celestia has guided me since I was small." Twilight frowned and her eyes fell to the forest floor. "Although...I disobeyed her by coming here."
"Oh? As a result some kind of punishment surely awaits you when you return?"
"No, I don't think so. Princess Celestia trusts me completely. She would never do something like that. It's just...I've never disobeyed her before."
"One who disobeys a ruler of Tamriel is always met with great consequence. This land of yours perplexes me with it's...it's..."
Twilight cocked an eyebrow at him. "Softness?"
"Well...I was going to say 'weakness'..."

Twilight shook her head. "Don't mistake our peaceful ways for weakness, Julanza. In dark times we've proven ourselves more than capable of defending ourselves. My friends and I have vanquished a great deal of evil in our land. And the princesses are not to be trifled with."
"Still, I wonder," Julanza said, his voice lowering in seriousness. "Are you capable of killing."
Twilight stared at him, surprised at the sudden change in tone.
He looked back at her and continued, "You have vanquished evil, but have you ever shed blood? Have you ever been alone, backed into a corner, your magic depleted, you and your enemy bloodied but still standing? With nothing but a dagger in your teeth, I wonder: would you do what it takes to survive? Would you bury that dagger in your enemy's throat? Or his belly? Could you?"

Twilight's pace slowed to a stop. Sunlight speared through the leafy canopy above and dissolved before reaching the forest floor. A leaf or two would drift downward occasionally, creating silent movement in an otherwise static scene. Whatever creatures lived in this forest were either hidden well or nowhere at all. Twilight could hear birds chirping in the distance, but nothing scuffling through the underbrush.

"Julanza," Twilight finally said. "You really think it'll come to that?"
"Skyrim is nothing like you've ever known, Twilight Sparkle," Julanza looked away and surveyed their surroundings. "This isn't a land of gems and rainbows. There is little peace here and trouble tends to creep up on you wherever you are. But you still haven't answered my question."
Twilight hesitated a moment, then asked, "Have you? Have you ever had to..."
"Once, a while ago. He was trying to rob me, and I had a dagger with me," He turned to looked at her. "Those who live here do what they must to survive. Can you?"

Twilight hesitated a moment longer. She looked around at the trees, as if they held the answer. Finally she said, "I've never had to take a life like that."
"Would you be able to, if you had to?"
Twilight looked back to Julanza and said quietly, "I don't know."
"Well," Julanza turned and started down the path again. "I suppose we will see."

Comments

[MrDenim]

"'The Nine Divines?'" Twilight lifted her quill from the journal. The path they walked was descending below the treeline now, and branches above shaded the pair from the sun. "Are they divinities of some sort?"

Considering that divine is the root word of divinities I can assume so.

Really nice chapter. There were a couple of paragraph spacing issues, but nothing too serious.

[earthrise]

2789408

I think he/she should use the word Deities there instead- it would make it flow better and make more sense.

[Blue Tunes]

This is fantastic, can't wait for the next chapter.

[gwojo]

Hrmmmm what would twi look like with dragon bone armor and weapon's.....................SQEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE so cute but deadly the perfect combo most deadly kind hehe "longing dreamy sigh(of doom)"?

[nukestar]

I'm slightly confused about this story, It sounds like this takes place significantly after the events of Skyrim in a timeline where Mehrunes Dagon pulled a dick move and sunk the entirety of Cyrodiil (and possibly several other provinces) to the bottom of the ocean

[RealBarenziah]

2789915 Ah, good catch.

[RealBarenziah]

2790589 I'm taking a lot of liberties here. Mashing MLP and ESO lore into one story causes some collateral damage. Some lore has to be made up and some sacrificed in favor of making a good story. I'm not well versed in the entirety of ESO lore anyway.

[Dickwaffle]

Squirt out another chapter already! My body is ready!

[RealBarenziah]

2847685 Sorry. The next chapter is gonna be a tad late. I've been kinda busy lately.