During the Invasion of Canterlot, Chrysalys uses an ancient changeling ritual to cast Celestia from reality itself. She ends up in another world entirely, and her adventures within it bring not only questions, but answers as well.
Celestia had underestimated the power of Queen Chrysalis, and was brought down because of it. The queen however, wasn't stopping at merely bringing the alicorn down. Using an ancient ritual meant to amplify the changeling portal spell, Chrysalis literally casts Celestia out of the world of Equestria, and into the endless expanse of realities and dimensions. The solar princess soon lands into an entirely new world, one that is not governed by order and harmony like her own. Upon teaming up with a warrior of this strange new world, Celestia seeks a way to return to Equestria, and back to her sister and beloved ponies.
However, during her adventures with this warrior, answers to some of her deepest questions are discovered. Why was she born an alicorn instead of ascending to one? Why was her power so much greater than that of normal alicorns? These questions will finally have their answers alongside the greatest answer of them all, her ancestry.
An MLP/Skyrim crossover that for the first time features Celestia in Tamriel. I've seen plenty of fics where one of the mane six get thrown into Skyrim, but never have I seen one where it's Celestia. Anyways, I hope I do well with this story, and no, Celestia is not the Dragonborn in this fic.
Edit: 12/19/16 How the heck did this just get featured!?
Celestia was not happy. Today was the wedding of her niece, Cadence, with the captain of the royal guard, Shining Armour. The wedding had been going perfectly, until her faithful student Twilight Sparkle burst in and halted it, declaring the bride a fake. Twilight had been going on like this since the preparations and rehearsal, and Celestia was deeply disappointed in her student's actions and words regarding Cadence. That is however, until another Cadence appeared through the doorway, much to everypony's shock. The Cadence on the alter then revealed herself to be a changeling, the queen of them to be precise. queen Chrysalis then admitted to her plan of hosting an invasion on Canterlot, then Equestria, to enslave Celestia's subjects and use their love for food. Well Celestia was not going to stand by and let it happen. Confronting Chrysalis, the two locked horns, initiating a one on one duel. Celestia took to the air, while Chrysalis remained on the ground, both firing beams of concentrated magic, aimed at the opponent's horn as to disable further magic use. The two attacks collided, and it began to look as if Celestia would win, only for Chrysalis to turn the situation completely around and successfully overpower the alicorn and strike her horn, bringing down Celestia, this is where we find ourselves now.
"Hahahaha, Shining Armour's love has made me more powerful than ever before." Boasted the changeling queen in her distorted voice. Twilight immediately rushed to her teacher's side, trying to help the downed alicorn.
"Go, Twilight. Gather your friends. You must retrieve the Elements." Celestia ordered the unicorn, who nodded and rushed out the door with the other element bearers. Once again Chrysalis let out a cruel laugh.
"Oh they can try, but they'll never make it. My minions will see to that. Anyway, I'm not done with you yet, oh mighty solar princess."
"What do you mean?" Celestia ground out as she tried to get up off the floor, only for a bright green magical blast to smash into her side, slamming her against a wall.
"What I mean is, merely restraining you may not be enough. I need a more... permanent means of removing you."
"You wouldn't dare kill me." Celestia snarled as she attempted to rise to her hooves despite the pain she was in. "If you do, you would-"
"Yes yes, throw Equestria into complete jeopardy due to having no control of the sun." Chrysalis interrupted, rolling her eyes in exasperation. "Do you honestly think I'd do something so stupid. If I were to kill you now, the sun would go out of control and burn the world before we could reign it back in. I was thinking of something else, something you did once in a similar situation."
"What situation would that be? I've never initiated invasion, nor caused war of any kind."
"Perhaps not, but I wasn't talking about those kinds of situations. I was referring to your little sister's temper tantrum over going unloved. Sibling bond aside, you couldn't kill her due to causing the moon to go completely unstable, so you did the next best thing."
"So, you're planning to banish me?" Said Celestia as she managed to stand. "And how, pray tell, do you plan to achieve that? I control a celestial body, the power you would require to contain me would be more than you could possibly conjure." Chrysalis laughed at this.
"Well, princess, all that power of yours certainly didn't stop me from laying you down in one blow." She retorted mockingly, then struck Celestia with another blast of magic, sending the solar princess sprawling to the ground. With another mocking laugh, Chrysalis strode over to the battered alicorn. "Ah, right where you should be Celestia, groveling at my hooves." Chrysalis laughed out, then to further insult the downed princess, she shape shifted into the alicorn. "Besides, you're right. Banishing you to the sun would require imprisoning you with locks and seals much too potent for me to even begin to achieve, and banishing you out of the country would do nothing. However, who said anything about imprisoning you, hmm?"
"What do you plan to do then?" Celestia growled out, causing Chrysalis to laugh in a tone of cruelty, which was unsettling to hear considering who she had changed into. Chrysalis then disengaged her transformation, emerald flames wreathing her and burning away the disguise.
"Well, since you asked so nicely I suppose I can tell you. I'm not banishing you from Equestria, I'm banishing you from Equus outright." At this, Celestia was confused.
"What do you mean?" She asked the changeling queen, who snickered.
"What I mean is I'm going to throw you out of reality itself. You won't be dead, so the sun will remain stable. As for moving it, well, unicorns did it before you took over the job Celestia, so it won't be much of a stretch to say we changelings can figure it out."
"Throw me out of reality? What you claim is impossible, changeling. Not even the greatest minds of Equestria could figure out how to do such a thing." Chrysalis' grin grew ever so slightly at this.
"Well then, I just have to prove you wrong." She said, then turned to several of her changeling drones. "Prepare the array." She commanded, and the drones leaped to work, using their magic to begin creating an array of runes.
"I won't let you!" Screamed Cadence, who had been forgotten for the moment, and she rushed to stop the changelings from completing the runic array.
"Restrain her." Commanded Chrysalis in a bored tone, and using her magic, grabbed Cadence and flung her against the wall. Three drones then bound her to the wall with a green resin. "Now now Cadenza, wait your turn. After Luna has been dealt with, I'll then deal with you." She said. A drone then flew before the queen, bowing in respect.
"Your majesty, the array is ready." It buzzed out, causing Chrysalis to grin darkly.
"Marvelous. Move Celestia into the array." Bowing once more, the drone rounded up his companions and together, lifted a weakly thrashing Celestia and placed her in the center of the array. Chrysalis' grin got wider, and her horn ignited with bright green magic. "Now Celestia, let me explain what will happen. The array you are in amplifies whatever spell I cast into it tremendously. I'm going to cast a powerful portal spell, which normally warps beings that pass through across long distances. The array however, will allow me to open a portal into dimension itself, and I'll cast you within." Soon, Chrysalis' horn was completely charged with potent magic, and with but a thought, she released the built up power into the array. The runes began to glow, and a ring of viridian fire surrounded the outside of the array. Soon, the glowing runes twisted and converged into the center, opening what could only be described as a black hole. Soon, golden energy began to expel from the ivory alicorn and be sucked into the gaping void of the portal, and the flames rimming the circle closed in.
"I swear to you Chrysalis, I will return. I don't care how long it takes or what I must do, I'll be back. And when I get back, there will be tartarus to pay. You may have won this day, but I will be back. So make no mistake, enjoy the time you have, for when I return, the dawn of that day will break in flames!" With that, the flames covered Celestia and dragged her down into the black abyss of the portal. Once it was accomplished, the fire vanished, leaving nothing behind.
"Hahahaha, goodbye to you as well Celestia, and I can assure you, we will never meet again." Said Chrysalis. Just then the doors were opened, and the six element bearers were brought into the room, captive to the changelings, and without the Elements of Harmony. Cadence could only look away; they had lost.
A void of infinite darkness, that was the only way Celestia could describe wherever she was. Throughout this void were pinpricks of light, like the stars of the night sky. Celestia had no means of movement, all she could do was drift uncontrolled through the vast expanse of darkness. As she moved, she realized that the pinpricks of light were actually large spheres up close, though every time she came near one, an invisible force would push her away, setting her adrift into a new direction entirely. The time that passed could have been seconds or eons, Celestia had no idea, when suddenly she was being pulled towards an orb instead of being repulsed by it. Faster and faster she moved, until she was rocketing straight towards the target orb. Having no idea what to expect, Celestia braced herself, and was swallowed into the orb with no resistance. In what could have been an instant or an age, the blinding light retreated, and Celestia slammed into the ground hard. The sudden sensation of pain from the impact and the freezing temperature of the snow she had landed in nearly drove her unconscious, and she slid across the snowy ground, coming to a rest at the lip of a ledge that her head hung over, allowing her to see that it was a very long way to the bottom. She then heard voices, though she was unable to make out anything, and soon she was struck by extreme exhaustion, that compounded with her pain began to drive her into dark unconsciousness. the last thing she felt before the darkness overtook her, was the feeling of something strange and warm touching her.
The sun was slowly retreating below the horizon, it's rays painting the land below a myriad of reds, oranges, and violets. Upon the highest peak of the world stood the warrior known to the people below as the Dragonborn. Clad in armour designed by the greatest smiths of tamriel, the Orcs, the warrior was a dark imposing figure in the twilight. Strapped on his back was a wicked looking two handed battle axe, crafted from the same metal as his armour, fine orichalcum. If one looked closely, the weapons and armour appeared to be faintly glowing with an inner light, signifying the items to be enchanted. Though the warrior's helm obscured their face, the eyes were still visible. They were the colour of honey, a brilliant golden brown, and seemed to glow with an inner fire. Standing atop the highest mountain in Skyrim, with a blizzard howling around them, one would think the warrior would be freezing, but the warrior did not even so much as twitch. The blood of their ancestors flowed through them, and their people had made this land their home for millennia, the cold was nothing to them. The Dragonborn currently stood before the master of they Greybeard monks, a being whom had taught mortals the Thu'um, whom had helped overthrow the tyranny of the world eater himself, the ancient dragon Parthuurnax. The ancient dragon had asked the warrior a deep question, why did they wish to fight Alduin? The Dragonborn had answered to this that they liked their world the way it was and would fight to stop it's destruction. Even if it was destined for destruction they would fight tooth and nail to change that destiny. Parthuurnax was satisfied by the answer, and soon the Dragonborn asked for the shout that could defeat Alduin. Unfortunately the ancient dragon could help little with that, for only mortals could learn and use the shout. However, Parthuurnax told the Dragonborn of Alduin's first defeat, that the nords of old used the power of an elder scroll to banish Alduin into the currents of time itself, and by doing so shattered time in the area of effect.
"If you could bring back the kel that was used to banish Alduin, it would resonate with the time-wound and allow you to 'look back' to it's origin."
"Do you know where this scroll is?" The Dragonborn asked.
"Krosis, I do not. Much of my time has been here. I am, such to say, ignorant, of the world below." Answered Parthuurnax, causing the Dragonborn to curse. So much for things being easy. "However, perhaps Arengir may know." Finished the dragon.
"Very well. I shall defer to Arengir. Thank you, Parthuurnax." Said the Dragonborn, when suddenly the time wound began to pulse and ripple, catching the undivided attention of the two. It came as a huge shock to both of them when something flew out of the rip in time and smashed against the ground, sliding across the snow and coming to rest at the lip of the summit. "By the nine, What was that!" Exclaimed the Dragonborn, Rushing over to the strange creature, and placing a bare hand on it to check for signs of life. The Dragonborn let out a breath of relief when they felt the thing breathing, but it was something they had never before seen. Pulling the creature away from the ledge, the Dragonborn examined the odd animal. It looked very much like a horse, only it was much smaller than any found in Skyrim, smaller than any horse used in Cyrodil as well. It's coat was an ivory white, and it's mane was strangely a bright pink. The biggest things though, were the pair of wings furled at it's sides, and the long conical horn jutting from it's head.
"Tiin hakvith akroth!" Exclaimed Parthuurnax when he saw the creature. "How in mundus did a Kuhnviid get here?"
"A Kuhnviid?" Asked the Dragonborn in confusion, having never heard of such a creature before.
"Just as we Dovah are the children of Akatosh, Dovahkiin, the Kuhnviid are the children of Kynareth." Explained Parthuurnax, causing the Dragonborn's eyes to widen. "Krazah ahk marr, this makes no sense. How could a Kuhnviid appear in Tamriel, through the time wound of all things." Then Parthuurnax noticed something. "And I know for a fact that no Kuhnviid have any sort of mark depicted on their flanks." The Dragonborn looked to the Kuhnviid's flank, and saw a depiction of the sun.
"What should we do then?" The Dragonborn asked.
"Take her down to the Greybeards. When the Kuhnviid awakens, shout for me, and I shall come. I will speak to her, and hopefully shed some light upon this strange occurrence." With that, Parthuurnax took to the air and descended the mountain to hunt. Sighing, the Dragonborn got to work, and lifted the Kuhnviid off the ground. While she was lighter than any horse had any right of being, she was still quite heavy.
"Oh, curse that dragon's gnarled hide, you could have stuck around to help first you old coot!" The Dragonborn hollered to the winds, and began the long painful trudge down to the monastery.
The first thing Celestia acknowledged as consciousness returned to her prone form was pain. She ached all over, in places she didn't know she even had. The second thing she noticed was her severe magical depletion. never in her long life had she ever been so drained, not against Discord, Sombra, or even her sister. Never before had she been so magically exhausted, as physical exhaustion would always take hold long before magical exhaustion even begun to approach. The last thing she noticed was the fact she was lying on hard stone, though a blanket had been draped over her. Cracking open a lilac eye, she began to take in her surroundings, the light level being low enough not to bring pain to her eye. looking around, she appeared to be within some sort of fortress. The place she was in was extremely spartan, having practically nothing in it. It was also quite large as well, and many symbols and designs of unknown meaning were etched into the walls and pillars of the fortress, giving the place a distinctly spiritual feel. The one thing that unnerved Celestia the greatest however, was the vast silence that literally oozed throughout the place. The howling wind outside was barely audible, like the silence was devouring the sound. her roaming eye then caught something that took her by extreme surprise. She was not alone in this place, for something was before her a little ways away. She had no idea what it was, for its body was concealed by a voluminous grey robe with a hood. by what she could make of it, it vaguely resembled a minotaur, but was much too slender. It appeared to be in some sort of crouch, and was facing away from her. Just then, there was the bang of a heavy door swinging open, startling her into a sitting position. The sound also caught the attention of the being in front of her. Footsteps echoed throughout the chamber, and although they were quiet, the silence pervading the place seemed to make them as loud as a rockslide. Another one of the strange robed beings walked into the chamber, causing the first being to rise and face it. the second being then noticed her.
"Ah, she's awake, good. Master Borri, fetch the Dragonborn, he'll want to know of this." With a bow, Borri left to do as bidden. The remaining being turned to face the nervous alicorn. "Can you speak, Kuhnviid?" Asked the being. Celestia blinked at the name the being had called her, but answered nonetheless.
"Yes, I can. What are you, and where am I?" She asked. the being seemed to frown in confusion at that.
"Surely a Kuhnviid would know what a common man is. As for where you are, you are in High Hrothgar, our monastery built upon the Throat of the World." Just then, the doors to the monastery opened once more, and the two were soon joined by the previous man Borri, and a third one that made Celestia wary. the newcomer was quite tall, standing taller than herself, her horn just reaching its shoulders. It was clad in thick jagged plate armour, with a helm that fully covered it's face, leaving only the eyes exposed. Between the eyes was a piece of metal that created a crest of sorts. strapped to it's back was the most wicked looking axe Celestia had ever laid witness to. It looked like a crudely fashioned mess, yet at the same time held a deadly elegance. Strapped to the newcomers waist were several packs, a small satchel, and two smaller axes. The thing that frightened Celestia the most about this creature was the power she could feel radiating from it. It was powerful enough to take her on at her peak, and have a solid chance of coming out on top.
"So," it- no, he, the voice was undoubtedly male- spoke. "the Kuhnviid is finally awake."
"Why do you keep calling me Kuhnviid?" Celestia asked, catching the newcomer by surprise.
"Because I have no idea what you're called in the common tongue and everyone else here mostly speaks Dovah." Was his reply. "Now, do you have a name?"
"I am princess Celestia, ruler of the sun in the land of Equestria. Though I suppose that means little here, seeing as I'm no longer within my world."
"My name is Tibus," Said the armoured man, who then gestured to the robed man to his left, the one she had been talking to previously. "This is master Arngeir, of the Greybeards. Now then, If you can walk, Celestia, come with me. Parthuurnax wishes to speak to you." Finding that she did have the strength to walk, despite a slight hobble in her steps due to her overall soreness, the group left the monastery and entered the courtyard outside. Once they reached the center, Tibus inhaled, then let loose a thundering bellow.
"Par Thuur Nax!" He roared, a concussive blast of power erupting with his voice. At first their was silence, then a roar tore through the calm. Celestia looked to the source, only to see what was undoubtedly a dragon, but unlike one she had ever seen before. It was much smaller than any other adult dragon she'd seen in Equestria, though that didn't make it any less dangerous as it was much faster than an Equestrian dragon. She also noticed it was structured a bit different than the dragons of her home. The dragon's wings were not separate limbs but were rather the forelimbs. Soon the dragon alighted upon the ground with a thud, facing the group.
"Drem yol lok, Dovahkiin." Greeted Parthuurnax, then turned his gaze to Celestia. "Alokah ahst laat, so you've awakened Kuhnviid.Tell us, how did you come here?" Deciding that withholding the information would not benefit her, Celestia told the group what had happened. Half an hour later, she had told them everything.
"So let me get this straight." Said Tibus. "You come from a different reality altogether? Is that possible Parthuurnax?" Said dragon hummed in thought.
"It is, with the proper Miiraak, portal. From the Kuhnviid's tale, we can assume her foe threw her into a space between worlds, and she managed to enter ours through the Tiid Ahraan, the time wound." The dragon then gazed at Celestia more intensely. "However, why is it that I feel the spark of Mundus within her? Why does the magic of Taazokaan, of Tamriel, resonate with her, faint as it is. Why does she feel like a being of our world, despite coming from another? So many questions, so few answers."
"Could she have been lying?" Tibus asked, causing Celestia to level a glare at him.
"Nok? No, the Kuhnviid speaks truth, which is why this is so confusing."
"Forgive my interruption," Said Celestia, garnering the attention of the two. "but is it possible to send me back?" Parthuurnax thought hard of a way, but none came to mind.
"Unslaad krosis, I cannot think of any way to do it." He replied.
"She came through the time wound, Parthuurnax, could she return through it as well?" Asked Tibus.
"Niin, no she cannot, Dovahkiin. How to explain in your tongue, she would be... cast adrift in the sea of space. Without a way to breach through her world's barrier, she will be unable to return to it. It was only because of her apparent connection to Mundus and the tiid ahraan that she was able to enter our world."
"So, I'm stuck here?" Asked Celestia, her voice trembling from the pain and fear of the information.
"Unslaad Krosis Kuhnviid." Was all Parthuurnax could say, then a thought struck him. "Although, there might be a way. Dangerous, but possible." At this, Celestia perked up.
"What is it? Please, any chance, no matter the danger, I'll take." She pleaded.
"The Kel. With the combined power of a Kel and a Thu'um, it just might be possible."
"Parthuurnax, how could an elder scroll help us with this, am I to read it so as to gain the knowledge of the words required?" Asked Tibus in confusion.
"Niin, Dovahkiin. We will use the power of the Kel itself. The ancient joore did this to cast out Alduin, we will be doing something similar."
"Alright then. Celestia will stay here then while I hunt down that scroll."
"Actually Dragonborn," Interjected Arngeir, who had been silent til then, "Celestia would need to come with you. We don't have the supplies to keep her here, and I have a feeling that she may be of use to you in your adventures."
"Absolutely not." Answered Tibus. "You've lived in this monastery for a long time Arngeir so I'll forgive your ignorance of Skyrim's many dangers, but I can't protect her from all of them and I'm unsure if she can protect herself. I don't have the time to keep a constant watch on her." Celestia snorted at this.
"I'm not a foal. I can take care of myself just fine." She said, annoyance in her tone.
"Oh really. Tell me then Celestia, could you bring down a massive cat as big as yourself that would try to make a meal of you? Could you combat a massive spider who's venom can freeze you like a winter night? Can you fend off a dragon like Parthuurnax, only much less civil? If you can do these things Celestia, and prove you can do them, I'll bring you along." With a snort, Celestia decided to prove herself. Parthuurnax had said she had a connection to Tamriel's magic, so she could use that. Squaring her shoulders, Celestia attempted to channel magic into her horn, and nothing happened. Again and again she tried, but nothing came of it. Upon seeing that Celestia could do nothing, Tibus shook his head. "I thought not. I'm sorry master Arngeir, she can't come with me."
"It still doesn't change the fact that we don't have the resources necessary to keep her here Dragonborn." Answered the greybeard.
"By the nine, fine. But only to Whiterun, she can stay at Breezehome until we can send her back." With that, Tibus headed back into the monastery, and with a final goodbye, Parthuurnax flew back up to the summit of the mountain. With a heavy sigh, Celestia was about to head inside as well, but Arngeir stopped her.
"Celestia, a moment of your time please?" He asked, and Celestia nodded, and Arngeir began. "I understand that you must be going through much, being cast out of your world and such. The Greybeards have devoted ourselves to the study of the Way of the Voice, thus we worship Kynareth, the mother of all Kuhnviid, though I see you would prefer to be called alicorn instead. High Hrothgar is always open to you Celestia, should you ever need it or us. It is our honor to assist a child of Kynareth. Sky guard you." Nodding, Celestia headed back into the monastery. Catching up with Tibus, the two made their way out of High Hrothgar, and to the summit of the seven thousand steps.
"Ready to go?" Asked Tibus, his voice carrying a faint note of irritation.
"Yes." Was all Celestia said, and together, the two began their descent.
The descent down the seven thousand steps of the throat of the world was, to Celestia, the most exhausting thing she had done in a long time. Being a princess was not exactly the most active lifestyle, and without magic, she could not teleport or fly to save on energy. She had thus been resigned to walk down the mountain behind Tibus, a blizzard howling around them. Celestia was completely unused to the freezing temperatures, the coldest winters of Equestria could not compare to this soul chilling blizzard, yet to her complete amazement, Tibus wasn't the slightest bit affected or uncomfortable.
"H-how are you s-s-stand-d-ding this c-cold?" She stuttered out, her form wracked over by shivers.
"Because I'm a nord. I'm built for the cold." Was the gruff reply.
"I th-thought you were a man. W-what's a n-nord, then?" At this Tibus couldn't help but laugh.
"A nord is a man, Celestia, just a different breed of man. There are four different kinds of men, or humans as my kind are better known; Breton, Nord, Redguard, and Imperial." Tibus then went on to explain the differences of each race of man, Celestia paying rapt attention so as to gain information about the world she was in, and to keep her mind off the freezing cold. Soon after Tibus had finished his explanation, the two left the blizzard and were now much closer to the base of the mountain. Silence reigned between the two as they wound their way down the mountain. Occasionally, Celestia would try to start a conversation, but Tibus would just either ignore her, or respond to her questions with grunts. Eventually Celestia gave up, and the two at last reached the base of the mountain. Tibus then led Celestia to a small secluded spot on the shores of lake Geir.
"Alrght Celestia, stay here until I get back. I'm going into Ivarstead there to figure out which road is the safer to take." He said.
"And why can't I come with you?" She asked.
"Three reasons. One, we'll draw a lot less unwanted attention. Two, everyone here has never seen an alicorn before, so they'll probably expect you to be like a domestic horse. And three, people are high strung enough by the return of the dragons, adding you to the mix might make people lash out." At this Celestia could only sigh. Tibus had made some good points that she really couldn't argue against. With a final sigh of resignation, Celestia laid down on the ground.
"Fine, but please don't be long." Nodding, Tibus walked into town, leaving Celestia to herself. While she waited, she once again tried using her magic. Over and over she pulled for it, but nothing happened. Closing her eyes, she entered a meditative state to feel her magic reserves, only to find herself completely devoid of magic, nor could she feel herself recharging. Opening her eyes, she glanced at her mane, What was once an illustrious flowing mane, was now just a light pink mess, making her wish she had a brush to at least straighten herself out. Getting onto her hooves, she walked over to the lake's edge, and stared down at her reflection, a tired and frightened alicorn staring back. She was broken out of her silent gazing by the sound of heavy footfalls, and upon turning her gaze to the source, saw it was Tibus.
I had a word with the innkeeper, and he said that the south road was our best bet." Nodding, Celestia once again followed behind Tibus, as the two made their way down the south road.
"How long until we reach this Whiterun place?" Asked Celestia.
"At the pace we're going, I'd say tomorrow afternoon." That was not what Celestia had been hoping to hear. The two made their way down the road, the rugged mountain slopes soon being covered by a kind of tree Celestia had never seen before. Instead of leaves, this tree had thousands of green needles upon it's branches. The tree was also conical, instead of flaring out at the top like the trees she was familiar with. Tibus effortlessly made his way through the strange forest, Celestia following behind him tiredly, as the lighting began to darken. Soon, Tibus stopped, much to Celestia's confusion.
"Why have we stopped?" She asked.
"It's getting late and you're exhausted. We need to set up camp." With that, Tibus hunted down a place to set up camp, Celestia doing what she could to help. A little while later, she spotted something.
"Tibus, there's a small clearing over there. Would that suffice?" She asked, indicating the aforementioned clearing with a hoof. Tibus walked into it, and began to inspect the area, Celestia watched as he crouched down to the ground every so often to inspect the ground, the action bringing much confusion to the alicorn. Finally, Tibus nodded to himself and began to set up camp. The nord soon had a fire going, and two bedrolls spread out. once that was done, he set up a cooking spit, hanging a cast iron pot over the fire. Tibus then pulled off one of his packs, and opened it, a cloud of chill air billowing out as he did so. Celestia laid herself down on one of the bedrolls, and watched as Tibus reached into the bag. She was absolutely shocked when Tibus was able to fit his whole arm inside the seemingly small bag. Tibus then began pulling out foodstuffs from the pack, and began to cook a stew. As it cooked, Tibus once again reached into his pack, and pulled out, to Celestia's shock and mild revulsion, a large chunk of meat, which he impaled on the spit. The two sat in silence as the food cooked, Celestia once again trying to channel magic, and Tibus inspecting the contents of his food pack. Soon, Tibus' rummaging became more urgent, and after a while, let out a huff of exasperation and closed the pack.
"Well that's the last of my meat on the fire. Celestia, wait here, I'll be back in time for the food to be ready." With that, Tibus got up and walked into the forest, leaving Celestia to herself. Looking around, the forest had become cloaked in complete shadow, while the sky above burned orange with the setting sun, a sun not under her control. That was another thing about this place that frightened her, nothing about this world was under anyone's control. It was like a giant, worldwide Everfree Forest. The weather did as it pleased, the plants and animals all cared for themselves, and the sun, and obviously the moon as well, moved upon their own volition. Soon the burnt orange color of the sky began to give way to violet as night drew ever closer, and Celestia's forlorn sky gazing was interrupted as she heard the bushes heavily rustling. just as the panic started to urn her blood ice cold, Tibus emerged from the bush, having been the source of the rustling. Celestia was happy to see him, but that soon turned to horror when she saw the large deer slung across his shoulder, an arrow stuck through it's eye. Tibus set the carcass down, and tended to the now cooked meat and soup. Producing a wooden bowl and plate from another of his packs, he ladled the bowl full of soup to Celestia.
"Don't I get a spoon?" She asked.
"Can you even hold one?" He replied. Celestia tried to grip a stone to prove she could, but that simple act failed as no matter how hard she tried, the stone would not adhere to her hoof.
"No." She answered resignedly, and Tibus left her with her soup, and served himself the cooked meat. Celestia was forced to eat her soup like an animal, lapping it up out of the bowl, and while it was filling, and Tibus gave her as much as she desired, it was quite bland compared to the food she was used to. When she had finally eaten her fill of the soup, Tibus took the pot off the cooking spit, and set it on the ground near the fire. When that was done, he began skinning and cleaning the dead deer, much to Celestia's disgust. She didn't say anything though, as she had worked with griffons in the past, and they as well ate meat. Seeing an animal getting butchered though, was a completely new experience, one that was making her stomach churn.. Much to her relief though, Tibus was quick with his task, and soon the butchered meat was stored in his cold pack, and the hide and bones were set aside. Soon the two were lying atop their bedrolls, something Celestia found did little better than the bare ground. looking up one last time at the night sky, Celestia could not stop the tears from flowing as the reality of the situation she was in crashed into her, as she beheld the two moons in the sky. Hearing Tibus' snoring, she allowed herself to fully release her pent up emotions, and cried herself to sleep.