//------------------------------// // Chapter 11: Realm of Terror, and Unexpected Encounters // Story: Skyrim: tales of the Equestrian hero // by spawnzillafinalwars //------------------------------// Nothing could have prepared the princesses for what they saw. the area before them could only be described by only one word: horrifying. they saw a land that is constantly shifting, from a cold, fog-choked forest in the night, to a fiery wasteland, with desecrated buildings and lava flowing through them. each environment had various creatures roaming about, starting with simple beasts, to demonic beings so terrifying that none of them would ever be able to conceive, until now. but the one element of this nightmarish realm that remained constant, and the worst thing of it all, were the screams. the stood in abject fear as they heard the screams and wails of the tortured souls in this realm, all of them crying out in pain and fear, hoping that someone would help them end their nightmares, but no one came, no one but the fiendish apparitions that stalked this plane, hunting for their next prey. "Thi-this is s-so..." Twilight began, tears streaming from her eyes. Celestia went to her side to comfort her, pulling her in for a hug. Twilight silently sobbed in her former teacher's side as Luna continued to scan the area, trying to block out the screams. she looked for any indication of where Sahrot and Vaermina was. she didn't have long to find out, however, as a feminine voice boomed over all the screams. "Ah, it seems as though we have some trespassers in my domain." it said coldly. "Vaermina! we have come for Sahrot Strun! release him to us and return to your realm in Oblivion!" Luna called out. "I don't think you understand, child," Vaermina stated. "You are the one in MY world. welcome to my little corner in Oblivion, Quagmire!" with that, a form appeared before them. it appeared to be humanoid in form, though it was shrouded in robes, with a dark mask obscuring the face. it's physique appeared to be female, as indicated by the curves of it's body. "So, you must be the rulers of this land." Vaermina said, turning her attention to Luna. "And you must be princess Luna, the one who banishes away nightmares." Luna stared at the being in complete shock, and was about to ask how did she know before Vaermina interrupted her. "Yes, I know who you all are, and you're probably wondering how. the simple answer is that I've been seeing what the Dragonborn has seen through his memories. honestly, it's not hard to figure out." Vaermina spat in annoyance. "Though I must ask, how did you get in his mind? even with your dreamscaping abilities, it should have been impossible for you to penetrate my defenses." "And what if we do not wish to tell you?" Luna asked. "Then you will simply be destroyed by my subjects." Vaermina retorted, snapping her fingers. the ponies looked around in fear when they started hearing growls and roars, and were soon surrounded by unfathomable horrors. "I-it was Meridia that helped us to get in." Luna stuttered out, looking up at the Daedra. "Hmm, I suspected that Meridia would try to stop me. her efforts are in vain, however, if she had sent you lot to stop me." Vaermina said. "Why are you doing this?" Twilight demanded, gaining the attention of Vaermina. " Why are you torturing all these people, including Sahrot?" "I'm sure Meridia has told you of why I am torturing that fool, but for everyone else, well, it's just in my nature." the Daedra replied, shrugging her shoulders. "But why go through all this trouble just to torment one being? we know that it has taken a considerable amount of your energy to just maintain yourself in Sahrot's mind." Celesita chimed in. "Ah, how observant of you, Celestia. I do plan on doing more than just torturing Sahrot, I plan on taking his body, to use him as a vessel until my power has returned, and be able to conquer the world." Vaermina responded. "But now that you all are here, I can get rid of you personally. MINIONS! DESTROY THEM!" with that, she vanished, leaving the princesses to fend for themselves against the oncoming horde of nightmarish atrocities. "You two go on ahead, we will deal with them here, you go find Sahrot!" Luna yelled. "What!? you are fighting against them on your own!?" Twilight questioned. "Oh, I am not alone. trust me on this, Twilight, I can handle them. you and my sister can go find Sahrot, he is just ahead of this area!" Luna barked. Twilight looked at Celestia, who nodded her head solemnly. "We must leave now if we are to reach Sahrot in time, Twilight. come, Luna will deal with the monsters, and we will find him." Celestia said reassuringly. "Well...okay, but as soon as we get Sahrot, we'll be coming back for you!" Twilight promised to Luna. the princess of the night smiled warmly in appreciation, before turning her attention back to the horde. seeing the enemy getting close, Twilight and Celestia flew off above the horde, shooting down any flying monsters in their way. with them now gone, Luna closed her eyes, calling out to a being in her conscious. 'Are you ready for this, my old friend?' she thought to herself. 'good, now let's see how Vaermina's minions fare against your nightmares.' with that, she opened her eyes, now glowing pure white. her horn glowed brightly as a speckled darkness slowly seeped out of it. the darkness began to take the shape of a tall unicorn, and it started growing. it continued to grow until it was gigantic, dwarfing even the largest of the creatures approaching them. "Now, how about we fight fire with fire?" Luna stated, grinning. "Tantabus, I use your power against these monsters! show them what true nightmares look like!" The Tantabus nodded in agreement, summoning forth an army of their own nightmares. with the Tantabus drawing energy from the nightmare realm, it fired a beam of pure darkness at the oncoming monsters as they were almost upon them, obliterating the first row of monsters. "ATTACK" Luna roared. the Tantabus's creations roared in compliance, charging right into a horde, ensuing a massive battle against nightmares. ********** Twilight and Celestia flew for what seemed like an eternity, blasting away any nightmarish monsters in their way. they briefly turned their heads to see if Luna was alright, but gasped in shock to see a gargantuan unicorn made of darkness leading a massive army of nightmarish creatures against the horde. "Luna is using the Tantabus against the nightmares, and she's winning?" Twilight thought as she continued to look. indeed, it seemed as though Luna was winning against the monsters, as she along with the Tantabus were slowly overpowering the horde. "I guess she was right in saying she was able to handle them." Celestia replied, shooting another monster out of the air. "Yeah, it's surprisingly easier than I thought." Twilight added. "Do not get cocky, Twilight. the real fight is with Vaermina, and if she was able to overpower Sahrot, then it's going to take all of our power to stand a chance against her." Celestia replied. Twilight gulped when she realized that they were indeed going to have to fight Vaermina, but still hoped that they would be able to beat her. they would have to be cautious, though, for they have no idea of what the Daedric Prince was capable of. they continued to fly through the dark land, watching as the area beneath them shifted, revealing all types of terrains and creatures. as they were flying, Twilight spotted a creature that was all too familiar to her. "A human! that's a human down there!" Twilight yelled, pointing at the bipedal creature. it was smaller than an average human, indicating that it was a child. it appeared to also be female, as it was wearing a wearing a dress, and had long hair. it was currently running away from a group of cloaked humanoids, who were giving chase to her. "Get the girl! make sure she doesn't escape!" one of them shouted. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" the girl screamed back. the princesses hovered over the air, unsure of what to do. "We've got to help her." Twilight said, looking worried. "But what about Sahrot? we need to get to him as soon as possible." Celestia interjected. Twilight watched with conflicting emotions as the robed beings caught up with the girl, and captured her. "Got you, you little runt!" one of them sneered. "Get away from me! my father is the Dragonborn, and he'll beat you to a pulp when he finds out about this!" the girl shouted, spitting into the face of her captor. Twilight watched with a chilling realization as the robed being wiped the saliva from his face. "She said that her father was the Dragonborn. Sahrot is the Dragonborn. does this mean that she is Sahrot's daughter?" Twilight thought aloud. "If so, then we have to help her!" she turned her head to Celestia, who nodded her head in agreement, before they both dove towards the child. ********** "Don't think for a second that your father will help you anytime soon, worm. he's long dead, and you know it. just like you will be now!" the cloaked one holding her said, raising his sword to strike. the girl raised her arms, preparing for the blade to pierce her. it did not, however, and she instead found her dropped to the ground. she groaned in pain, closing her eyes to help clear her mind. when she opened them again, she thought that her head was more damaged than she thought. right in front of her were two equines, with bird like wings and conical horn protruding from their foreheads. the only difference between them is that one of them is smaller, up to her height, and purple. the other one was much taller, and white. she wasn't able to make much out other than that. what really surprised her, though, was when they spoke, sounding female. "Leave the child alone at once, or we will use lethal force, if necessary." the purple one spoke. "It's them, it's the invaders!" one of the cloaked figures shouted. "KILL THEM!" the one in the lead shouted. they charged right at the equines, changing from the cloaked figures to demonic beings brandishing swords. the girl looked closely, realizing that they were wearing the same kind of armor that her father wore. the two equines stood their ground, firing several blasts of energy at the monsters. one of them was struck in the head by one of the blasts, burning through his skull. he fell to the ground, his head completely incinerated, as it's body dissipated. the others were not fazed by this, and continued to press the attack. the purple equine conjured a bubble of energy around her, blocking the sword strikes of two of her attackers. it then used the shield to force them back, knocking them from their feet. it then fired more blasts of energy at them, turning them into wisps of smoke in seconds. the white one used it's magic to grab one of the monsters and slammed it into two others, before levitating a sword and using it to cut off the head of another. now, only three of the monsters remain, holding their weapons closely. "Are you ready to give up? you're clearly outmatched." the tall one stated. "NEVER! we will fight to the very end!" the one on the right said. they roared in unison as they charged towards the equines, their swords raised to strike them down. "So be it, then." the tall one replied. it then conjured up a blade, which radiated with energy. it then swung the blade forward, cutting the one in the middle in half as they neared it. the two other monsters clashed with the tall equine, sparks flying everywhere as their blades struck. the purple one used it's magic to rip out the sword from one of the monsters' grasp, exposing him to the tall one's blade. the sword sliced through the beast's neck like a hot knife through butter, as it's body fell over and dissipated into nothingness. the final enemy stood it's ground against the tall one, blocking it's strikes, and returning them with a vengeance. the tall one managed to get a strike in against the monster, only to widen it's eyes in shock at seeing the blade barely leaving a scratch. the beast picked up on it's momentary distraction and swung it's blade downward with all it's might. the tall one had barely enough time to raise a shield around her, protecting her from the attack, but also banishing the sword in the process. the monster raised it's sword to strike again, only to find a blast of energy to it's face, killing it almost immediately. the purple one sighed in relief as it's horn stopped glowing, watching the form wither away into darkness. the two equines took a moment to rest, before turning their attention to her. the girl backed away fearfully as they approached her, fear starting to grow in her heart. "Do not worry, little one. we have come to help you." the tall one said. "Wh-who are you? what are you?" the girl asked. "I am princess Celestia, and this is my former student, Twilight Sparkle." the tall one replied, pointing to the other equine. "As to what we are, we are ponies, more specifically, alicorns." "Alicorn? you look like unicorns, except with wings." the girl said, her fear melted away. "There are some of our species that are unicorns." Twilight replied, walking up to them. "We've come to rescue you from those monsters. we also want to know of how you have met our friend, Sahrot Strun." the girl's jaw immediately dropped upon hearing what the alicorn just said. "Y-you two know know my father!? where is he, is he okay!? it's been eight days since we've last seen him, and most of my family believes he's dead! please, you have to tell me!" the girl begged. "Please calm down, child. your father is alive, though I'm not sure if he's alright. come, I'll explain the situation as we get to him." Celestia said, motioning the child to hop onto her back. the girl nervously got onto the alicorn's back, holding onto the princess's neck. "Alright, now that you're safe and sound, lets head off, shall we?" Celestia said, smiling at the young child. the girl nervously nodded her head, and the three beings took to the skies, the girl hanging onto Celestia's neck for dear life. they ascended high above the land, stopping just below the dark clouds hovering above them. they flew northwards, and flew as fast as they could. "So, what's your name, little one?" Twilight asked. "M-my name is Lucia." the girl stuttered. "Well, its a pleasure to meet you, Lucia." Twilight said, smiling. "So, how exactly have you come to know our friend, Sahrot?" "Oh, well, I met him when I was ten years old. I'm twelve now." Lucia began. "I was on the streets of a city called Whiterun, abandoned and poor." "Abandoned? as in you were an orphan?" Twilight asked, shocked. "My goodness, why was that?" "I was once living on a farm in the countryside with my mother. unfortunately, my mother became sick, and eventually died, leaving my aunt and uncle to take over the farm. they then threw me out, saying that I was worthless to them, and so I had to walk all the way to Whiterun." Lucia explained, sniffling. Celestia looked back at Lucia with sorrow in her eyes, while Twilight was starting to shed tears. "I've been living on the streets for months, then, and I was constantly hungry. I wasn't completely alone, however, as a man named Brenuin was kind to me. he was homeless, like I was, and he suggested that I take take up begging, so I can at least get enough money to survive." Lucia continued. "Why didn't anyone else try to help you, child?" Celestia asked, a hint of anger in her voice. "Most people in Skyrim were born with hearts colder an ice. they were either too busy or didn't have the money." Lucia replied coldly. " I was in the town square one day, begging for money in order to buy an apple, when I met him." "You mean Sahrot?" Twilight asked. Lucia nodded her head, holding onto Celestia's neck tightly when she reared her head to strike down a flying monster with her magic. "He seemed big and intimidating at first, but when he first talked to me, he was the kindest person I ever met. I asked for a single septim from him, but he gave me twenty instead. when he asked why I was here, I told him the same thing I told you now. he asked if I wanted to be adopted, saying that he has a house and room for me to live in. I accepted, and and got my things as he escorted me to his home. it was a big mansion, and it was in the middle of a forest near a town called Falkreath. there, I met my new mother, Brelyna Maryon, and and my adopted brother, Hroar." Lucia stated. "What were they like?" Twilight asked, curious. "Brelyna is a Dunmer, or Dark elf. she likes to read books and study magic. she can get a little sloppy with her casting, however." Lucia said, snickering a little. "You know, Lucia, this Brelyna that you know of reminds me of a certain somepony." Celestia replied, grinning at Twilight. the purple alicorn looked at Celestia in confusion, Lucia giggling as she caught on to what she was implying. "Brelyna told me that when they first met, she asked him for help with one of her spells, saying she needed someone to test it on. when my dad obliged, she said the spell she had used made him look green. when the spell wore off, they continued with the spell." Lucia said, stifling her laughter. "She then said that she accidently turned him into a COW. she tried to undo it, turning him into a chicken, a mudcrab, and even a horse, before finally changing him back into his regular self!" Lucia explained, laughing softly. Celestia too joined in with the child's laughter, before sharing her story. "Ah, this reminds me of the time my former student discovered her talent in magic. she was a filly at the time, studying magic and reading many books, just like your mother. when she became older, she took a test to see if I will accept her under my tutelage. she was rather messy with her magical output, turning her own parents into potted plants." Celestia stated, giggling at Twilight's flustered appearance. Celestia and Lucia had a good laugh, which was dampened when Lucia started to explain her brother, Hroar. he too was an orphan, and lived in an orphanage in a city called Riften. he, along with the other children, commonly treated terribly by an old, cruel woman, ironically named 'Grelod the Kind'. according to Hroar, she would beat them maliciously, berate them with words such as 'riff-raff', and 'guttersnipe', and even refused to have any of them adopted. then, one day, Grelod was mysteriously killed, and he, along with the other children, were happy that she was killed. Hroar then met Sahrot two days after the incident, and promptly adopted him. "My goodness, they were actually happy that she was killed? that's terrible, even if she was a horrible woman, nopony deserves to be killed like that!" Twilight exclaimed. "The world can be a cruel place sometimes." Lucia replied. "How much longer until we get to my father?" "We should be arriving in a few minutes. when we get there, you must wait outside until my sister arrives, for your safety." Celestia stated, looking ahead at the structure ahead of them. it was a castle, shrouded in darkness, with a moat of what appeared to be blood surrounding it. "You have a sister? what is she like?" Lucia asked. "Her name is Luna, and she looks like me, only smaller, and has a blue coat, and a mane like the night sky. once you meet her explain who you are, and follow what she says." Celestia elaborated. Lucia nodded in reply, as the two alicorns descended upon the dark castle, hoping to save their friend from the clutches of the evil goddess, and banish her from his mind, and their land.